Luke 4 v 19. “……to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” This is another statement of what Jesus came to do: His ministry was the proclamation of the year of the Lord’s favour. The declaration that God’s grace is available to lost sinners. This phrase is rooted in...

Luke 4 v 18-19. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release, the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s...

Luke 4 v 18-19. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release, the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s...

Please read Luke 4 vs 9-13 Luke 4 v 12. “Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” In this third temptation of Christ, the devil appeals to two things about Jesus. First, that he was the Son of God and secondly, he confronts Christ’s...

Luke 4 verses 5-8 “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you...

Luke 4 vs 3 & 4. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered. “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone.” This is an amazing scene. As part of his victory over the devil, Christ has to face temptation...

Luke 3 v 22. And a voice came from, heaven “You are my son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased”. This affirmation from God comes right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It would help the reader to read the whole of chapter 3 to catch the flow of the passage....

Luke 1 v 3 & 4. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. As...

My younger brother Carl, died suddenly this morning. He was a true Christian and trusted in Christ to the end.   The family is in mourning. There will consequently be no “Thought for the Day” for a few days. Thank you for those who have contacted us and passed on...

Luke 23 v 39 One of the criminals who hang there hurled insults at Him “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us.”   Our Uncommon King now hangs as a common criminal on the cross. He has two malefactors with Him, one on each side. Crucifixion was a standard and...

Luke 23 v 28 – 31. Jesus turned and said to them “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, weep for yourselves and your children. For the time will come when you will say “Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breast that never nursed.  ...

Matthew 27 v 18 For he (Pilate) knew that it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.   Our uncommon King commanded an uncommon love for some of those who followed him or were blessed by his good and kind deeds towards them. But He also elicited an...

Luke 23 v 23 – 25 But with loud shouts they incessantly demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and...

Luke 23 v 1 – 25    “Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”   Please note that this ”Thought for the day” will appear erratically for the next couple of weeks due to commitments over the Christmas...

Hebrews 9 v 27 And just as it is appointed for men to die once and after that comes judgement, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time, not to deal with sins but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.   The...

Hebrews 9 v 27 And just as it is appointed for men to die once and after that comes judgement, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time, not to deal with sins but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.   The...

Hebrews 9 v 27 And just as it is appointed for men to die once and after that comes judgement, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time, not to deal with sins but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.   The...

John 1 vs 11-13. He came to that which was his own but his own did not receive him.   People often claim that if there is a God, then he is completely indifferent to human pain and tragedy. If only God would show up and take some responsibility, some say, it would...

Luke 2 vs 8-20. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest And on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.”   Only Luke’s gospel tells us the story of the angels and the shepherds....

Matthew 2 v 22,23. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea, in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled...

  Matthew 2 v 13. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream: “Get up” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”   So Joseph is...

Matthew 2 v 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him.   There are more than one Herod who feature in the New Testament story. The Herod mentioned in Matthew chapter 2 was Herod the great, so called because of the many magnificent...

Matthew 2 v 1 – 2: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him”   This story is...

John 12 vs 32-33. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.   What was the plan this uncommon King had, to save the world? His genealogy traced back to King David in fulfilment...

Matthew 1 v 18. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.   In the birth narratives of Jesus the word ‘Saviour’ crops up...

Matthew 1 v 18. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.   This uncommon King with His unique pedigree and incredible...

Matthew 1 v 18. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.   We are still grappling with the mystery of the Person of...

Matthew 1 v 18. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.   We will not dwell for the moment on what this event must...

Matthew Chapter 1 v 7 – 11   We now begin a series of reflections on the Christmas story, and we start with the few verses referred to above as a start. These bible verses are part of the introduction Matthew gives us to Jesus’ birth. He and Luke both give us a...