John 15:3-4 NLT 'You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in m...
John 15:1-2 NLT 'I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.' Last year I decided to train for...
Psalm 25:10 NLT 'The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.' I find ‘unfailing’ a difficult word to comprehend. Living in Britain, I have grown up confident that the weather that greets me in...
Psalm 25:7 NLT 'Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord.' Despite not having a particularly colourful past, I often realise I’m mulling over past events. An insis...
Psalm 25:6 NLT 'Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past.' We live in a fast-moving and often brutal world, often forced to live at a pace that leaves us breathless. We easily tire under the weig...
Psalm 25:4 NLT 'Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.' I’ve wondered many times what it is I’m here on this earth to do. When younger, I was anxious to realise my potential, assuming there was a particular path I must p...
Psalm 25:1-2 NLT 'O Lord, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.' Like all idioms, the phrase “to give one’s life to” carries a meaning far deeper than the phrase initially...
Ruth 1:16 NLT But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” I have ditched God occasionally, drawn by some distrac...
Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT 'Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.' I quote this verse far too often, to myself, but also to family and friends. Quoting...
Luke 9:23-24 NLT Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sak...
John 6:26-27 NLT Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life...
Matthew 4:18-20 NLT One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers – Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew…Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left...
Psalm 134:1-2 NLT 'Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord. Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and praise the Lord.' Once I’ve entered my day, time appears to rush by. Pursuing my rhythm...
Psalm 131:2 NLT 'Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.' In a noisy world, one of the greatest challenges we face is finding space for...
Psalm 130:5-6 NLT 'I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word. I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, yes, more than sentries long for the dawn...' What is your first thought, when you wak...
