Be Still and Know

Matthew 7:11 “If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” Some years ago, I was travelling on a bus in Israel and heard some amazing pan-pi...

Matthew 7:3   “Why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?” This comical illustration is taken from the carpenter’s workshop. Jesus used it to press home his teaching about being judgemental. It’s so easy to...

Matthew 6:26–27 “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” The m...

Matthew 6:20–21 “Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” What matters most to you in your life? It...

Matthew 6:16–17 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and dishevelled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But w...

Matthew 6:13 “Don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” When we pray for our sins to be forgiven and for us to forgive others we are looking to the past. In this verse, the Lord’s Prayer looks to the future. Once a...

Matthew 6:12 “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” The Lord’s Prayer talks about our everyday life and here it faces up to the horrible but undeniable fact that sin forms a big part of our lives. But here’s the...

Matthew 6:11 “Give us today the food we need.” Have you ever wondered why we ask God for food on a daily basis? Why not ask him to supply us for a week or even a month? God wants us to live in continual partnership with him. Every day we nee...

Matthew 6:10 “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” The Lord’s Prayer, in common with the whole of Jesus’ ministry, is focused on the kingdom of heaven. So we need to have a very clear idea what thi...

Matthew 6:9 “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.” The Lord’s Prayer is a wonderful model prayer and has been central to Christian worship from the earliest days. In the previous verse Jesus told his disciples th...

Matthew 6:7–8 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask h...

Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” Jesus was reacting against the people who made a great show of their...

Matthew 6:3–4 “When you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” Is there anything worse than hypocrisy? Jesus c...

Matthew 5:14–16 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the sa...

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.” I have often heard people say that they are happy for ind...