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Young David arrives on the scene with provisions for his brothers and he hears the voice of Goliath, the Philistine giant.

Some voices can send a shiver down your spine. Certain telephone calls can be most upsetting. Cutting critical comments can floor you for quite a time.

There has been no movement between these two armies for weeks. It is stalemate, and David discusses the scenario with various soldiers.

David believed in the Covenant, and the promises of God. He discerned that this giant was threatening the armies of the living God, and he exhibits a strong faith. …  ( Click for more )

Many face a giant when they awake every morning.

It might be addiction, disease, debt, fear, envy, anger, or the painful memory of something that happened years ago.

Giants taunt and intimidate. They certainly do not make life easy.

Goliath was a giant who taunted the Israeli army. This is not a children’s story.

Choose a man to come and fight me was his daily taunt. This charade went on day after day, until King Saul was scared.

This was one method by which certain battles were fought.

If your God cannot produce a spokesman, a soldier, a warrior, he…  ( Click for more )

So you want to know how to acquire attributes and characteristics like those of Abigail! Look at her theology.

That is what shaped and fashioned and moulded Abigail’s gracious character.

She was married to a nasty surly tight-fisted man, Nabal, but she did not allow all that to sour her attitude to life.

To repay David and his men for the good work they had done in Nabal’s service, she takes a generous supply of food.

David had been sorely maltreated and he is about to seek revenge. Much blood would have been shed.

As Abigail meets and speaks with…  ( Click for more )

Whatever do you do when you do not know what to do?

What did these disciples do, following the resurrection of Jesus, and that unexpected encounter with the risen Christ beside the Galilean Lake, during this interim period when nothing seemed to be happening?

With God something is always happening!

They all reassembled back in Jerusalem and over a period of forty days Jesus showed Himself to His chosen men, and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive.

Doubts were dispelled totally, although the way forward was not as yet clear.

Jesus spoke about the kingdom…  ( Click for more )

It was a cracker of a question. Surely there cannot be a fresh surprising question after 2,000 years, but there it was.

“What would Jesus’ DNA be like if He had no earthly father?”

To some questions there are no straightforward answers, and on this occasion the questioner was not being daft, or contentious.

The next question was, “Do you believe in the ‘Virgin Birth’?” There was a pause before answering.

The birth was normal, if one were to regard the circumstances surrounding Bethlehem as being ‘normal’! The…  ( Click for more )

“Why did He allow this to happen? We heal a man in His name and we are thrown into this Jerusalem jail. If this is what it is going to be like, then we are off!”

There is not the slightest hint of this type of pathetic reaction from Peter and John as they are unfairly and unjustly treated by the religious authorities, following the day of Pentecost.

Going off in the huff would never enter their regenerate heads.

They were put on trial before some of the wealthiest and influential folk in Jerusalem.

When Peter speaks, he is reasonable and respectful,…  ( Click for more )

Surely, if I have a real true genuine ‘Pentecostal’ experience, all my troubles and problems will disappear. Not so!

Very soon after some three thousand new believers in Jesus Christ were baptised, and given some basic teaching, Peter and John made their way up to the Temple to pray.

At the gate called Beautiful, a severely crippled man, in his 40’s, sat begging, and he looked to Peter and John for a few pennies.

Peter and John had no money, but what they did have they gave him. Peter spoke to him and took him by the hand, helping him to his feet,…  ( Click for more )

Some say this does not fit their ‘theology’, but the writers of the New Testament enjoyed the experience long before they wrote about it.

If you have bad ‘theology’, throw it away. Discard it.

It is Pentecost this coming Sunday, and without a clear understanding of what actually happened, and what the consequences were, much of the rest of the New Testament can remain a mystery.

It was Pentecost that gave birth to the Church of Jesus Christ, and got these waiting disciples on the move.

Seven weeks after Passover, and following the resurrection…  ( Click for more )

Jesus Christ is relying on these eleven men to produce the goods, and continue the unique work which He started. They have been through a difficult five weeks.

Thursday is called Ascension Day. Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, having completed, on earth, what God the Father sent Him to do, He went home.

You can stand on that spot on the summit of the Mount of Olives, on the east side of Jerusalem, from which He ascended, leaving His disciples gazing up into the sky.

Jesus left them with a word of promise.

Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my…  ( Click for more )

How boring? That was how a colleague responded when he heard of people meeting for prayer, and praying for an hour, or over an hour!

“Whatever could you say for an hour? How would you fill the time?”

Soon, he discovered that an hour was never long enough.

He had been educated at Eton where he attended Chapel daily, but he and God never met. Following a distinguished career at King’s College, Cambridge, he then entered the army where he experienced a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ.

As these disciples of Jesus waited for something to…  ( Click for more )

How did the prophet Samuel come on the scene and exercise years of faithful ministry? How does any man of God come on the scene?

Law and order had broken down. Lawlessness had taken over the nation, and God overcomes all this, through a crying, weeping, praying woman.

Why is Hannah in tears?

Her husband, Elkanah, had two wives, concurrently! Today, many men have them consecutively.

Elkanah suffered the consequences of that folly. No man can have two wives and become one flesh.

The other wife, Peninnah, had sons and daughters, but Hannah’s womb was closed…  ( Click for more )

Where do you go, and what do you do, when you are released from prison?

Over the years, I have observed people being released from all kinds of imprisoning circumstances.

Peter and John went back to their own people and they were welcomed with warmth and open arms.

These two leaders knew from the very outset that the Christian Faith was exclusive and inclusive, where no one would ever be excluded, and where everyone could be included. They were not going to fall at the first hurdle.

Wealthy women and tough prison officers were able to fellowship together without…  ( Click for more )

You cannot turn the clock back no matter how much you may wish to!

These disciples of Jesus tried to turn the clock back, even after having met the risen Christ.

Can it be possible to have met Jesus Christ and yet face potential disaster?

Have you ever thought of giving up? Ach, I am fed up with this whole ‘church’ thing?

Peter feels the pull of old habits and returns to the fishing, taking six disciples with him.

Leaders lead for good or ill.

Had this meeting Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, been all a dream? Are they suffering from…  ( Click for more )

All over the world people are searching for peace, and seeking peace, and yet this was the first thing Jesus Christ gifted to his men on resurrection evening.

This broken warring world is living on the wrong side of the resurrection and it is the task of the Church of Jesus Christ to explain that there are answers to all the pain, suffering, sadness and tragedy.

Between the cross and resurrection the disciples were groping around in emotional darkness, and that is where so many find themselves today.

For three years they had been with Jesus, and within a few hours their…  ( Click for more )

An evening of true worship ended with tears.

The praise songs were mostly new, but the words were straight from Scripture and, when so ably led, it was easy to participate meaningfully.

Around 160 were now prepared and focused upon hearing the Word of God.

The theme for the evening was ‘Passion for Jesus, Passion for the poor, and Passion for prayer”.

How do we get a passion for Jesus? We see passion in the lives of the apostles –ordinary men, who knew frailty, brokenness, and at times revealed pride.

They were changed and transformed by Jesus…  ( Click for more )

One man was quite upset, and wondered what was coming next, when he heard it said that all the members of our family will be in heaven, once it is all over down here.

It is certainly true, but not as some might wish to interpret it.

Not long into the ministry of Jesus Christ, some members of his family appeared with the intent of stopping him. They thought he was mad and daft.

When Mary and her other sons were outside the house where Jesus was teaching, someone explained to Jesus that his mother and brothers wanted to see him.

Jesus’ reply is one of the most…  ( Click for more )

“Where is your brother?” is the question God posed to Cain after he had taken Abel out into the fields and murdered him.

“I don’t know” was his reply, implying that I am not interested and I don’t care and he is not my responsibility.

He verges on being impudent and cheeky towards God. His flippant remark was an attempt to evade his crime.

This was the first murder. No human saw it, but God saw it, and shed blood speaks to God, and God sees and hears when we think we are totally on our own.

God was concerned and God placed Cain…  ( Click for more )

What is it that makes you angry, really angry?

Two sons were born. The first was named Cain which means ‘gotten’, or I have ‘brought forth’ a man from the Lord. The second was Abel and his name suggests ‘breath’ or ‘a slight thing’.

Abel was keeper of the sheep, and Cain worked the ground.

They came from the same parents, but were so different. One had faith and one didn’t. This is what divides people.

The first family had a place of worship, to which they could come with their offerings, but it is necessary…  ( Click for more )

“Where are you?” and “Who told you?” are quickly followed in Genesis by a third question. “What is this you have done?”

Man is a responsible being, and man can behave responsibly or he can behave irresponsibly.

Each choice which man makes has repercussions and consequences.

Man is responsible for his actions and reactions in a way no other part of creation is.

“What have you done?”

Almighty God was the first to ask this question but how many times has it been asked subsequently?

It may be thought of in the context…  ( Click for more )

“We live in a day when we are more afraid of holiness than we are of sinfulness.”

That is an astonishing statement, but on considered reflection it happens to be true. We accommodate ourselves to iniquity and sin in all types of circumstances and surroundings.

How frequently do we hear of someone being described as holy?

Of all the duties enjoined by Jesus Christ none is more essential, and yet more neglected, than prayer.

It is axiomatic to say that you will never stumble as long as you are on your knees.

All we need is need, and we observe increasing…  ( Click for more )

Some people will never learn. Others do not want to learn, or are just not interested.

It happened last month when broadcasters made unwise remarks. It happened in the lead-up to the General Election when Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s radio mike was left switched on.

Another Prime Minister was heard castigating his colleagues, when he thought no-one was listening. These are salutary lessons.

Jesus explained, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the…  ( Click for more )

Might there be someone still looking for an inspirational theme or goal for 2011?

In what looks like being one of the hardest years for a long time, there are going to be resources required that may not have been experienced in the recent past.

There was a man called Isaiah who was going through a rough patch, along with his nation. God does not spare Isaiah from tasting something of what those around them are facing.

God poured His truth into this man. Isaiah was being filled and inspired, and words from God can flow through him to us.

This word is for those who…  ( Click for more )

Seldom do we get our own way with God, no matter how worthy our aims might be.

One day in Troas, Paul wanted to travel northeast and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teach those who came to believe, but God closed that door.

Within hours, that team on a mission received a vision to break out of Asia and travel over to Europe.

The Psalmist tells us that the steps of a man are guided by God, and it is also true that the stops of a man are guided by God.

Paul was a man on the move, and it is easier to direct a man who is moving than a man who is not moving.

Philippi…  ( Click for more )

In one of our Bible readings at the start of this year, powerfully penetrating thoughts flowed from a passage in Paul’s second letter to the Church of Jesus Christ in Corinth.

Paul made it his goal to please Jesus Christ in all he sought to do. His preaching, teaching, and writing, had this focused aim. Paul wanted to please Jesus.

The Church knew what it was to fear God. That did not mean they were afraid of God, but that they held Him in awe, and spoke of Him reverently, never wanting His smile to leave them.

To live like this, people need to have a clear conscience. …  ( Click for more )