READ: Mark 1:35-37 NLT Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” Jesus’ ministry has just...
READ: Mark 1:16-17 NLT Jesus called out to Simon and Andrew, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. I love the way Jesus worked because it’s so different from the way I would...
READ: Mark 1:16-17 NLT One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me” Jesus kept doing s...
Psalm 25:6-7 NLT 'Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord.' When a...
Psalm 25:4-5 NLT 'Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.' When I talk with school teachers, they tell me that the...
Psalm 86:11 NLT 'Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.' As I mentioned before, I recently took my Trinity certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language...
Psalm 130:7-8 NLT 'O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. He himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin.' How hopeful are you? The media bombards us with reasons for anguish. But hope...
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.' During the coronavirus lockdown, for many...
Psalm 130:4 NLT 'But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.' Being forgiven means to have a debt paid off. When I had to give up work to care for the one I loved, I began to run up debts. When she eventually died after 18 years, I f...
Psalm 130:3 NLT 'Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?' One thing the coronavirus lockdown has done is to test our ability to spend a lot of time with whoever else lives with us – although, of course, living alone...
Psalm 130:1-2 NLT 'From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer.' There are times when I ask some uncomfortable questions. The advantage of such thoughts is that they hijack any attempt to...
Psalm 119:102-104 NLT 'I haven’t turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well. How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.' Durin...
Matthew 7:17-19 NLT 'A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the...
Isaiah 29:5 NLT 'But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind.' Last autumn, when the leaves fell, bad weather stopped me clearing them, which meant a...
Matthew 13:29-30 NLT “No,” he replied, “you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.” Last...
