Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Proverbs 29:25 Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety. The posh word for fearing other people is ‘anthropophobia’, and it can happen for all sorts of reasons. Perhaps other people are threatening us. The psalmists often spoke of the people who were out to get them. They seemed to be surrounded by people who were trying to trip them up and make their lives a misery. Fearing other people might also be based on our fear of what they might think of us. It’s very easy for our lives to be controlled by our desire to please other people. We can become fearful of what they might think of what we are saying or wearing, or where we are going. There is no doubt that it is easy for fearing other people to become a dangerous and depressing trap. The writer of Proverbs provides an alternative. There is a way out. Rather than using other people as our reference point, we could turn to the Lord instead. When we trust him, we are entirely safe for a number of clear reasons. Firstly, God always loves us. However strong our relationship with other people is, they change. They have good days and bad days – days when they have time for us and others when they are far too busy for us. Secondly, God is eternal. Our human relationships are precious and important to us, but they have limits. They won’t go on for ever. God gives us the security of knowing that he will never leave us. When we place our confidence in God and find him as our true source of security, it will affect every other part of our lives. The outcome will be that we discover that we don’t need to fear other people. As the psalmist wrote: “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” (Psalm 118:6). Question Do you ever fear other people? If you do, how could you handle the situation better in future? Prayer Lord God, thank you that I have nothing to fear when you are on my side. Amen

Proverbs 29:23 Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honour. William Hazlitt, the brilliant 19th-century writer, put his finger on the problem with pride when he observed that it “erects a little kingdom of its own, and acts as sovereign in it”. When we are puffed up with pride, we take total charge and push God out, together with everyone else. The proud person might look impressive for a while but, as the writer of Proverbs observes, sooner or later they end in humiliation. The alternative way is humility. This is the key to all of God’s blessings, so we need to be absolutely clear what it is. The trouble with the word humility is that we often confuse it with false humility, which is horribly unattractive. Anyone who claims to be humble is almost certainly false. The humble person doesn’t expend energy thinking about themselves, and if they were ever identified as being humble, they would deny it. True humility is not about denying that we have gifts and abilities, but having a readiness to admit that we have failings and shortcomings. The disciples were constantly seeking to push themselves forward. They were interested in who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In response, Jesus could have given them a lecture about the virtues of humility, but instead he called a little child and placed him in front of them. He said: “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4). Jesus’ words couldn’t be clearer. Humility is the only way to make progress in the Christian life. Only when we acknowledge that Jesus is the King of our lives will we find his peace, love and joy. Building our own little empire may look clever for a while, but it is bound to end in disaster. Question How do you think you could grow in humility? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, I acknowledge you as the Lord of my life. Help me constantly to decrease that you may increase. Amen

Proverbs 29:20 There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking. The writer of Proverbs has a lot to say about fools. They live dangerously and destructively, and he does everything he can to encourage his readers to avoid foolishness and to live a life of wisdom. When he declares that there is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking, he is clearly describing the most terrible disaster, and that’s because words are so powerful. They can be powerful to build, but they can also be devastatingly destructive when used in the wrong way. So, what thinking should we do before speaking? I love the mnemonic T-H-I-N-K. Here are five excellent tests to apply to anything that you say. T stands for True. So much damage is caused in relationships and organisations because untrue things are said. Gossip feeds off this. A statement might be partly true but give a misleading impression, and when it is passed on a number of times, it bears no relationship to the real situation. If you are not absolutely sure that something is true, it is better to keep quiet. H stands for Helpful. It can be very tempting to share information simply to show that you know it, but it is better to be quiet if what you are saying won’t help. I stands for Inspiring. Your words need to have a positive effect and leave people encouraged and strengthened. N stands for Necessary. For some of us, when we start talking, it can be difficult to stop, and we end up sharing half formed thoughts that are totally unnecessary and are in danger of fuelling gossip. K stands for Kind. If our words are not kind, then they should never have been spoken. We won’t go through all those five steps every time we speak, but I encourage you to start making use of this simple guide. It may help to slow down our speaking and increase our thinking time. Question Which of the five steps is most challenging and important for you to reflect upon? Prayer Loving God, thank you for the privilege of speaking. Help me to become increasingly wise in the way in which I speak. Amen

Proverbs 29:11 Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. I love the down-to-earth realism of the Bible. It meets us where we are and engages in the sharp reality of our lives. We all have very different anger thresholds. Some people rarely get angry, and others can get steamed up about the most minor issues. Wherever you are on the scale of anger, we all need to know what to do with it. The writer of Proverbs, in his typically blunt way, declares that fools let it all out and wise people quietly hold it back. Valuable and wise as the book of Proverbs is, its short, pithy sayings need unpacking. It would, for example, be a mistake to lump all anger together. Some anger is good. We often hear about God’s anger. In his holiness, he gets incredibly angry about sin. Isaiah wrote of the Day of the Lord when God would reveal his “fury and fierce anger” (Isaiah 13:9) and Jesus expressed anger at the temple being overrun by moneychangers and those who were selling animals and birds for sacrifice. There is clearly a place for righteous anger, and the Bible offers us many illustrations of it. However, anger is often completely unrighteous. We may be angry because we have failed to get our own way, or we didn’t like the way someone spoke to us. The apostle Paul was clearly well aware of the issue of anger when he wrote: “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27). This is extremely wise advice. The greatest danger is when we allow our anger to carry on unchecked, and this can so easily happen. Anger is sometimes allowed to grow for months or even years, and it starts to define a person’s life. Knowing how to control anger is crucial for all of us, so we all need to seek God’s strength and wisdom to do so. Question How do you control your anger? Prayer Lord God, thank you that you understand me completely. I invite you to help me to control my anger. Amen

Proverbs 28:27 Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed. The writer of Proverbs often refers to poverty. In his society, there was no welfare state, so poverty was an ever-present and terrible threat. If their family was unable to give support, a person could become totally destitute. Begging would be the only option. It’s not surprising that many proverbs speak of the vital importance of giving to the poor, and in chapter 19 the writer speaks of the spiritual significance of such giving. He writes: “If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD – and he will repay you” (Proverbs 19:17). God loves to see people who are generous to the poor, and this theme runs through the whole Bible, from the law of Moses to the sharp and down-to-earth wisdom of the letter of James. God expects us to care for the poor and will reward those who do so. The reference to those who close their eyes to poverty strikes me with particular force. The writer bluntly states that they will be cursed. God is clearly calling us to open our eyes to the reality of poverty, uncomfortable as that may be. Poverty is never pleasant, and it is very easy for those who are financially secure to get on with their comfortable lives in blissful ignorance of those who are struggling through financial need. The statistics are terrifying. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has been working for over a century to study the causes of poverty in the UK. It believes that more than 20 per cent of the population lives in poverty, and this affects every part of people’s lives – their children’s education, their health, their job prospects, their life span – everything. It is particularly painful to note that more than half of those who live in poverty are disabled or live in a family with someone who is disabled. This is a crisis which demands a response from all of us. Question How aware are you of poverty in your area, and what can you do to help? Prayer Loving God, thank you for all the resources you have given me. Help me to be increasingly generous in sharing them with others, especially the poor. Amen

Proverbs 28:26 Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe. The book of Proverbs has a great deal to say about fools. Time and again, the writer notes how stupid, ignorant and destructive they are. Many of his observations would be incredibly funny if they weren’t so serious and sad. In Proverbs 26, he wrote: “A proverb in the mouth of a fool is as useless as a paralysed leg…like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk” and “an employer who hires a fool…is like an archer who shoots at random” (Proverbs 26:7,9 and 10). His powerful descriptions of foolishness are, of course, his springboard for commending the importance of wisdom. Everything in life depends on the acquisition of wisdom, which leads to security, loving relationships, success and happiness. The writer is absolutely clear that the only one who can give wisdom is God himself. He teaches us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is only by worshipping God and building a life based on him that we can acquire true wisdom, and because wisdom relies upon God, we need to live our lives in continual humility, recognising our total dependence on him. The moment we conclude that we are wise, we are in danger. In chapter 8, the writer represents wisdom as a woman who longs to share her wisdom with others, and the chapter concludes with a picture of the person who eagerly desires her wisdom. She says: “Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! For whoever finds me finds life” (Proverbs 8:34-35). Nobody wants to be a fool, but we are all bound to end up being foolish unless we persistently and humbly seek God’s wisdom. We need to keep James’ encouraging advice in mind: “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you” (James 1:5). Question In what aspect of your life are you particularly aware of your need for God’s wisdom? Prayer Lord God, forgive me for my foolishness and help me, day by day, to seek your wisdom. Amen

Proverbs 28:23 In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery. The first three words are crucial in this verse! At first, probably all of us would rather be overwhelmed by flattery than offered criticism. We all want to be loved and to have people tell us how wonderful we are. However, in the end, honest criticism is far more valuable, and we should be forever grateful for those words of wisdom that give us insight and enable us to live better lives. When I learned to drive, my driving instructor had a background in training police drivers and was very demanding. At the time, his words were strong and could even sound rather harsh, but I haven’t forgotten them and, as I look back now, I am so grateful for the guidance he gave. If he had showered me with unqualified praise, it wouldn’t have been any help to me or other road users! The problem with flattery is that it is like candy floss: it has no substance. Edmund Burke, the 18th-century politician, said: “Flattery corrupts both the receiver and giver.” Its power to corrupt lies in the fact that it’s a distortion of the truth. It is therefore deeply misleading, and no relationship that is built on it could be secure. The beauty of well-judged and loving criticism is that it fearlessly offers the truth but does so with the single intention of building the other person up. The apostle Paul sums this up best when he talks about speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Truth often has sharp edges and it can be difficult both to receive and to share, but when our words have been baptised in love, even the sharpest observations will be a blessing. Question What was the last piece of honest criticism that you received, and how did it affect you? When did you last have enough courage and love to share honest criticism with others? Prayer Loving God, teach me to love other people so much that I will be willing to share the truth with them, and help me always to receive criticism from others with patience and grace. Amen

Proverbs 28:13 People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. Sin always tries to hide itself. It’s a pathetic process because it is always bound to fail. Sooner or later, the sin will be revealed. Given that we are all sinners and regularly do things that are well short of perfection, we all need to know what to do when we sin. The writer is clear that the best approach is to come clean. When we admit that we have done wrong and turn away from our sins, we will find God’s mercy. In Psalm 32, King David reflected on how grim life was when he refused to confess his sin to God. He said: “My body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat” (Psalm 32:3-4). The evil one will always try to persuade us that sin is fun and that we will easily be able to get away with it, but the truth is different. It is a burden that is difficult to carry and leads to guilt, shame and more bad decisions. The only way to get free from sin is to confess it and to turn to face in a new direction. That was John’s message in his letter when he addressed people who said that they had no sin. He called them liars. Then, he declared the wonderful news that if we confess our sins, the Lord will forgive our sins and cleanse us from everything that is wrong (1 John 1:8-9). That’s the good news that we need to take with us into each day. As we live for God, we hope and pray that we will sin less and less, but when we trip up, if we confess our sins and ask for God’s forgiveness, we can be sure that we are forgiven. There is no more wonderful feeling than to know that the burden of sin has rolled away. Question What do you find to be the most helpful way of confessing your sins to God? Prayer Thank you, Lord, that you are so ready to forgive my sins. Help me never to take this amazing gift for granted. Amen

Proverbs 28:6 Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and rich. This is such a typical proverb. It’s punchy, it’s brief and it contains a massive amount of wisdom. Honesty is always the best policy. Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States of America, said: “Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.” It’s not surprising that the book of Proverbs has much to say about honesty. It speaks often of the importance of being reliable, telling the truth and never being deceitful. The writer saw these as crucial qualities of a godly person and was convinced that this was the most wonderful life to live. He wrote: “The life of the godly is full of light and joy” (Proverbs 13:9). Because God loves honesty, he detests dishonesty. The prophets often delivered messages of God’s hatred of those who twisted the truth, especially when they did so to exploit the poor and vulnerable. The prophet Amos described those who couldn’t wait for the Sabbath to come to an end so that they could get back to their daily work of cheating the helpless. He said: “You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales. And you mix the grain you sell with chaff swept from the floor” (Amos 8:5-6). It’s a terrible picture, but the situation was actually even worse. When the people who had been defrauded complained, they would go to the judges who were, themselves, corrupt. They were totally stitched up by a completely dishonest system. God’s words of judgement on them couldn’t have been stronger. Dishonesty continues to be a terrible feature of life. Fraud is very big business. It accounts for about 15 per cent of all recorded crime and is calculated to cause losses of about £190bn each year. That’s similar to the amount that we spend on the whole of the National Health Service. It’s a terrible crime, and so is all dishonesty, whatever shape it takes. It will always be better to be poor than to be dishonest. Question In what form do you come up against dishonesty, and how do you deal with it? Prayer Lord God, help me to love the truth more and more, and to protect those who are the victims of dishonesty. Amen

Proverbs 28:5 Evil people don’t understand justice, but those who follow the LORD understand completely. The Bible has a great deal to say about justice. The reason for that is clear. God is a God of justice, so he wants us to share his passion. The writer of Proverbs is characteristically blunt on the subject. Evil people, he claims, just don’t get it. They don’t mind bending or breaking the rules because they are only concerned about their own selfish interests. They aren’t bothered if there is no justice in the world, so long as they get what they want. It should be a completely different story for those who follow the Lord. Justice should be so important to Christians that they devote their lives to acting justly and encouraging others to do the same, however difficult it may seem. Our society looks very different from that of the writer of Proverbs, but it has always been the case that the weak and marginalised are most likely to be denied justice. The elderly, the disabled, the uneducated, the poor, immigrants and refugees are often the ones least able to argue their case and to find justice. Fighting injustice is hard work, but it is part of our calling as Christians. We dare not leave it to an enthusiastic minority, but so often that’s what happens. It is the business of [itals]every[end itals] Christian to stand up for those who are vulnerable and weak. In his letter, James was very keen to identify what true religion looked like. He had no time for people who didn’t turn their faith into action. He said this: “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means looking after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). I don’t know what this will mean for you, but there is no question that God looks to each of us to stand with him in the fight for justice. Question In what way do you need to work for justice in your community? Prayer God of justice, forgive me for my selfishness and for the times that I have overlooked the needs of others. Open my eyes to the ways in which I can help to bring justice to those in need. Amen

Proverbs 28:2 When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability. Every nation needs good leaders, but the pages of human history show that they have normally been in short supply. The Old Testament offers us a depressing procession of inadequate leaders, occasionally punctuated by one who was godly and able. In the prophecy of Hosea, God summed up the situation when he declared: “Burning like an oven, they consume their leaders. They kill their kings one after another, and no one cries to me for help” (Hosea 7:7). It was a tragic situation and led to centuries of moral rot, to use the colourful language of this proverb. There is plenty of moral rot in our own society. The massive amount of substance abuse, the breakup of families, the prevalence of child abuse, the phenomenal levels of fraud and the huge rise in knife crime would be just a few of indicators of a society that is in a poor way. In such a situation, we need to cry out for the kind of wise and knowledgeable leaders that the writer of Proverbs had in mind. It isn’t good enough for us to join in with the chorus of cynicism and criticism. We can do better than that. Paul encouraged Timothy to pray for those who were in authority “so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:2). As we pray for those in authority, we reveal our commitment to them and our willingness to work with them as they seek to make wise and good decisions that will bless our society. In the work I have done with members of Parliament over the years, I know how encouraged and blessed they have been when they have known that churches have been praying for them. We don’t need to agree with their politics in order to pray for them. We simply need to appreciate that they have an authority which ultimately derives from God and recognise our responsibility to support them. It's too easy to bemoan the wickedness of our rotten society. God calls us to allow his Spirit to work through us so that we can help to build a better society. Question In what ways could you encourage your MP in their work? Prayer Loving God, I pray for this country and ask that you will bless our leaders. May they walk in your ways of compassion, truth and justice. Amen

Proverbs 27:25-27 After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears and the mountain grasses are gathered in, your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will provide the price of a field. And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself, your family and your servant girls. These verses give us a delightful insight into a rural way of life which has a rhythm that those of us who live in towns and cities can totally miss. The life of a farmer is an interesting interplay between God’s provision and sheer hard work. God graciously causes the grass to grow, but there is then a huge amount of work involved in drying it out and making the hay. The grass and hay sustain the sheep and goats who will provide wool and milk to clothe and nourish the family. It’s a wonderful cycle of life, but nobody should have any illusions that it’s a quiet life. Farm work is massively demanding. However far away we may live from a rural life, we all depend upon that relationship between God’s provision and human effort. The reasonably effortless process of purchasing our food, drink and clothes tends to obscure this, so it is good for us to remind ourselves of both facts. Firstly, we need to give thanks for everything we buy, which, ultimately, has come from God’s hands. It is part of his creation, and although many manufacturing, transportational and organisational processes might have intervened between the original raw materials and our purchase, God is nevertheless the source. Secondly, it is good for us to remember those who have been involved in the frequently very long process by which goods are brought to us. We should thank God for the farmers, fishermen, miners, manufacturers, transporters and retailers and all those who have worked with them to enable us to make our purchases. We are, unavoidably, intimately related to this whole process, so we need to pray that God is honoured and that justice is done to everyone involved in it. Question Why is it important for us to be aware of the way in which our food, drink and resources are produced and brought to us? Prayer Lord God, thank you for all those whose hard work enables me to shop with such ease. Amen

Proverbs 27:21 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised. I wonder how you respond when someone praises you. Perhaps you are praised for your excellent work, your sporting skills, your kindness or your reliability. The writer of Proverbs makes the interesting observation that such praise is as critical a test of a person as fire testing precious metals. Praise will expose the kind of person that you really are. There are three things you can do with praise. The first option is to open wide and drink it all in. This is a dangerous path because it is likely to go to your head. It could inflate your opinion of yourself to the point that you become arrogant and unbearable to live with. The second option is to do everything you can to deny the plaudits and suggest that they have got it all wrong. This might sound like a humble approach, but it could easily come across as rude. The best way to handle praise is to acknowledge it gratefully and to use it as an opportunity to review your life and your relationship with the Lord. It could be that the praise will help you to understand where your gifts really are. When I first started preaching, I was a teenager and was totally unsure of myself. The response from the people who heard me preach was crucial, and if they had been negative and critical I probably wouldn’t have preached another sermon. However, their praise has encouraged me to keep doing it! Above all, praise needs to encourage us to look to the one who gave us our gifts in the first place. Any gift, flair or ability we have has come to us as a gift from God, and we need to make sure that he is the one who gets the main credit for anything that we achieve. Question How do you respond when people praise you? Prayer Lord God, I thank you for the abilities and strengths that you have given me. Help me never to forget that they have all come to me as a gift from your hands. Amen

Proverbs 27:15-16 A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day. Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands. I’m not going to defend the pure sexism of this proverb. There’s absolutely no need for it. Anyone can be quarrelsome, whatever their gender! The writer is convinced that the quarrelsome person is very hard to stop. He makes it sound as if quarrelling has become their way of life. No amount of challenging will change them. Clearly, quarrelling is something that has happened since the dawn of time, and it’s not surprising that the apostle Paul was fully aware of the problem. He instructed Timothy that “a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach and be patient with difficult people” (2 Timothy 2:24). The sad truth, of course, is that any of us can be quarrelsome. It may be that we’re not feeling well, or we are generally unhappy with the state of things or we are feeling threatened by life. Paul gives sound advice that, instead of quarrelling, we should seek to be kind and patient. Quarrelling with people is never kind. It causes anxiety and undermines relationships. The kind person is always looking to show love and care to people and to be sensitive to their needs. Such a person will always seek to be patient. Patience is always much more easily said than done, but Paul knew how vital it was in responding to difficult people with whom, it would seem, the Church has always been generously supplied. If you are finding someone particularly difficult at present, it is, perhaps, comforting to know that the Bible is familiar with your dilemma. Even more importantly, it is wonderful to hear that God knows the whole situation and will give us the grace and strength to cope if we ask him to. Question How have you found it best to cope with quarrelsome people? Prayer Lord God, I ask you to help me to be wise and gracious in my relationships with other people, especially those whom I find most difficult. Amen

Proverbs 27:14 A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse! This might sound a bit harsh, but if you’ve ever lived with someone who is irrepressibly loud and cheerful, you probably know what the writer of this proverb is getting at! In life, it’s not so much what you say as how, when, where and why you say it. The writer is talking about people who are insensitive, and, let’s be honest, we all know people like that, and we’ve all done it ourselves. In the previous chapter, the writer referred to someone who was completely insensitive and totally misread the situation. He saw them as a serious liability. He wrote: “Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says: ‘I was only joking’” (Proverbs 26:18-19). Everything was wrong about this. He shouldn’t have been lying in the first place, and to try to pass it off as a joke was just pouring fuel on the fire. We all have something to learn from this. We need to learn to use our words with increasing care, because the same words can be received totally differently depending on the person, time, weather and a thousand other variables. Words that might amuse one person might antagonise another. Statements that some people find full of insight might cause lasting offence to another. Before you conclude that you need to keep your mouth firmly shut and never say another word, let me encourage you to lean even harder on the Holy Spirit. He is the one who can give us the wisdom and strength to speak in the way that the apostle Paul described in Colossians 4:6: “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” Question What has this proverb taught you about communicating with others? Prayer Father God, thank you that you have given me your Holy Spirit to enable me to speak in a way that will honour you and bless others. Amen

Proverbs 27:12 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Prudence isn’t a word that we hear much these days, but it’s a wonderful word. The prudent person not only discerns the right thing to do, but does it. They make good plans and anticipate the problems that might occur. Our society is very safety-conscious, and that is obviously a good thing, although it can easily be taken to extremes. There was a well-publicised story of a headteacher who insisted that children playing conkers should wear goggles, and suggested that candy floss on sticks should be banned for fear of people tripping up and impaling themselves! Happily, the health and safety executive disagreed with both approaches. What we need is to live and make our plans carefully and sensibly. Jesus addressed the importance of planning when he talked about the person who proposed to build a tower. He pointed out that it was important to estimate the cost of completing the job before the work began. He said: “Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you” (Luke 14:29). The careful work of preparation is demanding, but it needs to be done and done well. The simpleton, on the other hand, has a completely different approach. They can’t be bothered with the faff of coming up with plans and checking the regulations. They aren’t willing to spend time doing complicated sums. They just want to see the job done, so they blindly rush ahead until, whoops, their plans run into a brick wall. We’ve all seen it happen, and let’s be clear: Christians, like everyone else, can act with great foolishness at times. There can be such an eagerness to see a project happen that the thoughtful planning stages are rushed or totally overlooked. The world would be a much better place if we all worked hard at being prudent! Question Who is the most prudent person that you know, and what have you learned from them? Prayer Loving God, help me to act prudently today. Amen

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

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

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

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