Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Proverbs 3:1-2
My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.
What’s your memory like? Time and again, I trudge upstairs to get something and haven’t a clue what I’m looking for by the time I get there! Pathetically, I try to find something else useful to do while I’m there to justify the journey.
Forgetting things is part of the human condition and always has been, and the writer of Proverbs often addresses the issue. He urges us not to forget what we’ve been taught, whether it was by our parents or our spiritual teachers. This involves planning. We need to pepper our lives with reminders of essential truths. We need to evolve a rhythm to our lives so that we are repeatedly reminded of what matters most.
From earliest times, Jews had a variety of articles which gave them a constant reminder of the law. Phylacteries are small leather boxes which contain the Hebrew texts on vellum and are worn by some Jewish men at morning prayer as a reminder to keep the law. On the door frame of their homes, they affix a mezuzah, a decorative case containing the Jewish prayer: “Hear O Israel. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
It's good for us all to build into our lives reminders of God’s love and faithfulness – prompts that will keep us on track and prevent us from forgetting about God. It doesn’t matter how we do this. Some people have Bible verses on their walls or on fridge magnets or receive verses by email or app. What matters is that we don’t forget. Supremely, we have the communion service or Eucharist, which Jesus gave to us as a way of ensuring that we would not forget his sacrificial death for us on the cross.
Question
What do you find the most effective way of reminding you of God’s love?
Prayer
Loving Father, help me never to forget your perfect love for me and for this needy world. Amen

Proverbs 3:1-2
My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.
What’s your memory like? Time and again, I trudge upstairs to get something and haven’t a clue what I’m looking for by the time I get there! Pathetically, I try to find something else useful to do while I’m there to justify the journey.
Forgetting things is part of the human condition and always has been, and the writer of Proverbs often addresses the issue. He urges us not to forget what we’ve been taught, whether it was by our parents or our spiritual teachers. This involves planning. We need to pepper our lives with reminders of essential truths. We need to evolve a rhythm to our lives so that we are repeatedly reminded of what matters most.
From earliest times, Jews had a variety of articles which gave them a constant reminder of the law. Phylacteries are small leather boxes which contain the Hebrew texts on vellum and are worn by some Jewish men at morning prayer as a reminder to keep the law. On the door frame of their homes, they affix a mezuzah, a decorative case containing the Jewish prayer: “Hear O Israel. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
It's good for us all to build into our lives reminders of God’s love and faithfulness – prompts that will keep us on track and prevent us from forgetting about God. It doesn’t matter how we do this. Some people have Bible verses on their walls or on fridge magnets or receive verses by email or app. What matters is that we don’t forget. Supremely, we have the communion service or Eucharist, which Jesus gave to us as a way of ensuring that we would not forget his sacrificial death for us on the cross.
Question
What do you find the most effective way of reminding you of God’s love?
Prayer
Loving Father, help me never to forget your perfect love for me and for this needy world. Amen

Proverbs 1:8-9
My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honour around your neck.
I would be fascinated to know what you remember your parents teaching you. Their words shape the whole of our lives. I clearly remember my father insisting that we show “instant obedience”, presumably because we so often failed to do it! I remember my mother giving us great encouragement when we were kind to others. My parents are no longer with us, but their influence lives on. I can still hear their words of guidance, encouragement and warning.
When we became foster parents a few years ago, we were encouraged to spend a lot of time reflecting on parenting skills. Bringing up our own three children we didn’t reflect much on the process – we just did it! Parents are never perfect, and I’ve heard it said that what we need to be is “good enough parents”. I like that expression. We won’t always get it right, but because of our love for our children we will, with God’s help, always seek to be good enough.
Parents are referred to repeatedly throughout the book of Proverbs, and the key theme is discipline. This could easily sound harsh, but it is in fact a loving word. No parent who truly loves their child will let them do whatever they wish. The result would inevitably be disastrous. Loving discipline gives security and direction to children and builds firm foundations for the whole of their lives.
Families take many shapes and these verses remind us that we need to do everything we can to support family life. The early years are absolutely crucial for the whole of life, and each of us needs to invest in the lives of children in whatever way we can.
Question
What opportunities do you have to support family life?
Prayer
Loving Father, give us your strength and grace so that we will be able to have the right influence on the children in our lives, and support those who have the awesome responsibility of being parents. Amen

Proverbs 1:8-9
My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honour around your neck.
I would be fascinated to know what you remember your parents teaching you. Their words shape the whole of our lives. I clearly remember my father insisting that we show “instant obedience”, presumably because we so often failed to do it! I remember my mother giving us great encouragement when we were kind to others. My parents are no longer with us, but their influence lives on. I can still hear their words of guidance, encouragement and warning.
When we became foster parents a few years ago, we were encouraged to spend a lot of time reflecting on parenting skills. Bringing up our own three children we didn’t reflect much on the process – we just did it! Parents are never perfect, and I’ve heard it said that what we need to be is “good enough parents”. I like that expression. We won’t always get it right, but because of our love for our children we will, with God’s help, always seek to be good enough.
Parents are referred to repeatedly throughout the book of Proverbs, and the key theme is discipline. This could easily sound harsh, but it is in fact a loving word. No parent who truly loves their child will let them do whatever they wish. The result would inevitably be disastrous. Loving discipline gives security and direction to children and builds firm foundations for the whole of their lives.
Families take many shapes and these verses remind us that we need to do everything we can to support family life. The early years are absolutely crucial for the whole of life, and each of us needs to invest in the lives of children in whatever way we can.
Question
What opportunities do you have to support family life?
Prayer
Loving Father, give us your strength and grace so that we will be able to have the right influence on the children in our lives, and support those who have the awesome responsibility of being parents. Amen

Proverbs 1:7
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
You need to be careful with the book of Proverbs. It’s very easy to read too much of it and get indigestion! It’s a book which needs lots of time for careful reflection, and this is the wisest and most crucial verse of all. True knowledge begins with knowing God personally. It’s our relationship with the creator of the universe that enables us to gain access to real knowledge which will help us to live our lives to the full.
I wonder what you understand by the expression “fear of the Lord”. I have been brought up to think of God as my friend and my companion, the one who is always looking out for me. Fear might seem to clash with that sort of understanding of God, but it doesn’t have to. We need to remember that the God who offers us his friendship is not like other friends. None of my other friends has created the universe. None of them has all wisdom, power and authority. Our Friend God is awesome in every way, so when we think about him and share our lives with him, there needs to be a tinge of fear – not a fear which oppresses us, but one which means we show him total respect and reverence. He’s a very, very special friend.
This verse tells us that if we really want to understand life, we need to worship God. As we open our lives to him, he reveals the truth to us about ourselves and the world around us. He will never impose his knowledge on us. The writer of Proverbs observes that there will always be plenty of people who despise wisdom and discipline, bluntly describing such people as fools – a word of which he makes great use throughout this amazing book. You may choose to live the life of the fool if you wish, or you can sink to your knees in worship and let God be your teacher. That’s the way of true wisdom.
Question
What does the expression “fear of the Lord” mean to you?
Prayer
Great God of creation, help me to open my whole self to you so that I may receive your wisdom and knowledge. Amen