Daily reflections

The 1647 Westminster Confession defines God as being 'without body, parts or passions', but that's more of a philosophical statement. In the Hebrew Bible he is very passionate indeed: loving, sad, angry, regretful, and sometimes...

When some of the Gentiles (or non-Jewish people) began believing in Christ, some of the Jewish believers insisted that they had to observe Jewish customs such as circumcision in order to be saved.

After Paul and Silas released a slave girl from a demonic spirit, her owners, who were exploiting her, had Paul and Silas arrested. During their incarceration they were heavily guarded and locked in stocks – a pretty dismal...

In Acts 17, Paul travels to Athens and while in the Aeropagus he notices a dedication 'To an Unknown God'. What he then proclaims to his hearers is that the God he knows is a personal one, who wasn’t made by human hands...

In Acts 18, Paul preaches in the synagogue in Corinth and is met with opposition, but receives a dream from God telling him not to be afraid or silent. God’s encouragement to Paul is that there are many other believers in...

In Ephesus there was a temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Artemis, and visitors would buy silver idols to take home. Because Paul’s Christian ministry was so successful, the idol makers’ business was suffering, leading...

Acts 20 follows the ministry of Paul as he travelled through the many places where he had planted churches. There are many deeply serious incidents recorded in the book of Acts, but in 20.7–12 we find one with a funny side...

In Acts 21 Paul travels to Jerusalem, despite the prophecy warning he would be bound up and mistreated there. Sure enough, when he comes to Jerusalem he is accused of teaching that Jews should give up following the Jewish...

Paul has just been rescued from great danger: a mob has nearly lynched him and he's been saved by a Roman commander, who – at the risk of starting up the riot again – gives him permission to address the hostile crowd.