Be Still: Daily Devotional

Today is August 6.


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 Corinthians, chapter 12.  
  

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. 
 
 
Here the Apostle Paul shares with us a metaphor of the church. The church is like a body. It has hands and feet. It has eyes and ears. It has a mouth and a mind. And each person who is a follower of Christ is to fulfill their function in that body. Each of us has a part. You are vital—essential, even—to the church, to the body of Christ, to function well? Consider a body that has a mind but no mouth, no way to communicate. Or can see but not hear. Or has hands, but no feet to move? Take a moment and ask yourself if you are taking your place in the body of Christ? 
  
As you hear the passage again, consider what gift God has given you for the sake of others. Are you someone who is compelled to bring the good news of Jesus, like an apostle? Or do you have a word from God to share, like a prophet? Do you have faith to pray for miracles? Does God want you to release God’s healing power? Do you have the ability to help others understand God’s word? Or do you have the gift of prayer, even praying in a spiritual language? What gift resonates with you today?   
   
These gifts aren’t meant to be exhaustive. And they aren’t natural gifts like your temperament. They are special gifts that God gives in order to be the body of Christ in the world. And the scriptures tell us that God gives these gifts to everyone who follows Jesus, so that the body of Christ might be built up and strengthened. As we close our time, would you take a few moments and name the one gift that resonated with you and hold it before the Lord, and ask him to fill it with his power and presence. As him to give you grace and courage to step out today and use the gift that he’s given you.

Music: Above All Else - Vineyard Columbus - (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 August 5.


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 Ephesians, chapter 4.  
  

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 
  
  
The early Christians Paul was writing to needed to maintain relationships with Gentiles, while navigating their new, counter-cultural mindsets. Persecuted and surrounded by hostility, they were expected to maintain a positive, Christ like attitude among the people, who didn't understand, accept, or even like the idea of Jesus. As His followers, they wanted to think like Jesus did, but He had His Father guiding Him through the darkness, ignorance, and hate of the faithless world. His perfect mindset kept Him connected to the Father and allowed him to live in a world that contradicts the Word. Talk to the Lord about how you navigate these kinds of spaces. 
  
What qualities define this new mindset: Compassion. Loving. Humble. Righteousness and holiness. 
But also, relaxed. Jesus never hurried past people. He remained present, focused on who was in front of Him, and trusted in God's ability to finish the rest. He surrendered in the security of the power of God. His certainty that He was only doing the will of His Father took the pressure off of Him. He lived freely because of this connection to God. How much pressure do you carry with you? Where do you struggle because you're under too much pressure and won't let it go? As you listen again, call to mind an area of pressure you need to give to the Lord so that you can have a more Christ-like mind? 
   
As we end our time of prayer, consider what it could look like for you to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ask God to lead you towards becoming the person He made you to be.

Music: Take My Life - 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 August 2.

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 Romans, chapter 3.   
  

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.   
  

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans is filled with rich and robust theological statements. How do you engage with ideas that are so complex? Do you feel overwhelmed by them? Or are you drawn to the work of understanding them? Think for a moment about how you tend to engage with scripture: more reflectively, or more studiously? With the head, or the heart? 
   
If I were summarizing this rich and complex passage, I would put it like this: When I could do nothing to get to God, God did everything to get to me. As you listen to this passage again, I wonder if you could summarize it in your own words. What stands out to you in these words?  
  
Paul writes deep truths out of a knowledge of who God is. Paul didn’t just know about God… Paul had an encounter with God… and that encounter spoke to both Paul’s heart and his mind… Do you have a sense of needing an encounter with God today?  As we close, talk to your heavenly Father as a child might talk to their good and gracious Father… asking for what you you need from Him.   
  
Music: As Children - 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 August 1.


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 Gospel of John, chapter 6.   
  

Jesus answered... Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  
  

This passage comes after the miraculous feeding of the 5000. The same crowd is chasing after Jesus, and he offers them these words: don’t chase after food that will spoil, but chase after that which is eternal – after me. Jesus tells them that their work is to believe in Jesus. What are you chasing after? Are you hungry for belief? For faith?  
   
The crowd asks ‘what work do we need to do’. They are used to religious works. But Jesus says: your work is to believe. Listen again. How does this make you feel? 
   
For many of us, outward works are easier than inner faith. What is the state of your belief today? What is the condition of your faith? Talk to God about this as we end our time of prayer.  
   
Music: The Hidden Place - 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 July 31.

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 1 Samuel, chapter 20.   
  

In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?” Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. (The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”   
After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most. Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.  
  

This story is the description of two dear friends speaking in code to one another through what looked like archery practice… Jonathan – who is Saul’s son – telling his dear friend David that his father Saul was in a rage against David…. So much so that David’s life changed in that instant, and he was cast out of the house of Saul. This is why the two friends wept. David had been cut off, and nothing would be the same for him. Jonathan was losing a best friend, and would only see David once again in his life. Have you ever experienced this kind of abrupt loss in your life? Where something that was once so good was torn away from you?  
   
Listen again to this code-language of arrows where one friend is secretly telling the other life-interrupting news. Listen to the two friends weep as they say goodbye to one another. Think about what David would have felt – David, who had been a hero, and a guest in the court of King Saul… and who was now an outcast…  And as you listen, bring an experience of your own loss before the Lord.  
   
Have you ever been interrupted by difficult news? Have you ever realized that the future you thought was locked in, is now unattainable? Have you ever felt like David did: full of sadness at the unfairness of it all? Take all of this to the Lord as we end our time of prayer. Listen to His words of consolation to you. 
  
Music: Be Still - 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 July 30.


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 Psalm 37.  
 
 
      The wicked plot against the righteous  
         and gnash their teeth at them;  
      but the Lord laughs at the wicked,  
         for he knows their day is coming.  
       The wicked draw the sword  
         and bend the bow  
         to bring down the poor and needy,  
         to slay those whose ways are upright.  
      But their swords will pierce their own hearts,  
         and their bows will be broken.  
       Better the little that the righteous have  
         than the wealth of many wicked;  
      for the power of the wicked will be broken,  
         but the LORD upholds the righteous.  
  
      The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care,  
         and their inheritance will endure forever.  
      In times of disaster they will not wither;  
         in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.  
       But the wicked will perish:  
         Though the LORD’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,  
         they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.  
       The wicked borrow and do not repay,  
         but the righteous give generously;  
      those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,  
         but those he curses will be destroyed. 
  
  
The imagery in this psalm evokes a contrast and reflection. On one side, we see the wicked, with their plots and weapons aimed at the righteous. It's a scene of turmoil and conflict, where the pursuit of earthly gain leads to a cycle of violence and destruction.  
 
Then, the psalmist paints a striking picture of the Lord's response - laughter. This divine laughter carries profound meaning; it's not a cruel or mocking laughter but one of assurance and sovereignty. It signifies God's unwavering knowledge of the ultimate outcome, where justice and righteousness prevail. 
Do you find yourself caught up in the pursuits of this world, chasing after wealth, power, or recognition? Listen again for the psalmists description of the Lord’s blessing over those who seek him. 
   
The Old Testament often uses the language of blessings and curses. Life and death. God calls us, invites us, to live a life full of His blessing, His generosity, His inheritance, His plenty. Why do you think it is often so easy to get caught up in the way of the world, when the way of the Lord is so good? End your time of prayer today asking God to redirect your eyes to His kingdom, to His goodness, and to His way.

Music: Let Your Glory Fall - 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 July 29.


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 Philippians, chapter 4. 


I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. 
 

I know we all KNOW we are supposed to love this verse, but it’s a hard one. “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” What are your circumstances right now? Take some time to orient yourself to what is real in your life: relationally, emotionally, spiritually, vocationally….  
   
Does the word content describe you? If not, what word would you use to describe the state of your heart related to your situation? Listen again to the text, and pay special attention: what in this text tells us ‘the secret of being content’? 
   
The secret of contentedness is found in the grace we find through the spirit of God, who lives in us. We don’t get good at being contented because we’re virtuous people. We get good at becoming content because we learn, day by day, to trust God to be present in our areas of weakness, loss, and pain. As we close our time of prayer, talk with God about any struggles you have with feeling content in life right now. Be honest with Him – tell him how you feel – and then take some time to quietly hear how He might be leading you forward. 

Music: Arms of Love - 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 July 26.


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 2 Corinthians, chapter 9.  
  

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  
  

I learned about generosity from a friend who stayed with us for over a year when we lived abroad, helping to care for our children when they were young. She had – and still has – the gift of radical hospitality… she planned the most wonderful parties… She exuded joy. I think of her, when I think of sowing generously, or of being a cheerful giver. From her, I learned: the more, the merrier… is true – even for an introvert! So often we are afraid to sow generously. We’re afraid we’ll run out. We’re afraid we’ll be too indulgent in our offerings. Do you know someone who’s an example for you, of a generous giver? Call them to mind. And call to mind how you feel when you’re in their presence. 
   
Does generosity come naturally to you? Have you learned that it is better to give than to receive? Listen again, and ask God to direct your attention to something in this text for you to consider more today:
   
….So that in ALL things, and at ALL times, having ALL that you need… this is the fruit of knowing God. When we trust that God will provide for us in ALL… and when we consider ALL that He’s done for us… it’s easier to be a cheerful giver, and to sow generously. As we end our time of prayer today, ask God to remind you who he is and how generous He’s been to you? And will you – this week – reach out to the person who has served as an example of generosity to you, and thank them?    
  
Music: Generous God - 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