Be Still and Know

John 1:6-8 'God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.' John was determined to help peopl...

John 1:4-5 'The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.' There has been darkness on every page of human history. Howeve...

John 1:1 'In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.' Can I be honest? I listened to these words for years without really understanding what they meant. They are often used at Christmas carol s...

Proverbs 26:14 'As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed.'  The writer of Proverbs has a great deal to say about laziness. He is terrified of it, viewing it as the surest route to poverty...

Proverbs 25:28 'A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.' It’s always tragic to see someone who is drunk. They stagger along the road with no clear sense of direction, their speech is slurred and you sense that the...

Proverbs 25:25 'Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.' This wonderful proverb doesn’t make much sense in our modern world when communications across the globe are instant. You could have a chat right now with someone in A...

Proverbs 25.20 NLT 'Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.' Ouch! This is a painful proverb because the fact is that we all have the capacity to be in...

Proverbs 25.19 NLT 'Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot.' What a wise saying this is! The importance of being able to trust reliable people cannot be exa...

Proverbs 25:18 NLT 'Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an axe, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.' Lying is a terrible business and the writer of Proverbs captures its awful destructiveness....

Proverbs 25.16 NLT 'Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick!' We can always trust the writer of Proverbs to give us sound advice! His purpose is to help us live life to the full, and to avoid the many traps that lie in...

2 Corinthians 13.14 NLT 'May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.' As Paul concludes this tough letter in which he has responded to fierce criticism of his ministry, he en...

2 Corinthians 12.9-10 NLT The Lord said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses,...

2 Corinthians 10.3-4 NLT 'We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.' Paul was under attack from people ...

2 Corinthians 9.10-11 NLT 'For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriche...

2 Corinthians 9.7 NLT You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” Some years ago, I was involved with the setting up of a new hospi...