Sunday 22 July 2018

Lord, You give us joy – true joy, lasting joy.

Psalms 64:1-65:13
“Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord” (Psalm 64:10). Lord, You give us joy – true joy, lasting joy. This is Your joy. It’s not just a passing emotion. It’s more than a feeling that doesn’t last very long. Your joy changes us. It gives us the strength to live as “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Thursday 12 July 2018

What kind of people are we? Are we “faithful and God-fearing” people?

Nehemiah 7:1-73
What kind of people are we? Are we “faithful and God-fearing” people? Lord, it is so easy to lose our way. We forget You – and we wander away from You. Draw us back to Yourself. Speak to us in love. Assure us that You haven’t given up on us. Let us know that “There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin.” Bring us to “Calvary’s Cross” – and let us begin again with You.

When Satan, our great enemy, tries to pick an argument with us, help us, Lord, to keep on working for You ...

Nehemiah 5:14:6:19
What are we to do when we face those who are “scheming to harm” Your servants and Your work? We are to devote ourselves to Your work – and we are to pray for your strength (Nehemiah 6:2; Nehemiah 5:16; Nehemiah 6:9). When Satan, our great enemy, tries to pick an argument with us, help us to give him this answer: “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you” (Nehemiah 6:3). Help us, Lord, to keep on working for You – and to pray that “many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:3).

Bible Notes by G. Philip