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How precious are persecuted Christians to the Lord Jesus? In Acts 9 we get to see a glimpse of how Jesus feels about those who suffer for being Christians. We see that Jesus identifies so closely with his suffering people as to say “when you persecute them, you persecute me.” That’s so helpful for those…

The persecution of Christians is an awful thing. Christians have faced everything from cold shoulders and harsh words to beatings, imprisonment and death. Stephen was the first Christian martyr, it must have been horrific for him and his family. It’s hard to describe something like this as light and momentary, and yet that’s how the…

Sometimes we cause our own troubles, and tragically for those who refuse to turn to Jesus, the troubles are not achieving a glory that outweighs them all. Israel wanted a king. Their motive was not good. They wanted to be like the other nations around them. This was the very opposite of what God had…

How awful it is when the church is led by people who do not believe. How awful when priests use their position to exploit and abuse those they are meant to serve. Tragically it’s nothing new. In yesterday’s reading from 1 Samuel 2 we read what the priests were up to, and today we find…

Hannah suffered for years with the pain of childlessness. It was so hard, everyone else seemed to be having babies, and then there were the insensitive comments by others. There was no anniversary to grieve, but a continual emptiness. What made it even harder was that her husband had taken a second wife and she…

Ruth had been left a childless widow, she was in a foreign land and had sought the protection of the LORD. Our Psalm (written by one of her great grandchildren!) for today tells us “delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4) and “those who wait…

Naomi had troubles that you would not call light and momentary. She had lost her husband and 2 sons, faced famine and returned to Israel empty and bitter. Empty, apart from her wonderful daughter-in-law Ruth who is loyally clinging to her. And there is another ray of sunshine, it was the time of the barley…

Judges 19-21 is no laughing matter. It is men behaving badly in some of the worst ways. They were dark days. The beginning and end of the reading tell us what the problem was – Israel had no king, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes, (19:1, 21:25). Doing right in their…

Where do you look for strength? Do you sometimes think, if I could just have that, then I’d be ok? In Judges 17-18 we see the folly of idolatry. An idol is anything we turn or trust in apart from God. It can be a good thing that then takes God’s place and becomes harmful…

He’s almost a superhero with his super strength. I’m sure many young boys are impressed by him, it’s hard not to be, as we hear of him grabbing a donkey’s jawbone and defeating God’s enemies! And yet, Samson shows us how flawed human leaders are. It wasn’t so much that power went to his head…