Be Still and Know

Mark 8:34-35 Jesus’ breath taking honesty is very striking. Day by day, we are constantly being encouraged to sign up to organisations which can improve our health, wealth or general well-being. Their marketing is slick, highly polished and c...

Mark 8:33 I have a soft spot for Peter. When Jesus informed his disciples that he was going to suffer at the hands of the Jewish authorities and be killed, Peter did what any friend would do. He told Jesus off for saying such terrible things. He ...

Mark 8:27,29 As you look back through your life, I suspect that you will be able to spot turning points quite easily. At the time, the day was just like any other but, with hindsight, you realise nothing was quite the same afterwards. Jesus’ ...

Proverbs 29:25 The posh word for fearing other people is ‘anthropophobia’, and it can happen for all sorts of reasons. Perhaps other people are threatening us. The psalmists often spoke of the people who were out to get them. They seemed ...

Proverbs 29:20 The writer of Proverbs has a lot to say about fools. They live a dangerous and destructive life, and he does everything he can to encourage his readers to avoid foolishness and to live a life of wisdom. So when he declares that...

Proverbs 29:11 I love the down-to-earth realism of the Bible. It meets us where we are and engages in the sharp reality of our lives. Here the writer seems to assume that we all get angry from time to time - that’s probably a very wise assump...

Proverbs 28:27 The writer of Proverbs often refers to poverty. In his society there were no welfare state provisions and so poverty was an ever-present and terrible threat. If one’s family were unable to give support, then a person could beco...

Proverbs 28:26 The book of Proverbs has a great deal to say about fools. Time and again the writer notes how stupid, ignorant and destructive they are. Many of his observations would be incredibly funny if they weren’t so serious and sad. In Prove...

Revelation 21:3-4 Here John gives us a wonderful vision of heaven. If our present world is characterised by the gap between God and humankind, heaven is the place where no such gap exists. God will live with his people, in an intimacy that we cann...

Revelation 5:11 Life is full of mysteries. The evil of our world is agonising, and the innocent suffer in ways that continually horrify and distress us. In this chapter, John shares his vision of a scroll which holds the answers to the mysteries ...

Revelation 4:8 During the last few days we have been challenged by the risen Lord’s messages to the seven churches. They have been extremely down to earth and have spoken directly into the lives of those very different churches. We have been ...

Revelation 3:20 Holman Hunt’s painting ‘Light of the World’ is probably the best known of all biblical pictures. Jesus stands outside a door which is overgrown and clearly hasn’t been opened for a long time. Hunt painted no handle on the door...

Revelation 3:19 This letter to the church in Laodicea was a wake-up call. They were full of self confidence but the Lord tells them that they have absolutely no reason for such confidence. In a city that prided itself on its wealth, they are told...

Revelation 3:14 Nothing is more important in this life than to know who can be trusted. Every single day it’s an issue for us. Clearly it is fundamentally important within our family and among our friends, but it is also important with our wo...

Revelation 3:8 These words were written to the church in the prosperous city of Philadelphia. Most of the seven churches were criticised for some aspect of their life, but not this one. They were probably small in number, but they had perseve...