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I’m often struck that when Paul and Silas are beaten with many blows and thrown in prison that they sing hymns to God. How can they sing when they have been through so much and it’s being followers of Jesus that has got them into all this bother? How can they view their present troubles…

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” So goes the old rhyme, but I’m sure you’ll know words can and do hurt. Words can be powerful and can be used to destroy someone. In 1 Samuel 22 we hear of Doeg’s awful betrayal of the priests who stood by…

David felt trampled on and oppressed all day long. He must have been in a bad place – the heading of Psalm 56 tells us he had fled to Gath. Where is Gath? It’s Goliath’s hometown! David is not going to receive a warm welcome there! He’s fled from Saul and ended up in Gath…

To feel unsafe in your own home is a terrible thing. To feel that there are people lurking around, waiting to harm you. This was the experience of King David before he was made king. King Saul was continually trying to trap David, and even sent men to his house to kill him! 1 Samuel…

He was truly terrifying. Over 9ft tall he towered over everyone. He had a simple challenge, come and fight me! If you beat this giant all your enemies will submit to you. It is a favourite Bible story for many young boys – who hasn’t imagined that they could be the hero! There have been…

Samuel had told Saul that he needed to listen to God’s Word (1 Samuel 15:1). To listen to means not just to hear it, but to obey it. God’s Word can be hard to obey, normally because we think we know best. For Saul it was a hard word because it involved wiping out the…

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side…” …we would have been toast! That is what David recognises in Psalm 124 as he recounts that they would have been swallowed up if the LORD had not been on their side. We don’t know which particular rescue was referring to, but our…

How precious are persecuted Christians to the Lord Jesus? In Acts 9 we get to see a glimpse of how Jesus feels about those who suffer for being Christians. We see that Jesus identifies so closely with his suffering people as to say “when you persecute them, you persecute me.” That’s so helpful for those…

The persecution of Christians is an awful thing. Christians have faced everything from cold shoulders and harsh words to beatings, imprisonment and death. Stephen was the first Christian martyr, it must have been awful for him and his family. It’s hard to describe something like this as light and momentary, and yet that’s how the…

Sometimes we cause our own troubles, and tragically for those who refuse to turn to Jesus, the troubles are not achieving a glory that outweighs them all. Israel wanted a king. Their motive was not good. They wanted to be like the other nations around them. This was the very opposite of what God had…