TEXT: ‘For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more’ (Jeremiah 31:34). Hallelujah! What a wonderful promise. It sounds too good to be true. So often people regard God as the one who, because of our past, brings down judgment but this scripture reveals God in a totally different light. There are three things I want us to consider: 1. The Problem We can remember what we have done – ‘I remember my faults’ (Genesis 41:9) King David wrote, ‘For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is always before me’ (Psalm 51:3). The conflict between Russia and Ukraine will trigger memories in those who have been involved in warfare in the past, particularly if they have killed someone. The guilt of such actions never easily goes away. In Exeter I visited a house and spoke to the wife. When asking about her husband, he shouted from the kitchen, “God can’t forgive me, I’ve killed someone”. He explained he was ex-military and knew the Bible said, ‘You shall not kill’.1 He was amazed when I corrected him by saying, “It says you shall not murder. You did not kill in a pre-meditated way but were only following orders”. A look of relief spread across...
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TEXT: ‘So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned first-hand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind’ (Ecclesiastes 1:17 NLT). When God told Solomon to ask for what he really wanted, he replied, ”Wisdom, so I can be a good wise king judging God’s people”.1 His request pleased God and was granted. Solomon started off as a wise king and his kingdom excelled. People came from all over the world just to listen to his wisdom and knowledge. Kind David wrote many of the psalms but his son Solomon was the author of Ecclesiastes and there is a fundamental difference between those books. Psalms is about worship but Ecclesiastes is about the goal to know wisdom. David had a heart experience about God but for Solomon it seemed to be head knowledge. This comparison reminded me of when two people were asked to read Psalm 23 to the congregation. The first person pronounced every word faultlessly and spoke with perfect diction, whereas the other spoke every word with a heartfelt meaning. Someone remarked, “The first knew the psalm, but the other knew the Shepherd!” Not content with relying on his God-given wisdom, Solomon turned his attention to understanding madness...
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TEXT: ‘Get wisdom! Get understanding! Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding’ (Proverbs 4:5,7). When we look at what we have and own, it’s important to remember how we obtained it. Hindsight is a wonderful teacher but usually is powerless to change what’s happened. We get the wrong thing or what’s right, but go about it the wrong way and end up regretful but have to live with the consequences. This can be especially true when buying using finance. Long after the novelty of the purchase has evaporated, and it may not be used anymore or even working, we continue to pay for it. The widely promoted advert “Buy now, pay later!” has brought many to financial ruin as the money lenders demand repayment in full plus interest.0 So what can help us to make right decisions at the right time, when we live in an uncertain and unpredictable world? The answer is WISDOM! Today’s Teaching focuses on three aspects to do with God’s wisdom. 1. Priority – ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom’ The Bible says, ‘Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men’ (Luke 2:52). This verse is my continual prayer and expectancy for Jenny in her role as Generous...
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TEXT: ‘Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”’ (Matthew 21:42). After Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, He faced intense questioning by the chief priests, elders and scribes, who demanded to know whose authority He was acting under. In response, Jesus taught the parable of the wicked vinedressers, who refused to give the owner of the vineyard any proceeds from the harvests and ended up murdering his son. When Jesus said the owner would take revenge on the vinedressers and give the vineyard to someone else, the people replied, “Certainly not!” Then Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22-23, the Old Testament prophecy which is our text and this is the focus of Today’s Teaching. There are three points I want to highlight. 1. Revelation – ‘Have you never read in the scriptures?’ Psalm 118 was well known to the Jews, for they recited it verbatim at least six times a year, during holy festivals. For all their reciting, they did not realise it was prophetic and Jesus was the fulfilment of it. The Bible is more than an historical record, because it reveals the future. The...
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TEXT: ‘Come to Christ, who is the living Foundation of Rock upon which God builds; though men have spurned him, he is very precious to God who has chosen him above all others’ (1 Peter 2:4 TLB). When rugged fishermen write about their love for Jesus as their Saviour and Lord, it puts to shame Christians who are too embarrassed to even mention they have a faith. The Apostle John wrote, ‘Who loved me!’ (John 13:23). In other words, “That Jesus could love me!” Three times Jesus asked Peter, ‘Do you love Me?’ (John 21:15-17), and three times, in front of the other disciples, he replied, ‘Yes Lord, You know that I love You’. This impetuous disciple also used the word, “Precious” several times in his epistles and Today’s Teaching focusses on these. 1. Precious Faith – ‘These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold’ (1 Peter 1:7 NLT) How wonderful and valuable faith is. It is a gift from God1 and can work miracles for us and through us. Hebrews Chapter Eleven records some of the wonderful experiences of those who had faith, but the Bible is full...
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TEXT: ‘When He, the Spirit of Truth, has come’ (John 16:13). The night before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, He explained to His disciples what the role of the Holy Spirit (the Comforter) would be.1 One of those disciples was Peter, who writing in his epistle, revealed key areas as to what the Holy Spirit has done, does and will do for and with the believer, and this is the focus of Today’s Teaching. 1. The Holy Spirit and Prophecy – ‘This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward’ (1 Peter 1:10-11 NLT). Jesus said, ‘But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me’ (John 15:26). This is what the Holy Spirit had been doing down through the ages. ‘For no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God’ (2 Peter...
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