I was reading in the latest edition of Money magazine of a woman planning to be financially independent in a few years and to retire early. She talked about highlighting every purchase that you make and look at its value in bringing sustained happiness after the initial dopamine hit. That’s good advice. So many of our purchases are the result of impulsive feel-good decisions on the spur of the moment, but it got me thinking about what I actually do. What am I doing that will

“Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!” Luke 15:9 (NKJV). What have you lost? I know that, throughout the pandemic, alone, a lot of people have lost their facemasks! Jesus speaks about people losing a sheep or a coin (Luke 15). Actually, God even cares about the little things that we might lose, even the hair on our heads! (Luke 12:7). Have you lost something more than that? Have you lost your job, your marriage, your health, a loved one, your hope? Jerry

My brother in law remarked yesterday that his 3 month old granddaughter engages with him on an eye to eye level and gives him smiles. We all love the innocence, guilelessness and total vulnerability of a new little baby and we melt when that little being recognises and responds to us. Isn’t that how God first shone His face on us when He revealed Himself in Jesus? When God became flesh He did it in a non-threatening way. He didn’t enter our world with weapons to annihilate us

I was moved today to hear from Pastor Sergey who is in Kyiv, Ukraine. Despite all the death and suffering he is surrounded with, he keeps Emmanuel, ‘God is with us’, ever before his face. He said that if Jesus suffered and died for us, could He leave us now in our suffering? When his world is cruelly crashing down around him, he remembers his Saviour and looks to Him for solace. What about you? You may not be living in such a life-threatening and frightening situation, but y

Jesus.......called her to Him.” Luke 13:12 NKJV Despite where you have come from, who your parents were, what you have done or what has been done to you, Jesus is calling you. Religion isn’t calling you. The government isn’t calling you. Doctors aren’t calling you. Solicitors aren’t calling you. Your answers are not found in the systems of men but in Jesus and Jesus asks you to come to Him. This is what Jesus promised: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and ov

Yesterday I wrote about a woman who had been bent over for 18 long years and how Jesus had noticed her and asked her to come to Him. Did you notice this little detail in that story – how that Jesus had declared her healed BEFORE she had been actually healed? “One Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, and a woman was there who had been crippled by an evil spirit for 18 years. She was completely bent over and could not straighten up. When Jesus saw the woman, he called he

Have you got a problem that hampers you and gives you no quality of life? Do you think that nobody cares that you are debilitated or afflicted? Do you think God has forgotten you? There was a bent-over woman in Jesus’ day who hadn’t been able to stand upright for 18 years. When Jesus saw her listening to His teaching He called her to Him. Can you imagine how slowly she would’ve gotten up and shuffled towards the Saviour? Jesus looked at her with compassion and spoke in faith

Every Sunday our church congregation recites the Apostle's Creed that is said to have been constructed by the 12 apostles as a definition of what Christians believe. In particular we state that: “I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; [he descended to the dead.] On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at

In my book, The Power You Have Available, I wrote a chapter on the power for healing that is in having communion. As you take the bread and focus on the stripes of Jesus beating Jesus’ body, and believing that those stripes have taken away disease and sickness on your body, many people have been healed of their diseases. I was excited to hear of another case last week. A married couple both got COVID and were feeling very ill and even vomiting. The wife listened to a song abo

“And (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col. 1:17 ESV). The word, ‘hold together’, is from the Greek synhesteken, from which the word ‘system’[1] is derived. Jesus is the system that supports and establishes all the universe and creation together. We note that everything in this universe is interconnected and that Jesus is at the centre of that system. Western culture is an opposing ideology that claims to achieve a level of individual and co

There was a royal official in the time of Jesus whose dying son led him into utter helplessness and hopelessness. So desperate was he that he hot footed it 30 km from Capernaum to Cana, mostly uphill, to appeal to Jesus (John 4:43- 54). This official was genuine. He spoke to Jesus respectfully, calling Him “Sir” but Jesus wanted to lead him from a superficial faith into a real and authentic faith. Jesus told him that his son would live. At this point the official took Jesus a

“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” (Acts 20:35 NLT). Why do you think the act of giving leads to happiness? Why did Jesus say it is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35)? I’d like to suggest 6 reasons. 1. Giving actually reduces anxiety and stress and makes us feel happy. When we serve others we have less self-doub

“Our difficulty seems to be this: the promise is so "exceeding great" that we cannot conceive God really to mean what he clearly appears to have revealed. The blessing seems too vast for our comprehension; we "stagger at the promises, through unbelief," and thus fail to secure the treasure which was purchased for us by Christ Jesus.”[1] So many times I meet people who can’t comprehend that the work of Jesus on the cross healed us of sin and its effects: sickness and disease.

My blogs in the last 2 days have been focussing on the power of your mind in different circumstances of life. Today I want to look at another aspect of our minds that we have control over – whether we have a big or a little heart. A big heart is vulnerable in its relationship with God. It will submit to what pleases God and this will affect all other relationships, such as forgiving others just as Jesus forgives us. A big heart will listen to others and generously serve other