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“When the man saw that he could not overpower [Jacob], he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched. Then the man said, ‘Let me go… Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome… and [Jacob] was limping…

Romans 5:3-5: “We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us…” Bill Porter accepted who he was, but rejected the world’s verdict on his life. Because of his cerebral palsy, which made it difficult for him to speak clearly, to walk…

Psalm 139:13,14 “You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Gladys Aylward was born in 1904. She was from a poor background. She was short, had black hair, and by all accounts was not outwardly very beautiful. In fact as she grew up she railed…

Hebrews 10:35,36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he had promised.” A ship sank several hundred miles west of Indonesia, and one man floated for days before getting washed up on…

Romans 13:11 “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” As children, I’m guessing we all sang ‘Twinkle twinkle little star’ hundreds of times – but did we ever really wonder what they are? At any rate, the sheer fascination,…

Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The film ‘Of Gods and Men’ was based on events in Algeria in the 1990s. Eight Cistercian monks were faced with the ultimatum…

Luke 14:21 “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” A jetlagged Tony Campolo was preaching in Hawaii but couldn’t sleep so went to a café at 3am. In walked a dozen prostitutes at the end of their night’s work.…

Matthew 22:29 “Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.’” Jesus was replying to a question from the Sadducees (who did not believe in the resurrection –which is why they were sad-you-see!). He accused them of not knowing the Scriptures. What could he mean? They…

2 Thessalonians 2:16,17 “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” An old legend tells how a man was once lost for days in a dark forest…

Matthew 5:44,46 “But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax-collectors doing that?” During the American Revolutionary War, a Baptist pastor called Peter Miller was good friends with General Washington. Miller lived in…