"God can take His time, even if He has given you a promise." (Image by James B Waddell)

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:.”

"Christ is eternal and lives in eternity, and only He is able to give light to a man to save him" (Photo by Thomas Kinto on Unsplash)

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

This is one of those magnificent texts of scripture, beautifully crafted by God. It tells us that in the beginning of Creation there was the Word, the logos. This can have one of a number of meanings, but here it means Christ, the Son. In Him is the complete form and nature of God. He was with God at His side, and yet He WAS God… “I was”.

"... and they left off to build the city" Genesis 11:8 (Image by sebastiano iervolino from Pixabay)

“So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.”

A while after the Flood, men (all descended from Noah) thought about building a ziggurat in an attempt to reach the sky. They wanted to be like God. But – see what happened! God was so displeased He brought calamity to all men, by giving them a different language! There were no translators, because every language was brand new, and so, unknown. It must have taken decades to sort out what each person was saying. All caused by a sinful desire to be god-like. God could not allow it to progress.

" “Follow me”. And that is what Matthew did, immediately… no questions or comments, just obedience." (Image by James B Waddell)

“And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.”

Matthew was a senior tax collector, who got rich at the expense of his own nation. He would have had his own bodyguards and, like others in the job, could charge whatever he liked, so long as he gave a basic amount to Rome. As such he was despised by everybody, including the rulers of the Sanhedrin. All Jews saw such men as the ‘lowest of the low’. And the scribes who followed Jesus every day must have been doubly astonished that Jesus even bothered to speak to him.

"Not even the Lord forces us to eat meat OR vegetation. It is our own choice."

“Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.”

It is assumed that mankind only ate herbs and green things until this time (about 1500 years after Creation). Now God says every animal is to be treated as food. However, the text is not final proof that men were vegetarian until this time, though it might be implied. At any rate, in this text God says men can eat anything they wish, whether meat or vegetation.

For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?” Matthew 9:5 (Image by Miriam Müller from Pixabay)

“For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?”

 A man was brought to Jesus on a light wooden bed. He needed to be healed of his stroke, which left him paraplegic. Jesus saw him and told him to take courage, for his sins were forgiven. Of course, as usual, Pharisees, scribes and other enemies followed Jesus to gather evidence of his supposed evils. ANY evil would do, so long as it brought Jesus into disrepute so He could be arrested!

"“I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." Genesis 9: 13 (Image by RMW)

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.”

 Do you think the rainbow is just a ‘natural’ result of rain? Then think again! Remember that God created light even before there was a light-source? That is, light depends entirely on God, not the sun or moon. Similarly, the rainbow belongs to God and is not merely a ‘technical’ result of rain. I am not being stupid or naïve… I just believe in what God says! Do you?

Upper Lliw Reservoir (Image by RMW)

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”

This text should be read carefully in line with the Thread about Elisha cursing teenagers who taunted him, in 2 Kings 2: 24.  Also, in Isaiah 45: 7, we saw that God cannot create evil (in our day the word ‘evil’ refers to sin, but it had a wider meaning in older times).  Just as God cannot create evil, so He cannot repent of evil, either. To repent is to stop sinning, turn from evil, and get back onto the narrow path. So, what does ‘repent’ mean in this text?

Swansea Bay breakwater (Image by RMW)

 “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”

Atheists love to find what they think are errors in the Bible. In this text they enjoy saying that God makes evil. But, what nonsense! Do they really think Isaiah would make such a rudimentary mistake that says God makes evil (thereby making us free to sin because God created it)? Please – stop the insults to our intelligence!

Tintagle Castle cove Cornwall (Image by James Waddell)

“And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.”

Elisha was fresh from seeing Elijah taken by angels in a chariot, to be with Jehovah. If you read the chapter around this verse, you will be left in no doubt that Elisha was given the mantle of Elijah. But, I know that many Christians will look on this text, in which 42 ‘children’ were injured or died after being cursed by Elisha, with horror. They were torn apart after being mauled by two she-bears.

Gower Strawberries (Image by CW)

1. “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.”

It would be easy to misquote this text by saying vegetarians are stupid! But, it is not what the text is saying. The word “weak” in this text means to be powerless and feeble. Another meaning, but not in this context, is to be sick or poor.

Blue Bells (Image by IJN)

As human beings we are very good at choosing the wrong friends and, sometimes, the wrong spouse, wrong job, wrong car… you name it and we can feel sorry for ourselves! We complain that we made the wrong choices and wish we had not made a mistake. Many of us learn how to live by this hit-and-miss method.

"When we rest where God is, we are refreshed, our soul is restored, no matter what difficulties or hardships we suffer." (Photo by RMW)

“2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”

When reading this Psalm I am immediately reminded of Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress. A sincere and loyal servant of Christ, he made a huge mistake in not following the river bank and instead climbed over a gate into a giant’s property for a rest. The result was loss of freedom and beatings. And then, just as he thought he would die, he remembered that he himself had a key to the dungeon’s door, and then fled the prison he had been kept in. It is God’s intention to make us lie down and rest in green meadows, NOT in a dungeon made by enemies of the soul. Yet, we enter in!

"We are to be an open book to all, our faith emblazoned on our foreheads." (Photo by IJN)

“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”

Do we honestly serve God? If we really do, it will show in our lives. It will be open to scrutiny by others, including unbelievers (whether they like us or hate us). Many today feebly say that their faith is their own private business. This is either a lie, or a very warped way to look at faith!

Rhossili Bay, Gower, Swansea in evening sun (Photo by IN)

“The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

Have you tried talking seriously with an outright unbeliever? What about telling them that God’s word is supreme and is good for all? What was their reply? I can guess – swearing, blasphemy, anger, and sudden enmity! Maybe not all in that actual sequence, but very close to the mark. A supposed ‘friend’ will not be your friend for long, once you mention God and His word as absolute. To put it another way – talk always about God as the Lord of all, but the Saviour of only a few, and those who smiled before will become glowering enemies. And scripture warns us about it.

Winter fields in Wales (Photo by AW)

“Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”

In my last job I rarely sat down for a cup of tea during my 13 hour shift. One morning I did manage to sit down and was accompanied by a junior nurse. We chatted and something came up about a murderer. I voiced my belief that those who kill should be put to death quickly. The other nurse (who claimed to be a Christian) looked shocked and said “How can you call for the death penalty when you are a Christian?”

“Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.”

Almost every preacher and teacher wrongly tell their listeners that the animals went into the Ark two by two. Is this a minor error, not to be worried about? As I have asked in the past: “How many errors can we allow?” Got the answer?

The answer is “none!” NO error is acceptable!

The Bristol Channel (Photo by RM)

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”

Many Christians, following the ignorance of atheists, claim that the ‘sons of men’ in verse 2 are also known as ‘giants’. They also say that the two terms are synonymous with fallen angels (demons). Hm.

" An error is also a satanic breach of that word, leading to greater errors and, finally, heresy." (Swansea Bay to Mumbles. Photo by AW)

“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:”

Here we have a verse usually mistaken by Christians. They assume that the verse (commonly referred to as the start of ‘the beatitudes’) describes Jesus on a mountain side, preaching to a very large crowd. Some of the crowd might have heard what Jesus was saying, but His words were solely for the disciples! He was not preaching to the crowd, but intimately teaching His closest followers, including the apostles.

Now, the presence of sin causes the whole universe to groan.

“Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;”

I am often amused by the comments made by evolutionists and other atheists. One comment used often, with a smirk, is “If God made everything perfect, where do we get weeds from, and animals that kill other animals?”

The answer is given to us in God’s word! (But, because they think God is a mythical character, they don’t pay heed to what He says).

"Today, how many think their many hours a week in church services are enough to gain God’s grace?" (Swansea Bay by MW)

“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,”

John was six months older than Jesus, and was about 30 years old when he began to preach. This followed the Judaistic teaching that a man is not mature enough or ready to preach until age 30. At the time of Moses, serving God appeared to revolve around the same age.

To us, John might look like a wild man, but many men of that time wore similar clothing when they worked mainly in the desert or hills!

"ALL of Genesis is factual, so believe it" (Photo by taken in Wales by MW)

“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”

Some folks get very defensive, if not irate, if anyone questions their idea of where the Garden of Eden was. In truth, all we can say, tentatively, is that it appears to have been roughly in the Middle East. We cannot be more certain.

But, they argue, we have the names of four mighty rivers. One went through Eden to water it. One ran around Ethiopia; one was east of Assyria. Another was named as Euphrates. Our good folks point to these and say they know where Eden was.

The Northern Lights in Swansea 01 01 2025 (Photo by MW)

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,”

Whilst critics dismiss the entire account of Jesus’ birth, if not the whole Bible, those who claim to belong to Christ should have a totally different attitude. That is, as Christians, we MUST and SHOULD believe every single word, without exception, even if we don’t have all the answers. Many, though, carry unbelief in their hearts and minds, whilst outwardly agreeing with the veracity of scripture. What this does is to introduce rot into their lives, which will slowly eat away at certainty. It is usually unspoken, but oh how depressing, to carry an inner doubt cloaked in a claimed (false) faith!

(Photo by MW: A summer field in Wales)

“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

 Do you really believe this verse? If so, would you argue against an atheist or even a Christian theistic evolutionist? Whether you ‘win’ is not the point. The point is that you truly believe what scripture says and are willing to face-off to enemies of God.

" As always, God moves as He wishes, and it is usually a move humans do not expect." (Photo by MW)

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”

(Also see my book: ‘The Real Mary’)

People view this verse in the same way they view the account of God creating light BEFORE creating the sun (Genesis 1:3). They think it is a joke. No woman can get pregnant like this! The couple must have ‘played around’! Even some Christians stay silent about this text, because it sounds far-fetched. So much for their belief!!

"God made light INDEPENDENT of a light-source such as the sun. God simply said “Let there be light” (Photo by MW)

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

I have always noted, from observation, that those who hate God and shout the loudest against His word, prove, beyond doubt, that they are trying to hide their foolishness with loud denials and laughs. They KNOW the Bible is right, and the louder their scorn, and anger, the more they prove they KNOW Scripture is right and they are wrong!

1 John 3:18 “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." (Photo by MW)

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.”

Psalm 111: 10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” (Photo by MW)

“All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.”