Word in Five

Trials squeeze us and reveal what is in our hearts as words start to flow. May God help us to look into his word and do it so that our hearts and lives become more like Jesus.

Being poor and being rich both have their challenges. God is the giver of good gifts. May he help us to persevere in trials and not turn to wrong things, remembering the hope that we have in Jesus of the life to come.

Trials are an opportunity for us to grow as we cry out to our Father for wisdom that he is only too willing to give.

The LORD never plays down our suffering - he draws near and understands because he entered right into our suffering. Jesus, God with us, suffered and died at the hands of wicked leaders who bribed people to get Jesus condemned. He is a refuge for the oppressed and one day will get rid of all terror.

The psalms help us to fix our eyes on Jesus - all of our church singing should focus on him - his life, death, resurrection and the fact that he is coming again. Jesus is our living hope!

The LORD who reigns for ever hears the cry of the needy. He heard the voice of his Son and raised him. May we cry out to him and show off a Jesus who hears the cries of the poor. Nations might think they are divine, but in Jesus we are part of the only lasting kingdom

Jesus was willing to stoop so low to lift us up and restore us as humans and his whole creation.

What a serious psalm this is! We see so much injustice and might think 'does God care?' Yes he does! Jesus faced the greatest injustice so that we can shelter in him and not face the justice we deserve for our sin! Praise be to God!

Jesus the man of sorrows was heard when he wept - we can be confident that God will hear our cries in our sorrows each day. And he promises us a bright future of life, not death because of his unfailing love.

Let's grow in our love for Jesus who has spread his protection over us like a great big comfort blanket so that we can enter God's house.

Jesus' prayers are always heard - so ours will be too because we pray in his name. Let's be serious about prayer like Jesus and let's use prayer to help us deal with the powerful emotion of anger.

King Jesus gets us, sympathises with us and proves beyond any doubt that we can trust our heavenly Father and everything he promises.

There's a Man back on God's holy hill and his name is Jesus - and he's claiming the nations! Let's be confident in him as our forever King!

Jesus is the blessed Man who is worth singing about!

God's kindness is relentless as he works out his plan to save the world through his Son. He really can be trusted in everything, even when we mess things up - you can always run to Jesus.

The LORD comes down - that's the only way we can go up! Thank the Lord that Jesus is the 'ladder' up to heaven.

How big is your view of Jesus? He is the Saviour of all the nations. May we see just how big his plan is to save the world and may we have big hearts like his for all the nations.

Genesis 10 refers to Babylon and Nineveh, the city of the world that takes on the city of God. King Jesus wins and one day there will only be the city of God.

Jesus is the perfect Man who was exposed to the shame of the cross so that we can be clothed in his goodness. He is good news for all the nations of the world.

The LORD is confident that he will work out his plan to save the world through his Son even when human beings do the most terrible things. The rainbow is God's way of showing all life that he is good, loving and wants to know them and bless them - it's the most inclusive symbol!

Another 'But God' moment - he does what he says even though we don't deserve it. He has given us His Son, the most costly sacrifice ever so that we can have life and peace.

The LORD floods the earth and it's a bit like we have returned to the beginning with a watery earth and we're going to get a sort of, new creation. The LORD shut Noah in the ark which means he is safe - like Noah we can only be safe in God's ark, following God's Way to be saved, Jesus Christ.

It's good that we have a God who sees and who cares for his creation and he has given a Saviour who has done everything his Father commanded him to do. We are safe in him!

That little word 'but' shows us just how loving our God is when he shows his kindness to Noah and the human race by not treating us as our sins deserve, but by acting to save us. We can remember that in our time when things can be spirally downward, the LORD sees and shows his kindness to us through his Son and his plan to rescue and save will never be stopped.

The LORD brings comfort and rest through the Saviour, Jesus - let's show our faith and confidence in him today like Lamech did.