In this Psalm we find David nailing his colours to the mast. He says God is the one I love, he is the one I follow. I will not surrender, I will not retreat. I will choose to go his way, no matter what battle I face. I will trust him always and I will […]

In this second ‘Song of Ascents’ we find a psalm of distress. Without being told the nature of the distress, the psalmist looks back with Joy on former days. His hope is for God to store the fortunes of Israel. Many of us do the same today as we look back on former days with […]

Looking at the final chapter of Habakkuk, we find a very different man from the one we met at the beginning. A man complaining to God, wondering why God wouldn’t answer his prayers for the things he wanted God to do; a man who then wonders whether God really cares about his people and who […]

Being thankful to God does change everything. It changes how we see all the events in our lives. It changes our attitude to suffering and joys.

Some people have trouble understanding this first miracle of Jesus because it involves supplying alcohol to a group of people who have already drunk a fair bit. However, the Christian faith is all about joy and Jesus, as the Messiah, has come to bring to inaugurate his kingdom. As Christians we celebrate the fact that […]

John Piper gives the following definition of Joy: ‘Christian Joy is a feeling in the soul, produced by the holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.’ Joy is something that should characterise all Christians. The question though is, does it? Do you have […]

When Zechariah heard the amazing news that he would become a parent he didn’t say, “I don’t believe it!” with a kind of “I do believe it, but I find it really amazing” but “I really don’t believe the words of the angel Gabriel.” In fact, he didn’t believe the words of God to him! […]

Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of God is like a treasure. It is something of unsurpassed value. The discovery of it is fabulous and leads to joy. In simple language, a relationship with Jesus is simply something of unsurpassed value.