Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Exodus 19:5-6 The Lord said, “Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.” When God spoke these words to Moses, it was exactly two months since the people had left Egypt. They were getting used to their new life in the desert and God wan...

Exodus 19:4 The Lord said, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” The eagle is a huge bird with a wingspan of more than two metres. It was an impressive sight for the Israelites as they walked through the desert and it is easy to understand how it was often seen as a symbol of God’s loving provision. In Moses’ final speec...

Proverbs 28:2 'When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.' Every nation needs good leaders, but the many pages of human history show that they are normally in short supply. The Old Testament offers us a depressing procession of inadequate leaders, occasionally punctuated by one who was godly and able. In Hosea, God su...

Proverbs 27:25-27 'After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears and the mountain grasses are gathered in, your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will provide the price of a field. And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself, your family, and your servant girls.' These verses give us a delightful insight into a rural way of life which has a rhythm that can be totally...

Proverbs 27:21 'Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.' I wonder how you respond when someone praises you. Perhaps you are being praised for your excellent work, sporting skills, kindness or reliability. The writer of Proverbs makes the interesting observation that such praise is as critical a test of character as fire testing precious metals. That is to...

Proverbs 27:15-16 'A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day. Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands.' I’m not going to defend for a moment the pure sexism of this proverb. There’s absolutely no need for it. The fact is that anyone can be quarrelsome, whatever their gender! The writer is convinced that the...

Proverbs 27:14 'A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!' This might sound a bit harsh but, if you’ve ever lived with someone who is irrepressibly loud and cheerful, you probably know what this verse is getting at. In life, it’s not so much what you say as how, when, where and why you say it. Basically, the writer is talking about people who are insensitive and,...

Proverbs 27:12 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Prudence isn’t a word that we hear much about these days, but it’s a wonderful word. The prudent person not only discerns the right thing to do, but does it. They make good plans and anticipate the problems that might occur. Our society is incredibly safety conscious a...

Proverbs 27:9-10 The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father’s. The writer Samuel Johnson once wrote: “Life has no pleasure higher or nobler than that of friendship.” I am sure we could all speak movingly of our friends. They are the people with whom we can laugh and cry, and be completely ourselves. It isn’t surprising t...

Mark 7:14-15 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” The Pharisees had got really worked up by the fact that the disciples were not washing their hands properly before eating. Elaborate rules had been developed over the years and the Pha...

Mark 6:37 Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough moneyto buy food for all these people!” The feeding of the 5,000 was a spectacular miracle, but Jesus didn’t rush into performing it. First of all, he challenged the disciples with a blunt command: “You feed them.” Just imagine what it would have been like to have been one of the disciples!...

Mark 6:31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. The disciples had just returned from their first mission trip, and they were full of it. They couldn’t wait to update Jesus and he, in turn, was keen to hear what had been going on. So he i...

Mark 6:3 'Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.' This is an agonising moment. Jesus is rudely dismissed by the people of Nazareth. They can’t work out how someone who they have known for the past 30 years has such an amazing mi...

Mark 5:18-19 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” This healing took place on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. It was a very different area from the other side of the lake, where Jesus spent most of his time liv...

Mark 4:38-39 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. The account of Jesus stilling the storm is well known, but only Mark records the rather...

Mark 4:26-27 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.” This wonderful parable tells us why it is so exciting to work for God. As I sit down at my laptop to write these reflections I haven’t any idea how God will use them. I have no way of k...

Mark 4:21 Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine.” Jesus often spoke using parables. On the surface they were just simple stories but they all had a very deep spiritual meaning. Like me, you may well have been listening to the parables since you were young, and I am sure...

Mark 3:34-35 Jesus looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” The Gospels tell us remarkably little about Jesus’ family. We would so love to know about all his family members and the nature of his relationship with them, but the Gospels are largely silent. However, on this occasion we do meet them b...

Mark 3:13 'Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him.' The calling of the twelve disciples is a fascinating moment in Jesus’ ministry. The fact that he chose to work with a group of people and not operate alone is of great significance. In this he affirmed the importance of fellowship. However gifted we may be, we need one another...

Mark 2:27-28 Jesus said to them: “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” Some years ago, I spent a couple of months living in Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, which is home to a very large number of ultra-orthodox Jews. I very soon learnt, to my surprise, that the Sabbath begins late afte...

Mark 2:22 Jesus said: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.” We all know what happens to leather after a few years. It becomes hard and brittle. So just imagine what happens when you put wine into an old leather wineskin. The wine inevitably leaks away. In Jesus’ day, wine w...

Mark 2:17 Jesus said: “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” The way in which Jesus lived was a shock to the respectable religious leaders of his day. They were eager to do everything they could to avoid becoming ritually impure, as this would mean they couldn’t take part in temple worshi...

Mark 1:35 'Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.' Although Jesus’ ministry had only recently begun, he was clearly already very busy. His authoritative preaching and miraculous healings were attracting great interest and he had little time to himself. But he knew that his authority came from God his Father and so he needed to keep in close contac...

Psalm 108:1-2 92 'My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.' Isn’t it wonderful when you can say that you have total confidence in someone? Perhaps it’s your doctor or dentist, a plumber or a friend that, without hesitation, you could recommend to anyone. You know that they would never let yo...

Psalm 107:1-3 'Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.' This psalm celebrates the return of the people after the exile. This was a massive moment in national life and the psalmist...