Psalm 44:8 NLT 'O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name.' For years I had my quiet time in the morning, then headed into the day without considering where God was. It was as though my early morning prayer and scriptur...
Psalm 44:5-7a NLT 'Only by your power can we push back our enemies; only in your name can we trample our foes. I do not trust in my bow; I do not count on my sword to save me. You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies…' My parents were al...
Psalm 44:1 NLT 'O God, we have heard it with our own ears – our ancestors have told us of all you did in their day, in days long ago.' I was recently explaining to a young priest why my train fares were discounted due to my senior railcard. Joking a...
Luke 24:31-33a NLT Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” And with...
Luke 24:15-16 NLT 'As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him.' The pursuit of God is a journey. We are invited to travel its winding pathway in conversat...
Luke 24:12 NLT 'However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.' Peter, the impetuous disciple, the one Jesus identified as the foun...
Luke 24:9-11 NLT 'So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples – and...told the apostles what had happened. But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.' Like the male disciples, I am sure I would have...
Luke 24:5b-7 NLT 'Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, an...
Isaiah 53:12 NLT 'I will give him the honours of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.' In today’s world we are fixated with celebrity culture,...
Luke 21:3-4 NLT “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” “You can only do your best” is a...
Luke 20:1-2 NLT One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? W...
Luke 19:45-47 NLT 'Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” After t...
Luke 19:36-37 NLT 'As he rode along, the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God...
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.' Waiting demands trust. It is easy to place...
Romans 12:12 NLT 'Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.' Self-esteem and confidence are seen as key measures of our well-being. Our self-esteem can be dented by various mishaps; from social and economic factors th...
