Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Matthew 27:57-60 As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and...

Matthew 27:54 The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!” When Jesus died, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom and there was a great earthquake. It’s no wonder that the soldiers, tough as they were, were terrified. We need to be very...

Matthew 26:26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” The Old Testament prophets frequently communicated through actions, proclaiming their messages both clearly and unforgettably. They are often called acted parables. In the Gospels, we see Jesus doing exactly the same...

Matthew 26:7 While [Jesus] was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head. Things were hotting up. Jesus had launched a tirade against the religious leaders and they were now absolutely committed to seeing him put to death. We learn that they had a secret meeting at the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas, in order to plan this. Amid all o...

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” The battle of words between Jesus and the Jewish leaders had got to fever pitch...

Matthew 21:12-13 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” The joyful celebration of Palm Sunday is followed by so...

Matthew 21:8-9 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the centre of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting: “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!” At the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, we r...

Colossians 1:3-4 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. It is unlikely that Paul and Timothy had ever visited the church in Colossae, but Paul and Timothy had heard all about the Colossians and they were constantly in their prayers. They knew they had not only a s...

Colossians 1:2 [Paul and Timothy wrote:] “We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace.” Colossae was not a particularly important town and was overshadowed by its rich and much more illustrious neighbours, Laodicea and Hierapolis. It is unlikely that Paul had ever visited the Colossians. H...

Matthew 20:32-34 When Jesus heard [the blind men], he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” they said, “we want to see!” Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him. Jesus had just informed his disciples that he was on the way to Jerusalem, where he would be handed over to the Romans to be crucified. You would unders...

Matthew 20:26-28 [Jesus said:] “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Parents always want the best for their children, so we shouldn’t be too surprised that James and John’s mother came to Jesus and aske...

Matthew 20:1-2 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.” All of Jesus’ parables are deeply challenging and surprising, and this particular parable is bound to offend anyone who has a natural sense of justice. A landowner hired workers for his vineyard at variou...

Matthew 19:23-24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were deeply shocked by Jesus’ words. Jews saw wealth as a sign of God’s blessing, so they were confused by the thoug...

Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” We are probably all very familiar with this story of Jesus welcoming children. For some reason, the disciples had tried to stop parents from bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed. We are not told why, but it may have been because they felt t...

Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied: “but seventy times seven!” When Peter asked his question, he thought he was being incredibly generous. Tradition told him that you should be ready to forgive another person three times, and then you could unleash your full fury on the...

Matthew 18:19-20 [Jesus said:] “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” The Church is not just a gathering of people who respect Jesus. It is infinitely more than that because, when his followers come together, Jesus is actually presen...

Matthew 18:17 [Jesus said:] “If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” This might sound rather harsh, but Jesus has just given the best possible advice for how to handle the situation where someone has done you wrong. First, speak to them one to one, and if tha...

Matthew 18:15 [Jesus said:] “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offence. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.” Ever since the Garden of Eden, people have fallen out with one another. This is an inevitable part of living in a world of sin. Here, Jesus gives wonderfully straightforward advice about what to do when it happens:...

Matthew 18:12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?” I suspect that few of us have had experience of being shepherds. However, many of us will have memories of lost pets. I recall the time when our cat Tabitha went missing for days on end. We walked the streets a...

Psalm 51:1-2 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. The background to this psalm is well known. King David had committed adultery and had been found out. The penalty for this crime in the Jewish law was death. However, David repented of his sin and God showed him g...

Psalm 48:1-3 How great is the LORD, how deserving of praise, in the city of our God, which sits on his holy mountain! It is high and magnificent; the whole earth rejoices to see it! Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King! God himself is in Jerusalem's towers, revealing himself as its defender. I will never forget my first sight of Old Jerusalem; its golden limestone walls wer...

Proverbs 25:12 To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewellery. Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer, said: “I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.” All I can say is, “Good for Johannes Kepler!” I suspect I’m not alone with that response, as we all really enjoy people saying nice things about...

Proverbs 24:26 An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship. Like most of us, I am sure, I was brought up with the saying that honesty is the best policy. But what I wasn’t taught was that it’s often the most difficult policy. It’s often easier to keep the truth to yourself and not to share it because it might not be well received. Indeed, the hearer might be deeply offended by the truth. And so...

Proverbs 24:16 The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. The big question is not whether we experience failure, but what we do when it happens. The writer is clear that the person who knows God has resilience. We may get knocked many times, but each time we are able to bounce back because we know that God is the one who inspires...

Proverbs 23:29-30 Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. The abuse of alcohol is clearly not a new problem. These verses reveal a deep understanding of a challenge which continues to test our society. In the UK more than 8,000...