Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Ephesians 2:8-9 I remember my first pay packet as a teenager. It was a small brown envelope and it contained what, at the time, seemed to me like a considerable amount of money. It wasn’t really very much but I had never had a job before, and it compared favourably with pocket money! I had received that money because I had done many days of hard physical work in a warehouse. And it may well be tha...

Ephesians 1:19-20 I love everything about Easter. Winter has gone and we can see evidence of new life springing up all around us. It is as if creation is joining in the celebrations of Easter and confirming the promise of new life in Jesus. Easter is a happy time to share with other Christians and the services are full of confidence and hope. We are absolutely right to enjoy this wonderful time of...

John 21:20-22 Having received his commission from Jesus to care for his sheep and been given an insight into his future, Peter then became curious about others. He asked about how it was going to be for the disciple whom Jesus loved, who we assume to be John. Jesus’ response was sharp and definite. Effectively Jesus said: “Mind your own business”. It was nothing to do with Peter. All he needed to...

John 21:17 We cannot be sure why Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved him. Many people have suggested that it mirrored Peter’s three denials before Jesus’ crucifixion. It is suggested that this was Jesus’ way of helping Peter to find cleansing from that time of abject failure. There is great encouragement for us all in the fact that Jesus was willing to forgive someone who had let him do...

John 21:4-6 I was brought up by the sea and so it isn’t surprising that I started fishing when I was a boy. We always set out with huge expectations of what we would catch. If you have ever gone fishing you will know that, whenever someone walks by, they are bound to ask: “Have you caught anything?” It’s the obvious question but the last thing that you want to admit is that you have caught nothing...

John 20:25 I suspect that we all have some sympathy for Thomas and are not inclined to blame him for his reluctance to believe that Jesus had risen from death. We know that there was often a competitive spirit among the disciples, and they were no doubt happy to brag that they had seen the Lord. I am sure Thomas desperately wanted to believe that they were right, but he needed to be sure and so he...

John 20:19-20 John records three occasions when Jesus met with his disciples after his resurrection. Here is the first of them and it occurred on Easter day itself, the day of resurrection. The disciples were understandably nervous. The authorities had organised the crucifixion of Jesus and so, logically, they were quite likely to come after his disciples next. The disciples had heard from some of...

Luke 24:30-32 As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Isn’t it a great moment when the penny drops? Suddenly everything...

Luke 24:13-16 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from him. It was getting towards the end of Easter Day and the light was fading as these...

Luke 24:1–3 Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As dawn broke on Sunday morning the women were determined to get to the tomb as early as possible to anoint Jesus’ body. Imagine the shock when they got there to...

Luke 23:55–56 As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law. There is something beautifully impressive about these verses. The women must have been totally devastated by th...

Luke 23: 44–46 By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. These incredible words take us to the heart of Good Friday. This i...

Luke 22:19–20 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” I am gl...

Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. I don’t know about you, but I find these words almost too hard to read. Knowing how wise, good and loving Jesus was, how could anyone betray him? An...

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” At this point, Jesus was only a few day...

Luke 19:41–42 I will never forget my first visit to Jerusalem. A disabled friend of mine asked me if I would take him to Israel as his carer. He needed me to push his wheelchair, drive the hire car and lift him from place to place. We stayed in a hotel on the Mount of Olives and arrived there in the dark. Driving through the chaotic traffic in Jerusalem for the first time was a hair-raising experi...

Luke 19:36–39 Palm Sunday was a day full of surprises. Many people had hoped that Jesus might be the one who would kick the hated Romans out of the land. It would have suited them well if he had turned up on an impressive war horse and led a rebellion. But that wasn’t Jesus’ way. Instead, he turned up on a donkey of all creatures. Donkeys are undoubtedly attractive and loveable but you would never...

Psalm 33:1–2 Many of the psalms surrounding this one are full of descriptions of the psalmist’s pains and problems. He talks often about his enemies and those who are out to kill him. He tells us about his health problems and his times of depression. When we come to this psalm, however, the atmosphere is very different. The psalm bubbles with praise and confidence in God. Praising God can be done...

Psalm 32:1 King David is very reflective in this psalm. Some commentators suggest that he wrote it some years after his disastrous adultery with Bathsheba. That agonising episode led to the murder of Bathsheba’s husband and caused untold grief. When Nathan the prophet confronted David with his sin the king turned back to God and discovered the wonder of his forgiveness (2 Samuel 12). It is thought...

Psalm 31:14–15 We have seen David recount his problems in many psalms, but in this psalm the procession of problems is particularly depressing. Tears blurred his eyes and his body and soul were withering away. He felt as if he was dying from grief. Sin had drained his strength and he was wasting away from within. His enemies were laughing at him and even his friends were avoiding him when they saw...

Psalm 30:11–12 In David’s Psalms we meet him as he was surrounded by enemies, cheated by his friends and family, staring death in the face and feeling so ill he longed to die. But it was David’s experience that these glum times did not have the final word. God was able to transform his mourning into joyful dancing. This particularly reminds of the time when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to J...

Psalm 29:3–4 David repeatedly refers to the voice of the Lord in this psalm. On seven occasions he talks of the way in which God speaks powerfully through creation. He graphically describes the way in which God’s power and majesty are displayed in thunder and lightning. He speaks of the way in which this power is so great that it shatters the cedars of Lebanon and even makes the wilderness shake....

Psalm 27:14 As I commented previously, life involves a lot of waiting. Some of it is life-changing and at other times waiting is just part of living in an uncertain world. We may be waiting to find the right job or life partner, or waiting for something to arrive in the post. We can live calmly in a period of waiting but at other times it is all-consuming. We find it hard to settle to anything els...

Psalm 27:4 In about the year 1050 BC King David established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. One of the first things he did was to take the Ark of the Covenant to the city. God had given specific instructions to Moses for the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and it was here that God dwelt among his people. During the years of the wilderness wanderings, the Ark was placed in a tabernacle...

Psalm 27:2–3 David’s confidence in God is incredibly inspiring. But it didn’t just happen. It was the result of his experience of living for God. He had been threatened with death by King Saul time and again, and through these experiences he had learned that God would not let him down. Even if he was confronted by the biggest army, he knew that God would protect him. There was absolutely no need f...