Be Still: Daily Devotional

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 February 2nd.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today Christians celebrate the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2.


When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took [Jesus] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”


This is a beautiful passage that tells the story of both consolation and desolation. Simeon experienced consolation when the awaited Christ child was presented to the Lord in the Temple. And we can imagine that Mary, mother of Christ, experienced desolation at Simeon’s words about her son, and about a sword piercing her soul. Imagine how Simeon felt when he took Christ into his arms. Now, imagine how Mary felt hearing the prophetic words of Simeon.

Jesus is present to us in times of both consolation and desolation. As you hear the passage read again, ask Jesus to draw near to you in whatever season you find yourself.

Jesus was presented to Simeon as an infant – but Simeon, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, received him as messiah and as the consolation of Israel. When Jesus first was presented to you, how did you perceive Him? Did you feel moved by the Spirit, like Simeon did? Did you marvel at what was said about him, like His parents did?

As you end your time of prayer, reflect on how it was that you first received Jesus: as consolation? As messiah? How else might you describe your first experience of Jesus?

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: How Glorious You Are - 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 February 1st.

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 Jeremiah 31.


“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”


Throughout the Bible, God reveals His redemptive plan through a series of covenants: the Abrahamic Covenant, the Sinai Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and finally, the New Covenant that came through Jesus Christ. Jeremiah is an OT prophet who is looking ahead to the coming of Christ and describing what will be a new kind of covenant… one that brings completion to God’s redemptive purposes. The old covenants came with a series of religious obligations and rules that were only for the religious insiders, and that had to be followed meticulously. The New Covenant of Christ comes through God’s grace and is available to everyone – ‘the least of them to the greatest’. How does make you feel?

The Lord speaks through Jeremiah and says I will be their God, and they will be my people. As you hear the passage read again… can you get present to what this ‘new covenant’ means for you, personally?

God made a way, through the new covenant of Jesus, for you to enter into a relationship with God, for your sins to be forgiven, and for God’s law to be written in your mind and heart. The New Covenant completes the redemptive story of God not only generally, for the whole world, but also individually, for you.

Thank God today for His pursuit of you, and determine to treat others with the same kind of grace you’ve received.

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: All The Same - 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 January 31st.

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 16.


“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going? Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.


In this passage, Jesus is talking with his disciples. He is warning them of fearful things to come, and He is telling them that He will be going away… referring to his coming crucifixion. We know now that Jesus is referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit, but the disciples were confused and afraid about what was happening. What would your reaction have been to hearing Jesus’ words of warning?

Jesus says that it is for our good that He went away: that the Holy Spirit, our advocate, is God’s presence with us and in us. As you listen to the reading again, listen for the urgency and compassion in Jesus’ words?

God is Father, Son, and Spirit, three persons, one substance. And Jesus himself said that it is for our good that He returned to the Father, and that we have access to God through His Spirit. It is through the Spirit that we can know Jesus and the Father. We pray: “Come Holy Spirit” not because the Spirit is not here, but because we need to continually turn our attention back to Him, and we need to continually invite Him into our lives.

Can you pause, take a deep breath, and pray “Come Holy Spirit” throughout your day? Ask the Spirit to grow in you a knowledge of God: Father, Son, and Spirit.

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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 January 30th.

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 Psalm 43.


Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked. You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.


The writer is moving between hope and anxiety, faith and doubt, in this psalm. He asks God to vindicate and rescue him from his enemies. In both this Psalm, and the one right before it, the writer is describing a sort of spiritual depression: the sense that God is far off. How do you feel, knowing that even the writer of this Psalm experienced the feeling of being rejected by God?

Does that knowledge feel like a consolation or desolation for you? As you hear the passage read again, pray along with the psalmist.

Can you make verse three of this psalm a prayer for yourself today? Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me. Do you know someone in a time of spiritual depression who might be encouraged by this passage? Who might need the faithful care of God? Pray for them today as well.

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: You Don't Have To Lose Heart - Vineyard Worship, Joshua Miller - (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 January 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 Acts, chapter 21.


Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” 26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.


This passage reminds me of the demands that are placed on us by other people. People are coming to the Apostle Paul and placing extraordinary demands on him, saying “If you want to prove yourself faithful to God, you need to do this… you need to do that.” Consider for a moment an extraordinary demand that is being placed on you today by someone else... from a family member—a parent or sibling or the demands of parenting a child. Or the demands from your job… from a boss or coworker. Can you allow yourself to feel the pressure of those demands for a moment?

Bring all of that to the Lord today and tell him how you feel. How does Paul respond in that moment? We know from his writings that he was motivated by Christ’s love. Not by people pleasing. Not by his own reputation. In other words, if he ever goes above and beyond, it’s because of Christ, not because of some external demand. Listen to the passage again, and ask yourself where Christ is in the midst of the demands you are facing.

As we close our time of prayer, remember this: You have the same Holy Spirit as the Apostle Paul. If you don’t know how to respond to a demand from someone on you, if you are confused about a decision you need to make, remember that the Holy Spirit lives in you and guides you. Ask him to guide you by his Spirit and through his Word. And trust that he will show you what to do today.

Lord God, Almighty and Everlasting Father, You have brought me in safety to this new day. Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin nor be overcome by adversity. And in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose through Jesus Christ, ou Lord. Amen.


Music: "If You Say Go" - 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 January 26th.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from 1 Corinthians 10.


For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness… These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!


Paul is reminding the church in Corinth that even the ancients of the faith from the time of Moses did not always demonstrate faithfulness… even after they had experienced miraculous things like their deliverance out of Egypt, and God’s provision for them in the desert. Do you ever struggle between faithfulness and faithlessness? “Be careful that you don’t fall!” How do these words make you feel? Do they feel kind, like words spoken by an attentive caregiver, who wants you to stay safe and sound? Do they make you feel defensive?

As you hear the passage read again… consider your own spiritual foundation: does it feel firm? Insecure?

David, the shepherd King and OT Psalmist, prayed that God would search Him and know His heart. Today, invite the Spirit of God to search you and know you in the same way. To show you places where you are standing firm? Can you also invite God to call to mind areas in your life where you should exercise spiritual care?

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: Take My Life - Vineyard Music/Scott Underwood - (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

Today is January 25th.

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 Christians remember and celebrate of the conversion of the Apostle Paul. Today’s reading is the story of the Apostle Paul’s Conversion from Acts 9.


Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.


The Apostle Paul was also known by his Hebrew name, Saul, and before his life was interrupted by a vision of the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus, he antagonized the early church, persecuting followers of Jesus. Paul’s conversion was marked by both a miraculous new vision of the resurrected Jesus… as well as by a loss of his natural sight for three days. What do you think Paul experienced during those three days of blindness, during which he neither ate nor drank? What do you think Paul learned about the character of God, through His vision of Christ on the road to Damascus?

As you hear the passage read again… Consider that the conversion of Paul reminds us that no one is too far off, or too antagonistic, to be interrupted by the love of God or by the call of Christ. Is there someone in your life who feels ‘too far off’? Were you too far off, before you met Jesus?

“Who are you, Lord?” is one of the most important questions we can ask God. Scripture tells us that we can know God by looking at Jesus. Reflect on ways that you have learned about the character of God. Have you ever felt interrupted by the love of God?

As we end, ask God to reveal himself to you in fresh ways, and pray for one person by name… who might feel ‘too far off’… pray that Jesus would interrupt both you, and them, with the love and the calling of God.

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: Faithful Father - Vineyard Music/Brian Doerksen - (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

Today is January 24th.

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 12.


Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”


The sisters Mary and Martha were friends of Jesus and were known for their demonstrations of hospitality to Jesus. In this story, Martha is practicing hospitality by serving the meal, which would have been expected. Mary is practicing hospitality in an unexpected and extravagant way: she anoints Jesus’ feet with perfume that was incredibly expensive. Imagine that you are in the room during this dinner. Imagine your surprise at Mary spilling out such expensive perfume. Imagine how you’d feel watching her use her own hair to wipe his feet. If you were there, how would you likely have reacted to Mary’s interruptive act of extravagant hospitality?

As you hear the passage read again… imagine again that you are in the room. But instead of picturing yourself as an observer, put yourself in Mary’s place. Many of us may struggle to express our love and devotion to Jesus in such a public and intimate way. Is that true of you? Can you imagine being in Mary’s place in this story?

Jesus speaks words of blessing over Mary and her extravagant demonstration of worship. Even among the other disciples, she seemed to have a rare perspective about who Jesus was. As we end our time of prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to increase your awareness of who Jesus is, and to grow a gift of worship in you.

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: Mary's Song - Vineyard Music/Cindy Rethmeier - (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