Be Still And Know

John 20:19-20 John records three occasions when Jesus met with his disciples after his resurrection. Here is the first of them and it occurred on Easter day itself, the day of resurrection. The disciples were understandably nervous. The authorities had organised the crucifixion of Jesus and so, logically, they were quite likely to come after his disciples next. The disciples had heard from some of the women that they had met the risen Lord but it would seem that they were unsure what to make of this incredible news. Into this nervous, fearful situation came the risen Jesus. Suddenly and miraculously he was standing there with them. One can hardly begin to imagine the riot of emotions that they must have experienced in that moment. On the one hand it was everything that they most wanted. The death of Jesus was devastating for them so the thought that he was alive again was absolutely wonderful. But then they had to deal with the fact that dead people don’t rise from death. Into this amazing situation J

Luke 24:30-32 As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Isn’t it a great moment when the penny drops? Suddenly everything makes sense. This was the experience of these two followers of Jesus. The stranger whom they had met as they trudged wearily home to Emmaus had given them a long explanation from the scriptures, but it was only as he broke bread that, suddenly, everything became clear. Their mysterious stranger was none other than Jesus himself! In my experience, it can take a long while for the penny to drop in our Christian lives. It is perfectly possible to hear about God’s love, forgiveness, patience and generosity for years without them really making much sense. It is often only in the rough and tumble of life that deep sp

Luke 24:13-16 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from him. It was getting towards the end of Easter Day and the light was fading as these two people trudged back home. It had been an incredibly strange time for them. Their hero Jesus had died in horrifying circumstances two days previously. They had heard some women report that Jesus had risen from death, but they didn’t know what to make of it. Suddenly a stranger started walking alongside them – they had no idea that it was Jesus. Even when the stranger accepted their invitation to go back to their home, they still didn’t realise that it was him. This beautiful account will strike a chord with most of us. There have probably been many times when we have felt alone, but in fact Jesus was walkin

Luke 24:1–3 Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As dawn broke on Sunday morning the women were determined to get to the tomb as early as possible to anoint Jesus’ body. Imagine the shock when they got there to find that it was empty. Their astonishment and surprise was then magnified many times when they met two men in dazzling robes. They questioned the women as to why they were looking for Jesus in the tomb, because he had risen from death. We cannot be exactly sure where the tomb that Jesus’ body was laid was. In Jerusalem there are two main places that are identified as the possible site of Jesus’ tomb and one of them is in a beautiful garden, called the Garden Tomb. I have been there many times, and the guides always take pleasure in telling the visitors that the one completely authentic fact about the tomb is

Luke 23:55–56 As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law. There is something beautifully impressive about these verses. The women must have been totally devastated by the death of their Lord. I would imagine that they were experiencing a mixture of devastation and anger mingled with fear that the Romans might be coming after them next. But, amid all of this, they were concerned to do the right thing and anoint the body of Jesus. On the Friday itself there was very little time to do anything. Jesus had died at 3pm and the Jewish Sabbath began at about 6pm. Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus – he probably did so to avoid the corpse being left to the dogs and vultures, which was normal practice with the bodies of criminals. Joseph was a member of the Jewish Council bu

Luke 23: 44–46 By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. These incredible words take us to the heart of Good Friday. This is the most incredibly, amazing, wonderful day that has ever happened, in which God showed us just how much he loved us. Anyone can use words of love, but words can be cheap and easily said. It’s only when we see actions that we know that love is real, and when we consider how Jesus died on the cross we discover the full extent of God’s love for us in sending his own Son to give everything for us. Jesus’ death on the cross changed everything. As he died, the thick curtain in the Temple was torn in two. That curtain was the barrier that ensured that people were kept out of the Holy of Holies. Only the High Pries

Luke 22:19–20 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” I am glad that meals were so important in Jesus’ ministry. He loved spending time with people in the relaxed atmosphere of a meal and so it is very significant that, on the night before he died, we find him having supper with his disciples. Jesus knows that his death is only hours away, but he doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to have one final meal with those who had walked with him throughout his ministry. They had no idea what Jesus’ words meant as he took the bread and wine and said that they represented his body and blood. Only later would it all fall into place for them. People often tell me that their church i

Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. I don’t know about you, but I find these words almost too hard to read. Knowing how wise, good and loving Jesus was, how could anyone betray him? And Judas Iscariot wasn’t just anyone. He had been one of Jesus’ disciples for nearly three years. He had heard his teaching and, time and again, had seen him perform the most incredible miracles. How could he possibly conspire with those who wanted to kill Jesus? Luke tells us that Satan entered into Judas. No one knows exactly what was going on in Judas’ mind. Perhaps he was tempted by the money. Or he may have become disillusioned with Jesus because things weren’t working out in the way that he had expected and wanted. We just don’t know. What we do know is that he gave Satan’s temptations house room. He allowed t

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” At this point, Jesus was only a few days from his death on the cross. It must have been dominating his thinking, and yet he noticed a poor widow. I suspect that no one else spotted her because everything about her was unremarkable – particularly her gift. It was such a tiny gift; most people would have thought that it was hardly worth giving. But Jesus saw it very differently. Alongside the big gifts of the rich people, her gift was very small indeed but Jesus knew that she had given everything she could. She had, in truth, given more than anyone else. This beautiful little story is so precious because it gives us a deep insight into how Jesus works. H

Luke 19:41–42 I will never forget my first visit to Jerusalem. A disabled friend of mine asked me if I would take him to Israel as his carer. He needed me to push his wheelchair, drive the hire car and lift him from place to place. We stayed in a hotel on the Mount of Olives and arrived there in the dark. Driving through the chaotic traffic in Jerusalem for the first time was a hair-raising experience! The next morning I pulled back the curtains and was completely overwhelmed by the sight of the golden walls of the old city, set against a deep blue sky. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life and it was so easy to imagine the time when Jesus looked over the city and wept. Indeed, not far away from the hotel there is a beautiful modern church in the shape of a teardrop, which enables modern pilgrims to reflect on that poignant moment in Jesus’ life. Jesus longed for peace. That lay at the heart of his mission. He came to bring peace between humankind and God. Of all places, Jerusalem, the

Luke 19:36–39 Palm Sunday was a day full of surprises. Many people had hoped that Jesus might be the one who would kick the hated Romans out of the land. It would have suited them well if he had turned up on an impressive war horse and led a rebellion. But that wasn’t Jesus’ way. Instead, he turned up on a donkey of all creatures. Donkeys are undoubtedly attractive and loveable but you would never start an uprising with one! As he did so often, Jesus turned people’s expectations upside down; indeed everything that would happen in the coming week was going to shock them to the core. People reacted very differently to Jesus on Palm Sunday. There were some who showed him the respect of laying their coats on the road and who shouted and sang their praises. They recognised that Jesus truly was the Messiah, sent by God to bring hope to the nation. But then there were the Pharisees who were appalled by this outburst and who encouraged Jesus to rebuke his noisy supporters. But Jesus informed them that the pra

Psalm 33:1–2 Many of the psalms surrounding this one are full of descriptions of the psalmist’s pains and problems. He talks often about his enemies and those who are out to kill him. He tells us about his health problems and his times of depression. When we come to this psalm, however, the atmosphere is very different. The psalm bubbles with praise and confidence in God. Praising God can be done in any number of ways, but it is interesting how often it is associated with singing. This has been true throughout history. We read about the angels singing at creation (Job 38:7) and, when Moses and the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, they burst out in song, celebrating God’s deliverance (Exodus 15:1–19). Singing was integral to the life of the people of Israel and the Levites were given the responsibility of leading the singing. In the New Testament we find frequent references to singing too, and Paul encouraged his readers to “be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual

Psalm 32:1 King David is very reflective in this psalm. Some commentators suggest that he wrote it some years after his disastrous adultery with Bathsheba. That agonising episode led to the murder of Bathsheba’s husband and caused untold grief. When Nathan the prophet confronted David with his sin the king turned back to God and discovered the wonder of his forgiveness (2 Samuel 12). It is thought that Psalm 51 was written at this critical time in David’s life. He pleaded to God for his mercy and forgiveness. He asked God to purify him and to wash him whiter than snow. He wanted God to restore him and to make him new. In Psalm 32 he appears to be standing back from the experience of forgiveness and reflecting on how completely wonderful it is. David thought back over those days when he had refused to confess his sin. He recalled how his body wasted away and how he had groaned all day long. His strength had evaporated like water on a summer’s day (vv 3–4). But when he confessed his sins, his life was t

Psalm 31:14–15 We have seen David recount his problems in many psalms, but in this psalm the procession of problems is particularly depressing. Tears blurred his eyes and his body and soul were withering away. He felt as if he was dying from grief. Sin had drained his strength and he was wasting away from within. His enemies were laughing at him and even his friends were avoiding him when they saw him in the street. He felt as if he was surrounded by terror, knowing that his enemies were plotting to kill him. But, amid all of this pressure, he knew that he could look to God with confidence, knowing that his future was in God’s hands. This knowledge didn’t suddenly remove all his problems, but it did give him security and confidence. We are all curious about our future. However, the truth is that none of us knows what the future holds. Life may stay much the same for many years or it might change overnight. We simply do not and cannot know. It is therefore vital that we place ourselves in God’s hands i

Psalm 30:11–12 In David’s Psalms we meet him as he was surrounded by enemies, cheated by his friends and family, staring death in the face and feeling so ill he longed to die. But it was David’s experience that these glum times did not have the final word. God was able to transform his mourning into joyful dancing. This particularly reminds of the time when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem. David was happy to have established Jerusalem as his home but it wasn’t complete until the presence of God represented by the Ark was brought to the city. When it arrived he indulged in such wild dancing that he was accused of behaving shamelessly, but David wasn’t remotely bothered (2 Samuel 6:14–22). This was a special moment and it needed to be celebrated. When times are hard and everything seems to be going wrong, it is very easy to believe that our circumstances will never change. But they can. God is able to transform our disasters and pain as we commit them into his hands. The Bible introduce

Psalm 29:3–4 David repeatedly refers to the voice of the Lord in this psalm. On seven occasions he talks of the way in which God speaks powerfully through creation. He graphically describes the way in which God’s power and majesty are displayed in thunder and lightning. He speaks of the way in which this power is so great that it shatters the cedars of Lebanon and even makes the wilderness shake. Many of the psalms are focused on the worship of God in the temple but this psalm encourages worshippers to go outside and recognise the awesome power of God in creation. This is a good challenge for all of us. It’s so easy for us to allow our experience of God to be trapped by our personal walk with him or the life of our church. Both of those aspects of the Christian life are vital, but we should never neglect to look outside and see how powerful and majestic he is. We all need to take time to look at this amazing world and acknowledge that it is the work of our awesome Creator God. Thomas Brooks, the 1

Psalm 27:14 As I commented previously, life involves a lot of waiting. Some of it is life-changing and at other times waiting is just part of living in an uncertain world. We may be waiting to find the right job or life partner, or waiting for something to arrive in the post. We can live calmly in a period of waiting but at other times it is all-consuming. We find it hard to settle to anything else because what we are waiting for is so important. Waiting can, at times, be laced with a sense of despair. We may be waiting for something to happen, wondering whether it will ever turn up. Sometimes we are absolutely confident that something will happen; we are just unsure of the timing. When King David talks about waiting for the Lord, he is absolutely sure that God will respond to him. And because of that confidence he knows that he can wait with patience. In this psalm he is so confident that God will respond that he challenges us to be brave and courageous. In his commentary on this psalm, Michael Wilco

Psalm 27:4 In about the year 1050 BC King David established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. One of the first things he did was to take the Ark of the Covenant to the city. God had given specific instructions to Moses for the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and it was here that God dwelt among his people. During the years of the wilderness wanderings, the Ark was placed in a tabernacle or large tent. It contained the two stone tablets brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses on which were written the Ten Commandments. David took the Ark to Jerusalem and placed it in a tent with great ceremony and wild dancing. Celebrating the presence of God meant so much to him that David longed for a temple to be built in Jerusalem. He went to huge lengths to prepare for it to be built. However, this wouldn’t happen until the reign of his son Solomon. We live at a very different time and now, because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, we know that we can worship God anywhere, at any time. We are not tied d

Psalm 27:2–3 David’s confidence in God is incredibly inspiring. But it didn’t just happen. It was the result of his experience of living for God. He had been threatened with death by King Saul time and again, and through these experiences he had learned that God would not let him down. Even if he was confronted by the biggest army, he knew that God would protect him. There was absolutely no need for him to be afraid. We all face challenges and are tempted to feel afraid. Most of us will probably not, like King David, face up to the threat of death from an enemy, although that will be the experience of some Christians around the world. For many of us the challenge may come in the form of a health issue or financial problems. We may have relationship difficulties in our family or workplace or be threatened by a neighbour. Any of these challenges can cause us to feel afraid, but David’s words remind us that if God is our light and our salvation, such fear is unnecessary. We need to make sure each

James 5:19–20 Churches are not made up of perfect people. Far from it! This surprises some, who assume that Christians live lives of near perfection. For such people there is great consternation when the organist goes off with the youth leader, or the treasurer embezzles the church’s money. We should always be shocked and disappointed by such behaviour – but never surprised. Churches are, in many ways, similar to hospitals: composed of people who are far from perfect but who, by God’s grace and in the power of his Spirit, are becoming stronger and more mature in their Christian lives. Sadly, there have always been people who wander away from the Church. It is always tragic when this happens and churches need to have a clear strategy for reaching out to such people. Here James finishes his letter by inspiring his readers to be proactive when someone sadly backslides. He wants them to know how important this restorative ministry is. In bringing someone back to the Church they are doing nothing less than