This week’s reading from Acts 5:12-42 might seem a whole world away from the church in our time and place. Healings, a miraculous escape, persecution for following Christ. Yet this passage shows us a church that is on the right track. Note these important characteristics: May God, by His Spirit, help us to ‘get on…

There’s a story told about a soldier in World War 1 who was badly wounded in the trenches. As he lay in a hospital bed, the doctor came in to see him with some bad news. “I’m sorry – you’ve lost your arm.” The soldier replied, “I didn’t lose my arm. I gave it.” ANZAC…

Many people know about Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed the Lord Jesus. Judas’ name has become synonymous with characteristics such as disloyalty and deception. Yet we often forget about his successor, a man named Matthias. The name Matthias is a shortened form of Mattathias, which means “gift of Yahweh”. Although the Bible tells us…

Pain is not usually something we would describe as ‘good’. Those who live with chronic physical pain long for some kind of relief, answer or cure for the underlying problem. Revelation 21:4 says that in the new heaven and earth, there will be no more “death or mourning or crying or pain.” So pain and…

We’ve all had times when things didn’t quite go according to plan. Just think back to the Covid restrictions of 2020-21, and all of the disruption and confusion that ensued then! There were many plans and schedules that were changed then. But our lives can be subject to more serious interruptions, too. My Dad died…

If we needed to describe genuine Christian faith and the true church in one word, ‘comfortable’ would not be the first thing that springs to mind! The Bible makes it clear that following Jesus Christ is far from convenient or easy. It involves self-denial, being willing to lay down our own ambitions, surrendering to God’s…

Today’s reading from John 11 is one of the most dramatic and moving accounts in the Bible. One of Jesus’ friends, Lazarus, was seriously ill. When the Lord was told about it, He didn’t immediately go to his friend’s bedside; He only travelled there after Lazarus had already died. Lazarus’ sisters said to Jesus, “if…

Our eyesight is a very important part of daily life. If we cannot see properly or at all, ordinary tasks become very difficult. Many people struggle with worsening vision as they grow older. In this week’s Bible reading from John 9, we read about one of the many times Jesus healed someone who was blind.…

Have you ever spent time working on a jigsaw puzzle, only to discover at the end that you are missing one piece? Rachel and I were once doing a 1000-piece “Map of the World” puzzle, and we’d put everything in place except for one piece, right in the middle of the map! Talk about frustrating!…

I read this week that February 2026 marked five hundred years since Protestant Reformer William Tyndale’s translation of the Bible into English. While parts of the Bible had already been translated into Old and Middle English prior to 1526, Tyndale’s New Testament was the first to be translated directly from the original Greek text, rather…