Our daily reflections follow the M'Cheyne Bible reading plan, designed for those who want to read the whole Bible in one year. Each reflection focuses on one of the chapters from that day's readings.

In this chapter the author continues his reflections on Jesus as the Great High Priest. He is uniquely himself, rather than standing in the succession of priests descending from Aaron (verse 10); and unlike other high priests, he did not have to offe...

In his book Reflections on the Psalms, CS Lewis said: 'I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.' There are, he points out, six verses about nature, five about the law and four of person...

If you've tracked the stories and reflections this week, you might share my amazement at how often things go wrong as God's will is brought about. The human side of things is messy! Echoes of Genesis 3 are evident in this chapter as with th...

The context of this chapter is war – the destruction of Israel’s enemies as God judges in favour of his own people. It is written, of course, from the viewpoint of the Israelites, who feel themselves to be oppressed by the greater power of their ...

This chapter is a lovely picture of blessing. The deserted city will be repopulated. Verse 4 speaks of old men sitting in the city squares, and children playing. This is more significant than we might think: these old men have someone to care for the...

John's account of the death of Jesus is both moving and horrifying. Perhaps one thing that stands out, though, is the personal hostility with which Jesus is treated; whipping was standard, but the soldiers ram a crown of thorns onto his head and...

John's stories of Jesus' resurrection appearances are the most vivid, memorable and personal of all the Gospel writers. One of them in this chapter is his encounter with Thomas – for ever afterwards, rather unfairly, called 'Doubting...

Perhaps all of us know what it's like to betray and hurt people we care about, at least to some extent. It might be as simple as failing to live up to what they think of us; or it might be something worse, like turning our backs on them when the...

In the first few verses of chapter 22 John writes of the 'river of the water of life' flowing from the throne of God, down the street of the city, and of the 'tree of life' on either side of the river.

If human beings yearn for peace and security, they also need trustworthy guidance to bring them through hard times. The future is a closed book to us all. Even if we make plans for our way forward, with a clear path to follow, we can have no confiden...

Zechariah continues to bring a message about leaders and their people, using the common biblical metaphor of shepherds and sheep – and his words are a devastating critique, without a ray of hope.

In this new oracle, starting at chapter 12.1, Zechariah brings a message of hope and restoration to Judah and its capital city, promising to ‘destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem’ (verse 9).

The first verse of Zechariah 13 spoke of a cleansing fountain that would remove impurity from the house of David. The last verse shows us another method of purification – not by water but by fire.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus often went away by himself to pray, but in this chapter we get a rare chance to overhear one of his prayers. It’s an intimate prayer for the people who love him – the disciples gathered for his last Passover meal - ...

This chapter is full of questions – count them! Some are answered with simple facts, some are answered with simple lies, and others are rhetorical, intended to make a point rather than asking for information. But when we come to the conversation be...

This is a story of contrasts – a rich man who wanted for nothing, and a poor man called Lazarus who was destitute in every way. In a country where the common people were fortunate if they ate meat once in a week, the rich man cuts a figure of extre...

Jesus called 12 men to follow him and become the nucleus of the Church. They were, to put it mildly, a ragtag bunch – fishermen, a tax collector and possibly even a terrorist among them. We don't know how he chose them, but it looks from the s...

This chapter contains Jesus' Sermon on the Plain (verse 17), Luke's version of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. It begins, though, with two stories about the Sabbath. Sabbath-keeping was – and is – one of the marks of an observant Je...

The story of Jesus' encounter at Simon's house is very moving, and very challenging. A meal for guests at that time, perhaps held in an open courtyard, would have been more accessible to uninvited strangers than it would be for us today. Am...