Towards The Horizon Of Heaven Reader: Jon Watson Date: 31st December 2022 Passage: Jeremiah 29:11 ------------------- When God spoke these words to his Old Testament people they were still in captivity but he was wanting to assure them that they were going to return home — he gave them hope and a future. Today we are coming to the end of the year. I don't know what kind of year it has been for you. No doubt it had its 'ups and downs' but God does not want us to be haunted by the past; rather...

Stocktaking Reader: Jon Watson Date: 30th December 2022 Passage: Proverbs 15:33 ------------------- If you have ever worked in a shop you will know that once a year the whole stock in the shop is counted and the records are checked to see that things are in order and the business is being run properly. The end of the year is a great time to take stock of where we are at in our spiritual lives, so let's take a quick look at how we are doing. The verse at the top of the page give us a good...

A Band Of Brothers And Sisters Reader: Jon Watson Date: 28th December 2022 Passage: Romans 15:7 ------------------- One of the great things about Christianity is that it 'fits into' every country and people group where the Gospel is preached and believed. For people at every stage of development, whatever language they speak, whatever age they may be, the Gospel message — God's Good News — speaks to them. That is something we rejoice in and give thanks for. And that means wherever a Christian...

Dealing With Temptation Reader: Jon Watson Date: 27th December 2022 Passage: Psalm 51:10 ------------------- In my daily Bible reading recently I was reading the story of Joseph as we have it in Genesis from chapters 37 to 50. At one point in his story Joseph was put in a very difficult situation when the wife of his master tried to lure him to have sex with her. Joseph did the right thing and got out of the house as quickly as he could and told the woman he would have nothing to do with her...

The Living Word Of God Reader: Jon Watson Date: 26th December 2022 Passage: John 1:14 ------------------- I'm pretty sure your house has been made very colourful over the Christmas period by the many Christmas cards that are sent to bring greetings and usually a message with news as well. God himself has sent us a message — a message that comes in the form of a Word, the living Word, Jesus Christ himself. In Bible times the term we call 'word' (logos) was very important indeed. It was used by...

Good News Of Great Joy For Everyone Reader: Jon Watson Date: 25th December 2022 Passage: John 3:16 ------------------- A Happy Christmas! May each of you reading this know the joy of the Lord this happy morning and sing with the angels "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favours." (Luke 2:14) Of course remembering the birth of Jesus is a truly happy thing to do because it tells us of the wonderful love of God for the world in which we live. I know that on...

The Song Of Mary Reader: Jon Watson Date: 24th December 2022 Passage: Luke 1:46 ------------------- You have to marvel at the way in which Mary, the mother of Jesus, responded to the message God brought to her telling her that she would be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah. Yet she would have to go through misunderstanding, and the terrible trauma of seeing her first-born son savagely beaten and then crucified — a terrible death. But that was all in the future. Some months before the...

Getting Ready For Jesus Reader: Jon Watson Date: 23rd December 2022 Passage: Luke 2:4-6 ------------------- Getting ready for the birth of a baby is usually a busy and an exciting time. Care is taken to have everything in place so that, if all goes well, the newborn child will be welcomed home with everything ready for him or her. When we read about the preparations for the birth of Jesus it is quite a different story. Although many of the usual preparations could not be in place for the...

Commandment No. 10 Reader: Jon Watson Date: 22nd December 2022 Passage: Exodus 20:17 ------------------- Now I know it's getting near to Christmas so why am I writing about the Ten Commandments? I'm asking us to think about the Tenth Commandment so that you won't spoil your Christmas by being jealous about what other people might get as presents and you didn't! Jealousy spoils everything. Mind you, there is a good jealousy. The Bible tells us that God is jealous, meaning that he cares very,...

Proclaiming The Word Of The Lord Reader: Jon Watson Date: 21st December 2022 Passage: Acts 15:36 ------------------- How would you describe what the minister or preacher does at the sermon time in church? You get a good clue in the verse above! Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the word of the Lord in all the places they had visited. Proclamation is preaching — it is announcing publicly what God wants us to hear. The Apostle Peter used the word proclamation when speaking about the prophets...

Our Perfect Example Reader: Jon Watson Date: 20th December 2022 Passage: 1 Peter 2:21 ------------------- Yesterday we were thinking about slates or papyrus which were used in former years to write things in school or, in the case of those who used papyrus, to write letters or documents. Today we go back to the school-room, to Primary 1 in fact! When I was in Primary 1 we were given books with letters which we had to copy. Gradually we became able to write the letters without the copy-book,...

A Clean Slate Reader: Jon Watson Date: 19th December 2022 Passage: Colossians 2:14 ------------------- If you were as old as I am you would remember, as I do, learning to write on a slate tablet in school. One of the advantages of a slate was that it could be wiped clean and then used again and again. I don't think the Apostle Paul used a slate when he went to school but we do know that many people in his time wrote letters and even books using papyrus. One of the advantages of papyrus was...

Patience Reader: Jon Watson Date: 18th December 2022 Passage: 1 Corinthians 13:4 ------------------- I'm quite sure that by this time, in families where there are young children, the question will be asked "How many sleeps till Christmas?" Patience is not one of the virtues enjoyed by young children. But we adults may find patience is not something that comes easily to us either. When Paul says that "love is patient", he is telling us about something that is really beautiful and is also quite...

Is God Just An 'Add-On' In Your Life? Reader: Jon Watson Date: 17th December 2022 Passage: Matthew 6:24 ------------------- I speak to myself when I think about these words of Jesus. He is talking about people trying to serve two masters at the same time. On the one hand we who are Christians do want to serve God. We follow him, we thank him for all he has done for us through the Lord Jesus, and we genuinely place great value on heavenly things. So far so good! But — and it is a big but — we...

Big Bullies! Reader: Jon Watson Date: 16th December 2022 Passage: Proverbs 21:24 ------------------- Bullying is a problem, a serious problem, whether at school, work or even at home. In recent times, with the advent of the social media, bullying can become very frightening and has even led to some young people committing suicide. Sometimes Christians suffer bullying because of their beliefs and may be rejected by peers at school or by work-mates. This can be very hurtful indeed. As a...

The Marks Of A Christian's Life Reader: Jon Watson Date: 15th December 2022 Passage: 2 Peter 3:11 ------------------- There is an old saying that "We are the sinners' Bible, we are the scoffers' creed". In our day, when so many people do not go to church, that saying is really very important. The only contact many people may have with Christianity is you! Someone has said that a 'saint' is someone who makes it easy to believe in God. A life that has certain 'marks', a certain character and...

Does It Really Matter What I Believe? Reader: Jon Watson Date: 14th December 2022 Passage: John 14:6 ------------------- I was reading today about a Presbyterian church in America where about 10% of those who attend may be Jewish, atheists or agnostics. They are admitted into membership as "Associate Members of the Church" and even those who are full members don't need to believe the fundamentals of the Christian faith. While we must, and do, always welcome all who come to church, it is quite...

Christian Trials Reader: Jon Watson Date: 13th December 2022 Passage: Psalm 49:5 ------------------- Almost every day we get news of terrible things happening to Christian people within countries like India, China, in Africa and several Middle Eastern lands. There seems to be no end to suffering that is inflicted upon innocent people simply because they love and serve their Lord, and are different from those in power. For too many people this world must seem a horrible place. When we think of...

Cheating Reader: Jon Watson Date: 12th December 2022 Passage: Genesis 31:6-7 ------------------- The words written by Sir Walter Scott in his poem Marmion are very, very true: "O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive". The story in the book of Genesis involving Jacob shows a whole web of deceitfulness, cheating and being cheated. You can read the story if you have time in Genesis chapters 27 and onward. Jacob became a practised cheat and he found himself cheated. How...

Lydia, Whose Heart The Lord Opened Reader: Jon Watson Date: 11th December 2022 Passage: Acts 16:14 ------------------- Women today are in all sorts of top jobs, with a real push for women to take their place at the 'top table' in all kinds of business and professions. Lydia, the woman Paul and Silas met when they went to a Jewish prayer meeting on the banks of the river in Philippi, was a business woman selling top of the range goods and her customers would have been top of the range people....

Concessions Reader: Jon Watson Date: 10th December 2022 Passage: Luke 13:24 ------------------- One of the many 'perks' of being older is that you are often given concessions when entering exhibitions or musical events or whatever. We even travel free on pubic transport! We get used to concessions — to free TV and a winter heating allowance. It's a sign of a caring society that wants to look after its elderly citizens. Concessions! Jesus found there were some people who wanted concessions to...

Telling The Next Generation Reader: Jon Watson Date: 9th December 2022 Passage: Psalm 48:12-14 ------------------- It was good going back to where our parents and grandparents had lived and showing these places to our children. Some of these places are now only ruins, especially the great-grandparents' homes, but they were still interesting - part of our family heritage. The Jewish people of old just loved Jerusalem and especially the temple area. The writer of Psalm 48 pictures people going...

Not A Pretty Picture Reader: Jon Watson Date: 8th December 2022 Passage: Jeremiah 17:9 ------------------- If you are like me you enjoy looking at the photographs people put up on Facebook. I think there is quite a competition among some folk to see just how dramatic they can make some of the places look — ones we know well — by using special lenses or drones. Sometimes, however, a picture comes up showing just how selfish people can be by leaving rubbish by the roadside or 'fly-tipping' at a...

The Garden Reader: Jon Watson Date: 7th December 2022 Passage: Genesis 2:8 ------------------- As someone who likes gardening I find it interesting to see other gardens and how other gardeners plant and lay out the gardens they have. I am interested too in the different references to gardens that we find in the Bible. The first reference in the Bible to a garden is of course to the garden of Eden which we are told God planted. In this garden he placed Adam to be his gardener. It must have...