Be Still and Know

Luke 16:10-12 We are all impressed by competent people. People who get things done. But competence isn’t everything. A person’s character is of far greater significance. Indeed, a person who has enormous competence but a bad character is very dang...

Luke 15:20-21 Of all the stories that Jesus told, the parable of the prodigal son is perhaps the most famous. It is a story that takes us to the heart of the good news. Can you think of anything worse than a son asking for his inheritance whi...

Luke 15:8-10 Almost everyone has a moving story of a time when they lost something very precious. For me, it is normally my keys, glasses or mobile phone and, most of the time, the search concludes successfully within a few anxious minutes. I...

Luke 15:4-5 This is such a beautiful story. You can picture the shepherd as he makes sure the 99 precious sheep are safe and warm, and then trudges out into the wilderness to look for the one that was lost. It’s a heart-warming story – but it doe...

Luke 13:18-19 A mustard seed is tiny – between one and two millimetres. You would hardly notice it because it so small but, incredibly, it can grow into a huge plant, commonly three metres tall and sometimes even up to four metres. It’s understan...

Luke 12:21 I love the fact that most of Jesus’ stories are told in very few words. Our verse today is the punch line to a very brief story that he told about a rich farmer who had such a successful harvest that he needed to build more barns....

Luke 10:41-42 Forgive me for a little pop psychology. It seems to me that some people are naturally activists. They are always up and doing. Other people are naturally reflective. They want to stand back from life and consider everything carefull...

Luke 10:33-34 I love the parable of the Good Samaritan, not least because it would have come as such a complete surprise to Jesus’ hearers. Jesus was being challenged by an expert in the law, who asked for the legal definition of the word ‘neighb...

Luke 9:51 There’s a wonderful description of the servant of the Lord in Isaiah 50:7 in which it says that he set his “face like flint”. That is to say, he was absolutely resolute in his obedience to the Lord. That’s precisely what we see here...

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...