Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

READ: Mark 4:26,27 NLT Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.” We have the privilege of being foster parents and my day often begins by having breakfast with our foster daughter. She is ten years old and has a sharp and enquiring mind. Very...

READ: Mark 4:21 NLT 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.” After leaving University I spent two years working in South India. I lived in a large Victorian mission house with an Indian Christian family. The house had mains electricity but every day the power would go of...

READ: Mark 2:27 NLT Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” The Pharisees were out to get Jesus and were clearly delighted to have spotted his disciples breaking the Sabbath laws. The disciples were entitled to eat but they had broken the law when they picked the ears of corn because that was considered to...

READ: Mark 2:21 NLT ‘Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.’ Let’s be honest. We all make mistakes. We do things we don’t mean to do and say things we regret. When we own up to our mistakes a common response is to decide to try better next time or to turn over a new leaf. But Jes...

READ: Mark 2:15 NLT Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) Levi’s first action after becoming a follower of Jesus was to invite him home for a meal so that he could meet his friends. Levi was one of the much hated tax collectors whose job w...

READ: Mark 4:2 NLT ‘They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus.’ Can you imagine what it must have been like? The house is filled with people eagerly listening to Jesus’ teaching when they are suddenly aware that the roof is being dismantled. Now don’t think of your ow...

READ: Mark 1:35-37 NLT Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” Jesus’ ministry has just begun and he’s much in demand and so very early in the morning he escapes to have some quiet time with his heavenly Father. He needed to carve out pro...

READ: Mark 1:16-17 NLT Jesus called out to Simon and Andrew, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. I love the way Jesus worked because it’s so different from the way I would have gone about things. Jesus came up to the fishermen and immediately told them the work he wanted them to do. My approach, by way of contrast, would...

READ: Mark 1:16-17 NLT One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me” Jesus kept doing surprising things! Here we find him at the beginning of his ministry as he is doing the crucial job of recruiting followers. If it had been me I would...

Psalm 25:6-7 NLT  'Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord.' When a global crisis emerges, such as coronavirus, we find ourselves considering the character of God’s “unfailing love”. Firstly, we are confronted with ou...

Psalm 25:4-5 NLT  'Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.' When I talk with school teachers, they tell me that the critical element in maintaining classroom order and a safe and effective learning environment is discipline. The challenge presented to the teacher is...

Psalm 86:11 NLT  'Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.' As I mentioned before, I recently took my Trinity certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. It was the most demanding and intensive learning experience I’ve ever participated in. Throughout my course I had to concentrate, for my background...

Psalm 130:7-8 NLT  'O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. He himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin.'  How hopeful are you? The media bombards us with reasons for anguish. But hope can still be born within the human heart, arising from trust, desire and aspiration. For me, circumstances joined with my mood and perspective can al...

Psalm 130:5-6 NLT  'I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word. I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.' During the coronavirus lockdown, for many of us, life changed radically. Living with our families, or alone, the rhythms that measured our day were gone, as we no longer had to travel to work....

Psalm 130:4 NLT  'But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.' Being forgiven means to have a debt paid off. When I had to give up work to care for the one I loved, I began to run up debts. When she eventually died after 18 years, I faced up to the debt I’d accumulated. I discovered the weight of it as I failed to find work with a suitable salary to service it effectively. That wei...

Psalm 130:3 NLT   'Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?' One thing the coronavirus lockdown has done is to test our ability to spend a lot of time with whoever else lives with us – although, of course, living alone brings with it different challenges. For many people, the rhythms of leaving and returning from work, attending church gatherings (large and small),...

Psalm 130:1-2 NLT  'From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer.' There are times when I ask some uncomfortable questions. The advantage of such thoughts is that they hijack any attempt to navigate life through superficiality. While I may at times get by in life, I’m only really surviving, not flourishing. At such moments, where do I tu...

Psalm 119:102-104 NLT  'I haven’t turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well. How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.' During the spring, as I was weeding a border in the Oratory garden, I became aware of the buzzing of a bee. Bees work continuously to collect pollen from f...

Matthew 7:17-19 NLT  'A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.' Working on the garden continually reminds me that everything in nature is connected in some way. The cuttings from the mower provide a useful...

Isaiah 29:5 NLT  'But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind.' Last autumn, when the leaves fell, bad weather stopped me clearing them, which meant a lot of work when spring arrived – eight hours of it. As I scarified the lawn, I reflected how this process matched my own walk with God. Looking out...

Matthew 13:29-30 NLT  “No,” he replied, “you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.” Last autumn and winter, Jayne and I couldn’t get out into the Oratory garden, because of the bad weather. We had extended a flower border over the summer...

Matthew 6:25-26 NLT  'That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds.' It has been a difficult and turbulent time for all of us over recent months. Many have spoken with me of their anxiety and fear. My Zoom account has been well used with man...

Psalm 40:1-2 NLT  'I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.'  Pressing the pause button to create a genuine space within which to reflect is of great benefit. I love the way scripture tells us that Jesus’ mother, Mary, from...

Colossians 4:5-6 NLT  'Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.' What is your first response, when something goes wrong? Is it for you and your family, or for others? When we face crises of any sort, usually our first thought is to worry about our ow...

Ephesians 5:15-17 NLT  'So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.' Opportunity is the possibility of doing something. We need to know what it is, but unless we take that opportunity, nothing will happen. Often, we prefer to give away de...