2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4 And in any locality where survivo...  Read More

Q. 6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.Westminster Shorter CatechismWhat do eggs and ice have in common? Both favourites of Youth Leaders to illustrate the Trinity. The truth is that no illustration from our world can truly captur...  Read More

Better the little that the righteous have    than the wealth of many wicked;for the power of the wicked will be broken,    but the Lord upholds the righteous.Psalm 37:16-17I want you to read the passage above again. Go on.Do you believe it? In this, I think many of us struggle.I know because when I watch shows like Grand Designs or The Block, I love the process but I also want the house. Can you r...  Read More

15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for...  Read More

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.Hebrews 13:15We don’t need to make sacrifices of bulls and goats to be saved because Jesus is our atoning sacrifice. However, what should our response be to receiving the gift of such a wonderful salvation?Well, surely at the very least it should be a continual offering of...  Read More

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.11 Do not cast me from your presence    or take your Holy Spirit from me.12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,    so that sinners will turn back to you.Psalm 51:10-13Do you resonate with these words from David? Particularl...  Read More

20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed f...  Read More

Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.”1 Chronicles 16:35A mate of mine was drowning. He had a seizure in the ocean and was in big trouble. A lady noticed and swam over, followed by some others. He was going under. But they got him onto the beach and he was taken to hospital. He was safe bec...  Read More

Q. 5. Are there more Gods than one?A. There is but one only, the living and true God.Westminster Shorter CatechismLong before John 3:16 (for God so loved) or Matthew 7:1 (judge not), Israel had a favourite Bible verse. It was called the ‘Shema’. Deuteronomy 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. For millennia, this is what differentiated Israel’s worship from the surrounding nati...  Read More

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”James 4:13-15It really is remarkable to th...  Read More

The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.Leviticus 16:1-2I’ll talk more about...  Read More

“‘“The Lord bless you    and keep you;25 the Lord make his face shine on you    and be gracious to you;26 the Lord turn his face toward you    and give you peace.”’Numbers 6:24-26There are a few memory verses that most Christians know. John 3:16 or maybe the Lord’s Prayer. This verse from Numbers 6 is one of those verses for Israel.It was a reminder of what it means to be God’s people. It means yo...  Read More