Be Still And Know

READ: Luke 23.55-56 NLT '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, anger and also fear that the Romans might be coming after them next. But, amidst all of this, they were concerned to do the right thing and to anoint the body of Jesus. On the Friday itself there was very little time to do anything. Jesus had died at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and the Jewish Sabbath began at about 6 o’clock. Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus and 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 wa

READ: Luke 23.44-46 NLT 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. Good is hardly the word. 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 are cheap and can easily be said. It’s only when we see actions that we know that love is real, and when 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 t

READ: Luke 22.19-20 NLT 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 ch

READ: Luke 22:3-5 NLT '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, better than us, knew how amazing Jesus was. 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. Judas allowed Satan to direct his actions. 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 expec

READ: Luke 21:1-4 NLT  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.”  Jesus is only a few days from his death on the cross. He knows what is going to happen and 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, and particularly her gift. It was such a tiny gift and 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 hers was a very, very small gift but Jesus looks to the heart of the matter. The fact is that she gave everything she could. She had, in truth, given more than anyone else.  This beauti

READ: Luke 19.41-42 NLT But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes.” 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 wheel chair, 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 open the curtains and was completely overwhelmed by the sight of the golden walls of the old city of Jerusalem 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

READ: Luke 19: 36-39 NLT As Jesus rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!” But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!” Palm Sunday was a day full of surprises for many people. They had hoped that Jesus might be the one who would kick the hated Romans out of the land. They wanted to see him come in power taking on the occupying army and setting the people free at long last. 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 ne

READ: Luke 19:20-23 NLT '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 the parable of the talents Jesus speaks of three servants who had been entrusted with some money. Two of them managed to multiply the original amount enormously and, when the King discovered this, he was thrilled. But the third servant played it safe. Very safe. He hid the money and ensured that he could return the money in full to the King. The King was furious and ordered that his safely 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 then use it. If you have a gift of caring, studying, administrating, teaching, healing, praying, writing or whatever it may be, make sure that 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 will

READ: Luke 19:5-7 NLT 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. I think everyone loves to be called by name. I certainly do. And 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, if you had been the only sinner who had ever lived Jesus would have died for you. As a teenager I really strug

READ: Luke 18:35 and 40-43 NLT 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 knows that he is heading to Jerusalem where he will be killed. But even so, amazingly, he has time for people and when he hears a blind man call out he stops and gives 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. But that didn’t mean that he had come to impose his healing. He came to offer healing and that’s what he does when he meets this blind beggar in Jericho. Jesus never barges into our lives telling us what’s best for us and i

READ: Luke 18:31-33 NLT 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.” Jesus’ death on the cross was only a few days away. He took his disciples to one side to put them in the picture and to give them a vivid description of what was going to happen. But, incredibly, they didn’t understand a word of it. It was all a complete mystery to them and the coming days were going to come as a total shock. They understood that Jesus was an amazing teacher and healer but they had yet to grasp the true meaning of his life, and didn’t want to think about his death. As we approach Easter 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 way

READ: Luke 18:16-17 NLT Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Jesus continually surprised people but his reaction to children would have been particularly astonishing to his hearers. Children had no status in law and at best they were regarded as potential adults who needed to be seen but certainly not heard. The disciples were keen to protect Jesus their rabbi from the children so that he could get on with the serious business of instructing the adults. But, as so often was the case, Jesus turned their thinking upside down. Not only did Jesus welcome the children but he said that they provided the role model for his disciples to follow. What was Jesus getting at? He clearly wasn’t encouraging his followers to be childish. What he was affirming was that he wanted them to

READ: Luke 16:10-12 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?” We all tend to be impressed by competent people. People who get things done. But competence isn’t everything. A person’s character is of far greater significance than their competence. Indeed, a person who has enormous competence but who has a bad character is very dangerous, and their activity is likely to lead to disaster sooner or later. Jesus’ words are wise ones and we need to listen to them carefully. Faithfulness is a key quality and if someone has proved unable to be faithful in one area of life, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were unfaithful in other areas as well. And if someone shows dishonesty in a triv

READ: LUKE 15.20-21 NLT “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’” Of all the stories that Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son is the most famous and it takes us to the heart of the Good News. The son was a complete embarrassment. Can you think of anything worse than a son asking for his inheritance whilst his father was still alive? He then, inevitably, went off and squandered the money and ended up stony broke. He was so desperate that all he could do was to find a job feeding pigs, and for a Jew you couldn’t imagine a worse job because they were banned from eating pork. The people would have listened to Jesus with rapt attention. But they also knew how the story was bound to end. When they heard that the son had resolved to go back home and ask for a job from his father, the

READ: Luke 15:8-10 NLT Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbours and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ It seems to me that almost everyone has got a moving story to tell of the 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 have never lost my wedding ring but I have heard many heart rending stories of people who have. The woman in this story has lost one of the ten silver coins that formed part of her headdress and which would have been given to her when she got married. There was no point in telling her that she had still got nine! The coin was of massive sentimental value and losing it caused her great distress. The pain of losing something as precious as the silver coin is ma

READ: Luke 15:4-5 'If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.' 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 doesn’t make any sense. Economically why would you run the risk of endangering the 99 by leaving them all alone in the desert whilst you go out and search for just one sheep who constituted only 1% of your business? Surely the shepherd would have been better advised to protect 99% of his business and hope that the silly lost sheep would wander home. The only explanation for a shepherd acting in this way is love. He sets out to search for the lost sheep for the pure and simple reason that he has compassio

READ: Luke 13:18-19 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.” 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 eight feet tall and sometimes even up to twelve feet. It’s understandable that Jesus described it as a tree. Inevitably, a mustard plant attracts huge attention from birds who love to feed on the little black seeds. Jesus’ point is clear. When we see God at work in the world it may not look impressive. It may be overlooked because it appears so small. But the Kingdom of God is always in the growth business and so even though it might seem tiny it will keep growing. In many parts of the world the church is small and struggling. I’ve visited many towns and even cities where there is only one Christian or just a small group. I’v

READ: Luke 12:21 NLT 'Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.' 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 had such a successful harvest that he realised that he needed to build more barns. He said to himself that he could now settle back and enjoy life. He could eat, drink and be merry. Jesus calls the man a fool, because he hadn’t taken into consideration the fact that his life might come to an end that very night. I don’t believe for a moment that Jesus wants us drag our way through life with long faces with the morbid realisation that any day might be our last. Far from it! He wants us to live our lives fully every day and to enjoy the wonders of his creation and the miracle of being alive. But he wants us to do so in the light of eternity. He wants us to invest in the things that last, and nothing is more enduring than o

READ: Luke 1:.41-42 NLT The Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Forgive me for a little pop psychology. It seems to me that some people are naturally activists. They are always up and doing. And then other people are naturally reflective. They want to stand back from life and consider everything carefully. In this beautiful little story from Jesus’ life we meet two sisters who are perfect examples of these different approaches to life. Martha is the activist. She knows that Jesus is having a very busy ministry and she has decided that he needs a good meal. Martha is sure she is right and is therefore appalled when she spots her sister skiving. Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet listening carefully to him and, meanwhile, Martha is fuming. She cannot believe it. Mary should be working as hard as she is, and so in a complete strop Martha goes to Jesus

READ: Luke 10.33-34 NLT 'Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.' I love the parable of the Good Samaritan and not least because it would have come as such a complete surprise to Jesus’ hearers. Jesus is being challenged by an expert in the law who asks for the legal definition of the word neighbour. I have no doubt that he was expecting a sophisticated technical response – and instead Jesus tells him a story. To any Jew the parable was deeply shocking. The fact that a man had been ambushed on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho wasn’t surprising. The winding road that connected the two communities made it an ideal place to attack a traveller, all so different from the large straight highway that we see today. But what was shocking was that the priest and Levite did nothi