Tag: God

Miracle in the Prison

Acts 16 New International Version

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

19 When her owners realised that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

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22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptised. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.

Podcast Episode: Light of the World

Pip: Faith, health, and the general chaos of being alive — if there's a better brief for a devotional site, I haven't found it.

Mara: Kenneth has been writing on exactly that territory, and today we're looking at a piece that sits right at the heart of it — the image of Christ standing at a closed door, and what it asks of us.

Pip: Let's start with that image, and the hymn behind it.

Light of the World

Mara: This segment is about a single, persistent image — Jesus outside a shut door, waiting. The post asks, quietly, what it means that the door is still closed.

Pip: The hymn at the centre of the post makes the stakes plain. The setup is William How's words, carried through three verses of mounting weight, and the second verse lands hardest: "O Jesus, thou art knocking; and lo, that hand is scarred, and thorns thy brow encircle, and tears thy face have marred: O love that passeth knowledge, so patiently to wait! O sin that hath no equal, so fast to bar the gate!"

Mara: What that verse is doing is connecting the knocking hand to the crucified hand. The patience isn't abstract — it belongs to someone who has already paid a cost. That's what makes the closed door a moral weight, not just a metaphor.

Pip: The post doesn't just stay with the hymn on the page. It opens with a Salvation Army band piece — "The Light of the World," composed by Dean Goffin — and Kenneth notes that if you listen carefully, the bottom end of the band actually emphasises the knocking. The music is performing the theology.

Mara: And then there's Holman Hunt's painting of the same scene — Jesus standing outside a door with no handle on the outside — which Kenneth places at St Paul's Cathedral in London. Text, music, and canvas all working the same image from different angles.

Pip: Kenneth closes by admitting he was moved to tears watching the video he'd chosen to accompany the post. For a piece about a door that's been left shut, that's a fairly direct answer to the question it raises.

Mara: The image of waiting — patient, scarred, unhurried — is the thing that carries across all three forms. The door remains the listener's to open.

Pip: A hymn, a painting, a brass band — three different languages for the same invitation.

Mara: And the door still has no handle on the outside. That's the detail that stays with you.

Podcast Episode: Body And Belief

Pip: There's something quietly radical about a site that holds together colonoscopies and resurrection in the same week — as if the body and the soul both deserve a proper look inside.

Mara: Kenneth covers exactly that this episode — a plain-language guide to what endoscopy actually is and does, and then a reflection on Romans 6 and what it means to be alive in Christ rather than ruled by sin.

Pip: Let's start with what happens when doctors need a closer look.

What Endoscopy Is and Why It Matters

Mara: The post on endoscopy sets out to demystify a procedure that many people find daunting — what it involves, what it examines, and why a doctor might order one.

Pip: Harvard Health is quoted directly in the piece, and the description is worth reading aloud: "An upper endoscopy allows the doctor to explore the cause of such symptoms as difficulty swallowing, abdominal pain, vomiting up blood, or passing blood in the stool."

Mara: So the upshot is that this is a diagnostic tool with real reach — not just the stomach, but the oesophagus, bowel, bladder, lungs, and womb, depending on the type ordered.

Pip: And the types have names most of us have never had reason to learn — gastroscopy, colonoscopy, bronchoscopy, cystoscopy, hysteroscopy — each one a different entry point into a different system.

Mara: Most procedures take between thirty minutes and two hours, and sedation or local anaesthetic means patients typically feel pressure rather than pain.

Pip: A thin tube with a camera turns out to be doing a lot of quiet, essential work.

Mara: That same idea — seeing clearly what's hidden — carries into the next territory, though the instrument is scripture rather than an endoscope.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Mara: The post titled Jesus Lives centres on Romans 6, which asks a pointed question: if grace covers sin, does that mean sin no longer matters?

Pip: Paul's answer is immediate and unambiguous — the passage reads, "By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

Mara: What this means in practice is that baptism, in Paul's framing, is not a ritual of membership but a participation in death and resurrection — the old self crucified, a new life made possible.

Pip: The stakes sharpen further by verse fourteen: "sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." Grace here is not permission — it's transfer of ownership.

Mara: The reflection closes by connecting the passage to a Salvation Army chorus — "It's no longer I that liveth, but Christ that liveth in me" — which distils the whole argument of Romans 6 into a single repeated line.

Pip: Doctrine set to music tends to travel further than doctrine set to commentary.

Mara: The chorus and the chapter land on the same point: that the life now lived is oriented toward God, not toward the patterns the old self followed.

Pip: A week that moves from the interior of the body to the interior of the self — both asking what's actually going on in there.

Mara: And both suggesting that a clear look, however uncomfortable, is where any honest reckoning begins.

Podcast Episode: Faith, Music And Scripture

Pip: There's something quietly remarkable about a site that holds brass bands and biblical farewell speeches in the same breath — as if the Spirit moves equally well through a trombone and a tearful dockside goodbye.

Mara: Kenneth's recent posts do exactly that — moving from the devotional music of Salvation Army composer Howard Davies to Paul's charged farewell address to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. Let's start with the music.

Howard Davies and Salvation Army Music

Mara: Howard Davies is an internationally known Salvation Army composer whose work spans songster choirs, brass band arrangements, and devotional recordings across multiple countries and decades.

Pip: The post notes that his brass band selection "Songs of Encouragement" from 1978 incorporates melodies including "Guardian Grace," "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," and "Keep on Believing" — and is still available today through the Salvation Army Music Index.

Mara: What that longevity signals is that his music has remained genuinely useful in worship, not just historically interesting. His book Words and Music adds another layer — it documents the stories and inspiration behind the songs, making him a chronicler of Army musical heritage as much as a composer.

Pip: Devotional music with footnotes. There are worse legacies.

Compelled by the Spirit: Paul's Farewell at Miletus

Mara: Acts 20 presents one of the most personally revealing moments in Paul's ministry — a farewell speech where he accounts for his conduct, warns of what's coming, and explains why he's pressing on anyway.

Pip: The post anchors on verse 22, where Paul says directly: "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there."

Mara: That single line carries the weight of the whole passage. He knows hardship is ahead — the Spirit has told him so in every city — yet the compulsion overrides the calculation. The destination is certain; the outcome is not.

Pip: It's a remarkable posture. Not blind faith, not recklessness — he's fully informed and going anyway.

Mara: Verse 24 sharpens it further: "I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."

Pip: That's not resignation. That's a man who has genuinely reordered what counts as a loss.

Mara: The farewell itself is visceral. Paul warns the elders that savage wolves will come after he leaves, urges them to guard the flock, and reminds them he worked with his own hands rather than taking from them. When he finishes, they weep and embrace him — grieved most, the text says, that they will never see his face again.

Pip: A dockside goodbye that still lands two thousand years later.

Mara: From a brass band selection still in print after nearly fifty years to a farewell speech still read across the world — both posts are really about what it means to give your work to something larger than yourself.

Pip: Next time, we'll see what else from this corner of the internet is worth the journey.

A Better World

Revelation 21

3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See, the tent of God is among humans! He will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be death anymore. There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.”

I came across this song by The Melbourne Veterans Band a while ago and have always thought what a great testimony. You notice in the first half of verses everything refers to our ‘Earthly World’ and the second half he refers to ‘a Better World’ where men are saved to God and eternity

Unfortunately I have been unable to get the words of the song

Loving God

Proverbs 8 New International Version

12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
    I possess knowledge and discretion.
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil;
    I hate pride and arrogance,
    evil behaviour and perverse speech.
14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
    I have insight, I have power.
15 By me kings reign
    and rulers issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern,
    and nobles—all who rule on earth.[b]
17 I love those who love me,
    and those who seek me find me.
18 With me are riches and honour,
    enduring wealth and prosperity.
19 My fruit is better than fine gold;
    what I yield surpasses choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
    along the paths of justice,
21 bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me
    and making their treasuries full.

Any Room

Image result for room for jesus

Revelation 3:20

Here I am! I stand at the door b and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,c I will come in d and eat with that person, and they with me.

  1. Have you any room for Jesus,
    He who bore your load of sin?
    As He knocks and asks admission,
    Sinner, will you let Him in?

    • Refrain:
      Room for Jesus, King of Glory!
      Hasten now His Word obey;
      Swing the heart’s door widely open,
      Bid Him enter while you may.
  2. Room for pleasure, room for business,
    But for Christ the Crucified,
    Not a place that He can enter,
    In the heart for which He died?
  3. Have you any room for Jesus,
    As in grace He calls again?
    Oh, today is time accepted,
    T’morrow you may call in vain.
  4. Room and time now give to Jesus,
    Soon will pass God’s day of grace;
    Soon thy heart left cold and silent,
    And thy Savior’s pleading cease.

Along with the Chorus ‘Behold me standing at the door’ this is one of my favourite invitation hymns of all time. As you listen to the video and if you feel the need to accept him please do as I have.

Behold Me standing at the door,
And hear Me pleading evermore,
With gentle voice: oh, heart of sin,
May I come in? May I come in?

“Take the Name of Jesus with You”

A Hymn Born in Suffering but Overflowing with Joy

The hymn was written in 1870 by Lydia Odell Baxter, a woman whose life was marked by chronic illness and long periods of confinement. For nearly thirty years, she lived as an invalid, often bedridden, yet her room became a place where pastors, evangelists, and Christian workers came not to comfort her—but to be comforted by her.

Despite constant pain, Lydia radiated a deep, unshakeable joy. Her “secret,” as she told visitors, was simple but profound:

“I have a very special armor. I have the Name of Jesus.”

Whenever discouragement crept in, she would whisper His name, and peace would return.

📖 Her Love for Biblical Names

During her years of illness, Lydia became a devoted student of Scripture, especially fascinated by the meanings of biblical names. She loved to talk about them with friends—names like Sarah (“princess”), Samuel (“asked of God”), and Isaac (“laughter”). But her favourite name, the one she clung to in suffering, was Jesus—“Savior.”

This deep affection for the name of Christ naturally blossomed into the hymn we know today.

✍️ Writing the Hymn

Lydia wrote “Take the Name of Jesus with You” just four years before her death, while still confined to her bed. The text was later set to music by William H. Doane and first published in 1871 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

The hymn quickly spread, becoming especially popular during the Moody–Sankey revival campaigns of the late 19th century. Its message—carry Jesus’ name as a shield, a comfort, and a joy—resonated deeply with believers everywhere.

💬 Why the Hymn Still Speaks

Knowing Lydia’s story gives the hymn a richer texture. These weren’t abstract words; they were the lived testimony of a woman who found strength in the name of Jesus when her body failed her. Her sickroom became a sanctuary of encouragement, and her hymn continues that ministry today.

It’s no wonder the Salvation Army and many evangelical traditions still treasure it—you can almost feel her faith woven into every line.

New Beginnings

Image result for A new life in Christ

2 Corinthians 5 The Message

A New Life

14-15 Our firm decision is to work from this focused centre: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

16-20 Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

21 How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

I want to be close, close to your side
So heaven is real and death is, a lie
I want to hear voices of angels above
Singing as one
Hallelujah, holy, holy
God almighty, the great I am
Who is worthy, none beside thee
God almighty, the great I am
I want to be near, near to your heart
Loving the world and hating the dark
I want to see dry bones living again
Singing as one
Hallelujah, holy, holy
God almighty, the great I am
Who is worthy, none beside thee
God almighty, the great I am
The great I am
The mountains shake before you the demons run in fear
At the mention of the name king of majesty
There is no power in hell
Or any who can stand
Before the power and the presence of the great I am
The great I am, the great I am yeah
Hallelujah, holy, holy
God almighty, the great I am
Who is worthy, none beside thee
God almighty, the great I am
Hallelujah, holy, holy
God almighty, the great I am
Who is worthy, none beside thee
God almighty, the great I am
The great I am
The great I am
The great I am

Peace

Luke 2 : 13 – 14

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”Image result for peace at Christmas

It doesn’t matter which version of scripture you choose to read, you’ll find the word peace used about 150 times. Sometimes it’s used to warn people who are about to lose their sense of peace, and other times it’s part of a standard blessing spoken over God’s people. It’s remarkable how many times the word is used to give a promise or as part of prophecy. Often the word is spoken as a reminder of the peace God gave in the past or given as a word of hope for the present as well as the future. During Advent this year, we’ll look at each of those uses of the word, and hopefully, by focusing on the One born to bring us true peace, we’ll have our most tranquil Christmas celebration ever!

Nowadays we read, hear and see on TV all sorts of evil taking place all over the world. Lets remind ourselves that this is a season of Peace and Joy.

Verse 1]
Behold the star of Bethlehem
The Word of God has become flesh
Unto us a child is born
The Savior of this broken world

[Chorus]
Hear the angel voices
Sing come let us adore Him
Peace has come, for our King is with us

[Verse 2]
Fully God and fully man
He comes for all with open hands
He rules with love on David’s throne
All praise belongs to Christ alone

[Chorus]
Hear the angel voices
Sing come let us adore Him
Peace has come, for our King is with us
Holy, Holy, Holy
Jesus we adore thee
Peace has come, for our King is with us

[Bridge]
Oh come let us adore Him
Oh come let us adore Him
Oh come let us adore Him
Christ the Lord
(2x)