Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Titus 1:2

This truth gives [those God has chosen] confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.

We inevitably spend much of our life focused on the here and now. We need to eat, drink, work and sleep, and often there won’t be much time to do anything else. But we all need to make sure we find time to stand back from this busyness and look at our lives on a bigger scale. I’ve just been watching a rugby match. It was full of interesting incidents, but in order to understand what was going on and the significance of it, one needs to reflect on the match as a whole. So too with our earthly lives. We need to stand back and realise that our present experiences need to be seen as part of the great canvas of eternity.

Rick Warren, the American author and founder of Saddleback Church, has written about the importance of looking at life from an eternal perspective. He wrote: “When you live in light of eternity, your values change. You use your time and money more wisely. You place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Your priorities are reordered. Keeping up with trends, fashions, and popular values just doesn’t matter as much anymore.”

Having an eternal perspective also gives us a great confidence as we look to the future. Everything in this world is so obviously temporary. Possessions, fame and even our human relationships come and go. None of them is built for eternity, apart from our relationship with God. That doesn’t mean our present experiences are trivial and unimportant – far from it – but they need to be enjoyed and understood from an eternal perspective. When we look at life that way, it actually gives greater significance and importance to our everyday experiences.

Question

In what ways do you find it helpful to look at life from the perspective of eternity?

Prayer

Lord God, I thank You that my future is in Your eternal hands. Amen

Titus 1:1

This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

Paul was born into a strongly Jewish family and also had the privilege of being a Roman citizen. It is quite likely that his family was wealthy and that he would have been waited on by slaves from birth. He himself certainly wasn’t a slave within his society, but when it came to his relationship with God, slavery was precisely the right description. God was in command of his life.

I wonder how you describe yourself. In our society, people like to be in control of their lives, but Christian faith deliberately involves handing over the controls to God. The reason for this is simply that He understands us perfectly and is far better able to direct our lives. Slave of God is therefore a title of honour and pride.

Paul’s other description of himself is as an apostle of Jesus Christ. For Paul, the defining moment of his life occurred on the road to Damascus. On that journey, he was confronted by the risen Lord Jesus, and he was convinced that he had been commissioned by Jesus himself to spread the good news among non-Jews. Paul hadn’t had the privilege of knowing Jesus during His earthly ministry, but he was sure that he had become one of His apostles, sent out to spread the gospel.

Paul was always concerned to emphasise that his ministry wasn’t his idea. It was God’s. It was God who had called him, and God who would equip him for his vital ministry. Whatever we are doing today, it’s important for us all to remind ourselves that we are called by God and therefore perfectly equipped to do whatever He calls us to do.

Question

How would you respond to being described as the ‘Slave of God’?

Prayer

Loving God, thank You for calling me to serve You today. Thank You that You promise to strengthen me for everything that You ask me to do. Amen

Acts 1:9-11

[Jesus] was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

The ascension of Jesus brought His ministry on earth to an end in an amazing way. It is not surprising that the disciples looked intently into the sky to see where He had gone, longing for Him to come back down again. As they stood there, they were told that the day would come when Jesus would return in the same way as He left.

The second coming of Jesus should be our confident expectation. It should be constantly in our minds, not as a threat but as the most wonderful promise. When I was a small boy, I must confess I thought of it entirely as a threat. Whenever I couldn’t find my mother in the house, I always assumed that Jesus had returned and I’d been left behind. However, the fact that Jesus will return is presented to us in the New Testament as a cause for encouragement. It’s a reminder that history is in God’s hands and, at the time that He chooses, the curtain will be brought down.

The knowledge that Jesus will return one day also encourages us to ensure that we keep our minds focused on serving the Lord. Jesus told a number of parables to stress the importance of keeping alert all the time because we don’t know precisely when He will return. The parable of the ten bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13) is an encouragement to us all to be fully prepared so that we don’t miss the moment. The parable of the servants (Matthew 25:14-30) reminds us that we need to work really hard with whatever resources we’ve been given. Whether or not Jesus returns during our lifetime is not the point. What matters is that we are always ready.

Question

In what way is your life affected by the fact that Jesus might return today?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that I will always live in readiness for Your return. Amen

Acts 1:8

[Jesus said:] “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

What an amazing day this must have been for the disciples! They were just about to see Jesus disappear before their eyes, and before He did so He gave them their marching orders. They were commissioned to take the good news to the whole world. These days, we know a great deal about the world and can easily communicate across the globe, but for Jesus’ disciples this must have seemed an overwhelming challenge. Where on earth would they start?

Jesus wanted His disciples to know that they were all witnesses. They had seen and heard things which needed to be shared. We don’t all have an evangelistic gift, which is often said to have been given to about 10% of Christians, but we are all witnesses. Our means of communication have changed completely since the first century, but our fundamental responsibility is still to bear our personal witness of what we have seen and heard.

Jesus asked His disciples to witness in Jerusalem. They needed to start where they were. This is often the greatest challenge. We all need to share our faith with our families, our colleagues and those who see us day by day. He then told them to go to Judaea. Though it wasn’t an easy area – much of it was rocky desert with scattered communities – Jesus wanted them to share their witness there. Because of the intense hatred that existed between the Jews and Samaritans, they were bound to get a hostile welcome in Samaria, but that’s where Jesus told them to go next. Then, as if they hadn’t already been challenged to the limit, He told them to go to the ends of the earth!

The challenge must have seemed overwhelming to the disciples. It must have felt like mission impossible, but it wasn’t. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, who would give them the wisdom and strength to obey His command.

Question

Who might you be able to witness to today?

Prayer

Lord God thank You that You have given me good news to share. Amen

Acts 1:3-4

During the forty days after [Jesus] suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised.”

Luke wrote two books: his gospel and what is often called “The Acts of the Apostles”. The first tells us what happened during Jesus’ earthly ministry and the second describes the birth and growth of the Church. However, before Luke launched into the Church’s story, he wanted his readers to know that there was no doubt about Jesus’ resurrection. He knew that everything hinged on it, so he informed his readers that Jesus met with His disciples on a number of occasions, even sharing meals with them.

It was clearly a tumultuous time for the disciples. They had experienced the trauma of Jesus’ appalling death and the exuberant joy of His resurrection and were now contemplating what life would be like after He’d left them. Jesus fully realised this and wanted His disciples to know He’d made perfect provision for their needs. All they had to do was wait, and then within a few days they would be baptised with the Holy Spirit. Mysterious as God’s plans were for them, they could look to the future with confidence.

Our situation is not so different from those disciples’. We have the blessing of living in the days of the Spirit, but there is still much about the future that is completely unknown to us. The shocking experience of Covid has made it clear how completely unpredictable the future is. We don’t know might happen here on earth, and we all have many questions about what will happen after we die. However, in common with the disciples, we can face the future with confidence, knowing that God has made perfect provision for us.

Question

What are your thoughts when you look to the future?

Prayer

Thank You, loving Lord, that my future is in Your hands. Help me to trust You completely and find peace in Your plans. Amen

Psalm 113:5-7

Who can be compared with the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.

When you hear that God is enthroned on high, it’s easy to assume that He must therefore be totally disconnected from the harsh realities of our world. The psalmist makes it clear that the reverse is true. Mighty and exalted as He undoubtedly is, God is also intimately concerned about what is happening here in the world, so much so that He not only looks down at what is going on but takes action to rectify the situation.

The whole Bible shows a concern for the poor. The law of Moses insisted on the poor being protected and supported, the prophets continually reminded people of their duty to care for the most vulnerable and Jesus went out of His way to reach out to the weak and marginalised. In every society, there are poor people, and yet the majority try to get on with life as if they didn’t exist.

God calls us to care for the poor in our world today. The facts are staggering and deeply disturbing. According to the World Bank, 700 million people live in extreme poverty, which they define as living on less than $3 a day. The majority of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by South Asia. However, poverty is present in every society. It is often carefully hidden, but none of us lives far away from people whose lives are distorted and restricted by a lack of money.

God is still in the business of lifting the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump and looks to us to make it happen.

Question

In what ways are you able to help the poor in your community?

Prayer

Lord God, I thank You that You care for the poor and vulnerable. Help me to find ways to reflect Your love to all those who are marginalised in my community. Amen

Psalm 112:4

Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate and righteous.

I will never forget my visit to Ruby. She was dying and knew that her end was very near. It was late in the afternoon when I went to her cottage and daylight was fading, but my overwhelming memory of that visit is of her radiant smile. On paper, the situation seemed so sad and hopeless, but Ruby didn’t see it that way. She knew God as a friend and was looking to the future with genuine excitement because she knew that He could be trusted. For Ruby, the light still shone.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of meeting many people whose life circumstances looked dark and forbidding, but whose faith in God meant that they simply didn’t see it that way. I think of prisoners, people with disabilities, those who had been thrown out of their communities because of their Christian faith and others who, through no fault of their own, were facing financial ruin. In each of their lives, the light was shining. Humanly speaking, it was unrelieved darkness, but because of their faith in God, a brilliant light shone that nothing could extinguish.

This whole psalm is a wonderful description of the person who has centred their life on God. They are generous and kind and are able to live their life with confidence because of their faith. They don’t spend their time fearing bad news because “they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless” (Psalm 112:7-8). The psalmist doesn’t deny the reality of life’s problems and threats. He doesn’t for a moment suggest that there is no darkness in the world. His point is that the godly person is able to see the light shining whatever the circumstances, and who wouldn’t want to be like that?

Question

In whose life have you seen light shining in the darkness?

Prayer

Lord God, I thank You that Your light shines even in the darkest of situations. Amen

Psalm 111:1-2

Praise the LORD! I will thank the LORD with all my heart as I meet with his godly people. How amazing are the deeds of the LORD! All who delight in him should ponder them.

It is, of course, possible to praise God anywhere, but there is something incredibly precious about getting together with others to worship Him, and it is wonderful to think of God’s people doing that for thousands of years. Whether it is in a small remote village chapel, a vast cathedral or a tent, the experience of worshipping God with other people is inspiring, encouraging and unifying.

The psalmist encourages worshippers to think about what God has done. When we worship God, we need to take time to reflect carefully on what He has done in creation and throughout history. I was interested to learn that verse 2 was placed over the entrance to the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, where some of the most important scientific discoveries have been made. Researching and pondering are important activities. We need to find space to explore, to see things in new ways and to allow God to open up new truths to us.

These Bible notes have been written to help us all to ponder. It’s so easy for us to hurtle into our days without much reflection. We can get into a predictable rhythm of life and become so focused on the tasks in front of us that we have no time to reflect at all. It’s good to set aside a definite time in the day when we can listen to God and reflect on Him. That might be while walking the dog, while travelling to work or in the peace of our homes. It really doesn’t matter where it happens, but we all need to carve out time when we can stand back from life and allow God to speak with us. Pondering is probably the most important thing we can do in the whole day.

Question

Where do you find the time and space to ponder?

Prayer

God our Father, I worship You, for You are so great. Help me to find time to worship You and to reflect on all that You have done. Amen

Psalm 108:1-2

My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.

Isn’t it wonderful when you can say you are totally confident about someone? Perhaps it’s your doctor, dentist, plumber or friend. Without hesitation, you can commend them to someone else. You know they will never let anyone down. The reality, of course, is that they are human and, however wonderful they might be, they might become sick, and they might forget. You cannot be 100% certain that they will be reliable. However, our confidence in God is wonderfully different. The psalmist was so confident of God that he burst into song! He knew God would never let anyone down, so he grabbed every instrument in sight and decided to wake up the day with his song.

Martin Luther was a man who showed his confidence in God by courageously standing up against the Church authorities of the time. It would have been so much easier to have kept quiet, but the idea of buying indulgences was abhorrent to him. If someone bought an indulgence to support the rebuilding of the St Paul’s Basilica in Rome, it was said that their sins would be forgiven. Luther would have none of it. The God he knew graciously forgave those who came to Him by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He wrote: “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times.”

The apostle Paul often spoke of his total confidence in God. That was why he was willing to take such extreme risks in his ministry. He wrote to the church in Rome: “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the power of hell can separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:38).

If we are to stand strongly for God in a society which largely rejects Him, we too need to have total confidence in Him. The psalmist and Paul would encourage us to have just that.

Question

Do you have total confidence in God?

Prayer

Lord God our Father, I thank You that I can be certain of Your love and goodness for time and eternity. Amen

Psalm 107:1-3

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.

This psalm celebrates the people’s return after the exile. This was a massive moment in national life, and the psalmist is clear that it was entirely because of God’s consistent faithfulness. In the psalm, he looks back through different chapters in the life of God’s people and records the fact that, despite repeated human failings, God has not given up on them. Time after time, they had rejected His guidance and gone their own way, but God had not abandoned them. The final verse of the psalm sums up the situation beautifully: “Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord” (Psalm 107:43).

Our own personal stories are not so very different from this. As we look back through our lives, there will have been times when we have been totally unaware of God’s presence, and others when we have deliberately gone our own way. There have been decisions that we have made that make us wince with embarrassment now. But, through it all, God has been faithful, and now we need to speak out. We need to learn the lessons of our own personal history and use them as a springboard for our worship.

The return from exile was not a neat historical event. It was supremely messy and stretched over a long period of time. When the people returned to their homeland, they were not welcomed with open arms, and it took a long time to reconstruct the city of Jerusalem and restore the worship of the temple. That’s our life too. There are no quick and easy solutions to the challenges of life but, through it all, God is faithful, and His love can be entirely relied upon. Through all the messiness of life, we need to make sure we keep our eyes fixed on God and keep singing our songs of worship.

Question

What is the main reason that you want to praise God today?

Prayer

Loving Father, thank You that You are always faithful and loving. Help me to keep praising You amid all the twists and turns of life’s journey. Amen