Be Still: Daily Devotional

Today is September 10.


The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.  
  
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the book of Joshua, chapter 8.  
  

So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand. When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.” Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.  
  

Welcome to prayer today. Our Old Testament text is a war story. How do you feel when you come across stories in the Bible that feel out of touch, or strange… or like this one: a story of something violent? How do you feel that the Bible tells the story of a real history… one that is filled with the fallenness of this world?  
  
Into a world filled with violence and hurt, God revealed himself in history as Jesus – the peacemaker. The redeemer. The merciful. Listen to the text again and consider the way of this world. With the way that Jesus teaches us in the beatitudes. What do you do with the breath of this distinction from the Old to the New Testament?  
   
As we end our time together, take a few moments to intercede for areas in your life, or your family, or in the world around you, that are experiencing violence and war. Pray for the revelation of Christ. Pray for protection of the innocent. And pray for God’s kingdom – of mercy, shalom, and loving-kindness, to increase. 

Music: When You Call My Name - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is September 9.


The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.   
  
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the book of Proverbs, chapters 8 & 9.  
  
  
      “Now then, my children, listen to me;  
         blessed are those who keep my ways.  
      Listen to my instruction and be wise;  
         do not disregard it.  
      Blessed are those who listen to me,  
         watching daily at my doors,  
         waiting at my doorway.  
      For those who find me find life  
         and receive favor from the LORD.  
      But those who fail to find me harm themselves;  
         all who hate me love death.”  
Wisdom has built her house;  
         she has set up its seven pillars.  
      She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;  
         she has also set her table.  
      She has sent out her servants, and she calls  
         from the highest point of the city,  
               “Let all who are simple come to my house!”  
         To those who have no sense she says,  
               “Come, eat my food  
         and drink the wine I have mixed.  
      Leave your simple ways and you will live;  
         walk in the way of insight.” 
  

This message from Proverbs is all about our need for wisdom. As you come to prayer today, do you need wisdom for any area of your life? Take time as we begin to bring to mind one or two situations that are tricky or complex, or where the way forward isn’t clear.  Invite the Lord now to bring you wisdom.  
   
“For those who find me, find life.” Proverbs presents wisdom in a personified way… as though wisdom is a person who is present to guide us, to counsel us, and to nourish us. It’s communicating to us that God himself is wisdom. The way of wisdom is not the way of intelligence. The way of wisdom, of insight, goes beyond mere data or language or memorization, or following the crowd of what culture tells us is wise. The way of wisdom is the way of the Lord and the way to life. The way of wisdom, the proverbs say, is also a way that requires our attention. Listen to the pay again and pay attention to all of the blessings that wisdom brings to us… 
   
This passage ends with a great encouragement for us. Wisdom isn’t for the intelligent. It’s not just for the specially gifted. Wisdom isn’t out of reach. No, wisdom calls calls out to us and wants to be found. She stands outside her house and calls to us, and her doors are wide open. And when we come, we feast on an incredible banquet! As we close our time today, be encouraged— God wants to give you wisdom. Be confident that he will speak to you and lead you today. He is with you!

Music: If You Say Go (We Wait For You) - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)


Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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This is a version of the five-step Daily Examen that St. Ignatius practiced.

1. Become aware of God’s presence.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
5. Look toward tomorrow.

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is September 6.


May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”   
  
Today’s reading is from the book of Micah, chapter. 4.  
 

In the last days   
         the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established  
         as the highest of the mountains;  
         it will be exalted above the hills,  
         and peoples will stream to it.   
Many nations will come and say,  
          “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,  
         to the temple of the God of Jacob.  
         He will teach us his ways,  
         so that we may walk in his paths.”  
         The law will go out from Zion,  
         the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  
      He will judge between many peoples  
         and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.  
         They will beat their swords into plowshares  
         and their spears into pruning hooks.  
         Nation will not take up sword against nation,  
         nor will they train for war anymore.  
      Everyone will sit under their own vine  
         and under their own fig tree,  
         and no one will make them afraid,  
         for the LORD Almighty has spoken.  
     All the nations may walk  
         in the name of their gods,  
         but we will walk in the name of the LORD  
         our God for ever and ever. 
 
 
‘We will walk in the name of the lord our god for ever and ever…’ As you come to prayer today, take some time to get oriented to the state of your heart, your mind, and your ‘walk’ with God…   
  
Listen again to the prophet Micah, and ask God to draw your attention to a particular word or phrase to meditate on today… 

This part of Micah is pointing the hearers toward the promise of coming restoration. Just as we live in between the now of the kingdom, and the not yet… the people listening to Micah’s words were living in a time of exile, listing to words of hope and anticipation about a coming kingdom. As we end our time of prayer, asking God to help you turn your eyes toward Him in faith, hope and love… and to fill you with anticipation of his restoration. 
 
Music: God of All Glory - Vineyard Worship: God of All Glory 


Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is September 5.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.  
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”   
 
Today’s reading is from the book of Ephesians, chapter 4.  
 

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. 
 

Paul’s writing to the Ephesians paints a picture of a collection of Jesus-followers who are interconnected, who each know their giftings, and who hold together in their collective journey toward unity, maturity, and love. As you come to prayer today, take some time to think about how connected you are right now to the whole body of Christ?  
  
The early church was clear that corporate followership of Jesus – not individualistic spirituality – was a marker of maturity. Paul is writing to a group of people in Ephesus… not just individual Christians. Our culture is highly individualized, and more and more… a sense of belonging to the church is diminishing in the world around us. Listen to Paul’s words again, paying special attention to the fact that he wrote them to the corporate body of believers…that we are each meant to be in meaningful connection to.  
  
Here is Paul’s vision of the church: that the whole body grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. As we end our time of prayer today, what part of this statement might God be inviting you to consider more deeply in your life? Is it how you engage with ‘the whole body’? Might it have to do with how you ‘build up in love’? Or about how every part is meant to ‘do its work’? Talk to God about your relationship to His church, and listen to where He draws your attention. 
 
Music: Make Us One - Vineyard Worship: Make Us One (feat. Mike O'Brien) (Live) 


Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is September 4.


The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”   
  
Today’s reading is from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 6.  
 

“This, then, is how you should pray:  
          ‘Our Father in heaven,  
         hallowed be your name,  
      your kingdom come,  
         your will be done,  
         on earth as it is in heaven.  
      Give us today our daily bread.  
      And forgive us our debts,  
         as we also have forgiven our debtors.  
      And lead us not into temptation, 
         but deliver us from the evil one. 
  
  
This is, for many of us, a familiar prayer. Simple, even. How is your prayer life these days? Are you regularly turning to the Lord, speaking to him, and listening? 
  
Listen again to this prayer, the prayer model Jesus gave to his disciples and to us. Try to listen to each line, really being attentive to what the scripture is saying. Pay attention to what word or phrase stands out to you today. 
  
If you are feeling disconnected with an intentional habit of prayer, take some time today to think about how you might reengage. For some, simply writing out this prayer, from Matthew 6, every morning would be a great start. For others, starting a simple journal of conversation with the Lord could be helpful. Keep in mind that Jesus orients to something incredibly important in just the first two words: we are praying to Our Father! He is good, and gracious, and generous, and he loves you as a good father loves his children.   
 
Music: Our Father - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)


Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is September 3.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.  
  
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the book of 1 Timothy, chapter 4.  
  

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. 
  
  
As we begin, take a moment to slow down even more. Perhaps, if you’re able to, you can sit still and stop any multitasking. Perhaps you can take another slow deep breath. Remind yourself that God is near to you. Become aware of His presence. 
   
We begin with a reminder to rest because the passage today is all about striving for God, laboring for him. And we need to be reminded that our work comes out of an overflow of rest—God's rest. Paul is telling Timothy that spiritual training – spiritual formation – training in Godliness – is valuable. Essential even. A Christian is someone who becomes more and more like Christ. Christ meets us where we are, but he doesn’t leave us where we are. He changes us. As you listen to the passage again, consider your own spiritual training. Where are you strong? And where are you weak and in need of training and discipline? 
   
All of us in this world labor and strive for something. What are you striving for today? What is it that is taking up your thought-life, your energy and your time? How does that match up to the effort you put into training in Godliness? Speak to the Lord as we end, and invite Him to continue to draw you towards his grace to become like Christ… and not in the other things that we all to often strive for. 

Music: I Want To Be Faithful - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is September 2.


The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.   
  
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from Psalm 144.  


Praise be to the Lord my Rock, 
     who trains my hands for war, 
     my fingers for battle. 
He is my loving God and my fortress, 
     my stronghold and my deliverer, 
my shield, in whom I take refuge, 
     who subdues peoples[a] under me.
Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, 
     mere mortals that you think of them?
They are like a breath; 
     their days are like a fleeting shadow. 
  

David, the shepherd king, wrote this song around the time he ascends to rulership over all of Israel. David had experienced a lot in his life: war, peace, violence, blessing, betrayal… As you come to prayer today, consider for a few moments some of the most significant of your own personal formation…. See if you can recall a formational – for good or bad - experience from each decade of your life. 
   
As David considers his own life, he writes this: what are human beings that you care for them?” As David reviews his past, he is struck by how fleeting our lives are. Do you ever consider things like that? How does it make you feel to listen to David’s words: “they are like a breath, their days are a fleeing shadow…”? The phrase Memento Mori means “remember that you will die”, and for Christians, it’s not meant to be a dark or depressing thought. Rather, it’s meant to orient us: to our fragility, to this temporal world, and to the reality of eternity in God’s kingdom. Listen to the text again and consider these things: 
   
When we are oriented towards the reality that it is from dust that we have come, and to dust that we will return, we become more oriented away from temporary things, and toward eternal things. For some who are listening, the idea of our own death may feel uncomfortably close. For others, it might feel unimaginable. What might it look like today to acknowledge, that God’s care is toward us, that He is mindful of us, even though we are ‘mere fragile mortals’?

Music: Our Victor and Peace - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

More at pickerill.casa

This is a version of the five-step Daily Examen that St. Ignatius practiced.

1. Become aware of God’s presence.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
5. Look toward tomorrow.

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

More at pickerill.casa

Today is August 30.


May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”   
  
Today’s reading is from Psalm 146.  
 
 
      He is the Maker of heaven and earth,  
         the sea, and everything in them—  
         he remains faithful forever.  
      He upholds the cause of the oppressed  
         and gives food to the hungry.  
         The LORD sets prisoners free,  
        the LORD gives sight to the blind,  
         the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,  
         the LORD loves the righteous.  
      The LORD watches over the foreigner  
         and sustains the fatherless and the widow... 
  
          
This psalm makes a lot of statements about who God is: God is maker. Faithful. He upholds and nourishes and sets free. He gives sight, lifts up, and loves. God watches over and sustains. And he does these things not just for me or you. But for those in our world who are often unseen, vulnerable, and disregarded. Our news is filled with images of refugees standing at borders. Of fatherless children being mistreated. Of oppression, of hunger. The pain of the world is so hard to absorb… it can be tempting to turn away, or to feel paralyzed. Talk to God about how you feel considering this today in prayer. 
 
Let’s listen again to this psalmist reflect on God’s character, and point us to God’s response. Let’s listen again, considering that you and I are called – as the church – to be the body of Christ in the world. His hands, and His feet… Every Christian is a part of the corporate church. Every Christian has the opportunity to reflect the heart of God to a watching world, and to a world that needs the care of God. Listen again and consider: how might you – as a representative of God through His body the church – become a more faithful representation of this psalm: 
  
None of us are makers, we are made. And none of us can save the world, Jesus did. But we can partner with the work of Christ in the world. We can help to give food, to lift up, to love and watch over, to sustain… Invite the Lord, as David did, to search you and know you today. Invite the Lord to be present to you as you take inventory of your own partnership with the work of Christ. Invite the Lord, as we end our time of prayer, to speak to you about ways He might be inviting you further to be his hands, and his feet, in the world around you today.
 
Music: "Form Us" - Vineyard Soul - (YouTube)


Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

More at pickerill.casa