I am not sure when I first started to make notes in my Bible, but I think it was in my blue covered Authorised Version as a teenager in Knightswood Baptist Church, Glasgow where I spent my first twenty-two years.

That Bible is now in my home here in Bilston, Midlothian.

I have travelled the length and breadth of the United Kingdom over the years, living in Northwood, Fife, Kent,

Tyne & Wear, Caithness and Edinburgh.

The Bible has always been with me in one form or another.

Nowadays I have a New Testament in my back pocket and a Bible App on my mobile and tablet.

I still make notes, bookmarks and underline where I can. I need reminders. 

I need clear evidence that I can return to at times in my life where my God has spoken to me from His Word.

 

 My NIV Thompson Chain Reference Edition is my main source for these Bible Bookmarks. 

It is full of notes, headings, scraps of paper etc that have been gathered over the years.

 

I want to share some of them with you here.

 

I want you to meet drunken Noah, friendly Bildad, chosen Cyrus,complaining Habakkuk and the lovely people at the church in Thessalonica.

 

I want you to discover more of God’s perfect promises and truths.

 

I want you to enjoy digging around with me in the 39 books of  the Old Testament and the 27 of the New.

 

I want you to read the Bible for yourself, so that my notes are but a stepping stone for you to use to press on and travel further forward in your journey with the Living God.

 

 

6th October, 2025     

If you had asked me 6 months ago what Bible Bookmark I would choose 10 years later... I think my choice would have been different.

I would certainly encourage you to revisit some if not all from these 10 years of opening the Bible pages.... and July and September verses will not disappoint you.

 

But I turned to Habakkuk 3 in my mind this Monday morning.....as I look over these years...and especially the latter part of my journey this year so far.... These words deeply challenge me....and have helped me to keep on going.......   (you might find it helpful to read Habakkuk 1 and 2 first....such honesty....anger and doubts too!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

6th September, 2025

From Paul...to the Philippians..... his remarkable perspective on his circumstances....

 

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.  As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.  The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.  The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.  But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,  for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;  but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.  Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,  so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

 

 

 

7th July, 2025     

Jesus said these meaningful words.....recorded by Matthew at the end of  chapter 11 of his Gospel.....

 

 “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.  For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”

 

I leave you to ponder them with Him.....and to plan how you will put them into practice.....

 

 

 

16th June, 2025   

Great truths lead to great rejoicing!   Psalm 34.

 

As you read.....believe.....claim the truths behind the words for yourself.

 

 

28th April, 2025   

Matthew records these words......chapter 6 verses 5-15......from the Good News Bible...

Which words stay with you?

 

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.  But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

 “When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long.  Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.  This, then, is how you should pray:

 “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.

 

 

 

17th March, 2025     

John chapter 17 continues with these words of Jesus....verses 6-19....where He prays for His own disciples.

 

What words stay with you?

Who are you praying for at the moment?

 

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.  All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.  I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

 

 

 

3rd February, 2025       

Led and restored..... verses 2 and 3 of Psalm 23

 

 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.

 

What are your thoughts as you consider these words?

Memories?  Dreams?    Anyone come to mind?

 

 

 

8th January, 2025   

 As I think about all that Jesus did, and said, in the Gospels.......this event below has always stayed with me.......  as you read from John chapter 8.....humbly and honestly tell Jesus what you are thinking and feeling.....

 

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group  and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.  When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said.     “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

 

 

 

13th November, 2024     

Luke chapter 3......verses 4-6.......a reminder and challenge......is there anything in the way to properly celebrate CHRISTmas this year??

 

As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

 

 

 

7th October, 2024       

Ezekiel 37 is the vision given to Ezekiel.  A specific vision to a specific man at a specific time.

 

But it isn't the only vision in the Bible - there are a few of them recorded for us to consider.

 

So.......let me encourage you to seek one or two out......and spend some time pondering their meaning...

 

Daniel chapters 6, 7, 8 or 10........or Revelation chapter 1 (and the rest) come to my mind as I write these words......   I'm sure you'll find the others in time......

 

 

29th August, 2024       

Jesus said......

 

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

 “This, then, is how you should pray:

 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

 

Simples?

If only we kept to this.......

 

 

17th July, 2024   

When we think of Jesus at prayer....what comes to mind?

 

time-out with God away from others?

 

the Lord's Prayer?

 

His words recorded by John in his Gospel?

 

His pleading in the Garden of Gethsemane?

 

Why not take your Bible, and a notebook, and re-read one or more of the above.....and learn to be more like Jesus in this venture of Prayer......

 

 

 

 

27th May, 2024       

 

Jesus said....

 

 At that time Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned.  Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen.

 “My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

 “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.  For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”

 

 

 

 

12th April, 2024     

So...Jesus spoke a fair bit about the Kingdom of God.....present and future......and the Gospel writers do not ignore his teachings on this theme.....

 

Let  me take you to one such passage...in Matthew chapter 25

 

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

 

Reaction? Response?

What are your thoughts about the Kingdom of God now?

 

 

14th March, 2024

The prophet Jeremiah (chapter 6 verse 16) conveyed this message.......an offer of rest for our souls!

It is worth standing and asking.........

 

This is what the Lord says:

 

 

 

9th February, 2024     

In his second letter to young Timothy.....Paul writes.....

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,  and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

What words stay with you?

What words do you struggle with? agree with?

 

Why not re-read them in another version?

 

 

5th January, 2024     

The wider picture from Jeremiah chapter 6......as we pause at our crossroads.....how do these words change our thinking or our actions?

 

This is what the Lord says:

 

 

30th November, 2023     

As I think about the Christmas story (in the Bible)....and these two men.....a Bible bookmark from Luke's version.....starting from verse 8.............what an encounter!  what a reaction!!

 

 One day Zechariah was doing his work as a priest in the Temple, taking his turn in the daily service.  According to the custom followed by the priests, he was chosen by lot to burn incense on the altar. So he went into the Temple of the Lord,  while the crowd of people outside prayed during the hour when the incense was burned.  An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar where the incense was burned.  When Zechariah saw him, he was alarmed and felt afraid.  But the angel said to him, “Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You are to name him John........  

18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know if this is so? I am an old man, and my wife is old also.”

 “I am Gabriel,” the angel answered. “I stand in the presence of God, who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news.  But you have not believed my message, which will come true at the right time. Because you have not believed, you will be unable to speak; you will remain silent until the day my promise to you comes true.”

 In the meantime the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he was spending such a long time in the Temple.  When he came out, he could not speak to them, and so they knew that he had seen a vision in the Temple. Unable to say a word, he made signs to them with his hands.

 

 

 

3rd November    and 8th October, 2023     

As I again pondered the events of 2 Samuel 6...and looked around at the world at this time and the events in Israel and Gaza, Ukraine and Russia in particular.....I found myself turning to the Psalms.....and Psalm 95 again.........and I long and pray for people and leaders of all nations to bow down and worship the Living God, and enter His rest.

 

 

 

2nd August and 11th September, 2023   

There is one verse that I treasure from Psalm 18....and at this September the wall seems pretty high!!

Verse 29 , in the New International Version, says.....

With your help I can advance against a troop;
    with my God I can scale a wall.   

 

After my dad died, this verse became a living reality for my mum as she faced one wall after another.

 

For me, it is the confidence that God goes with me as I advance, day by day.

It is the courage to climb and overcome that wall in front of me.

It is the hope of victory that God gives!!

 

Is there a troop coming your way?  Is there a wall in front of you?

 

With your help I can advance against a troop;
    with my God I can scale a wall. 

 

 

9th June, 2023   

In Matthew chapter 11 Jesus says.....

 

 “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.  For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”

 

His invitation still stands......

 

 

 

1st May, 2023     

Jesus said....in Matthew chapter 6....

 

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.  But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.   “When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long.  Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.  This, then, is how you should pray:

 

31st March, 2023   

A part of the Bible that is so relevant for me and Issue 100!   

Let me encourage you to celebrate God's gifts and blessings with the words of Psalm 100.

 

A Hymn of Praise

 

 

8th March........and 4th February, 2023   

Matthew 11 verses 25-30

 

Come to Me and Rest

 At that time Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned.  Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen.

 “My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.  For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”

 

 

 

 

13th January, 2023     

I am not sure when I first came across these words below from Jeremiah 6.16.......but I remember preaching on them back in 1983. How the years have brought many a crossroad before me....some of my choosing, some from others....many from the Lord Himself. I sure haven't made the right decision at each and every one.

I leave these words between you and God.....

 

 This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

 

 

25th November, 2022       

Some 700-800 years before it all happened in Bethlehem for Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the shepherds......a prophet called Micah said these words.........God's perfect plan was well planned out all those years before!

 

People of Jerusalem, gather your forces! We are besieged! They are attacking the leader of Israel.

The Lord says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times.”

So the Lord will abandon his people to their enemies until the woman who is to give birth has her son. Then those Israelites who are in exile will be reunited with their own people. When he comes, he will rule his people with the strength that comes from the Lord and with the majesty of the Lord God himself. His people will live in safety because people all over the earth will acknowledge his greatness, and he will bring peace.

 

 

28th October, 2022

Familiar words for many of us.....Ephesians 6.10-20 (from the Good News Translation).

I am constantly challenged - have I every piece on??

 

Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power.  Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks.  For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age.  So put on God's armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy's attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.

 So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate,  and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace.  At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One.  And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you.  Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people.  And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel's secret.  For the sake of this gospel I am an ambassador, though now I am in prison. Pray that I may be bold in speaking about the gospel as I should.

 

 

30th September, 2022     

For me, Philippians 4 verses 10-13 are always a challenging read....but also a source of encouragement!

 

 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

 

For me these words are such a meaningful bookmark in my Bible for my journey with God in Christ Jesus....

 

 

24th August, 2022   

Matthew records that Jesus said....

And so we are encouraged and challenged by Jesus Himself to pray these words - or similar.

Jesus did not say we were only to pray them in good times.

Jesus says we are to look upward to Father God.

And to seek His Kingdom purposes above all else....above leadership elections....above pay disputes.... above worries about the cost of living....above war and famine and political debates.......not easy eh?

 

Life and its daily challenges are a real part of our lives and not to be shut away in a cupboard.

 

But Jesus' words refocus our spiritual eyesight.   And challenge us to what are our priorities...and to what we actually pray for....for ourselves, for others, for our nation, for our world....

 

 

11th June, 2022   

 

Which verse in the Psalm stays with you the most?  Why is that?

Why not read it in various versions - one a week?

 

For me.....I ponder the most over verse 2....I love the imagery....and the truths behind the words....bliss

 

You let me rest in fields
    of green grass.
You lead me to streams
of peaceful water,

 

 

 

 

30th April, 2022   

Has there ever been a better Servant King to follow?

 

Philippians chapter 2

 

 

 

1st April, 2022     

As we pause at the Cross, with Luke, here is part of his account from chapter 23.....

 

Above him were written these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”

 One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

 The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don't you fear God? You received the same sentence he did.  Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.”  And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!”

 Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.”

 It was about twelve o'clock when the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three o'clock; and the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two.  Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father! In your hands I place my spirit!” He said this and died.

 The army officer saw what had happened, and he praised God, saying, “Certainly he was a good man!”

 When the people who had gathered there to watch the spectacle saw what happened, they all went back home, beating their breasts in sorrow.  All those who knew Jesus personally, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance to watch.   

 

Which words stay with you?   

Where are you standing at the scene?

Is there a question you want to ask Jesus....... 

 

 

 

4th March, 2022   

As I think about the situation in Ukraine...and all those who have left homes and loved ones.. and now find themselves in another country.....these words from Psalm 139 stayed with me...

As you read them with me, may they challenge and encourage us...and prompt us to pray for others...

 

Where could I go to escape from you?
    Where could I get away from your presence?
8 If I went up to heaven, you would be there;
    if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there.
9 If I flew away beyond the east
    or lived in the farthest place in the west,
10 you would be there to lead me,
    you would be there to help me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
    or the light around me to turn into night,
12 but even darkness is not dark for you,
    and the night is as bright as the day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you

 

 

3rd February, 2022   

Let me encourage you to sit and consider Paul's words in his letter to the Philippians....chapter 4...from verse 10

 

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

 

 

 

7th January, 2022   

Psalm 1 verse 3 is our bookmark this time...

 

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither –
    whatever they do prospers.

 

What is your response ​to these words?

Is life fruitful for you at this time?

Is everything prospering in life?

 

Are you planted by God's streams of water?

Jesus' encounter in John 4 is worth a visit...

 

 

10th December, 2021   

At this time of the year you will probably hear the various parts of the Biblical Christmas story  from Luke and Matthew being read..... Let me take you to one of those parts in Matthew chapter 1. 

Like many other males, I am drawn to Joseph and his role...and his many, many questions that aren't recorded for us. As you read this Christmas Bible bookmark.....think through how God used Joseph for His Kingdom purposes...

 

This was how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately.  While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived.  She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus—because he will save his people from their sins.”

 Now all this happened in order to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet,  “A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel” (which means, “God is with us”).

 So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to.  But he had no sexual relations with her before she gave birth to her son. And Joseph named him Jesus.

 

I wonder what God is saying to you from this part of His written Word?

 

 

 

October 2021   

Let me invite you to read again the Introduction to Seed 4.....and then to dig around the many Bible Bookmarks of the past 84 issues.

 

There are many different words and passages sown here over these past 6 years.

 

Dig and taste! 

 

 

Friday 13th August, 2021   

A Bible Bookmark - with Jesus - Matthew 11.28-30

 

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

 

Is this you today?

 

This is Jesus today, tomorrow and forever.

 

 

 

Friday 11th June, 2021 

A Bible Bookmark from Jesus - all about Prayer - Matthew chapter 6

 

5 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.  But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

 “When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long.  Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.  This, then, is how you should pray:

 “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done."

 

Worth reading again - and again....

 

 

 

Thursday 13th May, 2021   

The Thy Kingdom Come prayer venture runs for the 11 days from Ascension to Pentecost and each day there is daily theme to consider, each with a suitable short video, some relevant comments and a prayer.

 

The first day is about focussing on Jesus and praying for 5 friends to meet Him - lives will never be the same!

 

Our church's daily devotions had this reading below on that first day - a life changed indeed and people saw a marvellous thing happen right before their eyes - because 4 friends brought someone to Jesus.

 

Luke 5 says....

 

One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law were sitting there who had come from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick.  Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a bed, and they tried to carry him into the house and put him in front of Jesus.  Because of the crowd, however, they could find no way to take him in. So they carried him up on the roof, made an opening in the tiles, and let him down on his bed into the middle of the group in front of Jesus.  When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “Your sins are forgiven, my friend.”

 The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks such blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!”

 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Why do you think such things?  Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, pick up your bed, and go home!”

 At once the man got up in front of them all, took the bed he had been lying on, and went home, praising God.  They were all completely amazed! Full of fear, they praised God, saying, “What marvelous things we have seen today!”

 

 

 

Monday 19th April, 2021   

A Bible Bookmark from a Funeral

John 11 verses 28-37

 

After Martha said this, she went back and called her sister Mary privately. “The Teacher is here,” she told her, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up and hurried out to meet him. (Jesus had not yet arrived in the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.)  The people who were in the house with Mary comforting her followed her when they saw her get up and hurry out. They thought that she was going to the grave to weep there.

 Mary arrived where Jesus was, and as soon as she saw him, she fell at his feet. “Lord,” she said, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died!”

 Jesus saw her weeping, and he saw how the people with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved.  “Where have you buried him?” he asked them.

“Come and see, Lord,” they answered.

 Jesus wept.  “See how much he loved him!” the people said.

 But some of them said, “He gave sight to the blind man, didn't he? Could he not have kept Lazarus from dying?”

 

As you read and consider these words...who stays with you?  what scene remains with you? what words linger in your mind?  Who would like to speak with?

 

 

 

Thursday 11th March, 2021   

A Bible Bookmark for Lent and Easter - John 13.1-20

As you read....imagine the scene....what happens....and the expressions on people's faces!

 

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

It was now the day before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and he loved them to the very end.

Jesus and his disciples were at supper. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the thought of betraying Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God. So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel around his waist.  Then he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.  He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?”

Jesus answered him, “You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.”

 Peter declared, “Never at any time will you wash my feet!”

“If I do not wash your feet,” Jesus answered, “you will no longer be my disciple.”

 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head, too!”

 Jesus said, “Those who have taken a bath are completely clean and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet.[ All of you are clean—all except one.” ( Jesus already knew who was going to betray him; that is why he said, “All of you, except one, are clean.”)

 After Jesus had washed their feet, he put his outer garment back on and returned to his place at the table. “Do you understand what I have just done to you?” he asked.  “You call me Teacher and Lord, and it is right that you do so, because that is what I am.  I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet.  I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you.  I am telling you the truth: no slaves are greater than their master, and no messengers are greater than the one who sent them.  Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!

 “I am not talking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the scripture must come true that says, ‘The man who shared my food turned against me.’  I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that ‘I Am Who I Am.’  I am telling you the truth: whoever receives anyone I send receives me also; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

 

 

 

Friday 5th February, 2021   

A Bible Bookmark from Philippians chapter 3...

17 Keep on imitating me, my friends. Pay attention to those who follow the right example that we have set for you.  I have told you this many times before, and now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives make them enemies of Christ's death on the cross.  They are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires. They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of things that belong to this world.  We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. 21 He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule.

 

Bold words.

Challenging words.

Encouraging words.

 

Words to definitely read and re-read.

 

God isn't finsihed with us yet!

God hasn't withdrawn His offer of saving grace yet!

God is keeping the best for us - one day!!

 

 

Thursday 31st December, 2020   

A Bible bookmark from Psalm 23...verse 4

 

Even if I go through the deepest darkness,
    I will not be afraid, Lord,
    for you are with me.
Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me.

 

As we look back at 2020 these words seem more relevant than ever sadly.

As we enter 2021 we may wonder whata it will bring to us and our families.

 

These words remind us that the Good Shepherd will be with us....green pastures or dark valley.

He walks with us.

He guides and protects us.

He comforst us.

 

He is our Good Shepherd.

 

 

 

Sunday 29th November 2020   

A Bible Bookmark for Advent - with Mary and Elizabeth in Luke 1

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,  to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.  Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.  What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.  For the word of God will never fail.”  Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.  At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.  Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me?  When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.  You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

 

And we think we are confused at times??!!

 

 

 

Monday 2nd November, 2020   

A Bible Bookmark - to remember - from Exodus 20.8

 

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy."

 

What do these words mean for you in your life?

As I grew up in Glasgow.....Sunday was the day I went to Church 3 times.....I couldn't kick a football outside....and I missed part 2 of Batman (part 1 was shown on a Saturday morning!)

 

But Sunday was always different.

It still is for me.

 

Exodus 20 verse 8 reminds me why it should be....

 

 

Friday 2nd October, 2020   

Some of my Bible bookmarks....

 

After re-reading the introduction above, let me encourage you to re-open my Bible bookmarks since 2015.

 

Let me invite you to revisit your own Bible bookmarks - or maybe just to revisit your Bible in that drawer or on that shelf.....

 

I wonder...is there a passage in one of the 66 books of the Bible that you turn to more than others?

 

Fruitful blessings as you dig around - from Genesis to Esther to Habakkuk to Romans to Revelation!

 

 

Friday 4th September, 2020 

A Bible Bookmark about Suffering - from Paul

2 Corinthians 11

 

Paul’s Many Trials

Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too. After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools! You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face. I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that!

But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.

 

Now....what was I moaning about again??

 

 

 

Friday 7th August, 2020 

As I say above, making notes in my Bible and having bookmarks has been my habit for many, many years!

 

Seed 4 is my way of sharing a few of them and since October 2015 there has been an opportunity to travel through parts of the Bible with me......please do so again!!

 

 

 

Friday 10th July, 2020

So verses 6-19 of Psalm 18 tell us what happened when David prayed!!

 

As you read this Bible bookmark....what words and images stay with you? why?

How is your prayer life these days in 2020?

What answers to prayer has God given you most recently?

What is still on your prayer list??

 

Let me invite you to read these words again....and then pause to pray with God, the LORD, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

 

Friday12th June, 2020

So here we are in the book of Habakkuk....sitting between Naham and Zephaniah at the end of the Old Testament.

We have looked at Habakkuk's complaints as he looked around him and turned on his God.

 

Now, the LORD answers him.

Chapter 1...

 

⁵ The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed!

 

Friday 15th May, 2020

1 Timothy 2.1-8 from the New Living Translation 

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. ² Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. ³ This is good and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. ⁵ For,

This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. ⁷ And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.

⁸ In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.

 

So.....let's ask God to help Boris, Nicola, Trump and all in authority at this time......and to give thanks for them!

 

 

Wednesday 8th April, 2020 

At this time of Easter and in these strange days let me encourage you to spend time with God in His written Word, the Bible......I really hope you are following a daily pattern of reading and praying......and if not I would recommend UCB or YouVersion or our own church Daily Devotions at Liberton Kirk.

 

God has spoken.

 

God is a God who speaks.

 

Our problem is that we are distracted easily, have spiritual ears blocked or selfishly stubborn to what He is saying.

 

Let me invite you back to Psalm 22 or Noah and his family in Genesis 6-9..... 

 

 

Friday 20th March, 2020

At this time - as the circumstances around us seem to change daily - and as we journey through Lent towards Easter - let me encourage you to grab your Bible and turn to the book of Exodus - chapters 7-12 - and read them like you have probably never read them before......

 

10 Plagues

 

God and His people

 

Moses

Aaron

Pharaoh

 

Passover

 

Exodus chapters 7-12

 

 

Saturday 11th January, 2020

Before we return to Bible Bookmarks........a question or two.

 

Do you pause to read the Bible each day - morning, midday, evening...or whenever??

 

Do you follow a guide or plan?

 

Do you revisit what you read later in the day?

 

Do you know and understand what God is saying to you?

 

Do you ask another/others to help?

 

Do you share it all with others/another?

 

Do you spend time with God and His written Word?

 

 

Thursday 28th November, 2019

So....the Christmas Tradition image above....will you take the challenge??

 

Luke.....one chapter a day.....December 1st-24th......

 

 

Friday 16th August, 2019 

A Bible Bookmark of God's Comfort and Help

2 Corinthians 1

 

³ Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father, the God from whom all help comes! ⁴ He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God. ⁵ Just as we have a share in Christ's many sufferings, so also through Christ we share in God's great help. ⁶ If we suffer, it is for your help and salvation; if we are helped, then you too are helped and given the strength to endure with patience the same sufferings that we also endure. ⁷ So our hope in you is never shaken; we know that just as you share in our sufferings, you also share in the help we receive.

⁸ We want to remind you, friends, of the trouble we had in the province of Asia. The burdens laid upon us were so great and so heavy that we gave up all hope of staying alive. ⁹ We felt that the death sentence had been passed on us. But this happened so that we should rely, not on ourselves, but only on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ From such terrible dangers of death^[a] he saved us, and will save us; and we have placed our hope in him that he will save us again, ¹¹ as you help us by means of your prayers for us. So it will be that the many prayers for us will be answered, and God will bless us; and many will raise their voices to him in thanksgiving for us.

 

 

Friday 5th July, 2019

 EZEKIEL 37.1-14  -  Dried Up

A chapter we may know very well.

We may not.

 

A prophet.

A valley.

Full of dry bones.

 

And God.

The Holy Spirit at work.

 

Tendons.

Flesh.

Skin.

And breath.

 

WOW.

 

The prophet Ezekiel certainly saw something he didn’t expect that day!

 

God the Holy Spirit hasn’t changed.

 

Where is our valley?

What are our bones He can use?

Where is there skin but no breath?

 

Ezekiel chapter 37.

A prophecy from yesteryear.

For you?

For someone you know?

For your local church?

For the Church in these days?

 

I leave you – and God – to apply these words.

And hope you see something happen you didn’t expect – even today!

 

 

Friday 7th June, 2019

Lamentations 3  :  Past & Future

 

Sitting between the larger books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel in the Old Testament is the smaller Lamentations, with its 5 chapters.

Have you ever read it? Heard of it??

 

It is chapter 3, with its 66 verses, that is probably most turned to.

It is verses 22-24 of that chapter that are most often quoted.

 

It is a chapter that deals with the past and the future.

 

It is a chapter that speaks of man’s failings, sin, guilt.

 

It is a chapter that speaks of God’s mercy and love and faithfulness.

 

It is a chapter that invites us to pause ‘and examine our ways’.

 

It is a chapter that opens a door. A way back to God.

 

It is a chapter that speaks to me – and you – about the past and the future.

 

It is a chapter that I hope you will read – and bookmark.

 

‘The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.’

 

 

Friday 10th May, 2019 - a Bible Bookmark for May

Jesus sure had a habit of talking about hard topics.

 

Teaching about Prayer

⁵ “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

⁷ “When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. ⁸ Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ This, then, is how you should pray:

¹⁴ “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.

 

 

Friday 12th April, 2019 - a Bible Bookmark for Easter

 

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time....Luke 18 verses 31-34

³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

 

As you pause and re-read this short passage....imagine the scene...and the way the disciples reacted to what Jesus said.

What is your reaction to what you have read here?

 

 

Friday 15th March, 2019      Jeremiah 29.11-14  :   Plans!

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Hope! 

Promise!

Rainbows instead of black clouds!

Let me encourage you to work these words out in your life with the Great Planner - right now!

 

Tuesday 12th February, 2019 

As I prepare to preach this Sunday at a nearby church....I have been taken to Joshua chapters 1-3....what incredible scenes! what amazing words are spoken.  what a journey the people take!!

Promised Land Living becomes a reality.

The land of slavery is left behind. Egypt.

The crossing is made. The River Jordan.

The promised land of rest is possessed. Canaan.

Battles are ahead.

Victories and defeats are experienced.

God's people are starting their promised land living.

 

I think of Romans 6-8. Ephesians 1 and 6. 2 Peter 1.

 

Promised Land Living.

 

And I have been deeply challenged.

Where am I living?

In a land of rest?

In slavery?

On a crossing?

 

Promised Land Living.

Victories experienced?

Defeats also?

 

Promised Land Living - yours - in Christ??

 

 

Friday 5th January, 2019

Hebrews 4 verses 14-16

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,^[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

James 5 verses 7-11

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. ⁹ Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

 

I hope and pray that this God...the God of mercy and grace and compassion...will journey with you in 2019...and beyond.

I trust that you will let Him.....

 

 

Friday 30th November, 2018

35.    Jeremiah 6 v 16  :  Crossroads

I first came across this verse..and these words..and this image, over 30 years ago. I was part of a Summer Mission Team in Peterhead and had been asked to preach on the Sunday evening at a church service.

Jeremiah 6.16 was where I landed for the message.

And the verse has stayed with me.

 

We all come to crossroads in our lives.

By choice.

By coincidence.

By circumstances.

By others.

 

And we can all influence the route we take.

By speaking.

By acting.

By silence.

By following.

 

And we can all say ‘no’ to the advice we are given.

By speaking.

By acting.

By silence.

By following.

 

That is what happened in Jeremiah 6.

 

Between the LORD and His people.

And they said ‘NO’

To God

To the best road.

To peace.

 

Before we judge them

We should pause

And consider ourselves

And the choices we have made

Or are about to take

 

And do not judge others

 

And listen carefully to what God is saying

 

And choose the best way

 

And live in peace.

 

 

Friday 2nd November, 2018 

At this time of the year and, in particular, with 100 years passing since the end of World War 1, I was drawn to Paul's words to the early church in Corinth at the start of his second letter.  May they encourage and comfort and refresh you and those you share them with.

 

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

⁸ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, ¹¹ as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

 

 

Friday 5th October, 2018

Three years later and we've travelled from a drunken Noah in Genesis to the young prophet of 627BC - in only 34 Bible Bookmarks.

 

Let me encourage you to sit down - with a Bible - or online - and dig away again - with Noah or Jacob or David or??

 

Take the time to consider what God is saying to you - yes to you - from His Written Word - the Bible really is quite something unique.....so expect fruitful encouraging challenging times!

 

 

 

34.    Jeremiah 1  :  Young Man Called

 

Around 627 BC the book of Jeremiah starts….a long time ago in the land of Judah.

About 40 years ago I became intrigued by the prophet and book of Jeremiah and how it all began.

 

I have no idea what the man looked like…it never says.

I don’t get everything the chapters say.  I like some passages.  I struggle to stay with others.

 

But I get chapter 1.

 

What does God say to you from the words and images?

 

 

 

Thursday 12th July, 2018

A summer challenge!

 

 

What was the last thing you read from the Bible?

 

What did God say to you?

 

What was your response?

 

Has anything changed that?

 

 

A summer challenge to share?

 

 

 

 

 

 

33.    ISAIAH 61 verse 3……OILS and OAKS

 

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
³     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.”

 

 

What words and images!

The year of the LORD’s favour indeed!

 

About 800 years before Jesus the prophet Isaiah was the mouthpiece chosen by God to bring these words to life.

And 800 years later Jesus stood up to read them in the synagogue at Nazareth at the start of his public ministry.

 

God is in the business of reaching the brokenhearted, the prisoners, those held captive, those who mourn – and turning their world upside down, inside out!

 

That is what verse is all about. I love the words.

 

God does not leave the brokenhearted broken, the captive trapped, the mourning lost and drifting. He changes each and all – in and through Christ Jesus – and what becomes evidenced to others is a crown of beauty, joy poured out and beaming and songs of praise! And those who were bowed down by heavy heavy weights are now made strong enough to stand tall as oak trees.

 

And all so that the praise is given for God’s wonderful wonderful handiwork.

 

Today – now – is there something God can do for you?

 

 

Thursday 10th May, 2018

John 3  - Good News Translation (GNT)

 

Jesus and Nicodemus

There was a Jewish leader named Nicodemus, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees. ² One night he went to Jesus and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent by God. No one could perform the miracles you are doing unless God were with him.”

³ Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again.”^[a]

⁴ “How can a grown man be born again?” Nicodemus asked. “He certainly cannot enter his mother's womb and be born a second time!”

⁵ “I am telling you the truth,” replied Jesus, “that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit. ⁷ Do not be surprised because I tell you that you must all be born again.^{[b] 8} The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How can this be?” asked Nicodemus.

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “You are a great teacher in Israel, and you don't know this? ¹¹ I am telling you the truth: we speak of what we know and report what we have seen, yet none of you is willing to accept our message. ¹² You do not believe me when I tell you about the things of this world; how will you ever believe me, then, when I tell you about the things of heaven? ¹³ And no one has ever gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from heaven.”^[c]

¹⁴ As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.

¹⁸ Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God's only Son. ¹⁹ This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil. ²⁰ Those who do evil things hate the light and will not come to the light, because they do not want their evil deeds to be shown up. ²¹ But those who do what is true come to the light in order that the light may show that what they did was in obedience to God.

Jesus and John

²² After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the province of Judea, where he spent some time with them and baptized. ²³ John also was baptizing in Aenon, not far from Salim, because there was plenty of water in that place. People were going to him, and he was baptizing them. (²⁴ This was before John had been put in prison.)

²⁵ Some of John's disciples began arguing with a Jew^[d] about the matter of ritual washing. ²⁶ So they went to John and told him, “Teacher, you remember the man who was with you on the east side of the Jordan, the one you spoke about? Well, he is baptizing now, and everyone is going to him!”

²⁷ John answered, “No one can have anything unless God gives it. ²⁸ You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs; but the bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom's voice. This is how my own happiness is made complete. ³⁰ He must become more important while I become less important.”

He Who Comes from Heaven

³¹ He who comes from above is greater than all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly matters, but he who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He tells what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his message. ³³ But whoever accepts his message confirms by this that God is truthful. ³⁴ The one whom God has sent speaks God's words, because God gives him the fullness of his Spirit. ³⁵ The Father loves his Son and has put everything in his power. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God's punishment.

 

What is God saying to you today from this part of the Bible?

What is your response to Him?

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32.   ISAIAH chapter 59  -  Sin

 

This is one of those chapters in the Bible that I find uncomfortably challenging and yet encouraging.

 

Isaiah, God’s prophet, is condemning God’s own people for their sins – lying, violence, murder, injustice, plotting evil.

God’s own people – chosen and blessed.

Verses 1-8

 

And this prompts the people to confess their sins.

Verses 9-15

 

Then the LORD promises to rescue His people and give them His power and instruction – so that they obey and live to please Him – and not themselves.

Verses 16=21

 

This is God’s own people – not unbelieving others.

How dare they sin and waste the blessings they had received!!

 

And then I remember.

I am a believer in Christ.

I have been shown amazing grace.

And yet I sin….

 

I am humbled.

I must pause and confess and turn away from my sins – by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within me – and choose to obey God’s teachings.

 

I am SO glad that this chapter says that God will come to the defence and rescue of His people.  If not I would be sinking in the quicksand of my sins.

 

Oh outrageous grace!!

Confess and receive!!

 

I am reminded by Paul’s words as I write this.

Romans chapter 7 verse 7 – chapter 8 verse 8……….a helpful read indeed after working through Isaiah 59…..

 

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 31.    ISAIAH chapter 53  -  CRUSHED

 

At this time of the year, with Easter 2 weeks ahead, this bookmark falls very timely.

 

Isaiah 53 has always been a bookmark in the Bibles I have owned.

 

It is uncomfortable reading in many ways.

 

It is words and images.

 

It is about Jesus.

 

Suffering.

 

And why.

 

It is worth a read in a quiet place.

 

I don’t think it will leave you the same way….

 

It is all about Jesus.

 

Suffering.

 

And why….

 

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30.    Isaiah 45   :   Cyrus …….and the whole world                             

This chapter is not one many people have read or turned to I am sure.

Isaiah 45, however, has been bookmarked in my Bible for a few years.

 

And there are 3 reasons.

1.  

1. Cyrus.

2. Israel.

3. The whole wide world

   
   Cyrus was not an Israelite but the LORD God had planned that he would be the ruler he would use for His purposes – to benefit His people yes but chiefly so that others would know that God is the LORD and that no other god is living and true.
   
   Israel are put in their place and reminded that they are just clay in the Potter’s hands. He chooses. He decides. He creates. He uses.Not them.
   
   The whole wide world is invited to turn to God and be saved. The whole wide world.
   
   This is one of these passages in the Bible where we humans are put in our place and God, the LORD God, rises above all.
   We are reminded that God can and does choose to use any ruler or leader or general for His purposes. Anyone.
   We are humbled as we realise that God’s people even have to be put in their place at times.  Like lumps of clay.
   We are told that God loves the whole world. He wants everyone and anyone to turn to Him and be saved.
   It makes me look at rulers and nations in a very different light.
   It causes me to pause and pray for the Church – of which I am a part.
   It challenges me to see the Good News of Jesus, the Gospel, shared and spread to all in the world – and not just my small corner.
   
   There is something about Isaiah chapter 45 that I find encouraging and challenging and worth reading every so often……..  

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29.     ISAIAH chapters 40 and 41     -      COMFORTED

 

Oh I love these chapters!

There are words and verses underlined and highlighted and commented upon in my Bible that sits before me here as I write these words.

 

Let me invite you to sit down…with these chapters….and be muchly comforted!

 

This is God speaking.

Speaking tenderly.

Words of complete forgiveness.

Men and women pass on…but ‘the word of our God stands for ever’.

 

Words of good news.

Words of care and gentleness.

 

These are words from the LORD God.

Creator God.

God of wisdom.

The living and true God.

The Holy One.

 

‘but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.’

 

Words of invitation.

Words of divine presence.

 

‘I will strengthen you and help you.  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’

 

Words of promise.

Words of gracious purpose.

 

Words of comfort over and over again to a people who were not always faithful, who failed their God and whose circumstances were not always going their way.

 

The great thing is that God’s Word is sure and steadfast and that Isaiah 40 and 41 still speaks to us today some 2,730 years later…..because God does not change.

 

He is still the God of all comfort and forgiveness and help.

Turn to Him…   Trust Him…     Receive from Him…

 

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28.   Isaiah 29 v 13 :  Lips and Hearts      

 

‘And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” ‘

New Living Translation

 

I cannot remember when I first came across this verse but ever since time and again it reappears in front of me.

 

And it is uncomfortable reading. 

Sometimes more than others.

 

Walking the walk.

Talking the talk.

 

And this is about God’s People!

 

 

Yesterday I pondered the words again.  And I sat and thought.

And God was speaking to me again…..

 

I’ll leave you to have time out with God in Isaiah 29.13.

 

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27.      Isaiah 6    :    Holy, Holy, Holy

 

What a chapter!

 

What images!!

 

Oh I wish I had been there – as a fly on the wall of that temple at least!

 

How I identify with Isaiah.

How I wonder what colours were in his vision.  

How I identify with Isaiah.

How I wonder who he told first about his vision.

How I identify with Isaiah.

The sense of being so unworthy.

The guilt.

The willingness to tell others.

 

How I wonder what he was thinking when he came back down to earth…….

 

What a chapter!

 

It cannot be rushed through when reading………

 

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Friday 13th October, 2017

What a book!!  Life changing.

What a collection!!  66 books, letters or histories.

I could not live without daily feeding on the Bible.

God's Word.

God's written Word.

God's Word then and now.

God's living written Word inspired and brought alive by the Spirit!

 

Honestly it's great - challenging at times - hard work at times - but it's great!!

 

Treasure your Bible - but treasure its contents far more.

I love the Bible!!!

 

'read your Bible, pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow' as the old song goes!

 

 

Friday 22nd September, 2017

Bible bookmarks - one after the other below - from a drunk Noah to a wrestling match, Mrs Potiphar, Gideon's army, a Queen, Bildad, Psalm 51 and a couple of wise Proverbs.....

 

Which bookmarks do you have in your Bible or Bible app?

 

Perhaps tasting a few again - here or there - could prove helpful at this time of year or in your life?

 

God has a great way of speaking to us from His Word......

 

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26.       Ecclesiastes 4 vs 9-12    :    2 R Better  

 

It is a simple truth – yet one we so often fight against.

 

2 are better than 1.

 

2 are stronger than 1.

 

1 can help 2.  2 can help 1.

 

And  -  3 is wonderfully stronger!

 

Take a few minutes to read these words from this Old Testament book.

Go on – find your Bible, or search online – or have you a Bible app?

 

They may be often used at weddings – but they do not just apply to marriage.

Friendships and working partnerships fit the picture here.

So do serving in Church life and work.

In fact it is a good and useful principle to adopt in Life.

 

We cannot do it all on our own.

We will stumble and fall at times.

The task may be too much for one person.

Two - or more – people can often complete a task better and faster thus freeing up time and energy!

 

After all – God is the Trinity – 3 Persons – 1 God – and look at all He achieves as Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

 

Pause and consider for a time.

Is there something you could share with another?

Is there someone you could coach to do a task with you?

Is there something you are struggling with – and you just won’t ask someone else for advice or help?

 

2 are better than 1.

 

With God at the centre – 3 is even better!!

 

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A Bible Bookmark for Summer    -      part 3

 

Friday 4^th August, 2017

Let me point you in the direction of 5 Psalms + Alistair Begg + Keswick.

Barbara and I are just back from a week in the Lake District…the town of Keswick…and the Bible Convention held there each year.  Alistair Begg from Ohio (he was formerly at Hamilton Baptist Church) was giving the morning Bible Readings – from 5 of the Psalms.  What treasures as we travelled together with many others through Psalm 19, 1, part of 119, 130 and finally 100!

So….let me encourage you to visit those psalms – or better still, if you are able, to log onto www.clayton.tv  and find the Keswick 2017 – week 2 - catch up for these morning studies with Alistair Begg.  They are about 50 minutes in length each. If you cannot manage all 5, I recommend – heartily - studies 4 and 5 on Psalms 130 and then 100 – final singing included!!

 

 

A Bible Bookmark for Summer    -      part 2

 

Friday 14th July, 2017

 1 Peter 5 verses 10 and 11 say…….’And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.’

 

Two verses to ponder over at this time of the year…verses rich in promise and hope and strength.

 

Words to turn into prayer… to be restored, made strong, firm and steadfast – by the God of all grace Himself.

 

Summer restorative blessings be yours.

 

 

A Bible Bookmark for Summer    -      part 1

 

Friday 23^rd June, 2017

It has to be Psalm 23 surely – or does it?

This popular psalm may come readily to mind as we travel through countryside or overseas and see sheep grazing merrily in the fields – so don’t let me stop you pondering these 6 verses at some time during your summer weeks ahead.

 

However, let me point you to another psalm for now – Psalm 5.

 

A morning psalm – but a psalm for any time of the day really.

A psalm for every day really and for every season.

 

Let me encourage you to pause and consider the first 3 verses at some time and, as you slow down (hopefully) during summer, to bring all your sighing that has built up and all your requests that are deep within or are riding on the surface at this time of the year to Father God – and to wait in expectation that He is going to answer – and I mean really answer your asking and your sighing!

 

I leave you with these verses from The Good News Bible …

Listen to my words, O LORD, and hear my sighs. Listen to my cry for help, my God and king!  I pray to you, O LORD;  you hear my voice in the morning;  at sunrise I offer my prayer and wait for your answer.

 

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Kingdom and Pentecost  Bible Bookmark

 

Friday 2^nd June, 2017

Luke chapter 4 – all 44 verses.

I can do no better than point you towards this chapter at this season of the year – kingdoms clash – prophetic words – the Spirit at work – the ‘good news about the kingdom of God’ – it is all here.

I so encourage you to sit down with a Bible open, or online, and take time to read all that happened here – and realise again the significance of each – and prayerfully seek Kingdom victory over temptation, a fresh pouring of the Spirit, signs of the Lord at work and an opportunity to tell others of the good news. Thy Kingdom Come and Pentecost celebrations may happen only occasionally but the Kingdom and the Spirit are not once-in-a-generation events for sure!

Luke chapter 4 – all 44 verses.

 

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25.        Proverbs 21 v 2   :   Weighed      

 

‘People may be right in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their heart.’       (New Living Translation)

‘A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart.’      (New International Version)

 

Gulp.

Uncomfortable.

 

A verse I have struggled with most of my life.

A verse I know is true however.

 

I was one of those teenagers who thought they were right – always.

I did not take advice easily – at all.

I became an adult who thought he knew the right thing to do – and did it too many times without seeking counsel from another – even God.

 

And then God said enough.

 

I know now that that there is Someone wiser and greater than me and He is far better at getting it right.

I now run things past Him.

I let Him have the final say – and much more in between.

And He is right when he corrects and changes the plan.

 

It is not always an easy lesson to learn.

 

But I wish I had learned it sooner.

 

What is God saying to you from this verse?

What is your response to Him?

Is there a decision you need to bring before the Lord?

Is there a plan or purpose you need Him to guide or check over?        

       

‘People may be right in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their heart.’       (New Living Translation)

‘A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart.’      (New International Version)

 

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24.    Proverbs 16 verse 9

 

‘Stepping out with God’

 

‘In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.’

(New International Version)

‘We make our own plans, but the LORD decides where we will go.’

(Contemporary English Version)

 

And verse 1 in the CEV says that ‘we humans make plans, but the LORD has the final word.’

 

Sometimes we humans need things spelled out.

Sometimes we need to be reminded.

 

Sometimes we are so selfish and stubborn that we think some verses in the Bible were definitely not written for us.

 

For much of my life I approached the book of Proverbs like that.

It was part of the Bible but – for others.

It is now in my life that I look back and see the truth and wisdom in this particular verse. And I am ashamed and humbled.

 

I expected God to bless my plans.

I decided where to go so many, many times and asked God to go with me.

I did not ask or seek where God wanted me to be or go.

I did not wait or listen for His Spirit to guide me.

 

And it is no wonder I often got it wrong.

 

The words of Jeremiah 6 verses 16-18 are worth considering…..

‘This is what the LORD says:  “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, We will not walk in it.

I appointed watchmen over you and said, Listen to the sound of the trumpet!  But you said, We will not listen.

Therefore hear, O nations; observe, O witnesses, what will happen to them.”

 

I don’t know about you, but I need to stop and take time out with God.

My diary and calendar and He need time together……..

 

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Friday 31st March 2017.........This Lent and Easter you will probably hear the Bible version read more than once.  However - when will you take time to spend with God and His Word and ponder the events with Him - in your mind and heart?

Let me encourage you to visit Isaiah 53.....Mark 14-16 and Acts 2 and read the verses through in a Bible translation you are not overly familiar with.....

 

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23.                                         Proverbs 3 verses 5-8

 

I recently took down from a bookshelf my old Bible from 1974.

Wow - My handwriting!!

Five old bookmarks from yesteryear!!

The many passages underlined….some with sermon notes from Rev Charles Simpson, my pastor at the time in Knightswood Baptist, Glasgow.

 

And one of those passages underlined was Proverbs 3 verses 5-7 (not 8).

 

Many a time I heard my mum quote these verses to individuals and at childrens’ meetings.

 

How I wish now I had paid attention to the words then and put them into practice in my teenage years.

 

 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

 

 

Trusting God means I don’t keep my own hands on the steering wheel.

 

Acknowledging Him means I don’t plan out every metre of the road ahead. If He is my Lord then He is Lord of everything.

 

Fearing the LORD means I say no to what self wants and craves.

 

And the result?  =  something that is visible and tangible and good for me.

 

 

I shall spend a few more minutes with my old Bible open at Proverbs 3…

 

Let me encourage to ponder these verses again at this time in your life and how they need to be practically put into practice. 

I pray that God the Spirit will lead and guide and nudge and speak to you from this Bible bookmark and that we will let Him enable and equip and feed us to walk in ‘paths straight’

 

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22.                                      In the Confessional with Psalm 51

 

The psalm says it all.

 

David had got it badly wrong.

He now knew that.

 

There was a huge blockage between him and God.

He wasn’t at peace.

There was no joy in his spirit – as there once had been.

 

He needed God to help him put it right.

Only God could do that for him.

 

Receive him as he was.

Forgive him.

Cleanse him.

Renew him.

Use him again.

 

That is outrageous grace at work in one person’s life.

 

It could be you….today….now.

 

I’ll leave you and Psalm 51 to sort it out with this God.

I am sure we will all return here – again and again.

 

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21.                                                                                                                          Psalm 18

 

I am not sure when this psalm became such a clear favourite and when I first truly took note of David’s words of testimony -  clear and honest.

I do know that when I was in Bethany Christian Centre in 2000 the words became personal and ever so more real than before.

 

I identified with David’s hopelessness.

I shared in his hope for God to save and rescue him.

 

I understood his place of need and cries out loud.

 

I saw his God, the LORD God, as the One who could change his situation.

 

I could picture and imagine the scenes painted by David’s words.

I was down in that pit. I was up on that high mountain.

I had that wall right in front of me! 

 

And ever since, Psalm 18 has been shared many many times over with others, including my mum in the days after dad died. She has claimed the LORD’s presence and power and promise on many occasion when another wall has appeared before her.  Recently it has been shared with a church-family-brother who is facing a HUGE wall this coming week - a wall that has been in place for several months now.

 

And you?

Can you identify with David?

 

Today – is your cry to be rescued or to be heard in praise of the Rescuer?

 

Are you in a pit or on a mountain top?

Is there a wall – right in front of you?

Oh let me encourage you to grab a Bible – or look online – and take time to read through Psalm 18 – and be honest with this God.

 

Cry out!

Sing out!

Hold on!

Climb over!!

Give thanks!

 

Pray for someone in need….for God to rescue them….today

 

….and maybe share a verse or two with them?

 

Psalm 18.

What a psalm!

What a bookmark!

 

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Saturday 31st December 2016

At this time of the year let me invite you to re-visit the first Bible Bookmark in this section.... sadly appropriate......Genesis 9.....Noah gets drunk.......and ponder it all......

 

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20.             JOB  8   :      Bildad

 

I understand why the story of Job is in the Bible.

I know that so many people over the years have received much from this Bible book and the suffering Job endured - and his deep trust in the LORD God, his God and Redeemer.

 

However, I have only read it all through a very few times.

I find it hard going.

His ‘friends’ frustrate me!

So many words.

So little action.

 

But the book of Job keeps cropping up………………and I always liked the name Bildad!

 

So let me take you to Job chapter 8…..

 

Job, a man who ‘was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil’, was being very very sorely tested by God. His servants and stock were destroyed, his sons and daughters all died and then his body was covered in sores from head to toe – and after each and all he did not blame God.

 

Three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar had arrived to comfort him and sit with him in his grief and suffering. Their words and conversations with Job form the bulk of the book. After Eliphaz has spoken, comes Bildad’s words in chapter 8.

 

There are some wise and true words here, especially what happens when people forget God and live godless words. Bildad does encourage Job to hold on and God will bless him with prosperity after all this suffering.

Look at verses 5-7 and 20-22 again.

 

However, Bildad shot himself in the foot in verse 4.

 

Job’s children had not died because they had sinned against God.

Read chapter 1 verses 6-19.

 

We cannot say that people suffer and die because they sinned.

That may be true. It may equally not be so.

People in our world are suffering because others are doing wrong and bringing injustice and hatred and evil.

People are suffering because others have wronged them.

People are suffering because sickness and disease and death exist in our world.

There are people who suffer because they do wrong. It is a consequence of being sinful humanity.

And there are those who suffer because God has allowed that path for their lives – for reasons only He fully knows – perhaps like Job.

 

My dad suffered.

He did not encourage his younger sister and brother to sacrifice their lives.

He did not stand deliberately in the path of the bomb during WWII.

He did not choose to stammer and have shrapnel in his legs.

 

Joni Tada Eareckson did not choose to become a quadriplegic in 1967 when she went swimming, paralyzed from the shoulders down.

She did not opt to suffer anger, depression and suicidal thoughts.

She did not meekly accept God’s purposes!

However what a ministry she has had as artist, author, speaker, radio host and wife!  

(Her biographical and devotional books are well worth the read!!)

 

Bildad’s words are heard by Job and then he replies in the following chapters.  He will not say anything against God, not a word.  God is awesome and, having created all things, is in full control. Job knows he has not sinned, although he dreads his suffering. He is struggling to understand why God has brought this suffering on him – who wouldn’t!?  It is okay to question and reason with God like this – look also at Habakkuk’s questions further on in the Old Testament.      God does honest dialogue!

 

Wherever we are in life – good, bad or ugly – let me encourage you to hold onto God and trust Him to be in control – even when we don’t know what or why or how or whatever! Let me encourage you to talk with Him – shout and question even…….ask, seek, knock as loudly as you need…..but also to listen to Him.

 

And please be aware of others around you and those you meet – even today – and choose the words (or silence) ever so carefully.

We do not always really know what others are going through and at what stage of their journey we are encountering them….Job or Bildad or our neighbour next door or that person in the queue ahead of us or that story in the media..……..

 

By the way, don’t forget to read Job chapter 42…………..

 

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19.                          ESTHER  -   Long Live the Queen!

 

On Saturday evening past, my wife and I sat and watched the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance from the Royal Albert Hall on our television.  Among all the people attending and participating sat Her Majesty the Queen, and members of the royal family.  It was to her that one and another saluted or bowed after performing.  It was about her that everyone sang at the end of the evening.

 

Long live the Queen!

 

And so today we meet Queen Esther in our Bible Bookmarks.

 

Have you ever read these 10 chapters in this Bible book – 2 books before Psalms and just after Nehemiah?  

Have you met Queen Vashti (deposed),  King Xerxes (powerful and wise),  Haman (boooo) and Mordecai (hurrah!) – or is this your first encounter with these people from yesteryear?  

Do you know why God placed her inside the royal palace when He did and how she saved lives?

 

Let me encourage you to grab your Bible – or read online – settle down with a cuppa and discover all that happened to Esther – and because of her – for the first time or all over again.   It is quite a story.

 

And……..I hope that you will realise how God places His people in positions around the world for such a time as He chooses……..and how we can all be used by Him – whether we feel confident and significant or not.

 

Long live Queen Esther!

 

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18.               1 CHRONICLES 4 Verses 9 and 10  :   JABEZ

 

Chronicles?? I doubt many of us at all have read through I or II Chronicles from the Old Testament part of the Bible.

And Jabez?? Who on earth was he?

 

 I and II Chronicles come among the Historical Books of the Old Testament…..chronicling parts of the history of Israel. They were originally one single book….but were too long to fit onto one scroll! Exciting stuff eh?

 

There are lists and lists and names and names.

 

And in chapter 4 we are introduced to a man whose name sounds like the Hebrew for ‘pain’. Jabez caused his mother pain when he entered the world and she wasn’t going to let him forget it!

 

But it isn’t his name that lives on.

It is the simple prayer he made in verse 10. One that God chose to follow through and action.

 

I have no idea how God hears all our prayers, wherever we are in this world. And yet He does. He hears my prayers. He hears your prayers. He hears the prayers of people in Canada and Iceland and Spain and Syria and Iran and Nigeria and Israel and Bosnia and Cyprus and Nepal and Japan and New Zealand and EVERYWHERE in between.

 

And He heard the prayer of Jabez.

“Please bless me and give me a lot of land. Be with me so I will be safe from harm.” 

 

God not only heard – He did what Jabez had asked.

 

I find this challengingly encouraging.

 

And I am reminded by Jesus’ words as I type this…… ‘Ask..seek..knock..’

 

It is as simple as that.

Oh how we complicate prayer so very often!

How we attach our own conditions or think that God is conditionally hearing our prayers. Of course our words + actions must match up but when we turn to God in prayer do we simply ask and seek and expect Him to reply and answer?

I cannot tell you how or why God answers in a certain way but I am discovering more and more that my God is my perfect Heavenly Father who delights to hear and answer my simply prayers!  

 

Let me invite you to simply ask once a day for a week and see what happens!

 

Be prepared…..to see or hear the answers……to draw closer to Father God…..to be changed inwardly and outwardly by His Holy Spirit at work.

 

And Chronicles? Yes - I’ve heard of that.

Jabez? Yes - I’ve learned something from his prayer life…..

 

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Friday 16th September, 2016

Let me invite you to share something you have read in the Bible this week with someone else. Maybe a text or email or phone call? Or maybe a chat or a short written note would be better?

What has God been saying to you?

Who should you share a Bible verse or passage with?

Fruitful blessings! 

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Revelation 1 verse 8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the LORD God,

“who is, and was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

 

WOW!

 

This is who God is.

The Eternal God at the start of everything and the One who will hold it all together at the other end of time, as we know it.

 

Genesis chapter 1.

John chapter 1.

Ephesians chapter 1.

Colossians chapter 1 verses 15-23.

Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8.

 

Revelation chapter 1 verse 8 and chapter 21 verse 6.

 

Without God we are and have nothing.

We need God – on our side.

 

Is God your ‘Alpha and Omega’?

 

If God took everything and everyone else away – would He be your All?

 

Is He the start of each day you travel?

 

Is He the One who holds all your life, your work, your rest, your play – your ALL?

 

After all, the book of Revelation makes it clear that one day everyone – everyone - will bow the knee to Him and ‘every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord’ as Paul wrote to the Philippian church.

 

The LORD God IS the Alpha and Omega. He is ‘the Beginning and the End’. He is the Almighty One.

 

 

I think we all need time to ponder this – again – and to submit to His Lordship – again and again. ALPHA may be a great tool for introducing people to Jesus…..but the ALPHA and the OMEGA is who our God is.

 

I wonder what this means for you…..today……..

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17.                      1 Kings chapter 19  -  Enough Enough!!

 

Good old Elijah!

Chapter 18 was a superb demonstration!

Well done!

 

He had stood up to Ahab, Jezebel and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel – and the LORD God had not let him down.

Triumph! Victory! Joy joy!!

 

BUT then in chapter 19 verse 3 we read that ‘Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.’

 

Oh dear Elijah!

Where’s your faith now?

 

In verse 4 this prophet actually prays that he might die.

 

From one extreme to the other.

 

Wait a minute.

Do you identify with Elijah?

Have you had mountain top experiences and then – wham – get me out of here!! The joy of victory is swallowed up by the gloom of human reality.

Jezebel was threatening to kill Elijah – despite all that Elijah had seen and experienced only a short time before – and that was real enough for him.

He really had had enough.

We really do feel that enough is enough.

The circumstances are after us, chasing us down.

 

After some food and a good sleep Elijah travels on and eventually reaches mount Horeb, 40 days later.

It is here that the LORD appears to Elijah and speaks to Him after a gentle whisper – not the fire and earthquake – caught his attention.

 

And the result? God sends him back the way he had come!!

 

I hope you will take time to read this chapter (and the one beforehand).

I hope you will realise that God does not abandon us when we are down and out – nor does He relate to us depending on our feelings.

We may be weary and burdened, weakened and struggling, crawling and sighing – but He is there with us. Hold onto Him – He is holding onto you.

I am so glad He is. These last 4 or so weeks have been tough going for various reasons at this end.

 

Good old Elijah has much to teach us here!

 

And if it helps – so does Romans 8, 2 Corinthians 4 and Paul’s letter to the Philippians, written from a prison cell.

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16.                   2 Samuel 18  :   Death of a Son

 

I cannot imagine the pain, the grief.

 

It was hard enough when Dad died last year or when a loving Grandpa died some years ago now.

 

This was his son, Absalom.

This was the son who had just conspired against him.

This is the son he has sent his armies against.

This is his son, and he is David, the king of Israel.

 

Much of David’s life had been lived out in public therefore and his family life would have made a grand drama series on our television screens.

 

This time David commands the army to go out against him but instructs that Absalom is to be treated well.

However Absalom is caught in a freak accident in the branches of a large oak tree as he rides past it and eventually Joab, David’s general, goes and kills him and then 10 more of Joab’s men truly finish him off.

 

David is heartbroken when the news reaches him.

Joab doesn’t help by telling the king off for mourning for his enemy – son or not.  What a comforter he proves to be!!

 

I cannot imagine the pain, the grief that David experienced.

 

I wonder at his inner thoughts as he sent the army off to wage battle.

I wonder at his reaction when the news came through.

I wonder at his emotional, mental, physical and spiritual struggles.

 

David was a father.

David was a king.

David was a person who turned to the LORD God a lot.

 

I wonder at his thoughts and words to this God.

 

I think David said it as he felt it all. He could hide nothing from God.

There would be cries, shouts, questions and silences I am sure.

He is the man who penned Psalm 22…23…28…31…38…41…139 and 142.

 

Here is a man in a deep valley, clinging onto his God – and his God is holding onto him.

That is what Father God does – He is with us in the darkest valley, walking with us, holding us. Sometimes we see Him. Sometimes we wonder where He is. Sometimes we hear His voice and gently follow Him, one step at a time. Other times we hear nothing and rely on what He said to us before and His promises from His Word.

Sometimes the valley is very deep and long.

Sometimes there is a shaft of light along the way or a rainbow.

Sometimes we cannot bear to raise our heads and look up.

 

I cannot imagine the pain, the grief that David and others like him have experienced when a child dies. I hope I never do.

 

However, whoever we are and whatever has caused our valley God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the God of all comfort that Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians chapter 1.  He is the God we can cling on to.

He is the God who will not walk away from us in our darkest day.

He is the God we can pray to for others in their dark times.

He is the God we can shout at, question and be silent with.

 

He was the God of David, king of Israel and father of Absalom.

 

He is the God of all comfort.

I know He is and will be.

 

Psalm 71 says ‘…Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honour and comfort me once again.’

And in Psalm 119 verse 76 we find these words of great trust and hope…

‘May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.’  

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15.      1 Samuel 16  -   Family Choices

 

For some reason this chapter, this event in the life of Jesse and his sons, has always intrigued me. I have often imagined Samuel’s arrival (somewhat reluctantly at first)…..Jesse’s reaction to his visitor…..and the sons parading in front of Samuel like something from Blind Date!      Oops - and they almost forgot about young David – who was actually the reason God had taken his prophet there in the first place.

 

I have tried to imagine the brothers’ reactions.

 

As each one came before Samuel.

As each one was rejected.

 

I have tried to imagine their pride, their balloon being burst and how they each dealt with it all.

How would you or I have reacted I wonder?

 

And he chose David?!

 

Verse 7 has been etched in my mind for many years.

‘..Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’

 

Some children grow up thinking they are better than others because they are the tallest, the brightest, the fastest, the most talented musically or artistically, the best reader, the best speaker, the most intelligent or whatever label parents or family or society put on them.

 

That is not really best for them at all.

 

David was the youngest and only a shepherd-boy but God chose him for His kingdom purposes, becoming Israel’s greatest king, psalmist-extraordinaire and human ancestor to Jesus of Nazareth.

 

God knew what He was doing when He selected him through Samuel.

 

What a lesson…..for his brothers and even for Samuel.

What an encouragement…..for ordinary people like you and me.

What a challenge…..for all of us to be ever-ready and available. God may be calling you in from the sheep fields even now……

 

David never expected this….at all.

Jesse never ever expected this.

David’s brothers had just been taught a heavy lesson…and I am sure that a few of them had a right grumble afterwards!

And good old Samuel was just the channel for God’s hand to be at work.

 

So….when we make our choices, what do we base them on?

When we come before God to ask for His help in making a choice or decision are we ready for His unexpected to trump our expected?

 

Maybe it would be good to read 1 Samuel 16 all over again……..

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RUTH  -   a Love Story

 

Four women.

   Four men.

      Family loyalty.

 

God at work.

 

I always wanted to skip from Judges to 1 Samuel. The book of Ruth seemed out of place. An awkward interlude perhaps.

 

Until it was pointed out to me.

Matthew chapter 1, the genealogy of Jesus includes Boaz and Ruth.

 

And I realized how God was at work all those years ago, bringing that man and that woman together for His purposes.

 

If for no other reason, let me encourage you to settle down and read the four chapters through in one sitting.

 

And realize how God was at work then.

 

And consider how God is at work nowadays…….in your life, in the life of those in your family, in your church, in your town or city, in your country, in our world.

 

Judges 7 verse 15  -   Gideon's Army!

 

Heard of Gideon before? 

A Gideon’s Bible perhaps??

 

In Judges chapter 7 Gideon and his army are getting ready to fight the Midianites.

32,000 men started in Gideon’s army.

By verse three the army numbered 10,000.

 

By verse seven the army only numbers 300!

 

In verse sixteen Gideon even divides his small army into three smaller groups!!

 

By the end of the chapter the Midianites are well and truly beaten – and interestingly Gideon had to ask for more Israelite soldiers to come help after the enemy started fighting among themselves and tried to escape.

 

And it all happened because God told Gideon what to do with his army.

 

But a lot hangs on verse 15.

Have a read if your Bible is nearby.

 

I wonder if up to this point Gideon had faith in his God – but not 100%.

God had told him to do some strange things with his 32,000 soldiers.

He had a Midianite army ahead of him to defeat with only 300 men now.

 

I am sure he trusted God.

I am sure he wondered how on earth his very small army was going to win.

I am sure his generals wondered also!!

 

But something changed from verse 15 after he and his servant had overheard an enemy guard telling another about a dream.

That was it.

Now Gideon knew.

His God was at work preparing the ground and victory would happen!

It was Gideon’s God-moment!

 

We all need God-moments.

Moments when God breaks in and says, shows, does something. It is like when He switches on the lightbulb and we can see what to do, what to say, where to go, who to speak to or we understand something more of who He is and what He is saying to us.

 

Perhaps we need to pause and ask, seek, listen…….and let God work…….. even if it seems ridiculous at the moment………

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Joshua chapter 7  -   Achan Done Wrong

 

Ever since I was a youth this passage intrigued me. I was drawn into the drama of it all. I tried to imagine the scenes and the people involved.

 

And yet I was also left uncomfortable each time I visited the chapter or heard a sermon based on the events.    I still am.

 

One man disobeyed the order.

But ‘the LORD was furious with the Israelites’.

 

Jericho was captured after the walls collapsed.

God had told Joshua who told the people that nothing was to be taken that was on the list to be destoyed.

 

But Achan did.

 

And Israel couldn’t crush a smaller city called Ai.

So Joshua and the leaders of Israel turned to God in frustrated prayer.

Why? Why? Why is this happening after you promised us total victory??

 

And God tells them.

And Achan is found out.  Disobedience in the camp.

Guilty.

And Achan – and his family – and his possessions - are stoned and burnt.

Dead.

 

And Israel then go on to victory over Ai.

 

What an uncomfortable read.

What a terrible thing to have witnessed.

 

Tad unfair maybe on Achan and his family you may be thinking?

 

In our day and age perhaps we struggle with such a punishment.

However anyone who saw this would know not to do such a thing for sure now.  A command is a command from the LORD God to His people.

Disobedience is disobedience. Guilt is guilt. Punishment is punishment.

 

A powerful lesson to take on board from Joshua chapter 7.

 

We are not to take God’s commands to us lightly.

Our disobedience may not just affect us individually. (Remember the story of Jonah??)

Sin is sin to be got rid of. Completely. 100%.

 

And so the redemptive sacrifice by Jesus takes huge significance for each and all who believe and trust in Him by faith.

Our sin is cancelled by His death on the cross for each who believe.

It no longer hangs over our heads. We are no longer guilty!

The punishment was taken by Him!!

All those who believe and trust in Him are freeeeee!!

 

Joshua chapter 7 may be an uncomfortable read but what a lesson from the history books of Israel.

Our sin may cause us to stand guilty before a holy and just God but for everyone who stands with Jesus as their Saviour there is freedom from that guilt and we are declared justified – just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned in fact – before this same God.   Amazingly outrageous!  Our fault but His sacrifice.

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Deuteronomy chapter 19  -   Cities of Refuge

 

Now here’s a good idea!!

 

Read the first half of this chapter – or look at Numbers 35 or Joshua 20.

(When something is repeatedly said it is usually to get our attention!)

 

Cities of Refuge…or Safe Towns…were to be established in the life and society of God’s people of yesteryear. And they were to be located where anyone could get to them.

 

Have a think over these verses.

Good idea? Why?

 

And then think of our world, our society, neighbourhood, our churches.

Look at the migrant/refugee situation.

Look at our prisons, our hostels.

Are we safely protecting those is similar need?

Are we visiting the people who live there?

 

Do we care?

 

 

Deuteronomy chapter 19 has always fascinated me.

 

In May of 2000 I was soo grateful for my ‘city of refuge’ at the Bethany Christian Centre.

 

Maybe you need to seek out such a place?

Maybe you need to help someone reach such a place?

Maybe you need to visit such a safe place and encourage those who live and work there?

 

Maybe we need to care more……..

 

I think Deuteronomy 19 is worth another read, for me at least.

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DEUTERONOMY 13…………IDOLATRY

 

Having prepared and written out the Seed section on God Is….To Be Worshipped  I was not entirely surprised to discover that Deuteronomy 13 was earmarked for my next Bible Bookmark.

God has a habit of underlining something in our lives at times and will often repeat Himself so that we get the message loud and clear.

 

Deuteronomy chapter 13 has been underlined and highlighted in my Bible for some time now. It is one of those chapters that is encouragingly uncomfortable to read through and often I have to stop and ponder the truths on my reading.

 

It was a message for Israel at a time in their history.

 

It is a message for all God’s people of all times.

 

God does not change.

He does not change what He expects from His people.

 

Worship Him alone.

 

Idolatry is a huge NO-NO.

 

Deuteronomy chapter 13.

 

I leave you to take time to read through these verses as I do myself once more even now, before committing these words online to LastingFruit.

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John 20 verses 19-31

Jesus in The Upper Room  -  twice!!

 

I have been trying to imagine these two episodes recently.

 

Disciples afraid  =  doors locked…very locked.

Disciples chatting, sitting or walking about, eating maybe – but not a lot.

Disciples trying to understand all that has just happened to their Master.

Disciples getting frustrated…going quiet…wondering…sleeping on and off…

 

Episode no.1        (Thomas isn’t in the room)

 

Jesus appears – despite locked doors!

Disciples gobsmacked!

Disciples stumble and fall – cups or plates clatter to ground.

Disciples struggle to find the right words.

Disciples are overjoyed (understatement!).

 

Because Jesus, their Jesus, the crucified but Risen Jesus, was there with them.

 

He blesses them and commissions them to serve Him.

 

(not Thomas)

 

Episode no.2          (Thomas is in the room this time)

 

Doors are locked again – but there is a very different atmosphere

among those disciples….can you sense it?

Thomas has been very doubtful and sceptical.

The others have been trying to persuade and convince him.

 

Jesus appears – despite locked doors!

Jesus speaks to Thomas.

Thomas sees and hears and is convinced.

Jesus, his Lord and God, is alive – very alive!!

 

And Thomas’ life is never the same again – huge understatement me thinks!

 

 

Do you have questions and doubts?

Ask Jesus!

Do you have fears and locked doors?

Trust Jesus!

Do you have Jesus as your Lord and God?

Praise Him!  Receive from Him!  Serve Him!

 

And may your Easter-Upper-Room experience be truly life-changing!

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LENT

 

Which passage will you re-visit?

What is God saying to you from those verses??

 

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9. Numbers 6 verses 22-27

Bless You!

 

These are such rich words of blessing.

 

I hope as you read and ponder them you will be truly blessed.

 

Open your hearts and hands and receive!

 

And then pass them on to another.

 

Our God is a God who loves to give good gifts to those who ask!

 

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8.        Leviticus 26  :   Obey or Disobey

 

Leviticus is not everyone’s favourite book in the Bible – at all.

There are so many rules and regulations – and not a lot else.

 

Yet there are some lasting principles there.

 

And chapter 26 is but one of them.

To obey or disobey – that is the question.

Have a read of the 46 verses.

 

That sums up the Old Testament in many ways.

It is what God called for more than anything else from His people.

 

But it isn’t just something for Genesis to Malachi.

Jesus did come to bring a New Covenant,

 a new promised agreement between God

 and those who put their faith and trust in Him

but obedience is not made void by grace.

 

In John 14 and 15 Jesus teaches clearly about obedience and disobedience.

And it hasn’t changed.

 

Leviticus 26 tells about the reward for obeying and the punishment for disobeying and

how they affect not just the person involved.

It is not comfortable reading in places.

But it is part of the Bible and it is not just about rules and regulations.

 

I may not choose to read through Leviticus but chapter 26 and John 14/15 have a lot to teach us about following Jesus and pleasing Father God.

 

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7.    EXODUS 20……….the 10

 

 

God made it so simple for His people of old.

10 commandments.

10 rules for Godly living.

10 ways to get it right in society.

 

Sadly they didn’t take it completely seriously and time and time again they broke this one..then that one..then another…then that one again….and so on and on and on.

 

God didn’t take the 10 back you know.

He never ever says that He got it wrong and we know better.

 

We can’t choose for ourselves which God to love and serve.

 

Idols are still a big NO.

 

God’s Name is still very very special.

 

The Sabbath is still needed as a day of rest. 1 in 7 does us good.

 

Parents cannot be honoured just when we feel like it.

 

Murder is murder.

 

Adultery is still adultery.

 

Stealing is not borrowing or sharing around. It is stealing.

 

Lying is not white. It is all black.

 

Envy and covet and jealousy is not good at all for anyone….whatever our neighbours own and possess.

 

 

It seems to me that The 10 still stand as what God expects from His people above all and

what He considers to be good for society.

 

No more comment is needed.

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6.       Exodus 16

Quail anyone??

 

I have always found this story intriguing….and a bit amusing!

Have you read it? Can you picture it all?

 

 

God provided as/when needed for His people’s stomachs as they wandered around in the desert……but it was quail quail and quail…every day on the menu!!

They were given clear instructions too…how much to gather and for how long…..and those who disobeyed?    Maggots!!!!

 

We ask Father God to give us this day our daily bread….but what then?

We tend to over stock our cupboards and after a while the sell-by date has come and gone.

 

It is something that my wife, Barbara, and I are learning all over again….the joy and benefit of food-shopping-budgeting…..and the need to consider others who have nowhere as much as we do….and not just in the quail department.

 

I try to operate a one-in-one-out when I have shopped for clothes or books nowadays….and when I do I see if there is anything else that can be better used by a local charity.

 

It’s worth a try?

Surely better than maggots!!

 

 

Exodus chapter 16 was not amusing for the Israelites of old and it is a powerful reminder that our God is a God who provides but who also expects us to be responsible with what we are given.

 

 

Is it time to check out the food cupboard or the wardrobe?

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God bless you all real good as you dig around!