Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalms 37:4 (ESV) It’s a simple but powerful thought. To delight is to find enjoyment in, to celebrate, to  find satisfaction in someone or something. There is intentionality in this verb. The outcome of delighting, celebrating and finding satisfaction…

There was a period in my life when the Christmas/Yearend season was a time to dread, or at best, endure. Life wasn’t unfolding as I had imagined. I was lonely, dissatisfied and mad at God as a result. I only saw what was missing and I concluded that he was a withholding God. Getting anything…

Paul starts his second prayer for the Ephesians with a fascinating statement: For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. The Greek word translated “father” (pater) has the same root as the word translated “family” (patria). This is Paul’s play on words which,…

I love rice and curry. I love my wife. I use the word “love” in both sentences but the connotation is radically different, isn’t it? … It is. Trust me. In English, as in other languages, we do this often. We use a word that might have many nuanced definitions but our meaning when using…

There is a fascinating story of the friendship between Jesus, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus found in Luke 10 and John 11. In Luke, Jesus and his disciples are invited to the home of Martha and Mary. Martha gets distracted preparing for her guests. Mary on the other hand is sitting at the…

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. – Hebrews 11:6-7 (ESV) The Bible gives us a standing invitation to draw near to God, to love him with everything within us, to seek his…

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. – Jesus (John 10:27 NIV)  Unless you’ve learned something about shepherds and sheep you mightn’t think this is a verse about intimacy, but it is. I saw an incredible object lesson on this in a YouTube video: There are sheep grazing in…

“I have many servants, but I have fewer lovers.” – God Holy Spirit whispered this to Carol, our founding pastor, years ago. It has never left my mind since she shared it. When I first got involved in ministry in my mid-twenties I was primarily motivated by true devotion to Jesus. He had given his…

A number of years ago I had a battery of tests done on my heart. I was a little anxious because a routine ultrasound had raised some eyebrows. To my surprise, though, when we got the results, the cardiologist concluded, “Well, Mr Naraine, you are not like the rest of your family, there is nothing…

Twenty years ago, when I first was exposed to the need for deep-level healing I went for Spirit-led prayer ministry from two seasoned practitioners. I had scanned some preliminary material on what to expect and had read about “ungodly beliefs.” That was pretty strong language to my ears. I thought that, sure, I have some…