Be Still and Know

Exodus 20:2-4 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on ...

Exodus 19:5-6 The Lord said, “Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.” When G...

Exodus 19:4 The Lord said, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” The eagle is a huge bird with a wingspan of more than two metres. It was an impressive sight for the Isr...

Proverbs 28:2 'When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.' Every nation needs good leaders, but the many pages of human history show that they are normally in sh...

Proverbs 27:25-27 'After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears and the mountain grasses are gathered in, your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will provide the price of a field. And you will have enough goats’ milk...

Proverbs 27:21 'Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.' I wonder how you respond when someone praises you. Perhaps you are being praised for your excellent work, sporting skills, kindness or reliabili...

Proverbs 27:15-16 'A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day. Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands.' I’m not going to defend for a moment the pure s...

Proverbs 27:14 'A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!' This might sound a bit harsh but, if you’ve ever lived with someone who is irrepressibly loud and cheerful, you probably know what this verse is gett...

Proverbs 27:12 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Prudence isn’t a word that we hear much about these days, but it’s a wonderful word. The prudent person not only discer...

Proverbs 27:9-10 The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father’s. The writer Samuel Johnson once wrote: “Life has no pleasure higher or nobler than that of friendship.” I am s...

Mark 7:14-15 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” The Pharisees had got really worke...

Mark 6:37 Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough moneyto buy food for all these people!” The feeding of the 5,000 was a spectacular miracle, but Jesus didn’t rush into performing it. First o...

Mark 6:31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. The disciples had just returned from th...

Mark 6:3 'Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.' This is an agonising...

Mark 5:18-19 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” Th...