We begin a fresh journey today. It’s one that will lead us to Christmas. It is a journey framed by the timeless Christmas message – journeying with others in search of God.

Learning to be satisfied with what one has is something Scripture encourages. It literally means to accept that what we have is enough. In a world where accumulation is the norm, it can prove difficult learning to be satisfied.

Our beliefs are what we hold to be true. As Christians, we choose to accept the saving grace of Jesus and the inspiration of Scripture. Whilst belief is easy to express in words, the test of our beliefs lies in the degree to which we express them through our life choices.

Many of our emotions are accompanied by a physical experience. Grief grips the heart and constricts our breath. Often we act out the physical feeling we experience. We tense up with anger and give it physical or verbal expression.

To step is to take an action that leads to a result. God is interested in securing our safe encounter with Him. As we consider the many opportunities before us and the decisions we might take, we can never know what the results might be. We marry full of hope and anticipation, only to lose our partner suddenly to an unexpected illness.

The consistent promise in the Bible is that fullness of life comes from God alone (Col. 2.9). This challenges human wisdom, and indeed Scripture tells the story of humanity’s natural inconsistency, vacillating between following God and natural instinct.

No one can have God as Father who does not have the church as Mother’. So said St Cyprian, whose quote is referred to by John Calvin throughout his Institutes. This may sound a strange description, yet it is the Church that must submit to Christ in all things (Eph. 5:21–28). Indeed, the Church is the bride of Christ awaiting the glorious day when she will be united with Christ (Rev. 19:6–9).

Look around any church and you will observe great diversity. Whilst everyone seeks God, the range of experience is varied. From

The reason for Every Day with Jesus is to unlock the Bible and open God’s treasury of blessing contained within all of Scripture. It’s taking the time to approach and settle down in front of Jesus, much as this crowd did on the mountainside. Then inviting Jesus to bless His Word and nourish us with fresh hope and new life.

Solomon thanks God for three key foundations that sustain Christian witness. First, he thanks God for his heritage. Next, for his own calling and purpose and, finally, he declares God is trustworthy.