Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Ephesians 4:21-23 NLT 'Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.' Some time ago, over a period of months, I lost a considerable amount of weight. One consequence was that my clothes were too large f...

Ephesians 4:16 NLT 'He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.' The wonderful truth is that we are not born to live isolated and lonely lives. Just as God is a Trinity, a community of interrelating persons of divinity, so we are created for relationship or, mo...

Ephesians 4:15 NLT 'Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.' Speaking the truth can prove daunting. It’s often easier to modify what we say to save ourselves and others embarrassment. Working as I’ve done for many years with people from diverse international backgrounds, I’ve discovered a lot about how we Br...

Ephesians 4:14 NLT 'Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.' In the Oratory garden we have a number of fruit trees. Every spring their future harvest is heralded by the appearance of blossom, which is beautiful, but only th...

Revelation 3:20 NLT 'Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.' One day last winter I became distracted by a background sound, which while not loud, was constant and invaded my consciousness. After a long, exasperating search, I eventually tracked the source to a heating valve. A simple adjustment and...

Psalm 37:3-5 NLT 'Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.' I don’t trust my heart’s desires. They are usually selfish and all about my comfort and well-being. Yet, the psalmist declares that God will grant me my heart’...

John 8:46-47 NLT 'Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.' The Gospels present the story of Jesus’ life and ministry with claims that Jesus is the Son of God and the redeemer of humanity. Jesus invites us to make a...

Proverbs 2:1-5 NLT 'My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.' ‘Wisdom’ derives from the root word meaning ‘t...

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.'  Listening to God sounds both logical and self-explanatory. As God’s followers, why wouldn’t we listen to God? Yet, the very art of listening raises so many questions. How might I hear God’s voice? Does it e...

Revelation 21:3-4 NLT I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone for ever.”  Oliver Goldsmith, the Irish novelist, wrote: “Life is a journey t...

Ephesians 5:18-19 NLT 'Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.' I am aware when broadcasting and writing that my words are heard or read by people who I don’t know and will never meet. I’m equally conscious that each person is purs...

Romans 8:28 NLT 'And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.' Optimism offers us the ability to maintain a positive state of mind in the face of the challenges life throws up. It also generates the momentum we need as we traverse life’s darker seasons. This is not to be confused with blind optimism, wh...

Ephesians 6:12 NLT 'For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the uinseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.' The success of the HBO series Game of Thrones, based upon RR Martin’s multivolume books, has ensured that fantasy fiction is mainstream. Many of its contemporary charact...

Joshua 1:9 NLT 'This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.' Throughout the day I tend to consult news websites on my phone or when home, flick on one of the numerous 24-hour news channels. News media is primarily pessimistic. There are few voices platformed that speak of life’s positive opportunities amid the c...

Ephesians 1:14 NLT 'The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.' Love requires commitment; the deepest human form is through a proposal of marriage. There is nothing that brings a group more alive than being present when love is professed and a proposal is made with...

Ephesians 1:9-10 NLT 'God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ – which is to fulfil his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.'  Blinkers are used to help keep a horse focused on the path ahead, limiting their peripheral vision to avoid distractions. Wearing b...

Ephesians 1:7-8 NLT 'He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.' Intimacy lies at the very heart of love. Today, intimacy with God is a given. Trouble is that we can take this intimacy for granted and fail to see the price paid and the response require...

Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT 'Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.' Sadly, Christianity is most often presented as a story about sin, or separation from God. Yet, scripture...

Ephesians 1:2-3 NLT 'May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.' Do you sometimes daydream about what it would be like to be incredibly wealthy? When I do, I am self-centred, solving the financial woes of my f...

Acts 2:42-43 NLT 'All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.' Pentecost is the birth of the Church, the missional bridgehead across which a God-fearing group of individuals are transformed...

Acts 2:39-41 NLT 'This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away – all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Then Peter continued preaching for a long time…Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day – about 3,000 in all.' The spread of Christianity is a remarkable story. From persecuted sect to state stakeholder, the Church emerged from...

Acts 2:1-2 NLT 'On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.' It is remarkable what can grow from such small, inconspicuous beginnings. A group of disciples, huddled together for safety, wait for a promised visitation from God. All faith v...

Ephesians 1:6-8 NLT 'So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.' ‘Grace’ is a short, one syllable word. But like my wife (who is small in stature) says, the bes...

2 Corinthians 9:10 NLT 'For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.' Last year, my wife, Jayne, and I were invited to attend a London-based church event. We knew little about it, but arrived to discover a sea of young people engaging together in explori...

Luke 12:22-24 NLT Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds!” I am in...