James 4:7–8 Life can often feel like a battleground. There is great evil in the world – any newspaper will illustrate that in agonising detail. But there is also immense kindness and goodness all around, if we have the eyes to see it. Daily life...
James 4:6–7 Did you know that God is capable of hatred? Perhaps you think that God is so nice that he couldn’t bring himself to hate anything. The fact is that the Bible is quite clear that God seethes with hatred at times. In Proverbs 6:16–19 we...
James 4:2–3 If you could have anything in the world, what would you choose? A beautiful large home? A yacht? A luxurious holiday; perfect health; world peace? Verse two seem to suggest that we just need to ask God and we will get whatever we want...
James 3:17–18 Many churches these days observe that they have very few people in their 20s and 30s. Whenever I’ve asked people in that age group what they are looking for one theme dominates – authenticity. They are looking for Christians and chu...
James 3:3-5 The tongue is incredibly powerful, for good or ill. I recall the story of a young man who shared some gossip about the local clergyman. Having heard about the rumours, the clergyman, with great gentleness and wisdom, took the youn...
James 2:15-17 You’ve probably noticed that Christians use a lot of words! Preaching, singing, praying and fellowship all involve oceans of words. And that’s fine, as long as our words also translate into action. Otherwise, we should just be q...
James 2:1 Do you have favourites? Or do you look at all other people in exactly the same way whatever their age, education, wealth, beauty, race or religion, and irrespective of whether you know them or not? We would all like to claim that we...
James 1:23-24 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. I love the way James writes, but I’m not too sure he would make easy company! He...
James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. Life constantly throws challenges at us. How should I be spending my time and money? Should I move to a different job? How can I re...
James 1:2-3 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. Having problems, trials and difficulties ha...
Proverbs 11:25 The importance of generosity is a theme that spans the whole Bible. Everyone has moments of generosity. However, Biblical teaching encourages us to be generous as a way of life. It is no surprise that the writer of Proverbs ret...
Proverbs 11:17 We tend to get a bit coy about the idea of getting rewards for living a godly life. This makes us very different from the writer of Proverbs! He was absolutely clear that living in line with God’s love and truth has rich rewards. I...
Proverbs 11:14 What wise words these are! The world cries out for wise leaders. The Hebrew word used here literally means ‘seamanship’. That is to say: the ship of state needs to be in the hands of those who are wise enough to prevent the nation...
Proverbs 11:13 I suspect we have all had the experience of someone saying to us: “This is just between you and me. It must go no further. It has to be kept within these four walls.” Because we are human, we get excited. This person has truste...
Luke 19:26 In the parable of the talents, Jesus speaks of three servants who were entrusted with some money. Two of them multiplied the original amount enormously and, when the king discovered this, he was thrilled. But the third servant played i...
