My wife and I learned halfway through our first pregnancy that our son was not going to survive. A medical condition which we had never heard of introduced an agony we had never known. The doctors told us that our son would continue growing in the womb but would not live after delivery. Jillian would endure the discomfort of pregnancy and the excruciating pain of labor. But we would not come home with our son, Eli.... continue reading
Just before Christmas last year I saw a lovely video clip of a young boy sharing with his mum that he had been given the part of “the third door holder" in a Christmas nativity play. The little boy was overjoyed with the role that he had been given to the point that he called it a classic nativity part and celebrated like he had scored a goal.... continue reading
Many of us resolve to get the new year off to a good start with Bible reading. But if you haven’t got going yet, don’t worry. Here’s today’s devotion from our Explore Bible-reading notes. If you enjoy it, order yourself a copy of the whole three-month issue to keep going. Alternatively, you could get an annual subscription and your devotions will arrive quarterly, so you’ll be organised for the whole year!... continue reading
The psalms are meant for God’s people as much as they were meant for the authors who wrote them. They are meant to encourage, strengthen, instruct, and empathize in the myriad trials, joys, pain, and praise that we experience. So, in Psalm 6 we have just that—a universal psalm for the universal church.
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A New Year is upon us and, for many, it’s a time to make some resolutions. While often these include things such as losing weight or exercising more, many of us recognise our need to be more consistent in Bible meditation, in exercising greater patience with our children, or in volunteering more at church or school. In other words, we set goals to help us accomplish things we know we haven’t been doing very well. While this exercise can help us reflect on ways we might grow in loving God and others, we must beware of focusing on all the things we “should” be doing, while failing to remember all that Christ has done on our behalf. The emphasis then becomes about what I need to do, (in my own strength and wisdom), rather than gratefully acknowledging the gospel grace that is ours through our Saviour Jesus Christ.... continue reading
There is such a thing as unfaithful service. What does that look like? We’re given an example in the parable of the talents in Luke 19:11-27.... continue reading
Christians are those who confess Jesus to be Lord. But, not everyone who confesses Jesus to be Lord is a Christian. The crucial question, therefore, is this: does your life match your lips?... continue reading
Many of us struggle to balance our busy schedules with as much time in God’s Word as we’d like. Or we want to dive deeper into the text, but we’re not sure where to begin. If you’re like me, you struggle to develop Bible-reading habits without becoming legalistic about how much time you’re spending with God. ... continue reading
There’s a funny thing about Christian language. We have all these phrases that we don’t necessarily think too much about. They’ve just always been there. “God won’t give you more than you can handle” is one of them. Another is “God can use you.”... continue reading
The first step in cultivating wise speech is by prayer. We also know that the best way of becoming wise is to saturate ourselves in God’s word. However, some practical tips can also help. What about in our moment-by-moment interactions? How can we train ourselves to say the right thing when difficult conversations take us by surprise? Or when we disagree with something a friend or co-worker says?... continue reading
