I speak to all those saints out there who are going through a spiritual dry patch:

"I am with you."

The word "I", in this case, refers to me, not Jesus. I am in a emotional dead zone. For years I have read the accounts of Christians who, after much revelation and joy in Christ, hit the doldrums. They describe wading through a slough of despond, a mire of apathy, where they call out to the Lord and receive no answer. This sorry predicament reminds me of John Bunyan's book Pilgrim's Progress, a very "Olde English" book. I sat down one day to read it, and oh! how tedious it was to plow through the antiquated prose. But there was something great in it, because days, months, even years afterwards the pilgrim's travels and predicaments come to mind — encouraging, familiar and real.

So what can one do at a time like this?

• Pray, even if you seem not to be answered — your reward will be great for all your continued efforts.
• Stay the course; stick with what is good and true.
• Fight on against sin; don't falter. If you fall, pick yourself up and carry on; don't dwell in your failure.
• Seek out other believers, and draw on their support.
• Count your blessings, and thank the Lord for all the little wonders of life.
• Continue to help others. That help will be returned many times over.
• Read the Bible, or a Christian book. Let others ease your journey with stories of hope and understanding.

Our trials won't last forever. Jesus is with us, whether we recognize His gentle touch or not. Because of His help, our troubles will never be more than we can bear. Even when it all seems hopeless, pointless, let us still put our faith in the one who saved us. We must not give up, or give ourselves over to anything, or anyone, but the Lord. And soon, almost before we know it, the dry patch will be crossed, and we will drink once more from the waters of life.

John 4:14 – Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (NIV)

Prayer: Dear Lord, strengthen our resolve to follow in your pathways, even when our feelings do not coincide with what we know to be true. Keep us secure in the knowledge that you are always close by. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

I like to be asked. "Asked for what?" I hear you say. Well — anything, I suppose. When I am asked to do something, it makes me feel needed, empowered, eager to help. These are really good feelings, and should be a credit to me, but the other day I realized they had become an impediment, a crutch.

Some weeks ago my wife had the misfortune of injuring her foot, and was laid up on the couch. An old pair of wooden crutches was the only way she could move around, but the crutches were in poor shape. The padding was all split apart and the rubber feet were almost worn through. I had fetched the crutches up from the basement and saw their sorry state, but I did nothing. I was waiting to be asked. One week went by, then another, but my wife did not ask me to repair her crutches; she just made do. She figured that I had more than enough work, doing most of her chores as well as my own. Then the little rubber foot on one of the crutches wore through, and she almost fell as the crutch slid out from under her. The crutches had gone from being uncomfortable to unsafe. I was upset to see this happen, and realized I was about to blame her for allowing this to happen, for not asking me to help. What a ridiculous rationalization!

Romans 16:2 – I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. (NIV)

Sure, it is nice to be asked, but we must not allow that fact to stop us, or even slow us down. If we see a need, we should offer help. We ought to give everything we can, for love does not hold back. Our Lord certainly did not wait to be asked. And when I hear that quiet knocking on the door of my heart, I know it is Jesus who is ready and waiting to offer me help, before I even ask Him.

Psalm 28:7a – The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. (NIV)

Prayer: Lord God, guide us away from allowing our good works to become merely an exercise in boosting our self-esteem. Encourage us to grasp opportunities to help others in need and to go forward with eagerness, not waiting to be asked. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Have you ever had a really productive day, a day when you rose up in the morning, clear-headed and alert? You tackled the chores, and those awkward little jobs you had been putting off, and everything seemed to go smoothly?

I had one of those days, and it seemed that problems almost solved themselves. After working the whole day long, suppertime drew near and with daylight fading, I marvelled at how the time had flown by. "If only every day could be as productive as this one," I thought, "I could really accomplish something." What made this day different? Was I stronger or smarter or more spiritual than usual? No. What was it then?

The only thing that stood out was that I was thinking clearly. I didn't need more brains or money, more time or studying — I just needed to use the brain God gave me. Then it immediately occurred to me that, if only I were to think clearly about God, about my relationship with Him, perhaps I could make great progress on my spiritual journey!

What if I were to tackle all those mundane spiritual chores with a clear head? What if I addressed those niggling little obedience problems I have, and bring my actions into line with God's will, would they be solved smoothly if only I were to think clearly? And the answers I came up with were: yes, and yes again.

Christianity is straightforward and easy to understand, but there is much spiritual difficulty caused by muddy thinking. Often all the information is sitting in our minds, just waiting for us to jump out of our mental rut and fit it together. We have been redeemed by Jesus' sacrifice. When we follow our Lord we will be happier immediately, in the future, and even after death. We have the information and we have a brain.

Jesus does not ask us to follow him blindly; He asks us to think.

Prayer: Dear God, you have given us such an abundance of intelligence and marvellous mental abilities; we thank you for these powerful gifts. Help us to use our minds to think clearly and to grow closer to you and to others, in faith and love. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Rebuke is pouring from my lips. Why am I so angry? My beloved wife is looking at me with a hurt expression in her eyes. She has done nothing that deserves this anger, but the emotion fills me. It is all I can do not to jump up and down and hurl screaming imprecations. Nothing good will come of this. I am acting against my beliefs, against my own intelligence. God help me, what can I do?

Genesis 4:7 – If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (NIV)

"Master it": my orders are very clear. I must choose a different path. Somehow, I must not give in to anger, no matter that it rears its ugly head day after day. Though it dogs my heels, waits for me in ambush and never seems to let up, I am still supposed to beat it. Lord, I am overwhelmed by this… please help me; show me the way.

Ephesians 4:26-27 – "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (NIV)

Matthew 5:22a,23-24 – But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (NIV)

When we are angry, God tells us to control our actions, even if we cannot banish our feelings of anger. We must humbly ask forgiveness from those whom we have offended, then pray to God and trust in Him.

Psalm 4:3-5 – Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord.

Prayer: Amen!

At our Sunday fellowship hour, the millennium came up in conversation. One very devoted Christian lady, whom I love dearly, commented:

"Maybe Jesus will return at the millennium." My eyebrows reached for the ceiling.

"Well," I said, impetuous as usual, "we don't know the exact day of Jesus birth, or even the year, for certain. There is nothing special, or magical about the number 2000, and Jesus did not ever mention a specific date for his return either."

"That's true!" she said, with certainty, patting my forearm. "There is no date mentioned in the Book."

I took a sip of my coffee, and the lady, old enough to be my grandmother, did the same. She is a stalwart member of our congregation, and always tries to look her best on Sunday. Then, in her soft Scottish accent that sent a tingle up my spine, she said, "I wonder whether it will happen next year, though." Her face held a serious expression and I realized this was not a casual conversation.

So I replied, "Don't worry about next year. If Jesus comes… just think! Won't it be wonderful!"

My friend thought for a second or two, then began to smile in a surprising way, and said, "You know, we should be prepared to welcome Him on any day… any hour, even!"

"Yes!" I said, nodding my head emphatically.

I imagined this precious saint of a woman hoping that she is wearing one of her newer dresses on the day of His glorious return. A mental picture of Jesus embracing her, welcoming her into heaven came over me, and I felt very glad indeed.

Prayer: Lord, help us cast aside all our worries and rejoice… rejoice in Christ our Saviour! Amen.

At supper I noticed that one of my molar teeth was getting sensitive. That night I cleaned my teeth with great diligence, using a special toothpaste to take away the sensitivity. But it didn't do much good. By the following week I was losing sleep from the pain and finding it difficult to concentrate at work. So I called my dentist, and he kindly invited me to come immediately.

At the dental office, reclining in the patient's traditional rubber chair, I realized that I was afraid. My hands were cold. My forehead was damp. I held up my hands before me and saw them shaking. It reminded me of an old joke about a dentist and a minister who died on the same day, and met at the pearly gates. The dentist was ushered straight into heaven, but the minister was rejected. When the minister asked why, Peter told him that the dentist caused more people to pray in one week than he had in his whole career. A hint of a smile appeared on my lips, then disappeared. Fear is no joke when you are in it. So I started up a conversation with God….

I said: "Lord, before I came to believe in you I was never this afraid of the dentist".

It seemed that His reply shot back: "Yes you were, you just hid it from yourself by pretending not to care".

"Oh", I said, somewhat chastened. "But I thought it would get easier, Lord; instead it is more difficult now".

Again His reply was immediate: "Yes, difficult. But I am with you."

And with those words, I was comforted. Tears of gratitude prickled my eyes. And even though my hands still shook, I knew it would be all right, because I knew He was there with me.

Prayer: Help us turn to you, the Father of compassion, whenever we are fearful, so that we might receive the comfort you so freely give. Help us also to pass on that gift, showing understanding and support for those who are afraid. Amen.

I once heard a sermon from an old Scottish minister that was so vivid in its depiction of hell that, sitting in the pew, I was quite afraid. It made me want to escape the service, and run away. The presentation was mainly about how, even though we deserve punishment, Jesus came down to offer us salvation, and pay the just price for our sins. It was actually a rather good sermon, but instead of coming away with the message of love and justice, what I took home was the fire and brimstone. Probably, though, it was my own fault: not paying attention through the last half. I thought back to this episode when I recently volunteered to be a discussion group leader in an Alpha course. (Alpha is a course about Christianity.) I wondered how I might deal with questions about the judgement and hell.

When talking about our faith we must be careful to get the correct message across. To say that "God sends unrepentant sinners to hell" may be a true statement, but it hides more than it reveals. Better to say, "God loves us so much He sent His Son to rescue us from death and hell, if only we believe in Him." The first gives a message of despair, the second, a message of hope. We must take care to empathize with our listeners, and tailor our words so that Christ's meaning is revealed. This does not mean "watering down" the message. On the contrary, the gospel, when properly understood, is strong stuff indeed — strong enough to get under the skin of the toughest machismo, true enough to refute the most hardened sceptic, loving enough to warm up the coldest heart. So let us spread the glorious truth about Jesus, but let us be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."

Prayer: Dear Lord, only you can see into our hearts and read the secrets written there. Guide us in our witness so that we may bring many to salvation. Amen.