Choose Life.

John 20:21,22 “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’.” “The disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews” (verse 19) when Jesus appeared to them. He was preparing…

1 Peter 1:3,4 “Praise be to God! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.” Today’s verse talks clearly about how Christian hope…

Ecclesiastes 3:13 “That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in his toil – this is the gift of God.” Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky was arrested by the Czar’s soldiers as a dissident and rebel, and was sentenced to death. The Czar enjoyed toying with his prisoners by having them blindfolded and lined up…

Philippians 4:12–13: “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 everything through him who gives me strength.” I remember feeling chastened on one occasion when I had recently come out to Africa as a single…

Watch the Video Here Mark 8:35 “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” The basic essence of life in Christ is self-abandonment. Tullian Tchividjian writes: “Jesus said we must die in order that we might live. Daily Christian living,…

Hebrews 10:31 “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” My friend Mark Buchanan has written a book entitled ‘Your God is Too Safe’. He insists that God is not at all safe, but dangerous: “And yet there is something far more fearful and dangerous than to fall into…

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” If you did an honest self-assessment of your life, would you say that you let your light shine? A family friend writes about a documentary on five young Australian lads who had just done…

Psalm 8:4 “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” So many people aspire to being ‘successful’, yet find that when/if attained, success simply doesn’t deliver the desired sense of wholeness. The brilliant but tragic Ernest Hemingway wrote shortly before committing suicide: “I live in…

Deuteronomy 30:19 “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life!” Larry Walters was a 33-year-old truck driver living near Los Angeles. On weekends he used to just sit around and watch TV. But this particular Saturday, he…

Isaiah 45:22 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other.” Many people we come across refuse to turn to God or even acknowledge his existence. On one occasion, a barber said to the man whose hair he was cutting: “I don’t believe…