Being confident that God is constantly working in and improving me can be a difficult stance to achieve. Paul however is offering us the reality that it’s not something to be worked at but rather just accepted. The sky is … Read More »

My Paraphrase: Dear family in the faith, let us watch out for one another and rescue anyone that may be drawn away by the deception of our enemy. Knowing that by dispelling the lies of the devil with God’s precious … Read More »

‘Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up.’ James 4:10 This verse is considered on the ‘Paraphrase’ week. We have been practising reading, and re-reading passages, and then putting them into our own words to ensure we … Read More »

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” (James 3:13) Paraphrase it: The person who is really wise demonstrates wisdom by having emotional … Read More »

James 2:17-18: v. 17: “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” NIV If a man gives mental assent to the fact that Christ’s death and resurrection accomplished the atonement for his … Read More »

James 1:22-25 (paraphrased) “When you hear God’s word, don’t just let it go in one ear and out the other. Put it into practice and avoid deception. Otherwise, you’ll be like someone who catches his reflection in a mirror, then … Read More »

I love how the NIV reading of this verse begins with “take note of this” …It seems the Holy Spirit has often had me take note of the truths in this portion of Scripture. I have been the fast speaker … Read More »

An attitude to change? Jesus comes to the disciples after His resurrection and reproaches them for their unbelief and hardness of heart. Why didn’t they believe Mary Magdalene or the two men walking? Why did Jesus need to come to … Read More »

This is a passage that invites me to apply both methods 1 and 2 of 40 Days in the Word that we have enjoyed during the first two weeks. You pronounce it and visualize it. How powerful can be to … Read More »

While reading this chapter I couldn’t help but realized that this was a pretty tough chapter to write about–like seriously, tough. In one chapter we have the anointing of Jesus’ feet with perfume, the Passover dinner, and the betrayal and … Read More »