Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

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Bring some Spirit-filled peace into your hectic schedule every weekday morning with this new Daily Devotional.

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Sep 21, 2025 · 3 min
September 21st - Proverbs 27:9-10
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 sure we could all speak movingly of our friends. They are the people with whom we can laugh and cry, and be completely ourselves. It isn’t surprising that the writer of Proverbs had much to say about friendships. He recognised how important they were in a happy and fulfilling life. We see many friendships in the Bible, such as the friendship between David and Jonathan. There was an immediate bond between them when they first met, and the friendship sustained them through desperately difficult times. Words are a crucial part of friendship, and the writer of Proverbs observed how precious the counsel of a friend is. This doesn’t mean that a friend’s words are necessarily easy to hear. They may be deeply painful, but because they are motivated by love and care, they will always be a blessing. We hear the most beautiful words of friendship spoken by Ruth to Naomi, her mother-in-law. They were very different from one another in many ways. They came from different nations and were of different generations, but Ruth, after the death of her husband, was devoted to Naomi and refused to be separated from her. She said: “Wherever you go, I will go, wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God” (Ruth 1:16). Friends will often be very similar to one another, but this beautiful story shows that friendships can cross every kind of boundary. Just before his death, Jesus told his disciples the kind of relationship that he wanted to have with them. He said that he didn’t want to call them slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Instead, he wanted to call them friends (John 15:15). That’s how it is today, too. As we follow Jesus and are obedient to his loving commands, we are nothing less than his friends. Question Why are your friends important to you, and in what sense do you think of Jesus as your friend? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you want to be my friend today, and throughout my life. Amen
Sep 20, 2025 · 3 min
September 20th - 1 John 5:21
1 John 5:21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. Every day, we are all bombarded with influences. Family, friends, television, internet, advertising, books, social media and radio are all trying to claim our attention and suggest different ways in which we should be thinking. Much of the time, we don’t even notice it’s happening, but we cannot stop the process. Most of those influences are not inherently bad, but they all have the potential for distracting us from serving God. Idols come in many shapes and sizes. They will never announce themselves as idols, but they are, as this verse so clearly states, anything that takes God’s place in our hearts. It could be your family, your hobby, your football team, your garden or your job. Anything which takes first place in our lives pushes God into second place at best. Our families, our hobbies, our sporting interests, our gardens and our work are all wonderful gifts of God and they can bring enormous enjoyment and satisfaction, but they must never be looked at like gods. All gods demand to be worshipped and invite us to make sacrifices of our time, money and attention, but only our heavenly Father deserves that commitment. It's interesting that these are the last words of this letter. In the greeting “dear children”, we sense John’s warmth and love for his readers, and the fact that these are his last words suggests that they were extremely important to him. The Greek verb that he uses has the sense of guarding themselves from idols. They needed to recognise the serious threat they were facing and take appropriate measures to protect themselves. I have not the slightest doubt that if John was speaking to us today, he would use exactly the same words. Question What are the potential idols in your life? Prayer Lord God, help me to guard myself from anything which might distract me from worshipping and serving you. Amen
Sep 19, 2025 · 3 min
September 19th - 1 John 5:14-15
1 John 5:14-15 We are confident that God hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. Prayer is of absolutely crucial importance to our lives. It has been wisely said that you and I are as strong as our prayer lives and no stronger. Every part of our lives depends upon prayer, so it is really important that we are clear about the Bible’s teaching on this subject. One of the most important things to recognise is that prayer is never a matter of simply saying certain words to God. Bishop Ryle said: “We have learned a great lesson when we have learned that ‘saying prayers’ is not praying.” Prayer is all about a relationship with God in which we talk to him and open our hearts so that he can work in our lives. The Old Testament prophets often observed that people said prayers that were completely unacceptable to God because their lives showed that they had no interest in serving him. God spoke particularly bluntly through Isaiah: “When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims” (Isaiah 1:15). Prayer is therefore never a matter of us declaring to God our personal and probably selfish shopping list. It is about grasping hold of what God wants, because his will is always best. When we pray like that, we can pray with confidence, because we can be sure that God will always want to answer our prayer. Many people want prayer to be a form of magic in which we take control and compel God to give us everything we want and act in the way that suits us, but prayer is always the complete opposite of that. Prayer is about listening to God so carefully that we get to know him better and therefore increasingly ask for those things which are in line with his will. Question How important is prayer in your life? Prayer Loving Father, thank you that you love to hear my prayers. Help me to grow in confidence in prayer. Amen
Sep 18, 2025 · 3 min
September 18th - 1 John 5:11-12
1 John 5:11-12 This is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. Sooner or later, everyone is bound to ask what life is all about. Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, one of the most successful rock groups of all time, asked the question in one of his last songs: “Does anyone know what we are living for?” It was a genuine cry from the heart. In human terms, he had everything. He had money and fame on a colossal scale, but, shortly before his death in 1991, he admitted that he was desperately lonely. He said: “You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man, and that is the most bitter type of loneliness. Success has brought me world idolisation and millions of pounds, but it’s prevented me from having the one thing we all need – a loving, ongoing relationship.” John would have totally agreed with Mercury. A “loving, ongoing relationship” is what we all need, and the only place to find that is in our relationship with God. Human relationships are wonderful, but they come and go, and even the best of them cannot last forever. However, our relationship with God has no limits and will never come to an end. It is this relationship which opens the door to life in all its fullness. John was typically blunt in his language. If you have faith in Jesus, you have life, and if you don’t have faith in him, you don’t have life. This is completely in line with Jesus’ own language. He said: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Jesus’ words give the definitive answer to anyone who wants to find the real purpose of life, whether they are a rock star or you and me. Question What do you think John meant by describing people as not having life? Prayer Lord God, thank you that your Son came to this world to give us life in all its fullness. Amen
Sep 17, 2025 · 3 min
September 17th - 1 John 5:4-5
1 John 5:4-5 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We need to be clear that whenever John talks about the world in this passage, he is talking about the world without God. When humankind rejects God, the world is a terrible place full of sin, death and destruction. We are all called to live in such a world, but John wanted to make it clear that we don’t need to be scared of it because in Christ, we have the victory. On Good Friday, Jesus died as the evil world unleashed its worst on him, but that wasn’t the end. On the Sunday morning, Jesus rose from death and proved that he had the victory. This has very practical implications for us. It affects our daily lives in a very profound way. Day by day, we head into a world where God is not respected by most people. The news is full of accounts of abuse, violence, brokenness and disorder. On the face of it, this is all very depressing, but the wonderful fact is that because Jesus has won the final victory over sin and death, we can look at the world with hope and confidence. Towards the end of Jesus’ ministry, he encouraged his disciples to receive his gift of peace. His words were very realistic. He didn’t deny that there would be problems in the world, but assured his followers that final victory would be theirs. Jesus said: “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). At times, it might feel as if the power of God and of evil are fairly evenly matched, but they aren’t! As we place our trust in God, we can claim the Easter victory every day. This should fill us with confidence as we serve God today. Question What do you understand by Jesus’ claim that he had overcome the world? Prayer Loving God, I thank you for your gift of peace. Thank you that as I trust myself to you, nothing can destroy it. Amen
Sep 16, 2025 · 3 min
September 16th - 1 John 4:11-12
1 John 4:11-12 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. You cannot see the wind, but you can easily see the effects that it has. Equally, you cannot see electricity, but we have no doubt that it exists because of all that it does. No one has ever seen God, but we know that he exists because we see his love reflected in the people around us. The more we love people, the more they will have the opportunity to see the living God. Tertullian, one of the early Church Fathers, wrote of how the pagan Romans were struck by the Christians’ way of life. “See how they love one another,” was their response. I would love to think this would be the response to each of our churches, and I believe it often is. People see churches setting up food banks, debt advice services, parent and toddler groups, listening services and many other activities. They are wonderful expressions of love and care to our communities, but let’s be honest – people often see something very different. They see churches squabbling over doctrine, worship and buildings, and the last thing they see is love. We won’t make things better by decrying the Church and blaming other Christians for not being loving. We need to look to ourselves and reflect on how we can be more loving. As we listen to God’s voice, we need to find practical ways of increasing our love for our Christian brothers and sisters, and then explore together ways in which we can share his love more fully. We don’t want to put on a big show, but we want to love. We want to make it clear to everyone in our communities that God is alive and well. Question How can you reflect God’s love today? Prayer Lord God, I thank you for your amazing love to me. Help me to share your love generously with others in whatever I do. Amen
Sep 15, 2025 · 3 min
September 15th - 1 John 4:10
1 John 4:10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Most of the love that we experience in our lives is reciprocal. We love other people, and they love us. Sometimes we have taken the initiative and, on other occasions, they have done so. It is very different with God. There is nothing that we could ever do to win his love. However hard we might try, we could never get to a point where God was forced to love us. The fact that he has chosen to love us is entirely down to his own initiative. This is an incredibly important truth because the whole of our Christian life needs to flow from it. In his letters, Paul often used the word grace to describe God’s relationship with us. Forgiveness and salvation are a matter of sheer gift. There is nothing we could ever do to contribute towards them. When we take the step of faith and accept Jesus into our lives, we are simply responding to his incredible generosity to us. Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Because of God’s incredible and totally unmerited love, our lives need to be full of praise and thanksgiving. If we had made any contribution at all towards our salvation, it would be different. We could go around with a smug expression knowing that our wonderful lives had been duly rewarded with the gift of God’s love. However, as it is, all we can do is boast about God and keep telling others just how incredibly generous he is. Question How do you respond to the fact that God loved you long before you ever thought about him? Prayer Lord God, I thank you for your amazing love. Help me to allow it to shape every part of my life. Amen
Sep 14, 2025 · 3 min
September 14th - 1 John 4:1
1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. There have always been false teachers, but they must have been particularly difficult to face in the early Church. Many Christians would have come from completely different religious and philosophical backgrounds, and few of the church leaders would have had much education. It would have been extremely easy for articulate people to creep into the Church and lead people astray. Anyone can claim to speak by the Spirit, and it is not surprising that many young impressionable Christians simply accepted what they were saying. What John wanted to do was to encourage every Christian to test what they heard. Jesus himself was well aware of the challenge from false teachers. In the Sermon on the Mount, he said: “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act” (Matthew 7:15-16). Jesus was saying that the lives of prophets must ring true. A prophet who is unkind, rude, bitter, unforgiving or unloving couldn’t possibly be a true prophet. There were many different false teachings floating around in the early Church, but John was particularly concerned about those who were denying that Jesus was really human. He was very blunt: if someone did not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, he concluded that person did not come from God and had the spirit of the antichrist. False teaching wasn’t just unfortunate, but was to be avoided and resisted at all costs. In a world that is teeming with false prophets, we all need to be on the alert. John declared that we can be confident as we do so because the Holy Spirit is greater than the spirit who lives in the world, and he will lead us into all truth. Question What are the false teachings which we need to be careful to avoid today? Prayer Loving God, help me to listen to the voice of your Holy Spirit day by day. Amen
Sep 13, 2025 · 3 min
September 13th - 1 John 3:16
1 John 3:16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. The most famous verse in the whole Bible is John 3:16: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” It’s a wonderful verse, and it takes us to heart of the good news. We need to read it alongside today’s verse, 1 John 3:16, its natural twin, which reminds us that it is not only a case of God loving us and sending Jesus for our salvation, but about us in turn offering up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. I thank God for the amazing Christians that I have known over the years who have poured out their lives for others. I think of children’s and youth workers, deacons and elders, ministers and carers who, because of their love for God, have gladly given everything to support other people. They have thought little of their personal safety or health but have kept on loving in the face of disappointment, discouragement and ill health. They have looked for no reward other than to know that they faithfully served their Lord. This practical love takes many forms, and in the next verse, John speaks of the obligation on those who have enough money to show compassion to Christian brothers and sisters who are in need. C.H. Dodd, the great biblical scholar, defined love as “the willingness to surrender that which has value for our own life, to enrich the life of another”. Love is always costly. It involves giving to others something that we genuinely value but which we gladly give in order to bring joy and blessing to others. It’s a challenging way to live life, but it’s God’s way, and it’s always best. Question As you serve God today, what is he calling you to give to others in need? Prayer Loving Father, thank you for sending Jesus into the world to be my Saviour. Help me to be more ready to be loving and generous to others. Amen
Sep 12, 2025 · 3 min
September 12th - 1 John 3:1
1 John 3:1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! My wife and I had the privilege of being foster parents for a number of years. Those years gave me a new understanding of how important our relationship with our parents is. To be honest, I took for granted the love, security, affirmation and warmth of my own parents, but I now treasure those amazing gifts in a new way. Here, John reflected on the even more important relationship that we can have with our Father God. He burst out in wonder as he reflected on the fact that God loves us so much that he chose to call us his children. He did so not as a mere formality, but because we really are his children. Just as the relationship between children and their parents will have life-long implications, so too will our relationship with God our Father colour and shape our lives. We have the privilege of being able to walk into every new day with the certain knowledge that we are loved. We are secure for time and eternity. As John unpacked this theme, he reflected that he didn’t know what we’d be like in the future when Christ appears, but he knew one thing: we will be like Christ, for we will see him as he really is. We know little about the future, but that’s absolutely fine if our relationship with God is secure. Whatever his plans may be for us, we can be sure that they will be the best. God’s love for us is all about grace. He loves us not because of anything good that we have done or could ever do. He has called us to be his children, and all we have to do is reach out and accept his hand of love. As with John, all we can do is burst out in praise and thank our heavenly Father that we are not only called the children of God, but really are! Question What does it mean to you to be one of God’s children? Prayer Lord God, I thank you for the privilege of being your child and knowing that my future is completely secure in your hands. Amen
Sep 11, 2025 · 3 min
September 11th - 1 John 2:26-27
1 John 2:26-27 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. Our world today is very different from the one that John knew, but I suspect that if he were addressing us, he wouldn’t have changed his message at all. The Christians he was speaking to were under constant attack from false teachers, and he was eager that they should be strong in their faith and able to stand up to every challenge. These days, anyone with access to the internet can have instant connection to an unlimited number of religions and philosophies. It can all be very bewildering and confusing. John would want to offer us the same encouragement that he brought 1,900 years ago. The Holy Spirit is still our completely reliable teacher. He teaches us everything that we need to know. Towards the end of his ministry, Jesus told his disciples it was to their advantage that he left them because when he went, the Holy Spirit would be sent to them (John 16:7). He described the Holy Spirit as the advocate or paraclete. The Greek word literally means “someone who draws alongside us”. I’ve always found it most helpful to think of the Holy Spirit as the supreme friend. He understands and loves us perfectly and is able to lead us into all truth. If we are relying on him, we can be confident as we face challenges from other philosophies and religions. The Holy Spirit uses lots of different ways of teaching us. He certainly speaks through the Bible and prayer, but he also speaks through other Christians, music, art, literature and nature. Our role is to be open to him, listening out for his voice but doing so with the confidence of knowing that he loves to share his truth with us. Question What has the Holy Spirit been teaching you recently? Prayer Lord God, thank you for sending us your Holy Spirit. Help me to be constantly listening to his voice so that Jesus will be praised in all that I do. Amen
Sep 10, 2025 · 3 min
September 10th - 1 John 2:15
1 John 2:15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. John’s concern here was very similar to that of Jesus when, in the Sermon on the Mount, he said that it was impossible to serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24). We have a choice to make as to whether we will allow all our energy to be expended on worldly interests or on God’s kingdom. We cannot possibly do both. John encouraged his readers to focus their attention on loving God and not the temporary pleasures of the world. Does that mean we should all leave our jobs and homes and sit on a park bench reading the Bible? No, far from it! We are called to enjoy God’s world, to serve him in our jobs and homes and to live alongside those who know nothing of him, but, as we do so, we need to keep our focus on the things that last and not on those pleasures, possessions and achievements which have a very short shelf life. John writes in very sharp language to encourage us to sort out our priorities. When our actions are shaped by our love of God, everything else will flow in the right way. We will see our achievements and possessions as a gift of God’s grace and not as a sign of our brilliance and success. We will seek to use everything that God has given us to bless other people and to enhance their enjoyment of life, and in doing so we will please God. When we focus all our attention on possessions and pleasure, we push God out, and we push life out in the process. John’s language may be blunt, but this is because he wanted his readers to live their lives to the full, which will only happen if we live for God. Question How do you seek to give God priority in your daily life? Prayer Lord God, thank you for the life that you have given me. Help me to live responsibly and carefully in this world and never to fall in love with it. Amen
Sep 9, 2025 · 3 min
September 9th - 1 John 2:9-10
1 John 2:9-10 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. The letters in the New Testament give us a great insight into the life of the early Church. These were exciting years for the Church, but enormous struggles were going on. There were people teaching heresy and others making great claims about themselves whose lives showed that they were a sham. There were the Gnostics, who claimed to have discovered deep mysteries and to have encountered the light, but their lives told a completely different story. So John set out some very clear guidelines to help the believers understand who was truly living for God and who wasn’t. The key test was love. If someone showed true love for their fellow believers, you could be sure that they were living in the light, but those who were showing hatred towards others were walking in the darkness. Even in a church, it isn’t easy to love other people all the time. It might be relatively easy to love our Christian brothers and sisters within the confines of a service of worship, but when you work hard alongside them, it can be a very different story. We all see things somewhat differently from one another, and we choose to do things at different speeds. Some are cautious and careful in their approach, and others are eager to launch into bold new initiatives. Some feel that evangelism should be the church’s priority, and others feel deeply committed to social action. Some love to sing the latest worship songs, and others are much happier with singing hymns. Some are thrilled with the church leaders, and others think that they leave a lot to be desired. I could go on! Churches are filled with a wide variety of people, and loving everyone isn’t always easy, but this is God’s way, and it is the only way to live in the light. Question How do you manage to love people who are very different from you? Prayer Lord God, I thank you for all my Christian brothers and sisters. Please fill me with your love for everyone, especially those who I find most difficult to love. Amen
Sep 8, 2025 · 3 min
September 8th - 1 John 1:8-9
1 John 1:8-9 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to God, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. John couldn’t have been more blunt. If we claim to be sinless, we’re lying. Presumably, there were people in John’s day who were saying precisely that. He knew it was such a dangerous point of view that he had to be decisive in his language. We can’t be exactly sure who these people were, but in every age there have been people who have claimed to be perfect. We certainly know that there were gnostic groups around in John’s time who believed that they had special knowledge and were not touched by sin. We are all sinners and need to own up to the fact. We might like to blame our parents, our upbringing, our education, the government or the weather, but, at the end of the day, we must take responsibility and acknowledge that we have sinned. We have deliberately gone our own way and done things that have obstructed our relationship with God and the people around us. Because we are sinners, we will always try to make light of our sin and suggest that we are not as bad as other sinners that we know, but sin is sin, and we need to stop trivialising it. As Jeremy Taylor said: “No sin is small. It is a sin against an infinite God and may have immeasurable consequences. No grain of sand is small in the mechanism of a watch.” Sin needn’t have the last word. If we own up and confess our sins to God, he is willing to set us free from them. This is an incredible miracle and couldn’t possibly happen without God. Only he has the power to set us free and send us off on a new journey of life and liberty. Question What do you need to confess to God today? Prayer Lord God, I own up to the fact that I often let you down. Please forgive my sin, fill me with your Spirit and enable me to live a new life with you. Amen
Sep 7, 2025 · 3 min
September 7th - 1 John 1:3-4
1 John 1:3-4 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. As a teenager, I developed a great interest in the law, and often visited the local Magistrates’ and Crown Courts. To describe these as eye-opening experiences would be a considerable understatement. Having been brought up in a very loving and protected Christian home, I was learning about a world of which I knew nothing at all. I soon learned how the courts worked, and I recall the way in which the magistrates or judges would insist that witnesses stuck to their own personal memory. The moment witnesses strayed into talking about what they had heard from other people, they were quickly told to get back to their own personal experiences. John knew the importance of sticking to his own personal witness. He’d had the immense privilege of listening to Jesus first-hand and of seeing him respond to the pressures and challenges of everyday life. He knew that Jesus was the source of true life and joy, and he couldn’t wait to share it with other people. Of course, we are not in the same position as John, but we are all witnesses. If we have welcomed Jesus into our lives, we have our own authentic personal account to share with others. It’s wonderful to hear of the love, joy, peace and purpose that Jesus has brought into people’s lives, and to hear of how he has been faithful to them as they have walked through challenging times. Sharing our witness is valuable and important, but it isn’t an end in itself. John was clear that it leads to fellowship. As we share what Jesus has done in our lives, it brings us closer to one another and to the Lord, and the outcome is joy. Who wouldn’t want to be part of something as wonderful as this? Question How would you describe what Jesus has done in your life? Prayer Lord Jesus, thank you for the ways in which you have blessed my life. Help me to become bolder in sharing my witness with others. Amen
Sep 6, 2025 · 3 min
September 6th - 1 John 1:1
1 John 1:1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. Most of the letters in the New Testament start with a greeting in which the author identifies himself. The only exceptions to this are the letter to the Hebrews and this first letter of John’s. It seems to me that John was so eager to share his message that he didn’t have time for such pleasantries! He wanted everyone to know that Jesus really was the Son of God and that he came and lived a fully human life here on earth. John wrote this letter towards the end of the first century AD, which was about two generations after the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Some people had come up with the theory that Jesus wasn’t really human at all – he merely appeared to be human. John would have none of it. He knew for certain that Jesus really did come to this earth because he had seen him with his own eyes and even touched him. Through the centuries, there has been continuous debate about whether Jesus really was a historical figure. The evidence for Jesus is incredibly strong. We not only have the four Gospels, the earliest of which was probably written within 30 years of Jesus’ ministry, but we also have the letters of the apostle Paul, which were written even earlier. Of course, all these writers were followers of Jesus, so it is important to also look for evidence of Christ’s life from non-Christian sources. Most notable of them was Flavius Josephus, who was a Jew and wrote a history of Judaism in around 93 AD. He made two references to Jesus. About 20 years later, two Roman politicians called Pliny and Tacitus wrote about Jesus. Tacitus recorded that Jesus was executed while Pontius Pilate was the Roman prefect in charge of Judaea, and Tiberius was emperor, both of which we know to be historically accurate. Pliny records that when he was governor in northern Turkey, Christians worshipped Christ as a god. Neither of them liked Christians – Pliny writes of their “pig-headed obstinacy” and Tacitus calls their religion a destructive superstition. The fact that Jesus was a real man was desperately important for John, and it still is today. Our salvation depends upon it. Question What encouragement do you draw from the fact that Jesus was a real historical figure? Prayer Loving God, thank you that because of your love for us you sent Jesus Christ to our world. Amen
Sep 5, 2025 · 3 min
September 5th - Luke 19:26
Luke 19:26 “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” In this parable, Jesus spoke about servants who had all been entrusted with some money. Two of them managed to multiply the original amount enormously, and the king was thrilled when he discovered this. However, the third servant played it safe – very safe. He hid the money and ensured that he could return it in full to the king. The king was furious and ordered that this preserved money should go to the most successful servant. Jesus’ message is clear: don’t play it safe! If God has given you a gift, use it. If you have a gift of caring, studying, administrating, teaching, healing, praying, writing or whatever it may be, make sure you are using that gift as productively as you possibly can. One day, the Lord will ask you what you have done with the gift, and you must expect a severe response if your answer is that you played it safe and did nothing with it. It’s very tempting for all of us to look at our gifts and think that they don’t amount to much. We can all look at others and reflect that they are so much more gifted than we are, but that isn’t the point. You and I have been given a gift by God and he is looking to us to use it. If you’re not sure what your gift is, let me encourage you to pray about this and then talk with others. Most people who know you well will immediately identify it. I started preaching as a teenager because someone else identified that this was my gift. I would never, ever have put myself forward for this, and I was really nervous when I first did so, but I am so grateful that they identified the gift and encouraged me. Whatever you do, don’t play it safe. Make good use of whatever gift God has given you. Question What’s your gift and how are you going to use it? Prayer Thank you Lord for the generous gifts that you have given to me. Help me to make the most of them. Amen
Sep 4, 2025 · 3 min
September 4th - Luke 19:5-7
Luke 19:5-7 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. Everyone loves to be called by name. It is particularly special if you didn’t realise that the person speaking to you knew your name. Clearly, Zacchaeus was not only surprised that Jesus knew his name, but thrilled when he offered to visit his house. This changed everything for Zacchaeus, who realised that he had to turn his life around. The fact that Jesus came into the world to save sinners is amazing and wonderful, but it means little until you realise that he is addressing you personally. You matter to God. Incredibly, as Augustine stated long ago, if you had been the only sinner who had ever lived, Jesus would have died for you. As a teenager, I really struggled to believe that I could be that important to God. It seemed so unlikely, but that is precisely the truth that Jesus came to proclaim to the world. That is the good news, and when you accept it for yourself, it cannot fail to turn your life upside down. The crowd didn’t approve of Jesus’ choice. They couldn’t believe that he would go to the home of a notorious sinner. They had assumed that Jesus would choose people who they considered to be respectable, not a tax collector who represented everything that was most appalling and distasteful about their society. However, the good news of Jesus knows no limits. He still comes to sinners of all kinds and personally welcomes them to receive the gift of his salvation. Question If Jesus were walking the streets of your community and looking for a notorious sinner, whose home would he visit? Prayer Lord Jesus, thank you that you call me by name and that, incredibly, you offer me the gift of new life. Amen
Sep 3, 2025 · 3 min
September 3rd - Luke 18:35; 40-43
Luke 18:35; 40-43 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road…When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too. Jesus knew that he was heading to Jerusalem where he would be killed. Despite what was ahead, he still had time for people, and when he heard a blind man call out, he stopped and gave him his full attention. From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he had declared that he had come to bring sight to the blind, in fulfilment of Isaiah 61. That didn’t mean he had come to impose his healing – he’d come to offer it, and that’s what he did when he met this blind beggar in Jericho. Jesus never barges into our lives telling us what’s best for us and imposing his will on us. He simply offers himself. On the face of it, it seems strange that Jesus would ask a blind man what he wanted him to do for him. We know nothing of the circumstances of this man, but we might presume that his blindness was connected to his begging. He lived a life of complete vulnerability, so it was surely obvious that he needed to receive his sight. However, Jesus respected him as an individual and let him make the decision. All of us need the loving touch of Jesus on our lives. We need his forgiveness, his peace, his love and his joy. We are all in desperate need of him, but he refuses to impose himself upon us. Today, as Jesus knocks at the door of our lives, he leaves it to us to decide whether we will open it or not. Question Will you open the door to Jesus today? Prayer Loving Lord Jesus, thank you that you offer me your life today. I welcome you and invite you to fill me with your Spirit. Amen
Sep 2, 2025 · 2 min
September 2nd - Luke 18:31-33
Luke 18:31-33 Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.” A few days before Jesus’ death on the cross, he took his disciples to one side and give them a vivid description of what was going to happen. However, incredibly, they didn’t understand a word of it. It was a complete mystery to them, and the coming days were a total shock. They understood that Jesus was an amazing teacher and healer, but they hadn’t yet grasped the true meaning of his life - and didn’t want to think about his death. We live in a society that is equally unaware of the significance of Jesus’ death. This is a great tragedy, and we need to reflect on the ways we can help people to grasp its importance. We should be very glad that, at Easter time, chocolate eggs are still a focus of huge attention. Incredibly, 80 million are sold every year in the UK, along with more than 500 million cream eggs! While Easter eggs aren’t typically a source of deep spiritual enlightenment, they are a clear and powerful image of new life. And, in them, we have been handed the most amazing visual aid to help explain to people the new life that Jesus came to bring, whatever the time of year. Question Thinking of the people you meet each day, how might you be able to help them to understand the true significance of Jesus’ death on the cross? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you were willing to go to the cross out of love for me. Amen