Be Still and Know

Matthew 20:26-28 [Jesus said:] “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a...

Matthew 20:1-2 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.” All of Jesus’ parables are deeply challenging and s...

Matthew 19:23-24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter...

Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” We are probably all very familiar with this story of Jesus welcoming children. For some reason, th...

Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied: “but seventy times seven!” When Peter asked his question, he thought he was being...

Matthew 18:19-20 [Jesus said:] “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” The Church...

Matthew 18:17 [Jesus said:] “If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” This might sound rather harsh, but Je...

Matthew 18:15 [Jesus said:] “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offence. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.” Ever since the Garden of Eden, people have fallen out with one...

Matthew 18:12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?” I suspect that few of us have had experience of being she...

Psalm 51:1-2 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. The background to this psalm is well known. King David ha...

Psalm 48:1-3 How great is the LORD, how deserving of praise, in the city of our God, which sits on his holy mountain! It is high and magnificent; the whole earth rejoices to see it! Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King! God...

Proverbs 25:12 To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewellery. Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer, said: “I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the m...

Proverbs 24:26 An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship. Like most of us, I am sure, I was brought up with the saying that honesty is the best policy. But what I wasn’t taught was that it’s often the most difficult policy. It’s often easier...

Proverbs 24:16 The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. The big question is not whether we experience failure, but what we do when it happens. The writer is clear that the pers...

Proverbs 23:29-30 Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. The abuse of alco...