John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Well it is Christmas.

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling -- even the LORD, who is my refuge-- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

This Psalm gives my wife and I great comfort. We have had some fairly difficult neighbours and the worry that they might disturb our nights often keeps us awake. Things have got much better over the last few years but circumstances in their household have given us cause for concern again.

Psalm 144:2-4

He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.

It's amazing that God cares for us. We are so small and insignificant in the world and yet he does amazing things for us. From caring for us each day to letting himself be killed for us.

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Ok, I get it - I should read my Bible every day (and night).

Joshua 1:8

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Hmmm. Perhaps I should read my bible a bit more often...

James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

We should pray for each other so that we might be healed. We should pray for lots of things. Something a friend said the other day about bad things happening by association with spiritual struggles reminded me of something Joyce Meyer said - that if a situation gets worse after you have started praying for it then that is an indication that the prayer is working.

Philippians 4:11

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Paul learned how to be content in all circumstances. And not because he had a cushy life. Quite the opposite really. In comparison the things that worry and concern me are but a drop in the ocean. I suppose I could put it down to things being simpler in the olden days, but I don't think that was true.