Romans 1:17 'This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith.' I once heard about a group of rowdy young people who had too much time on their hands and decided that it would be...
Romans 1:16 'I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes – the Jew first and also the Gentile.' We are told that the apostle Paul had a particularly unimpressive appearance. A...
Romans 1.9 NLT 'God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.' Prayer is a blessing in every way. It is the way in w...
Romans 1.7 NLT 'I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.' Paul’s letter to the church in Rome is sometimes described as the Gospel according to Paul. It’s not a bad description because ...
Psalm 88.1-3 NLT 'O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near.' This is possibly the saddest of all the psalms. The ...
Psalm 86.11 NLT 'Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth!' I wonder what your school teachers were like. I suspect that we all had a wide range experiences. I reflect on my own teachers. Some of them were strict, o...
Psalm 86.8 NLT 'No pagan god is like you, O Lord. None can do what you do!' There have always been lots of gods on offer. A god is anything that calls for our commitment and devotion and in every age there has been a colourful variety of opti...
Psalm 86.5 NLT 'O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.' I am sorry to remind you of this but, sooner or later, everything breaks down. Whether you are thinking of your health, ca...
Psalm 86.1 NLT 'Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help.' Finding peace and purpose in our lives is something that we all want, and the first step to achieving it is recognising that we need God’s help. David, t...
Psalm 85.8 NLT 'I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people.' Listening is crucial to every part of life. But that doesn’t mean that it is a simple process. It requires a huge amount of though...
Psalm 84.10 NLT 'A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.' I wonder if you’ve ever experienced home sickness...
Psalm 82.3-4 NLT 'Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.' When I was in my 20s I lived in an Indian village for ...
Luke 2.13-14 NLT "Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased." The shepherds received the n...
Luke 2.10-11 NLT The angel reassured the shepherds. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Saviour—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” The a...
Luke 2.8-9 NLT 'That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified.' It’s...
