Topic Archives: Encouragement

The seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:18) Are you presently living with a sense of hopelessness, a sort of low grade depression where you tend to speak in negative absolutes? For example, do you say, ‘My marriage will never get better. God never answers my […]

One of the recurring struggles every Christian without exception has is the struggle to realise how astonishingly blessed it is to be a Christian. I would like to remind you (and myself) of the vast, inconceivable privilege it is to be a Christian. A Christian is someone who has been called by ‘the God of […]

Believer: Come, my soul, and let us try, For a little season, Every burden to lay by; Come, and let us reason. What is this that casts thee down? Who are those that grieve thee? Speak, and let the worst be known; Speaking may relieve thee. Soul: O, I sink beneath the load Of my […]

An extract from Words Old and New: Gems from the Christian Authorship of all Ages (pp. 90-91).1 1. What is glory in this world but shame? Why art thou afraid to carry Christ’s cross? Wilt thou come into his kingdom, and not drink of his cup? 2. Dost thou not know Rome to be Babylon? […]

Jeremiah’s was a very difficult situation. He had watched the spiritual situation in his country deteriorate further and further. As a prophet of the Lord, he had to declare what was revealed to him about future judgement against his people. No wonder he wished ‘that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of […]

An extract from Words Old and New: Gems from the Christian Authorship of all Ages (pp. 82-83).1 1. The law sheweth us our sin; the gospel sheweth us a remedy for it. The law sheweth us our condemnation; the gospel sheweth us our redemption. The law is the word of wrath; the gospel is the […]

One of the most sobering verses in the Bible is Hebrews 2:3 – ‘How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?’ The Letter to the Hebrews was written to Christians who were being tempted to turn back to some form of Judaism. Perhaps the pressure and cost of ‘being different’ was beginning […]

Yes, it is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he who will bear the honour and sit and rule on his throne. Thus, he will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices. (Zechariah 6:13) One of my favorite books is entitled […]

‘But, Mum, you don’t know how hard it is to be a Christian today.’ ‘Oh, Dad, things were much simpler in your day.’ Every generation of Christians thinks it is more difficult to be a Christian in their day than in the past. Well, the present generation now has the New York Times on their […]

You know what Christmas is about. A very special baby was born. That special baby is God himself, the Son of the Father. It’s not about Santa is coming to town, it’s about God is coming to town. Sometimes God seems far off, but he came down to be with us. Isn’t he kind? But […]

The translator’s ‘Introduction’ to Faith Unfeigned – Four Sermons concerning Matters Most Useful for the Present Time with A Brief Exposition of Psalm 871 by John Calvin. The last half-century has seen a steady growth of interest in Calvin’s work as preacher. The Reformer’s sermons place us at the centre of his pastoral and theological […]

Again he measured a thousand cubits, and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water has risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded. (Ezek. 47:5) I have travelled countless times over the dam at Jinja, Uganda, the source of the Nile River, on my way […]

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of the martyr John Bradford (1510-55). As a broken-hearted sinner, a self-condemning saint, a firm believer, a man of prayer, a sharp reprover of sin, a preacher with power, a comforter of others and a staunch martyr ‘for Christ’s gospel’s sake’ (his own words), Bradford was […]

It is natural for us to take pleasure in the obvious and pleasant blessings of the Lord and to dread and do all we can to avoid his more dark and painful providences. It is natural for us to expect and even to demand only the pleasant blessings while holding the trying times in contempt, […]

They whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved. Westminster Confession of Faith God sovereignly decrees that none of his elect shall perish. As a […]