Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Isaiah 55:8-9 Life is full of mysteries. Every day, tragedies occur and people scream out to God that life is not fair. As we reach out to others in their times of deepest need we would love to be able to offer an explanation, but we cannot. The problem of suffering has challenged humankind since the dawn of time and will continue to do so. But the mysteries of life are not only at that end of the spectrum, because the beauties and wonders of life are just as mysterious. How can you explain the beauty of a flower, the wonder of a sunset or the majesty of the night sky? All these things are beyond our ability to understand or explain. However, we worship a God whose understanding is infinite and whose love knows no limits. How should we respond to the knowledge that God is infinitely greater and wiser than we are? It would be easy to be overwhelmed by this. But a far better response would be to turn to God in worship and adoration with the knowledge that, in this life, we will never have the ability to understand everything. To use the language of the apostle Paul, at the moment “we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity” (1 Corinthians 13:12). God doesn’t want us to trudge through our lives burdened by all that we do not understand. He wants us to expand our understanding but always with the humility that acknowledges that his wisdom is infinitely beyond us. His desire is that we should live at peace with him and ourselves and with the confidence of knowing that, at the right time, we will be given the understanding that we need. In the meantime, we need to focus our energies on worshipping him. Question How do you respond to the fact that God is infinitely wise? Prayer Great God of wonders, I worship you. Thank you for this awe-inspiring world that you have created. Help me to worship you with the whole of my life. Amen

Isaiah 55:1-2 Much of Isaiah’s prophecy is dominated by the theme of judgement. The people had wandered away from God and lived lives that were a complete disappointment to him. They had worshipped other gods and had neglected to care for the poor and needy. But, through it all, God’s deep desire was to bring the people back to himself, and so he promised to send his servant to bring them salvation. In today’s reading God’s incredible offer is spelled out. He alone was able to satisfy their deepest need and he was willing to give them everything they needed freely. The offer today is just the same. God sent his servant to us in the person of Jesus Christ and he offers his gifts of forgiveness and new life to all those who will accept him into their lives. He only looks for us to be willing to give up our own self-centred life to live the new life that he gives us in the power of his Spirit. It is all for free. Sadly, in our cynical society, everyone gets deeply suspicious when they hear that something is being offered for nothing. I will admit that as soon as an email or letter arrives assuring me of untold riches for nothing, I immediately switch off. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. But here God offers us spiritual drink and food that can satisfy us completely - and they are absolutely free. Persuading other people that this is true, and not yet another gimmick, is something that we can only do when they see the reality of salvation in our own lives. I thank God for those people whose integrity, compassion and humility persuaded me that the Christian message was nothing other than the truth. Question In what ways has God satisfied your deepest needs? Prayer Loving God, thank you for your limitless generosity. Help me to find ways of passing on your amazing invitation to those I meet day by day. Amen

Proverbs 12:15 There is all the difference in the world between hearing and listening. Hearing is a physical process, and it happens all the time whether we like it or not. Listening however is a matter of choice. When we listen we deliberately tune in to what others are saying and reflect on it. It is a way in which we show love and respect to other people. It’s a great privilege when someone listens to us. We know we have their full attention and it is as if we are the only person in the world in that moment. We feel valued and affirmed. Listening is the most wonderful gift that we can give to another person. It appears a very easy thing to do but it is, in fact, incredibly demanding. It demands our focused attention and is a very tiring thing to do for any length of time. I love the ditty: “His thoughts were slow, his words were few and never formed to glisten. But he was a joy to all his friends. You should have heard him listen!” The truth is that a person who is good at listening will never be short of friends! The writer of Proverbs saw listening as a crucial quality of a wise person. As ever, he contrasted the wise person with the fool who doesn’t bother to listen because he is so confident that he knows what is right. If we are honest, we have probably all been guilty of that from time to time, and we need the reminder to spend more time listening carefully and generously to others. We won’t always love what we hear, but we need to reflect on it carefully before we make our decisions. Questions How good are you at listening, and how do you think you could improve your listening skills? Prayer Lord God, forgive me for those times when I have not listened carefully to others. Give me the humility and grace to listen with increasing care. Amen

Proverbs 12:10 I need to be honest with you. I have read this chapter many times but I have never stopped and thought about this verse before now. The writer seems to be saying that a person who follows God will show a caring attitude in every part of their life - including the way in which they care for their animals. Caring for animals is also reflected in Deuteronomy which, on a number of occasions, encourages a kind and generous attitude to animals. In chapter 22 Moses instructs the people that if they saw their neighbour’s ox, sheep or goat wandering away, they should take the animal to its owner and, if they couldn’t locate the owner, look after the animal until they could be reunited. And if they saw their neighbour’s donkey or ox collapsed on the road they should not look the other way but go and help their neighbour to get the animal back on its feet. In chapter 25 the people were instructed not to muzzle an ox while it was treading out the grain. It needed to have the freedom to have a snack while it did its work! In the book of Genesis we learn that God has trusted humankind with caring for animals on his behalf. That includes our pets. They are a precious part of God’s creation, and we need to show our respect and care for them. Over the years, we have had many pets as a family. Our care for them has been an important part of our children’s upbringing, as we have encouraged them to care for their pets even when they haven’t felt like it. Rowland Hill is famous for the revolution that he brought to the postal system when he introduced stamps in 1840. He once said: “Nobody is truly a Christian unless his cat or dog is the better off for it.” We have neither a dog nor a cat these days, but we do have two rabbits, Snowy and Midnight, and I do hope they are the better for knowing me. Question In what ways are you able to show kindness to animals? Prayer Loving God, I thank you for the gift of animals and for the way in which they enrich life. Help me to be kind and generous towards them. Amen

Proverbs 11:28 We hear a lot about money in the book of Proverbs. In many ways the writer speaks very positively about it. The acquisition of money is often seen as a sign of God’s blessing and he encourages his readers to work hard so that they will get more of it. But he was also keen to put money in its place. If money shapes our lives, we have missed the point completely. The only one we should trust is the Lord himself. We can lean on him and know that he will always be faithful and true. By way of contrast, money is temporary and should never control our lives. It is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. This teaching poses a great challenge to our society, which is obsessed with money. Bishop J C Ryle summarised the problem well when he wrote: “Nothing I am sure has such a tendency to quench the fire of religion as the possession of money.” Money feeds arrogance and a feeling of self-satisfaction, which pushes God away. Jesus was acutely conscious of this and spoke so bluntly on the subject that he shocked his disciples. Having told the rich young ruler that he needed to give his money to the poor, Jesus concluded: “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:23). He went on to say that: “it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:25). Whether he had a sewing needle in mind or the little gate that led into the city, the point is the same. The key question is: “Where have you placed your trust?” Do you look at your bank balance and possessions and believe that they will keep you safe for time and eternity? If so, you are seriously mistaken. They simply cannot give you that security. But if you place your trust in God, you can look to the future with confidence. Question Take some time to think about this question: Where, in all honesty, have you placed your trust? Prayer Loving God, forgive me for those times when I have misunderstood the importance of money. Help me place my trust in you and you alone. Amen

1 Corinthians 14:1 1 Corinthians 13 is a really famous chapter and rightly so. But Paul didn’t write in chapters. Chapter divisions arrived about 1,200 years later! So, whenever we see a chapter division, we need to, at least, peer at what happens next. If you only looked at chapter 13 you might think that love is so important that you can forget about the gifts of the Spirit. After all, they have got a limited shelf life, as Paul has just explained. But at the start of chapter 14 he makes it plain that we all need to make love the goal of our lives and, at the same time, seek after the wonderful gifts that the Holy Spirit wants to give us. The church in Corinth had got into a horrible muddle about spiritual gifts and Paul is trying to straighten them out. Their meetings had become totally disorganised and unhelpful, with people trying to outdo one another as they used their gifts. Paul is eager to give them some clear rules so that they will start appreciating the gifts that God has given them, and use them in a way that will build up the whole church. Churches can still slip up today. As much as we love the Lord, we still trip over our selfishness and idiosyncrasies, so it is vital that we keep focused on Paul’s wise words. We must continually ensure that we make love our goal, as well as also eagerly seeking after the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Question What gift has God given you to build up the Church? Prayer Thank you Lord for the gifts that you have given to your Church. Help me to use my own gift enthusiastically and wisely so that it will help to build your Church. Amen

1 Corinthians 13:8,13 I don’t know about you, but I don’t like throwing things away. I am writing this on a new laptop, but I hung on to the last one for as long as possible. It was starting to run very slowly, and sometimes didn’t want to start at all. I was prepared to concede that it had good days and bad days, but, in the end, I had to admit that I was devoting too much of my life to waiting for it to spring into action. Of course, all our possessions have a limited life. Our cars, our microwaves, our beds, our desks and even our homes don’t last for ever. The same principle exists in the spiritual realm as well. Our spiritual gifts are a wonderful blessing but they come to an end. Speaking in tongues, prophecy, preaching and words of knowledge are all amazing gifts of God, but the day will come when they are silent. There will be no more need for them. However, some things do last for ever. Paul lists them as faith, hope and love. But one shines above them all – love. Isn’t it a wonderful thought that the love that we show day by day never comes to an end? It is a reflection of God’s eternal nature and so every time we reach out to another person and truly love them we are sharing in the stream of his eternal love. We need that reminder because loving is often painful and unnoticed and sometimes even rejected. However, there is nothing more important that we can ever do than love. Question In what way are you encouraged by the fact that love never ends? Prayer Thank you Lord that your love never ends. Help me to devote more of my life to sharing the eternal gift of love. Amen

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 When I was about four years old I can recall being very confused when I met new people. I presumed that they had just been made, because I had never seen them before! I had recently realised that people die – probably because one of my grandfathers died at around that time. I came up with a theory that God took the bits of dead people and used them to make the new people that I had just met. It was all very logical and, in its way, quite impressive. It just happened to be wrong! When we are children, our minds struggle to understand the world around us and that’s absolutely fine. But if I had told you that it is still my view that God makes people out of those who have passed away you wouldn’t think that was fine at all. You would, in your kindness, feel desperately sorry for me and, I trust, start praying for me. Our thinking and speaking changes as we get older. Many things that were a complete mystery to us as children are no longer mysterious. But, however old we are, we are still on a journey towards understanding, as we all have a lot more to learn. We need to draw two conclusions from this. Firstly, we need to be humble. We might know a lot, but we don’t know everything. God hasn’t revealed the whole truth to us, so we need to look at every day as an adventure in which we learn a little more about ourselves, our world and God. And secondly, we need to be excited by the thought that one day we will understand the whole picture. Question What new things have you learned about God over the last month? Prayer Lord God our Father, thank you that you are constantly revealing more of yourself to me. Amen

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 I am sure that you have often heard these famous words. They give us the most beautiful description of love and, understandably, they are often read at weddings. Love sounds incredibly attractive doesn’t it? We all long to be as loving as this. But the problem is that no amount of human effort will enable us to be. The only way to show perfect love is by enabling God to work through us. Hard as we might try, we will never succeed in being truly loving without God’s daily strength. The way to become more loving is to focus more on God. As we get to know God better, and allow our lives to be shaped by him, his love will naturally flow through us. There will be no stopping it! Living in God’s way of love will shape every part of life from the moment we wake up. It will affect the way in which we greet people in the morning. It will guide our prayers for the people we see on the way to work. It will colour our relationship with our families, colleagues and friends. We will, without thinking about it, be seeking the very best for them all. When we meet people in need we will naturally reach out to them and seek to help. We won’t have time to do much thinking about love because we will be so busy loving. Question Which of Paul’s descriptions of love do you find most challenging? Prayer Lord God, thank you that you have always shown me perfect love. Help me to get to know you better so that your love will constantly flow from my life. Amen

1 Corinthians 13:1 I will never forget Sheila. She was in her early 70s when I first met her and, every Friday evening without fail, she helped out with her church’s youth club. The church was on a rough estate and the evenings were full of action. The young people were rarely appreciative and, at times, violent. The language they used was normally rude and often deeply offensive. And yet, Friday after Friday, Sheila would faithfully go and support the youth club with the hope that it might be a blessing to the young people and possibly even lead them closer to finding faith in Jesus. I only know one word that would explain why someone would act in that way – love. Sheila truly loved those young people and nothing would stop her seeking to help them. I’ve started with a personal example because we all know how to speak and sing about love, but the real test is whether we can turn our words into action. In this amazing chapter on love, Paul draws the picture of a person who seems to have collected every spiritual gift. This person is not just a great preacher but the best ever. Their knowledge has no limits and their prophetic gift is so great that they can unpick every mystery they face. On top of all of that they have faith that can move mountains around. To cap it all, their commitment to their faith is so complete that they don’t think twice about offering themselves as a martyr. What an amazing person! But Paul adds that even if all of those things are true of you, if you have no love then your life is just a lot of hot air. Love needs to take first place in our lives. Our God of love longs for us to reflect his love to the world. Question Who has shown you the most powerful example of love? Prayer God of love I worship you. Help me to reflect your love to those I meet today. Amen

1 Corinthians 12:14,16-17 I love Paul’s sense of humour! He imagines a conversation going on within the body that is plainly ridiculous. It would be crazy if the ear were to complain that it wasn’t a proper part of the body because it wasn’t an eye. But, funny as it is, Paul is making a very serious point. He is talking about inferiority complexes - and they get everywhere. Many people in churches look down on themselves. Some think they don’t count because they are only a Sunday school teacher, or only a cleaner or only a newcomer. Paul wants to make it clear that, so far as God is concerned, there are no ‘only’ people in the Church. Every single person is vital. Paul recognises that there is another problem as well – having a superiority complex, which is just as absurd. Paul imagines the eye saying to the hand: “I don’t need you” and the head saying to the feet: “I don’t need you” (v21). Not only would it be offensive for the parts of the body to talk to one another like that, but it would also be absolutely wrong – the eye does need the hand, the head does need the feet! In every organisation there tends to be a pecking order, so you can easily identify who is seen as the most powerful and important and who is seen as the least. But Paul protests that in the Church, just like in the body, everyone is absolutely crucial. We need to learn to treasure and value everybody, because God has placed them within the Church, and without them it would be unable to function. Question Have you ever suffered from an inferiority complex or a superiority complex? If so, how does this passage help you? Prayer Lord, help me to value the members of my church in the way that you do. Amen

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 I often hear people being described as gifted. They may be a particularly able pianist, flower arranger or speaker. I understand what is being said, but it could be misleading. It seems to suggest that there are two types of people – those who are gifted and those who are, sadly, not gifted at all. This passage makes it clear that every one of us is gifted. Whatever your age, strength, ability or disability, background or temperament you have got a unique gift that God, in his generosity, has given to you. Our task is therefore to discover the gift that God has given to us and to make sure that we use it. People have often told me that they don’t know what their gift is. If that’s true of you let me offer you a very simple five-step plan. Firstly, thank God for your gift, even though you haven’t worked out what it is yet. Secondly, ask God what your gift is. Since he has gone to the trouble of giving it to you, we can assume that he would love you to know what it is. Thirdly, open your eyes. Look around you and see if you can spot what your gift is, because it is often very obvious. To be honest, the problem can be that we know exactly what our gift is and would prefer that we had been given a different one. Fourthly, if you still haven’t worked out what your gift is, ask someone who knows you well. I suspect that they will be very clear what your gift is. Then, fifthly, use this gift and remember to keep thanking God for it. Question What is your gift and how are you using it? Prayer Dear Lord, thank you for the gift that you have given me. Help me to use it effectively. Amen

1 Corinthians 11:27-28 If you are employed, you probably have the delight of an annual appraisal. The intention is to stand back from how things are going in order to acknowledge what went well and what went not so well, and to reflect on how things could be strengthened for the year ahead. Conducted well, appraisals can be a great blessing and I have always been grateful for the ones that I have had. Here Paul is suggesting that we need to conduct a self-appraisal on a regular basis before we meet together to remember Christ’s death for us on the cross. The Corinthian church had clearly made a huge mess of their services. When they had a meal together to celebrate Jesus’ death some of them ate so much that there was nothing left for others. Paul concluded that their services actually did more harm than good. He felt that this special service was so important that everyone needed to prepare carefully for it, and crucial to that preparation was self-examination. When we examine ourselves we need to be ruthlessly honest. This is a very serious business. No one would want to be found guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. As we look hard at our lives we are not looking for perfection, but honesty. As we shine the light on our lives we need to acknowledge our failings and seek God’s forgiveness and renewal as we rededicate our lives to him. We come with empty hands so that he may fill us again with his blessings. Question When and how do you examine yourself before God? Prayer Dear Lord, help me to be totally honest with you as I look at my life. I seek your forgiveness and ask you to fill me afresh with your Holy Spirit. Amen

1 Corinthians 10:31 Life throws up many challenges for us in the 21st century, and it was no different in Paul’s day. One of the issues that he faced was meat taken to pagan temples as an act of worship before being sold by the butchers. Paul was quite clear that pagan gods were not true gods and so it really didn’t matter if the meat had been waved in front of them. But if someone were to point out that the meat had been presented in the temple, he concluded that it would be better not to eat it, out of respect for the informant’s conscience (vv27-30). The key principle in all of this was that, whatever you do, it needs to be done for the glory of God. Every day we have to make decisions. Most of them are simple and straightforward but, like Paul, we need to be clear about the guiding principle. We need to ask whether or not our actions will bring glory to God. We may be considering a purchase, a holiday or a new job. There may be any number of possible ways forward but the key question is: “What will be most beneficial and pleasing to God?” On the face of it, this might sound restricting and limiting but, because of the nature of God, it is in fact the exact opposite. As we discover God’s will for our lives, we find true liberty. God’s desire is always to enable us to be more alive. Question As you make decisions today how will you test whether the outcome will be for the glory of God? Prayer Thank you, Lord, that you want to bless every part of my life. Help me to share every decision with you so that I might bring glory to you today. Amen

1 Corinthians 9:19,22-23 I love meeting people who are passionate about something. It may be their love of horses, a particular football club or their devotion to gardening. You sense that their whole life is tuned into their passion and I find it fascinating to learn how they organise their lives. Paul was clearly passionate about people finding salvation in Jesus and here he lets us see his strategy for spreading this amazing message. His method was to get alongside people whatever their background or way of life. Whether they were a Jew or a Gentile, weak or strong he would look for the common ground as a starting point to share the good news of Jesus. It’s always the most incredible privilege to talk with other people about Jesus, but the conversation will never get anywhere unless you can find common ground. Paul seems to suggest that if you look hard enough you can find that with anyone. It’s not a case of putting on an act, but of showing so much interest in another person that you discover those places where your life meets theirs. When that firm link has been established, you are then able to share the good news in a way that is relevant to them. Paul’s intention was never to force his faith on another person, and it should not be ours. But he was passionate about giving everyone a chance to hear just how great God is, and that would surely be a great objective for all of us. Question In what way can you find common ground with the people you see regularly who don’t know Christ? Prayer Thank you, Lord, that we have such good news to share. Help me by your Spirit to find ways of sharing it with those whom I meet day by day. Amen

1 Corinthians 4:16-17 The disciples learned how to follow Jesus by looking at his example. They saw the way in which he responded to the constant demands of his ministry. They saw his kindness and patience and the way in which he welcomed every kind of person. They were often shocked by the things that he said and by the sort of people that he spent time with. Previously, they would have steered well clear of prostitutes, tax collectors and people with leprosy but Jesus always had time for them. Paul didn’t have the privilege of observing Jesus’ ministry, but he recognised the crucial importance of people learning by example, and he offered his life as one to be imitated. How else would people learn how to put Christian teaching into practice? In our verses today he told the Corinthian church that he was sending his young friend Timothy to them to remind them of Paul’s example. I suspect that we would all become rather coy at the thought of people copying our example. But the fact is that every day, as we live for Christ, we are being watched. People are looking at the way we respond to different situations. They see how we face challenges and celebrate successes. There is no way in which we can hide away, so we need to ensure that every day we are setting a good example that is worth following. Question Who will be looking at your life today, and what example will you be setting? Prayer Dear Lord, thank you for all the people who have set a good example for me to follow. Fill me with your Spirit so that I can live a life which will help others to follow you. Amen

1 Corinthians 3:5-6 Think for a moment about the Christian leaders that you have known. I’ve been a Christian a long time and I could easily come up with a list of scores of leaders who have helped me to understand the Christian message. I am so grateful to God for them. I can remember very few words that they have spoken (even though I must have heard thousands of their sermons) but I can easily remember their sincerity, kindness, humour, love, compassion, thoughtfulness and their strength of faith. But, at the end of the day, they were all servants. The person who really matters is God himself, because he alone gives life and causes growth. It is important that we should love and support our Christian leaders, but it is vital that we don’t exaggerate their importance. Their role is simply to point to the God whom they serve. I say this because I have sometimes seen people become devastated when a leader moves on, or when a minister slips up. God doesn’t call us to worship and serve our leaders, but to commit ourselves wholeheartedly to him. All leaders are frail and vulnerable like the rest of us. They are on the same roller- coaster of life as us, so have their ups and down. We need to rejoice in their good days and forgive their bad ones, but ensure that our focus is continually and supremely on the One whom we all serve. Question What have you learned from the leaders that you have known? Prayer Loving Lord, thank you for all the leaders that you have used to teach and support me in my Christian faith. But most of all I thank you that you are the one who, by your Spirit, enables me to grow. Amen

1 Corinthians 2:1-3 I once heard about a church that regularly visited the houses nearby. They sent out people two by two. A young girl nervously agreed to join in. She went to one house and a large man came to the door asking in a gruff voice what she wanted. She struggled to speak and then, in a quivering voice, she blurted out: “I’ve come to tell you that Jesus loves you.” The man didn’t know what to say and so slammed the door in her face. He went inside and slumped into a chair weeping like a baby. His wife asked what was wrong and he told her that a young girl had just come to their front door and told him that Jesus loved him. He had never had an experience like this before and he was amazed by her bravery. He couldn’t get over it. The more he thought about the experience the more curious he became and, after a while, he plucked up courage to go to the church and made a commitment to follow Christ. I love that story. God often speaks through our weakness more easily than through our strength. That was certainly Paul’s experience. He remembered how he was when he first arrived in Corinth. It was a busy and noisy city, famous for its immorality. It’s not surprising that Paul felt overwhelmed by his weakness. But Paul knew that what mattered was that people heard that Jesus died on the cross for them. It didn’t matter that he was timid and trembling. Most of us feel unsure of ourselves when we are given the opportunity to speak about our faith. But the truth is that we are often at our most powerful when we are feeling nervous and weak. Question Can you think of a time when God used you particularly powerfully in a time of weakness? Prayer Lord help me to be willing to speak up for you, even when I am feeling weak and tongue-tied. Amen

1 Corinthians 1:18 Paul was absolutely sure that the cross of Jesus stood right at the heart of his life and ministry. It was the lens through which Paul saw everything. For him it was the most wonderful message, communicating God’s love and power and the way in which he longs to bring peace into the world. So, Paul was determined to take every opportunity to speak about it. However, Paul was more than aware that the message of the cross sounded like nonsense to many people. The Greeks were looking for wisdom. They were very happy to listen to carefully reasoned arguments and to enter into learned debate. But the idea of a man dying at the hands of the Romans, showing that he was totally powerless and completely beaten by his enemies, sounded like foolishness. To the Jews, Jesus’ own people, there was a fundamental problem. In Deuteronomy it was specifically stated that anyone who hung on a tree was cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:23). It looked to the average Jew that hanging on the cross couldn’t possibly be something that God would allow to happen to his own son. The cross, therefore, made belief almost impossible for Jews. Paul was well aware of how foolish and problematic his message appeared. But he didn’t try to change it to make it sound acceptable to his hearers. He simply declared that, for those who believe, it is the power and wisdom of God. It turns all our normal thinking upside down, but that’s how God works. For those who want to get to the heart of understanding what love is all about, or who want to live lives that are full of God’s power, there is only one place to look – to the cross of Jesus Christ. Question What does the cross mean to you personally? Prayer Thank you Lord that when you went to the cross you showed us the full extent of your love. Amen

1 Corinthians 1:4-5 If you know anything at all about the church in Corinth you will know that it was a disaster area. Everything seemed to be going wrong. They were divided. They had a case of incest in the church and nothing had been done to sort it out. Their times of worship were an embarrassment. They totally misunderstood what the gifts of the Spirit were for, and viewed them competitively. It’s hard to find anything to celebrate. But look how Paul starts this letter. He could have kicked it off with a long list of moans, but he doesn’t. He begins with encouragement. My junior school was tiny and so I found my huge secondary school a very bewildering place. I had never been a part of anything like it before. I struggled with the work and didn’t do very well at first. But I will never forget the piece of work that I did for a Geography teacher when I was twelve, which he marked as “excellent”. Nobody had ever told me that I had done anything excellent before, and his words changed everything. I saw myself in a new light. It’s so important to use words of encouragement, particularly when we need to say something that is critical. Before we dare to say a single negative word, we need to think of all the genuinely encouraging things that we can say. Words of encouragement don’t normally need to be long, but they can be life-changing. I wonder what you might be able to say today which will give solid encouragement to someone else. Question What was the most significant encouragement that you have ever received and what did you learn from the experience? Prayer Thank you, loving Lord, that you are the supreme encourager. Help me to become more encouraging day by day. Amen