READ: 2 Corinthians 1:1 NLT 'This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.' Paul had a stormy relationship with the church in Corinth. He had had the privilege of establishing the church in that busy and famou...
READ: Psalm 37:16-17 NLT 'It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich. For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the LORD takes care of the godly.' The Old Testament has no problem with wealth, indeed many of its sta...
READ: Psalm 37:1-3 NLT 'Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither. Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take deligh...
READ: Psalm 36:5-7 NLT 'Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O...
READ: Psalm 35:17,18 NLT 'How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? Rescue me from their fierce attacks. Protect my life from these lions! Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. I will praise you before all the people.' Have y...
READ: Psalm 35:1,2 NLT 'O Lord, oppose those who oppose me. Fight those who fight against me. Put on your armour and take up your shield. Prepare for battle and come to my aid.' This is an agonising psalm. David is in a deep hole. He is the victim of...
READ: James 5:19,20 NLT 'My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgi...
READ: James 5:16 NLT 'The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.' Four years ago I contracted whooping cough. To be honest I thought that it was only for children and was amazed when my GP told me that I...
READ: James 5:16 NLT 'Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.' How are you? I wonder how you normally respond to that question. Probably, like most of us, you smile sweetly and summarise your life with the o...
READ: James 5:14,15 NLT 'Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well....
READ: James 5:13 NLT 'Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.' I remember as a teenager hearing a well-known preacher telling the story of a young woman who had told him that she often didn’...
READ: James 5:12 NLT 'But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.' James isn’t talking here about bad language but about th...
READ: James 5:11 NLT 'We give great honour to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.' We don’t k...
READ: James 5:9 NLT 'Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!' The bible introduces us to lots of grumbling people. Most famously we hear the People of Israel having a wh...
READ: James 5:7,8 NLT 'Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must b...
