Elaine Campbell

 '...We are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?' (Romans 8:24) Everyone who has faith in God and believe in His Son Jesus Christ has hope of the Second Coming of Christ. We have been saved by grace through faith in Christ, of which we will have eternal life with him, if we remain faithful.  We long for that glorious day when we will be completely release from sin and suffering; as we wait in expectancy and hope to be given our full rights as God's adopted children and the fulfilment of the promise of immortality. Sin keeps us separated from God, but we have salvation in Christ as a free gift from God to restore us back to himself. This gift, we know is guaranteed to all who will accept the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, we are saved by hope, that is, we are preserved by the hope that sustain us, amidst our trials and sufferings until the day dawns and Jesus our Saviour puts in his appearance. He will eradi

 'Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once' (Proverbs 28:18). The Lord is our Protector and Waymaker. He is ever seeking to guide and lead us in the path of righteousness. Those who trust in Him and  walk uprightly, He promised to save. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord; perceive him as the Author and Finisher of our faith, He will be with us through whatever sufferings and calamities that may befall us. He will protect us when we are caught in the raging storms of life. But for those who trust in their own perverse ways, and turn away from the way of the Lord shall fall at once. When they least expect it, destruction will come upon them and it will be too late for them. We cannot at anytime serve too masters: one we will love and the other we will hate. We need to serve only the true and living God, who is able to save us. It doesn't mean that we will not encounter or have problems, issues or afflictio

 'Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?' (Psalm 77:13). The God of Creation is more than worthy of our praise and worship. There is absolutely no one like our God. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent; He  demonstrated His amazing love to all his people, when he came down to earth in the form of his Son to redeem us, by his blood. Who then is like our God? His ways through his creation, his providence and his grace are beyond anything we could ever imagine. He is holy, just and righteous. From generation to generation, His people can attest to the awesome and mighty power he has manifested among them. So when you cannot trace His ways, trust Him nonetheless; because His way is in holiness. David recognised that God's way is in the sanctuary; when he saw the prosperity the wicked and that there was no band in their death and their strength was  firm, he was envious. But when he went into the sanctuary of the Lord, he was comforted as

 'Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come' (John 7:34). Jesus Christ came to this earth to save us from the bondage of sin, and to restore us back to the Father. Those who should be a light to the heathen nations around rejected Him as the Messiah. They, the Scribes and Pharisees seek to silence Him on several occasions but were afraid of the people; also it wasn't Christ's appointed time yet to die. There are people today who also rejected Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God who died for them. Christ is calling us to take a stand and to take up our individual cross and follow him. The Holy Spirit is there pleading to the hearts of men to seek the Saviour, before it is too late. In the time of Christ, there were different opinions as to who he really was. What is your opinion of Him and what does He mean to you? Seek Jesus today, sit at his feet and learn of him. Study the Word of God daily, meditate upon it and pray  consistent

 'From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I' (Psalm 61:2). The Lord is our Rock, it is in him we stand a shelter in the time of trouble; crisis; adversity, and even in this time of a pandemic. We all need to look to God and cry out like David, "...When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I." This Rock is Jesus who is high and deep. He is our Shelter, our help, our high tower and the Rock of our salvation. When we are fearful and overwhelmed, trust and look to Him, he will calm us. Whatever our problems, we can leave them to Him, who is bigger than any problems we may encounter. Are you feeling overwhelmed or anxious today? Do you feel like your problems or situations you face are drowning you? Then cry unto the Lord, and ask him to rescue you and lead you to his shelter that is higher that you. In our distress and affliction, look to Jesus.  No matter where you ar

'The Lord is my shepherd;  I shall not want' (Psalm 23:1). A shepherd is one who looks after sheep. His responsibility is to provide, guide and protect them. Sheep are animals that tend to stray, but are obedient and will follow where ever they are led. The shepherd often had to discipline the young sheep that would stray from the flock, by using a rod to break the leg of the wandering lamb, then he binds the wound and carried the lamb on his shoulder until that wound is healed. David himself was a Shepherd and he knew the role and responsibility of being one. Therefore addressing the Lord as "My Shepherd" was personal and one of admiration for a God he knew would deliver. He was confident of God's provision and continue to say, "I shall not want." He knew the Lord was with him and was capable of providing for his needs, which give him comfort and peace. We too can be assured and have confidence that Jesus, our Good Shepherd will provide for all our need

 'In him was life; and the light was the light of men' (John 1:4). In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John1:1).  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...(John 1:14). We see depicted in these passages that Jesus was the Word, and that He is God. He is the resurrection and the life and all who believe on him will have everlasting life. It is important to establish who Jesus is, and the sacrifice he made on our behalf to redeem us from the disease of sin. When we appreciate that He is also God, who in human form came down and died for us, so as to save us from the bondage of sin; it should motivate us to honour and serve him. In Him is life: we cannot gain eternal life without having Jesus in our lives. We must accept His sacrifice on the Cross, believing He is the Son of God, who was before the foundation of the world. We must also accept Him as our Co-Creator and that everything was made by Him. God our loving Father has giv

 'The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?' (Psalm 118:6) Sin is evil, it is wicked and vicious and is of Satan. It causes chaos, destruction, great calamities, violence, sickness, death; but most  of all separation from our Creator. Sin came with a high price tag, the Son of God. He was the only one who could deal with the problem of sin. He was condemned for our sin, even though he bore no sin. He was afflicted and experienced a cruel death on the Cross, that he didn't deserve, so we could have the life he deserved. The stake was high and the cost of sin great, but our Saviour did it for every one of us, to restore and reconciled us back to the Father.  In our own lives we experience the effects of sin daily.  The hearts of men are cold, hard, vile and evil; the saints of God being persecuted for their faith; turmoil in the world; death and sickness and the various natural disasters. As believers we ought to lift our hearts to God and give him pra

 'For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God' (Hebrews 3:4). Jesus Christ is the greatest man to ever walked this earth. He being the Son of God, was appointed by God to come down and be the Saviour for man. In other words, It was God himself in the form of his Son, who came to rescue man from sin and death, by dying for them. Christ was faithful to God from beginning to end. He is not only our Master Teacher; our Master Healer, but He is our Master Builder, who built everything. Every house that is built has a builder, and the builder is greater than the house because he built it. How much more then, should Jesus not be greater than us, who is  our Creator and  Builder of our lives? We are God's workmanship, His masterpiece and he has created us anew in Christ, so we can do the good things he planned for us before hand (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus created the world both visible and invisible. He is the Word that became flesh and dwell amongst us

 'Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me'   (Proverbs 1:28). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and also of knowledge. Those who despise the wisdom of God and his instructions are described as fools (Proverbs 1:7). To daily sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to his wonderful counsel is a very good practice to adapt. We should also study His Word and allow Him to speak to us through it. When we choose to neglect the Word of God and refuse His counsel, we are going down a very dangerous path - the way of destruction. The Bible says, "I will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when when your fear cometh...when distress and anguish cometh upon you" (Proverbs 1:26-27). As a result of ignoring God's wisdom, when you call upon the Lord, guess what? He will go silent! He will go silent because you have disregarded His Word and his counsel; He have called and you did not listen. Now, He not on

 'Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall' (Proverbs 16:18). Pride can be used in a good sense, in that, one has the feeling of respect to self or to others. However, one still need to be cautious that it does lead to the bad sense that the Bible alludes to. Pride is a deadly sin and began in heaven in the heart of Lucifer (Satan). Lucifer was an anointed cherub, and was created perfect in every way by God until iniquity was found in him. He developed a proud heart and a haughty spirit, wanting to be like the Most High God, which was the root of his destructive fall from heaven. He had every opportunity to repent but his pride and haughtiness  got the better of him; he also took with him one third of the angels in heaven. His fall from heaven gave him the opportunity to cunningly tempt Eve into eating the fruit and that she would be like God, knowing good and evil. She then tempted Adam and  because of their disobedience to the command of God they si

 'If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the Spirit of glory and of God rested upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified' (1 Peter 4:14). Bearing the name of Jesus should be seen as a wonderful privilege to those who believe in Him. It is indeed a blessing when you're being insulted or reproached for being a Christian, because the glorious Spirit of God will rest upon you. Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world was cruelly mistreated. He was beaten, spat upon, pierced with a  sword in his side and hung shamefully on a cross, by those He came to save. Being insulted or even suffering for His name, is nothing in comparison to what Christ went through for us. So whatever circumstances we find ourselves, be thankful. Deem it a privilege to be treated as Christ was treated by the world. If the Son of God who came to save us, was treated so cruelly, why not us sinners, who call upon His name? Being able to  suffer for Ch

 'And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee' (Psalm 9:10). It is a good thing to rejoice in the Lord Most High. He is our strength from day to day and we need to follow him all the way. He is our refuge in times of trouble, and all those who know His name will put their trust in Him. God promises to set on high those who know His name (Ps. 91:14).  We can be confident when we seek God, knowing He will not forsake us. When Jesus returns, every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord, whether you know Him or not. He is our gracious and loving God, full of compassion and goodness. He is merciful and forgiving and bountiful in grace. He is our Salvation and we must not fear or be afraid. He is the resurrection and life, those who trusted in Him will have life everlasting. When we know the name of God and who he is, we will believe on His Word and trust his promises. Jesus died for all, but it

 'Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man' (James 1:13). Temptations in itself is not sin, but the problem occurs when we yield to it. Jesus himself was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness, after He had fasted for forty days and nights. Satan sought  to destroy the Son of God, through his temptations, but Christ stood on the Word of God and trusted His Father, and was victorious. We  too need to stand on God's Word and trust Him  when we are tempted. Our God is faithful and trustworthy and will not orchestrate events in our lives with the intention to lure us away from Himself. He loves us and wants only good things for us. He wants to save us so we can spend eternity with Him. The trials will come, have no doubt about that! And will certainly test our faith. We need to know that when we go through these trials and hardships, it's to strengthen us. God's purpose in those times, is to

 'But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand' (Isaiah 64:8). We are God's masterpiece of creation; we were created fearfully and wonderfully in the image and likness of God. After sin we lost that image and likness of God. Adam was created in the image of God, but after he sinned, his children were born in his image. It took the Son of God, through his redeeming blood to restore us to God's image. As sinners can only attain to righteousness of Christ, as our righteousness is as filthy rags.  As we continue to sin and commit iniquity, it is only God's mercy towards us that prevent us from being consumed. Israel rebelled and disobeyed God, they turned their backs on God and wandered far from him. But as Isaiah, the prophet of God looked back on what God had done for them; His continuous love, his mercy towards them, his patience and longsuffering. He appealed to God on their behalf, as he uttered the

 'I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth' (3 John1:4). John's letter was addressed to his friend Gaius to whom he had great love and admiration. Gaius was a faithful witness to the truth of the gospel and also walked in the truth. In his greeting to his friend, John was also encouraging him to continue to testify of Jesus and walk in spirit and in truth. In our society today, amidst all the difficulties we face; the trials we go through and the pain and suffering we bear; as believers, we should never lose sight of Jesus. We  must keep reflecting the love of Christ by our attitudes and actions. How do we treat our fellow believers, as well as unbelievers we daily come in contact with? We ought to lift each other up and encourage one another in the faith, as witnesses of the gospel of Christ, walking in the truth. There may be fellow believers who walk contrary to the gospel for one reason or another, we must help through love and patience to s

 'For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world' (John 6:35). Christ is the true and living bread and anyone who partakes of this bread shall live forever. He, the bread of life has given His life for all. When we believe on Him, we shall have everlasting life. Jesus said, "This is the bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever" (John 6: 58). The manna (bread of angels) which came down from God was heavenly bread, that typified and prefigured Christ, the true and living bread of God, coming down from the highest heaven to give life to us. Jesus speaking to the people back then, wanted them to understand that it is through faith and not works that eternal life is gained. The same principle applies to us  today, that it is by faith and not our deeds that is the source of salvation. We must believe on Christ through grace and by faith in orde

 'By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil' (Proverbs 16:6). The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Sin is callous, evil and destructive, it robs us of our joy and peace; it separates us from God and causes us to be fearful. It cost God his Son, whom he gave up to die on the cross for us. We were all dead in sin, but the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, gave us the blessed hope of eternal life. We therefore, need to seek Christ and His righteousness and turn away from our sins and iniquities; showing mercy unto others as Christ grants us his mercy and grace. Let mercy and truth purify your life. When you seek and practice them it will motivate you to fear the Lord and will then lead you to forsake your sins and depart from evil. God is merciful to us, even though we don't deserve his mercy, and we should be to others. God's truth is a precious jewel that is reveal through His Word, with all since

 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' (1 Corinthians 3:16). Jesus died for all people of the earth; from every nation, kindred and tongue, that we might be save for eternity. But it is only those, who by grace through faith that believe on Him and are born again that will be saved. As believers, God's Spirit lives in each individual and collectively we are  considered the temple of the living God. You may ask,"How can a frail human being body be the temple of God? It is only as we trust in Jesus as our Saviour from sin, and have God's Holy Spirit resides in us, that we can become God's temple. It is a hugh responsibility and a wonderful privilege bestowed upon us by God himself, to be His spiritual temple. Together as believers we are the temple of God which his Spirit dwells in. We must seek to abide in the power and strength of Jesus Christ, and not our own strength. Submitting our will to the Holy Spirit as

 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee' (Psalm 25:1). Integrity is about being honest and sincere; doing the right thing regardless of your circumstances, even if no one is watching. It is also about being true to one's self, being transparent and open with others. Uprightness is having a strict adherence to moral principles; being honourable and honest and be able to conform to the standards of righteousness that lead to those principles. David trusted God and wanted God to perfect his heart and help him to uphold His standard of uprightness to preserve him as he continue to wait on him. He knew God personally and that he could trust Him to do what was right and to protect him from his enemies, so he was appealing to God's integrity and uprightness.  David had displayed integrity and uprightness  as his enemies seek to destroy and discredit him; but he seek most of all the promises of God's protection through His integrity and uprightness, as he