Mark 4:21 Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine.” Jesus often spoke using parables. On the surface they were jus...
Mark 3:34-35 Jesus looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” The Gospels tell us remarkably little about Jesus’ family. We would so love to k...
Mark 3:13 'Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him.' The calling of the twelve disciples is a fascinating moment in Jesus’ ministry. The fact that he chose to work with a grou...
Mark 2:27-28 Jesus said to them: “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” Some years ago, I spent a couple of months living i...
Mark 2:22 Jesus said: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.” We all know what happens to leather after a few years. I...
Mark 2:17 Jesus said: “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” The way in which Jesus lived was a shock to the respectable religious ...
Mark 1:35 'Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.' Although Jesus’ ministry had only recently begun, he was clearly already very busy. His authoritative preaching and miraculous healings were...
Psalm 108:1-2 92 'My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.' Isn’t it wonderful when you can say that you have total confidence in someon...
Psalm 107:1-3 'Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east...
1 Timothy 6:20 'Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge.' In Greek, the name ‘Timothy’ literally means ‘he who honours God’. As Paul drew his le...
1 Timothy 6:17 'Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.' If you look at the world’s s...
1 Timothy 6:12 'Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.' As Paul draws towards the end of his letter to Timothy, he gives hi...
1 Timothy 6:9-10 'People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving m...
Timothy 6:6-8 'True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be con...
1 Timothy 6:1 'All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching.' It’s hard for us to imagine what it must have been like to live in a society where slavery was normal. Bet...
