‘Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ…’ (Rom. 5:1)

Faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour is all you need to have eternal peace with our Father in Heaven – it’s as simple as that. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation – faith through our Lord is the only way to be at one with God. So take time now, not only to pray for a renewing and strengthening of that faith, but that others too will come to this faith for themselves and so take their place in God’s everlasting Kingdom.

‘I fell at His feet to worship Him…’ (Rev.19:10)

How do we worship the Lord in our everyday life?

‘Teach me your will, for you are my God…’ (Psalm 143:10)

One of the most common issues we face as Christians is to say that we don’t actually know what God’s will for us is. As a consequence there will be times when we fail to act as God would have us and other times when we act as we want to, convincing ourselves that this was God’s wish for us. However, whilst it one level it is easy to say that discerning God’s will is never easy at another it is relatively simple. The more we communicate with God, read His Word and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, the more we come to know what God’s will for us is. But in everyday situations perhaps a good place to begin is to ask ourselves, how would my Lord behave in this situation – what would He say, what would He do? If we then prayerfully seek to emulate Him, we’re off to a good start.

‘What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?’ (1 Thess. 2:19)

When we reflect on this short verse, how might we answer this question?

‘The Lord will receive my prayer…’ (Psalm 6:9)

What do we understand by prayer? Do we think of it as handing everything over to God? Do we believe it is based on the promises and purpose of God? Does praying come as easily to us as believing the Word of God does? Do we believe that in prayer we conform to the will of God? What does prayer mean to us?

‘You are complete in Him…’ (Colossians 2:10)

No matter what we have in life, no matter what we achieve, unless we know Jesus Christ in our life we will never be complete. So come to Him today, and everyday, giving Him thanks for all His goodness and provision and ask Him to help you put your trust and faith in Him for all things.

‘Be still and know that I am God…’ (Psalm 46:10)

Whatever you are doing take time now to come before the Lord your God and know that He is with you.

‘By grace we are saved through faith…’ (Ephesians 2:8)

Take a few moments to consider the greatness of God’s love expressed in these few words. We are saved, not by our own merits or anything we do, but rather by – and only by – the grace of God Himself. And as we reflect on this let’s now take time to give Him thanks with grateful hearts for His overwhelming love to us.

‘God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all…’ (1 John 1:5)

I’m sure we’ve all noticed how it is becoming darker earlier each evening, especially so when it’s a cloudy, overcast day. As the weeks go by it will become even darker, especially when the clocks change again, and generally we don’t like darkness, we prefer light.

Sometimes we might find ourselves enshrouded in some form of darkness in our life – a darkness brought about by bereavement, ill health, financial worries, family disputes – and I’m sure there are many more. During such times we go through a whole of emotions and, as the saying goes, we can often see no light at the end of the tunnel.

However, John reminds us here that God Himself is light and that in Him there is no darkness. So if we can hold on to our faith and look to Him during these times of darkness, there will always be a light to look to. The darkness may still surround us, but it will not envelope us – remember the opening chapter of John’s Gospel, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.