Be Still and Know

Psalm 23:6 David concluded this amazing psalm by looking to the future. He was confident that God’s love would be with him whatever it held. The Hebrew word that is translated as “unfailing love” is hesed. Unfailing love is a good translation...

Psalm 23:4 In the previous verse, David expressed his confidence that the Lord, his shepherd, would lead him in right paths. Now he declares that one of those right paths is the dark valley. It isn’t a mistake when we face times of loss, illn...

Psalm 23:2-3 Sheep have many fine qualities. They are highly social creatures and very sensitive to one another. However, one of their more troublesome characteristics is that they are inclined to stray. This is even more problematic when you fac...

Psalm 23:1 David knew what he was writing about when he used the word ‘shepherd’. As a young man, before his surprise selection by Samuel, that was his job. He knew what a tough and demanding task it was to care for sheep in an environment that w...

2 Corinthians 7:8-9 Early on in my ministry, one of the most spiritual and sensitive members of my congregation said to me: “Very little truth is spoken in this church.” I was quite shocked by this statement, and thought a great deal about it....

2 Corinthians 7:5-7 I was once chatting to two friends when the subject of encouragement came up. One worked in a bank and the other was an engineer. They both said that they couldn’t remember the last time their bosses had given them any word of...

2 Corinthians 6:11-13 It is possible for our relationship with other people to be incredibly superficial. Our words can often be a way of pushing other people away rather than revealing anything significant about ourselves. A friendly, smiling fa...

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 We all take things for granted, but it’s a strange fact that often, it’s the most precious and amazing gifts. The love of our family and friends for example. Or the reliable supply of clean drinking water and nourishing food....

2 Corinthians 5:19-20 If you have ever visited an embassy you will know what a strange experience it is. Suddenly you find yourself in another country! You will see the flag of that country and find yourself looking at pictures of their royalty o...

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 I’m sure you can think of many moments in life when, suddenly, everything changed. Your first day at school, your wedding, the birth of your children, when you started your first job or moved into a new house. From that mome...

2 Corinthians 5:4 Our society tries to avoid talking about death. Paul could not be more different! For Paul it was an incredibly exciting subject because he was convinced that his life was in God’s hands. Therefore, he was completely confident a...

2 Corinthians 4:16 Have you ever been tempted to give up? Paul talks about this twice in this chapter and concludes that he will never give up, despite having a very demanding ministry. There must have been many occasions when quitting seemed ext...

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 I wonder how strong or weak you think you are. It can be hard to admit our vulnerabilities but here Paul does so in the most open way. He lays bare the way in which he has been knocked about in ministry. He faced pressures fro...

2 Corinthians 4:5 Whatever you are doing today, it’s vital to have a clear objective. Being unclear about what you are trying to achieve is frustrating, confusing and exhausting. Paul did not suffer from this problem! He was absolutely certain th...

2 Corinthians 3:18 Nothing stands still for long. If you need proof of that, take a look at a photo of yourself from ten years ago. We are constantly changing, whether we like it or not! Here, Paul speaks about the way in which we change as Chris...