Be Still And Know

Revelation 21:3-4 NLT I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone for ever.”  Oliver Goldsmith, the Irish novelist, wrote: “Life is a journey that must be travelled no matter how bad the roads or accommodations.” It’s true that we receive the gift of life, yet have very little control as to how this gift plays out. We wrestle to control what in so many ways lies well beyond our control. Life demands my active engagement no matter my mood, disposition or capacity. I may not understand my life circumstances, I may feel emotions from elation to despair, yet ultimately I must decide if I am in a game of random chance or there is some purpose behind my life experience. This will demand both faith and optimism. Faith to accept the fact that God is real and the ar

Ephesians 5:18-19 NLT 'Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.' I am aware when broadcasting and writing that my words are heard or read by people who I don’t know and will never meet. I’m equally conscious that each person is pursuing their life as best they can, facing issues I will never know. So, I experience a weight of responsibility both to God and my audience. It is a privilege to communicate. I’ve discovered the tremendous value there is in engaging with other Christians. The privilege of community, something I need and cherish. We are not created to be solitary creatures, yet so much of life today isolates us from one another. The demands of time squeeze our social connections, while we deceive ourselves that somehow our online presence offers us the benefits of community in a more convenient form. The fact is that I need physicality

Romans 8:28 NLT 'And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.' Optimism offers us the ability to maintain a positive state of mind in the face of the challenges life throws up. It also generates the momentum we need as we traverse life’s darker seasons. This is not to be confused with blind optimism, when we ignore the facts and imagine some bright and better future, in a vain attempt to negotiate our present reality. Optimism is our commitment to seek out the positives, rather than sink beneath the weight of the very real negatives confronting us. When my eyesight began to deteriorate, I found reading difficult. Hence my first spectacles were for reading. I immediately encountered a problem. Arriving at a station and seeking to find a train (long before the days of smartphones with their useful apps), I struggled to locate my reading glasses. More than once, the time I took finding these meant I missed my train. M

Ephesians 6:12 NLT 'For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the uinseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.' The success of the HBO series Game of Thrones, based upon RR Martin’s multivolume books, has ensured that fantasy fiction is mainstream. Many of its contemporary characters are morally ambivalent. The innocent suffer and life is precarious. Perhaps the fantasy genre best depicts the reality of living life in today’s world. It’s less about escape than mere observation of the terrors that stalk us all. The Bible’s acknowledgement that life is never plain sailing is once more fashionable and contemporary. I truly hope so, for to be blindsided to the reality of evil and the truth that how we live, both personally and corporately, has physical consequences, is to adopt a head buried deep in the ground mentally. The battle for our mind is intense. It continues both when I’m awake and asle

Joshua 1:9 NLT 'This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.' Throughout the day I tend to consult news websites on my phone or when home, flick on one of the numerous 24-hour news channels. News media is primarily pessimistic. There are few voices platformed that speak of life’s positive opportunities amid the chaos of climate change, innumerable wars with the mass displacement of people and the horrors of drought, disease and famine. Even domestic news paints a picture that awakens fresh fears within the human heart confronted with ageing and decline. The challenge left to Joshua by Moses was daunting. God’s original intention of entering the Promised Land, as yet unfulfilled, was now his commission. God’s only words of advice were to be courageous and faith-filled. More than three millennia later, the advice is no different. All we have to meet the challenge of tomorrow is faith built upon our confidence in God. This is

Ephesians 1:14 NLT 'The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.' Love requires commitment; the deepest human form is through a proposal of marriage. There is nothing that brings a group more alive than being present when love is professed and a proposal is made within a public space. We, the crowd who by chance observe this event, know nothing of the couple, yet our hearts join with them in their moment of excitement and joy. The guarantor of such a proposal is a ring, now worn exclusively on a finger revealing a commitment has been made. God invites us to make a response to a proposal of the deepest love that can ever be known. When we accept, we too receive a sign of that commitment, the Holy Spirit, the guarantor of God’s promise to each one of us. Commitment carries obligations; there are exclusive benefits – equally, there are exclusive demands. Remarkably, outrageous love

Ephesians 1:9-10 NLT 'God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ – which is to fulfil his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.'  Blinkers are used to help keep a horse focused on the path ahead, limiting their peripheral vision to avoid distractions. Wearing blinkers can reduce vision from as much as 180 degrees to as little as 30 degrees. Every trainer must know each horse and work to maximise their useful impact, which is why only some racehorses wear blinkers in a race. I was blinkered in my first flush of Christian enthusiasm. I ran fast and focused, only slowly becoming aware that life was a marathon and not a sprint. As I encountered more challenges in my life, I began to run out of steam. Energy levels dropped. I was aware Christian discipleship was not quite as simplistic as I’d assumed. I knew where I was headed, but could not know the length of my race. Keeping

Ephesians 1:7-8 NLT 'He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.' Intimacy lies at the very heart of love. Today, intimacy with God is a given. Trouble is that we can take this intimacy for granted and fail to see the price paid and the response required. It was the poet TS Eliot who spoke of “an age of moderate virtue” and “moderate vice”. In other words, we can all too easily settle for a middle way that is neither hot nor cold. As if in some way, this is the life well-lived, for it is devoid of extremes. Yet, outrageous love is love lived at the extreme. It is the incarnation, itself always realised within the shadow of the cross and the death that purchases the fullness of life after which we all aspire. I confess I have been challenged throughout my life with moderation and extreme. To live at the extremity of what I know, in search of that which I have yet to

Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT 'Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.' Sadly, Christianity is most often presented as a story about sin, or separation from God. Yet, scripture reveals that God is always present with his creation, and he knew and loved each one of us even before our creation. ‘Love’ is a difficult word to comprehend. It applies equally to an appreciation of a fish and chip supper as it does to a lifetime’s commitment to another person through marriage. The stakes for the latter are somewhat higher than the former. It is a word that is open to exploration and discovery. I will through experience determine the degree to which I will love and allow myself to be loved. The greatest love is one that lies well beyond my deepest comprehension. It is the love of God, which I’m inv

Ephesians 1:2-3 NLT 'May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.' Do you sometimes daydream about what it would be like to be incredibly wealthy? When I do, I am self-centred, solving the financial woes of my family and friends, but with little thought for the real needs beyond. In a materialistic society where value is based on wealth, it’s likely that your daydream wanders in this same direction. I wonder how often you have meditated on the extravagant love you enjoy as a child of God? This blessing far exceeds any human ability to count and quantify anything material. It is, as St Paul recounts, beyond comprehension. We enjoy “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms” (NLT). This is a realm we can only ever imagine. To my shame, I’m more in touch with my aggravations and annoyances than my evident blessings. I to

Acts 2:42-43 NLT 'All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.' Pentecost is the birth of the Church, the missional bridgehead across which a God-fearing group of individuals are transformed into an empowered community and entrusted with a mandate to express God’s kingdom throughout the world. Jesus initially gathered twelve apostles, symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. (This number is significantly re-established with Judas’ replacement during the Jerusalem Novena.) Jesus then commissioned the 70 to go out to gather in the harvest, 70 (or 72) being symbolic of what was then understood to represent all the people groups in the world. The kingdom available to all who seek it. At the Last Supper, Jesus introduced the new covenant of his body and blood, before he himself became the sacrificial lamb cr

Acts 2:39-41 NLT 'This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away – all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Then Peter continued preaching for a long time…Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day – about 3,000 in all.' The spread of Christianity is a remarkable story. From persecuted sect to state stakeholder, the Church emerged from the shadows within 300 years of Christ's death and resurrection. As those first disciples gathered in obedient uncertainty in the upper room in Jerusalem, no one could have imagined the future influence of the spiritual transformation that awaited society. Despite setbacks and continued persecution, a faith born in the Middle East somehow spread to embrace the whole world. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.18 billion Christians around the world in 2010. The growth continues. Where once St Paul had to travel throughout the known Mediterranean world at great personal risk to carry the gospel

Acts 2:1-2 NLT 'On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.' It is remarkable what can grow from such small, inconspicuous beginnings. A group of disciples, huddled together for safety, wait for a promised visitation from God. All faith ventures require obedience to God and great personal courage. From a seed planted and resourced through prayer and financial donations in 1994, a platform to carry God’s word was born. Initially, like the disciples in Jerusalem, it was focused on one city, London. But as the Holy Spirit blessed and nurtured this seed, it grew to broadcast nationwide. From a small team of pioneers, Premier has grown to a larger team that now includes regional producers who daily gather news stories from across the UK about all God is doing nationwide. Like the early disciples, we must engage in faithful prayer to see the word of God sp

Ephesians 1:6-8 NLT 'So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.' ‘Grace’ is a short, one syllable word. But like my wife (who is small in stature) says, the best presents come in the smallest packages! But there is a great truth here when we consider grace. It is God’s undeserved favour which each of us enjoys as a follower of Jesus. We can celebrate and share that grace with others in many ways, including through digital interconnectedness. Using social media platforms to communicate optimism and hope carries a message of grace to the furthest corners of the earth, into spaces we may never know exist. Every year Premier hosts a digital conference in London. Its mission is to help the Christian community take hold of all the opportunities offered by the ongoing digital revo

2 Corinthians 9:10 NLT 'For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.' Last year, my wife, Jayne, and I were invited to attend a London-based church event. We knew little about it, but arrived to discover a sea of young people engaging together in exploring scripture. Our hearts were stirred as we were reminded of when our own journey of faith started. I was 19, Jayne 14. Both of us came from completely unchurched backgrounds. It’s easy to forget just how much support and encouragement we needed. It’s wonderful that today there are such a range of resources both to encourage and affirm all of us in our faith. Children’s and youth ministry remain critical to nurturing the forward mission of the Church. Premier encourages and supports this critical ministry of the Church through publication of Youth and Children’s Work magazine (YCW). This encourages growing in godline

Luke 12:22-24 NLT Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds!” I am in the stage of life when my yesterdays far outnumber my tomorrows. For some this is a cause of angst. However, I must say that my life of contemplation has enabled me to look forward to these days that will lead to my eventual death with a peace that God alone can provide. I can look back and acknowledge that God has provided generously for me every step that has brought me to today. I tell God both how grateful I am and also just how surprised I am that at times a wave of anxiety about the tomorrows can unsettle me. Faith is fragile and subject to doubt. In reality, most of us worry less about death than the path that

Exodus 16:4 NLT Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.” Israel has surrendered the food security it enjoyed under slavery in Egypt for the huge uncertainty of the desert. Regular life rhythms are disturbed and prove ineffective within this new landscape. Life under the starlit skies of the wilderness is completely different to the carefully structured life within urban Egypt. It will require a completely new skill-set and a massive change of perspective. One aspect of this change is the people’s view of God. Under Moses’ leadership and with God’s guidance, this people can expect to discover the skills required to live in a new, alien environment. Over the past 25 years, Premier has invested in training volunteers and making them available to answer calls to Premier Lifeline – our national helpline offer

2 Corinthians 9:10 NLT 'For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.' Last year, my wife, Jayne, and I were invited to attend a London-based church event. We knew little about it, but arrived to discover a sea of young people engaging together in exploring scripture. Our hearts were stirred as we were reminded of when our own journey of faith started. I was 19, Jayne 14. Both of us came from completely unchurched backgrounds. It’s easy to forget just how much support and encouragement we needed. It’s wonderful that today there are such a range of resources both to encourage and affirm all of us in our faith. Children’s and youth ministry remain critical to nurturing the forward mission of the Church. Premier encourages and supports this critical ministry of the Church through publication of Youth and Children’s Work magazine (YCW). This encourages growing in godline

2 Peter 1:3 NLT 'By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvellous glory and excellence.' It is remarkable that surrounded as we are by instant access to a wealth of resources, the Bible as God’s word remains the source of life. While scripture can prove difficult to understand at times, it has been central to the strategic ministry of Premier to ensure that scripture informs everything it envisions and broadcasts. For example, the growing audience for the podcast of Unbelievable? with Justin Brierley, which was downloaded more than 4 million times in 2019, illustrates just how much we want to explore the value and viability of our faith within our contemporary world. And the growing interest and demand for scripture encouraged Premier to produce an Anglicised version of the New Living Translation of the Bible, which has sold out of two imprints offering the scripture

John 6:34-35 NLT “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” One morning I passed a new bakery in Portsmouth. I stepped inside and, chatting with the young owners, discovered their story. Originally from Poland, they’d arrived in England with little more than a grandmother’s book of bread recipes. Even though they had never baked before, they saw an opportunity, leased a shop, installed a bread oven and became a successful artisan bakery business. Bread is a staple for most national daily diets. However, Jesus recognises that the nourishment we need is twofold: physical and spiritual. Having remarkably fed 5,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus reminds people that physical nourishment is insufficient on its own. Humanity’s deepening need for spiritual health remains the greatest challenge across our secularised society. Much like the miracle of the mult