Be Still and Know

Daniel 2.44 NLT 'During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.' Daniel had the seemingly impo...

Daniel 2.23 NLT “I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.” Daniel had been given what looks to me like an impossib...

Daniel 1.17 NLT 'God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.' The book of Daniel transports us to the time when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, invaded Judah and took thousands of its residents in...

Proverbs 25.12 NLT '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 approv...

Proverbs 24.26 NLT '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 they didn’t tell me was that it’s often the most difficult policy. It’s...

Proverbs 24.16 NLT '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 with it when it happens. The writer is ...

Proverbs 23.29-30 NLT '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 ab...

Proverbs 23.17-18 NLT 'Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.' Here the writer tells us that we shouldn’t envy sinners, but the tenth commandment is much wi...

Proverbs 22.13 NLT The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!” I love this wonderful book of Proverbs. There is so much blunt truth, and here the writer laughs his socks off at the lazy person who h...

Proverbs 22.3 NLT 'A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.' This proverb, like so many of them, is just sheer good sense. It’s the kind of statement that could easily...

Proverbs 21.26 NLT 'Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!' Longing for more money and possessions is a terrible disease, but our materialistic society is built on the assumption that that is how we should all liv...

1 Peter 5.8-9 NLT 'Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.' I have visited Africa on a number of occasion...

1 Peter 5.7 NLT 'Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.' Whether they are large or small, we all carry various cares and concerns. They may be focused on health issues for ourselves or those who are close to us. We ma...

1 Peter 5.5 NLT All of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Some years ago I was privileged to attend a conference at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. We were g...

1 Peter 5.1-2 NLT 'As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.' After Jesus’ resurr...