Be Still and Know

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...

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...

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...

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 difficul...

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...

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 s...

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...

Deuteronomy 4:29 NLT  'But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.' My walk with God can be like a game of hide-and-seek. God never disguises or hides from us,...

Mark 4:37-38 NLT  But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t yo...

Psalm 92:15 NLT  They will declare, “The Lord is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!” Who do you blame, when things go wrong? And why do we feel we need to do so? Non-Christians often say that God, if he exists, can only be evil, because of...

Psalm 92:14 NLT  'Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.' Are we planning on being productive, as we get older? Or will we become risk-averse, building defences around us, to keep going? This can mean that we...

Psalm 92:13 NLT  'For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God.' A desert Father once visited fourth-century priest and monk Abba Moses, in search of enlightenment. Abba Moses simply said to him: “Go, sit...

Psalm 92:12 NLT  'But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.' I have on my desk a wonderful photograph of a large, aged tree flourishing within a barren landscape. It is a Cedar of Lebanon growing within i...

Psalm 92:11 NLT  'My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.' Within our Christian context it is perhaps difficult to acknowledge our enemies. For we are constrained by Christ to love our enemi...

Isaiah 61:3 NLT  'To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his o...