I have read the Bible through before but not for some time. Inspired by the Holy Spirit and motivated by a recent teaching on the Word of God at my church, I decided to read through the New Testament. I did not use a Bible Reading Plan but jumped straight into reading for an hour a day. Around three days in, I started to put a Bible Reading Plan together to help me record my intention and track my progress. I found that reading the New Testament for an hour a day meant I coul

This month I am reading The Book of Proverbs. Twice. Why? On January 1, I will start The Way of Wisdom: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Book of Proverbs , by Timothy Keller. I have had the book since spring and have dipped into it now and again, but as it is a dated devotional starting on the first of the year, I have been waiting for the New Year to begin it properly. In preparation, I wanted to familiarise myself with The Book of Proverbs and decided to go through it twice

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end - it will not lie: If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay - Habakkuk 2:3 ESV The word 'lie' here also means to 'disappoint' . If you have a dream, whether something you dreamt at night or something you desire in your heart, if it came from God, know that it will not disappoint. If you feel disappointed because it has not happened yet, I would like to offer a different perspect

There is a particular injury that I have experienced multiple times. During the most recent occurrence, I reflected on the way those closest to me sometimes do not realise how much pain and discomfort I am in at these times because of the way I handle it. I do not soldier through it in silent suffering, but I can handle it better emotionally than I used to because experience has taught me it will pass and what to do physically to speed up the healing process. At the first sig

We do not know whether Jabez had to persevere in prayer to receive his breakthrough. I do know that his prayer is the kind you may not know has been granted right away - not if you are looking for physical evidence. I do not think his territory immediately expanded, or material blessings miraculously appeared before him the moment he finished his prayer. No, his name was still Jabez, so he would have had to stand firm on God's irrevocable blessing every single time he heard h

The centurion and Jabez both heard about God which caused them to believe. They put their faith into action by communicating their need to God in the confident expectation that God had the answer and would give it to them. Jabez's faith response to the problems of his name was to come to God via communication: "And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying..." 1 Chronicles 4:10 NKJV Similarly, the centurion sent Jewish elders to Jesus with a message: So when he heard about Je

And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God" Mark 11:22 Prayer, in its simplest form, is talking to God. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" This means that the first and fundamental part of prayer is faith - talking to God and believing that He exists while knowing He is listening, willing and able to respond in our favour. We kn

I love names. As a small girl, I would watch TV shows until the very end, then read every last name in the credits. Well, as many as I could read before they disappeared into the top of the television screen, or until someone changed the channel! I was interested in the different job titles, but my main fascination was reading the many names scrolling up the screen. I knew the names represented people, destinies, and intrinsic value. I sometimes wondered about the story behin