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“A mighty wave, a mighty wind is coming from heaven, to raise up our nation again” (Ulf Christiansson) – As I walked along the beach, feeling the wind and watching the waves, these words of faith came into my mind. God is calling us to move – from where we are right now to where He wants us to be. “If You Want To Walk On Water, You’ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat”: John Ortberg’s book has a great message – “You’re One Step Away From The Adventure Of Your Life.” One step – That’s where “the mighty wave, the mighty wind” begins: “O Holy Ghost, revival comes from thee; send a revival – start the work in me.” God is calling us to get into deep water with Him – into His “river” of blessing. “Deep water” – That’s a dangerous place to be. “With God” – That’s the best place to be! How do we get into deep water with God? We must start at the beginning: “the water came up to my ankles.” After that – “the water came up to my knees … the water came up to my waist … it was a river t

“As the waters cover the sea” – These words come from the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah and Habakkuk. Isaiah says this: “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (11:9). Habakkuk adds something else. He speaks about being “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (2:14). It’s wonderful to look out over “the waters that cover the sea.” There’s something more wonderful than “the waters that cover the sea.” It’s the glory of the Lord. When you look out at the waters covering the sea, ask the Lord to give you a glimpse of His glory. Where does the glory of the Lord come from? Does it come from “the waters that cover the sea”? No! That’s not where it comes from. Many people look out – and they see nothing but water! The glory comes from the Lord. It comes to us when we look to Him. Beyond “the waters that cover the sea”, there is the Lord who created “the waters that cover the sea.” He created us. He wants to make us “a new

We thank You, our Father, that You have sent Your Holy Spirit to live in our hearts. We thank You that the new life in the Spirit is just the beginning. You are preparing us for the greater ‘glory that will be revealed in us’(Romans 8:18). We thank You that the Holy Spirit is ‘the guarantee of our inheritance’ - He is the starter which whets our appetite for the main course! With Him in our hearts, we long for more. We long for Your glorious future. We’re not staggering along on a dead-end street. We’re walking tall. We’re travelling with You, Lord. You’re leading us on to Your glory. May we always be led by Your Spirit. May we keep on growing in Your Spirit.

The Rock and the River are still there – even when I can’t see them! We look out towards Dumbarton Rock and the River Clyde. There is, however, a problem! Straight ahead of us, there are some large trees. When the leaves are on the trees, we can’t see anything that’s behind the trees. We can’t see the Rock and the River – but they’re still there! There is another Rock – Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation. There is another River – the Holy Spirit, the River of God ’s blessing. When our faith is weak, we must remember this: Jesus is still the Rock of our salvation. When we don’t feel very blessed, we must remember this: the Holy Spirit is still the River of God ’s blessing. Jesus told a story about two builders. One was wise. He built his house on a rock. The other was foolish. He built his house on sand.   How are we to build our lives on Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation? We must hear His Word. We must obey His Word (Matthew 7:24). Hearing and obeying – this is the wa

We look at the first seven chapters of John's Gospel. Our seven words are (1) Who; (2) What; (3) Wind; (4) Worship; (5) Wholeness; (6) Word; (7) Witness. (1) Who is Jesus? Chapter 1: (a) the Word (v. 1); (b ) God (v. 1); (c) the life (v. 4); (d) the light of men (v 4 ) and the true light (v. 9); (e) the only begotten Son (v. 18) or the Son of God (vs, 34, 49); (f) the Lamb of God (vs. 29, 36); (g) Master (v. 38); (h) the Messiah or the Christ (v. 41); (i) the King of Israel (v. 49); (j) the Son of Man (v.51). We focus our attention on another description of Jesus - "this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (v.33). This is based on the Spirit's descending, like a dove, to abide on Jesus (vs.32-33). (2) What kind of Spirit does Jesus baptize us with? What kind of Spirit does He pour out upon us? What kind of Spirit does He give to us to live in us? Chapter 2: The Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of Jesus ( Acts 16:7 ), "the Spirit of Christ" (

We thank You, Lord, that the Holy Spirit directs our attention to Jesus (John 16:14). He leads us to make our confession of faith: "Jesus is Lord" (1 Corinthians 12:3). He leads us into a new life - a life that is centred on Jesus, a life that brings glory to You and blessing to us.

We thank You, our Father, that You have sent Your Holy Spirit to live in our hearts. We thank You that the new life in the Spirit is just the beginning. You are preparing us for the greater ‘glory that will be revealed in us’(Romans 8:18). We thank You that the Holy Spirit is ‘the guarantee of our inheritance’ - He is the starter which whets our appetite for the main course! With Him in our hearts, we long for more. We long for Your glorious future. We’re not staggering along on a dead-end street. We’re walking tall. We’re travelling with You, Lord. You’re leading us on to Your glory. May we always be led by Your Spirit. May we keep on growing in Your Spirit.

We thank You, Lord, for Your gift of the Holy Spirit. We are not called to serve You in our own strength. We come to You in our weakness. You give to us Your strength. This is the strength that we need - the strength that comes from You.

We begin with a simple and yet profoundly helpful illustration from James Philip. "The black plastic disc (for those who are more familiar with compact disc, he's speaking about the vinyl record - you can replace 'black plastic disc' with 'compact disc'!) that is put on the gramophone turntable has a voice within it, and when we put it on the pick-up the voice comes out; and every part of the disc contains the voice. You cannot say, "This part is the voice, but this part is only the plastic", for all the playing surface contains the voice. You cannot separate the voice from the disc once the voice has been recorded. This is how it is with the Scriptures. You cannot separate the living Word of God from the written word that contains it. Every verse contains the voice. All you need is a pick-up. Sometimes the needle gets worn and when the record is put on it is no longer clear. A good needle is needed to bring the voice out, and sometimes when faith

Paul's life was not easy. His life story was not always a glowing success story. He suffered persecution because of his faithfulness to Christ and the Gospel. He spent time in prison because he refused to compromise his commitment to Christ. How was he able to remain faithful to Christ in such difficult circumstances? The answer is quite simple: the Holy Spirit. How did the Holy Spirit work in Paul's life? How does the Holy Spirit work in our lives? The Holy Spirit empowered Paul to be a disciple of Jesus. The Holy Spirit empowers us to be followers of the Lord.

"John Wesley’s Forty-Four Sermons" (published by the Epworth Press in 1944:  reprinted in 1977) - These sermons were first published, as four volumes, in 1746, 1748, 1750 and 1760. The language will seem, to the modern reader, to be very old-fashioned. There is, however, a great deal, in what Wesley says, that we need to hear today. My basic observations in reading theses sermons is this: Here is preaching which is centred on Jesus Christ, who is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). When Wesley speaks of our sin, he speaks with great directness. When he speaks of God’s grace, he speaks with great warmth. This is preaching which is centred on our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Wesley shows us that we are sinners who need the Saviour. He shows us that the Saviour is always ready to receive sinners. John Wesley on "The Righteousness of Faith" This sermon is based on Romans 10:5-8. It is found in John Wesley’s Forty-Four Sermons, (Epworth Press, 1977 edition). —– Com

We thank You, Lord, for Your Word and Your Spirit (Acts 6:3-4). Help us, Lord, to "be filled with the Spirit" as we "let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly" (Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16). Filled with Your Spirit and obedient to Your Word, may we look to You for Your blessing (Acts 6:7).

John 7:37-38  (1) We begin with the context of Jesus' great invitation -    (a) the Feast of Tabernacles;    (b) the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures. (a) The Feast of Tabernacles   (i) Its historical significance It reminded the people of Israel that they had been wanderers in the desert, dependent on the grace and mercy of God to provide for them in their need.   (ii) Its agricultural significance It was a Harvest Thanksgiving. A priest took a golden pitcher, which held about two pints. He filled it with water from the Pool of Siloam. He carried it through the Water Gate, to the altar of the Temple, where it was poured out as an offering to God. This was a vivid thanksgiving for God's good gift of rain. It was an enacted prayer for rain. It was a memorial of the water which sprang from the rock, while God's people were travelling through the wilderness. It was in this context that Jesus spoke His tremendous words concerning Himself as th

Couldn’t care less! Can’t be bothered! Many people have this attitude toward Jesus Christ and His Church. Perhaps, it’s your attitude right now as you begin to read this invitation. God’s attitude to you is exactly the opposite. He cares for you! He is bothered with you! God’s care ! God’s “being bothered”! Doesn’t that make you think, “What right have I to say to God, “Couldn’t care less! Can’t be bothered! Take time to read this invitation carefully. It may change your life.  * Perhaps, you’re thinking, ' Why should God care about me?' There is no answer to this question apart from the love of God . Look at yourself honestly. God should really have given up on all of us a long time ago – but He hasn’t! God sent His Son – Jesus Christ – to seek and to save the lost. God patiently waits for those who have lost their way in life (that’s all of us!) to come back to Him through trusting Jesus Christ as Saviour.  * Perhaps, you’re wondering, ' How do

The Holy Spirit is the Breath of God. All Scripture is God-breathed. We experience the Breath of God upon our life when we listen attentively to the God-breathed Scriptures. Paul speaks, in 2 Timothy 3:15-17, of the   relationship between the Breath of God (the Holy Spirit) and the God-breathed Word (the Holy Scriptures) - 'the Holy Scriptures ... are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work'. 1) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to make us wise.     The wisdom which comes from the Spirit and the Word is a special kind of wisdom. It is not the wisdom of this world. It is the wisdom which is bound up with Christ, salvation and faith. Worldly wisdom places great value on intellectual attainment. It emphasizes the importance of getting on in the world. True spiritual

"We know ... " ( John 3:2 ). Nicodemus claimed to know a great deal about Jesus. Jesus had done great miracles. These miracles signified that God was with Jesus. Jesus was a teacher, sent by God. He acknowledged that Jesus was a teacher, sent by God, but did he receive Jesus' teaching? This is an important question for us! Jesus was unimpressed by Nicodemus' claim to knowledge. Nicodemus could know nothing without a new birth ( John 3:3 ).. The new birth was a "must" ( John 3:7 ). It is possible to know a great deal, and yet know nothing that really matters. This is true of our society. We have more knowledge than at any other time in human history, yet there's a strange absence of the kind of knowledge which brings meaning to life. From Nicodemus, we learn that reason can take us on a journey towards faith, but it will not take us all the way to faith ( John 3:4 : John 3:9 ). We may be impressed by the arguments, used to support the