The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, "What is the chief end of man?” and then responds with the answer:  “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever”.

The Bible was never intended to be used as a weapon to separate people from the love of Christ. The Bible is meant to draw us to Christ. Jesus welcomed sinners; his arms were ever open to those who had fallen, those who struggled in life, those with broken hearts, those who were sick, and those who couldn't cope.

"Jesus himself drew near and went with them" (Luke 24:15)

"And He shall be great!" (Luke 1:32)

A story was told of how a minister would bow down below the communion table and touch the radiator just before serving the elements. When a new minister was inducted, the congregation gently explained the traditions of their church. One tradition that they desired the minister to continue was the touching of the radiator before serving the elements. As time passed, the former minister of the congregation was invited as guest preacher at their communion service. To end the new minister's curiosity, he asked his predecessor where the tradition of touching the radiator came from. The minister laughed and explained that during a worship service static would build up and rather than literally shock his elders, he would touch the radiator instead.

"The phrase "one last shaking" means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He's actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed. God himself is Fire!" (Hebrews 12:26-29 – The Message)

"Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you-guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Timothy 1:14)

As we follow Luke into the garden of Gethsemane, we come to that place where we must take off our shoes, for it is Holy Ground. It is the place of prayer, a place of aloneness with God.

It is that time of year when we stand together at the entranceway to a new Advent season. For the Church throughout the centuries, Advent meant "the Coming of the Glory of the Lord". Throughout the Old Testament scriptures we find a holy hush descending upon its pages. The great patriarchs, the holy prophets, along with many of God's people, spoke in deep reverent tones as they waited eagerly for the Glory of the Lord to "rend the heavens and come down".

"But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it." (Num.14:24)

"For some reason the Christian world has forgotten that God has never been impressed by buildings. Pastors & members who meet in simple makeshift structures constantly battle for earthly recognition as a legitimate church in town. Our attachment to steeples and stained glass can get in the way of real worship. If given the choice, God prefers passion over palace!" (taken from Tommy Tenney's book, "God's Favourite House".)

One of the most tragic plagues that came upon Egypt was "a darkness that may even be felt" (Ex.10:21-29). The Egyptian skies were now filled with dark clouds gathering together until the sky was totally covered by a blanket of darkness. This was no ordinary dark night in Egypt, it was a dark night of the soul. The darkness had descended so quickly, not just upon the land of Egypt, but upon the hearts of the people. Fear was gripping the inhabitants of Egypt. They could feel the darkness keenly. Everything you gazed upon was pure black.

I believe it was Mark Twain who once said "familiarity breeds contempt." This can be very true in the Christian life. When we first started seriously seeking after God we were so desperate to feel his presence and to be assured of his love. Today we no longer covet intimacy with the Lord, instead we covet our wants and other pleasures. Once we were so blessed and comforted as we read and believed in the promises of God, but now we find our daily Bible readings have become so cold and dry. Once we were so awed when the presence of God was felt in the church and in our personal lives, but now the presence of God seems so routine, ordinary, and familiar. The songs we sing have become a habit. Stories of people becoming Christians do not move us because we have seen and heard it all before. And what about the birth of Christ? Has the wonder gone?

"I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am lovesick!" (Song of Solomon 5:8)

"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand." Psalm 73:23

"And he shall show you a large upper room furnished; there make ready." (Luke 23:12)

Recently I picked up Mrs L B Cowman's wonderful classic "Streams in the desert".

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29:4-7).

As a student at university I scrimped and scraped to survive the financial hardships that lay before me. About half way through my degree programme I heard a Presbyterian preacher teach on biblical tithing. He preached from Malachi 3:10. In these verses he shared how the congregation in the Old Testament would give the "left-overs" from their lives rather than the "first-fruits" of their labours. God was now inviting the people of God to PROVE HIM that he will indeed bless us with such blessings from the windows of heaven if we just bring in the "whole of our tithe" to the storehouse of God (this of course doesn't mean just financial blessings!).

"And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun." (Mark 16:2)