‘May the favour of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.’ (Psalm 90:17 NIV- UK)
Monday is not a very popular day of the week. The Bangles wished it could have been Sunday rather than Monday and for the Carpenters rainy days and Mondays always got them down.

‘The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!’ (Psalm 21:1 NKJV)
When I think of the spiritual disciplines what usually comes to mind is spending a day fasting, spending time wrestling in prayer or intense Bible Study, or maybe sitting alone in deep contemplation and meditation. All of these things of course have their place and are valuable in our Christian journey, but one area that rarely gets mentioned as a discipline is celebration.

‘When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.’ (Genesis 3:6 NIV)
‘The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.’ (Acts 5:30 NKJV)
The story of humanity revolves around two trees. In the Garden of Eden Adam, the representative of all humanity, was confronted with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which God had explicitly told him not to eat of lest he die “(Genesis 2:17)”. Unfortunately Adam disobeyed God, ate fruit from the forbidden tree, with severe consequences for his progeny.

‘Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ (Hebrews 4:16 NIV)
Children are great at asking questions aren’t they? They usually begin with the word ‘why?’ Such as ‘why is the sky blue?’, ‘why do I have to go school?’, ‘why do I have to eat my greens?’ and ‘why do I have to go to bed at this time?’

‘you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8 NIV)
Who is your favourite Apostle?
On the one hand I tend to gravitate towards the spirituality of John who in his gospel and letters has much to teach us about the nature of and the relationship in the godhead. On the other hand I am drawn towards the humanity of Peter, who so often only opened his mouth to put his foot in it, and yet was restored by Jesus to be used in formulating the early church.
One apostle who few are drawn to is Andrew. He is rarely on centre stage, but he seems to genuinely want to see people come to know Jesus a little better. When he does appear on the scene he is always introducing people to Jesus.

‘go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28:19 NIV)
Probably the most difficult part of sharing the Gospel is getting started. The Gospel is all about Jesus and it has the power to change lives, bring true joy and happiness, enabling people to find purpose for living. But how do we begin to share this good news?

‘When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.’ (Acts 2:1 NIV)
The Christian church commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. In most traditions Pentecost comes 50 days after Easter and looks back to the beginnings of the Christian church. There are many valuable lessons associated with this festival; here are some to reflect on:

‘For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus’ (1 Timothy 2:5 NIV)
When confronted with death and serious illness, as has been the case recently in the London area congregations, a common question is ‘does God empathise with my situation?’

‘godliness with contentment is great gain.’ (1 Timothy 6:6 NIV)

I thought I’d write something about boredom. Trouble is it can seem boring to read something about boredom, but give it a go. Boredom is a subtle, well-disguised enemy.

‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8 NIV)
The Beatles’ song ‘Can’t buy me love’ included the lines:
I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright
I’ll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright
‘Cause I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love.
And how true that is, money can’t buy us love. It can buy us many things but not what is really important.

‘fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Proverbs 1:7 NIV)
‘you should become “fools”’ (1 Corinthians 3:18 NIV)
What should we be, a fool or not a fool?
In many ways the word ‘fool’ is straightforward. We label someone a fool who lacks common sense, who behaves inappropriately, and who displays no wisdom.

‘I will praise [yadah] You, O LORD, with my whole heart.’ (Psalm 9:1 NKJV)
You’ve probably heard of the phrase ‘yada, yada, yada’. It means ‘so on and so forth’, and colloquially it’s like saying ‘blah, blah, blah!’ The phrase is often used when something spoken or written is predictable, repetitive or tedious.

‘if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile’ (1 Corinthians 15:17 NIV)
The Christian faith stands or falls with Jesus’ resurrection. Yet it is not merely a doctrine to defend, it must make a practical difference to our Christian life. How is that possible? Here are some things to think about:

‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”’ (John 3:14-15 NIV)
When speaking to Nicodemus Jesus drew an interesting parallel between a snake in the desert and himself. What did he mean?

‘For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise’ (1 Chronicles 16:25 NIV)
Frances ‘Fanny’ Crosby was born on 24th March 1820, in Putnam County, New York. In her own words she tells the moving account of how she became blind:
“When I was six weeks old a slight cold caused inflammation of the eyes. Our usual doctor was away from home, so a stranger was called in. He recommended the use of hot poultices, which practically destroyed my sight.”

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. (Psalm 62:5 ESV)
My world seems to be full of sound. When I’m in the car invariably the radio or a CD is on. During the day I’m talking or other people are talking to me. As I move around the city there’s the noise of the tube, cars sounding their horns, workmen using electric drills. Even when I come home in the evening and put my feet up to relax there’s the lure of the television. Sound comes from every direction; oh for the occasional sound of silence.

‘…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans…he…searches our hearts…because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.’ (Romans 8:26-27 NIV)
Do you find prayer difficult?
I have to hold my hands up and say that I do.

‘the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4:7 NRSV)
Whenever someone is experiencing a difficult trial, my mind turns to this verse as a source of comfort and solace for the individual or/and their family and friends.

‘are you envious because I am generous?’ (Matthew 20:15 NRSV)
The parable of the labourers in the vineyard is scandalous; it’s simply unfair. Those hired first and who worked all day long through the scorching heat received the same wages as those who started at the end of the day.
Surely those who had worked the longest deserved more than those who had hardly done anything at all?

‘…today GOD has reaffirmed that you are dearly held treasure’ (Deuteronomy 26:18 Msg.)
How does God feel about his people?
Throughout the Old Testament he refers to them as his treasured, prized possession “(Deuteronomy 7:6; Malachi 3:17)”; they are the apple of his eye “(Deuteronomy 32:10)”. The same is true in the New Testament, “‘…we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.’ (James 1:18 NLT)”