Day 50 - Issue 35
READ: 2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT 'He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.' When God blesses our lives, he doesn’t want us to hug the blessin...
Day 49 - Issue 35
READ: 2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT 'All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.' Paul is bursting to address lots of issues in this letter. His relationship with the church in Corinth wa...
Day 48 - Issue 35
READ: 2 Corinthians 1:1 NLT 'This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.' Paul had a stormy relationship with the church in Corinth. He had had the privilege of establishing the church in that busy and famou...
Day 47 - Issue 35
READ: Psalm 37:16-17 NLT 'It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich. For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the LORD takes care of the godly.' The Old Testament has no problem with wealth, indeed many of its sta...
Day 46 - Issue 35
READ: Psalm 37:1-3 NLT 'Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither. Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take deligh...
Day 45 - Issue 35
READ: Psalm 36:5-7 NLT 'Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O...
Day 44 - Issue 35
READ: Psalm 35:17,18 NLT 'How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? Rescue me from their fierce attacks. Protect my life from these lions! Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. I will praise you before all the people.' Have y...
Day 43 - Issue 35
READ: Psalm 35:1,2 NLT 'O Lord, oppose those who oppose me. Fight those who fight against me. Put on your armour and take up your shield. Prepare for battle and come to my aid.' This is an agonising psalm. David is in a deep hole. He is the victim of...
Day 42 - Issue 35
READ: James 5:19,20 NLT 'My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgi...
Day 41 - Issue 35
READ: James 5:16 NLT 'The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.' Four years ago I contracted whooping cough. To be honest I thought that it was only for children and was amazed when my GP told me that I...
Day 40 - Issue 35
READ: James 5:16 NLT 'Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.' How are you? I wonder how you normally respond to that question. Probably, like most of us, you smile sweetly and summarise your life with the o...
Day 39 - Issue 35
READ: James 5:14,15 NLT 'Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well....
Day 38 - Issue 35
READ: James 5:13 NLT 'Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.' I remember as a teenager hearing a well-known preacher telling the story of a young woman who had told him that she often didn’...
Day 37 - Issue 35
READ: James 5:12 NLT 'But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.' James isn’t talking here about bad language but about th...
Day 36 - Issue 35
READ: James 5:11 NLT 'We give great honour to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.' We don’t k...