Be Still and Know

Acts 1:24-26 After the ascension of Jesus, the eleven disciples needed to find a successor to Judas Iscariot. They identified two candidates whom they considered to be suitable, Barsabbas and Matthias. We don’t know anything about them, but clear...

Acts 1:12-14 The days between Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost were filled with prayer. The disciples knew that they had to wait and they didn’t want to do this alone. We read that they met together in an upper room, which may well have been the pl...

Acts 1:9-11 The ascension of Jesus brought his ministry on earth to an end in an amazing way. It is not surprising that the disciples looked intently into the sky to see where he had gone. They were probably longing for him to come back down agai...

Acts 1:8 What an amazing day this must have been for the disciples! They were just about to see Jesus disappear before their eyes and, before he did so, he commissioned them to take the good news to the whole world, no less. These days we know a...

Acts 1:3-4 Dr Luke wrote two books – his Gospel and what is often called ‘The Acts of the Apostles’. The first tells us what happened during Jesus’ earthly ministry and the second describes the story of the birth and growth of the Church. However...

Proverbs 16:32 It’s good for us to ask the question: “What matters most in life?” Time and again the book of Proverbs helps us to think through this question. Many people would assume that it is good to be powerful, to have control of people and...

Proverbs 13:20 When we think of wisdom we may be inclined to think about books and formal education. However, the writer of Proverbs is clear that key to wisdom is spending time with the right people. Quite simply, if we spend time with wise peop...

Proverbs 13:16 Much of the wisdom that we find in the book of Proverbs is so obvious that you wonder why it needs to be said. But a moment’s reflection shows that it doesn’t just need to be said, but needs to be said repeatedly. I suspect we can...

Proverbs 13:11 Oscar Wilde wrote: “The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.” Work is often seen as something negative, to be avoided if at all possible and, if not, then one should aim to retire as early as possible...

Isaiah 58:6-7 It is incredibly sad that Isaiah’s call to action, written more than 2,500 years ago, still applies today. There continue to be people who are wrongly imprisoned, hungry and homeless. God’s word to us today is, therefore, unchanged...

Isaiah 58:4 Nothing is more unattractive than hypocrisy. When I have talked to people who don’t go to church, time and again they have pointed out the gap between churchgoers’ faith and actions. This was precisely the situation that Isaiah was ad...

Isaiah 57:20-21 It was Augustine of Hippo (354–430) in his famous Confessions who observed: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.” There is no doubt that Augustine was reflecting on his...

Isaiah 56:9-11 As a church leader I find these words both incredibly challenging and agonisingly sad. I am sure that we have all known church leaders who have worked extremely hard and rightfully earned people’s love and respect. But there are la...

Isaiah 56:6 In the Old Testament, God’s people were often told to be welcoming to foreigners. God’s love was not confined to the Jews and they were reminded that, as a nation, they used to be foreigners in Egypt so it was only right that they sho...

Isaiah 56:1-2 Justice is a major theme throughout the book of Isaiah. From the first chapter, God declares his hatred of every form of injustice and his unwillingness to receive the worship of people who refuse to act justly. God is incredibly bl...