Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Acts 14:2-3 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. Paul and Barnabas were having an amazing time on their first missionary journey. A large number of people were accepting their message and becoming followers of Jesus. At the same time, they were meeting fierce opposition. At Iconium, in central Turkey, the mob was stirred up against them and, after a...

Acts 13:5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. This is the start of the first missionary journey. It was an incredibly important moment for the Christian gospel. Saul (who from this point on was known by his Roman name, Paul) was happy to preach about Jesus anywhere, but it was his usual practice to start in the synagogue and work outwards from there. I find it fascinating that, on this most sensitive of missions, he and Barnabas took young John Mark with them. We have...

Acts 13:2-3 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. This book of the Bible is often referred to as the Acts of the Apostles. A much better title for it would be the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Important as the apostles undoubtedly were, they were powerless without the Spirit. Nothing got going until the Spirit was poured out on the day of P...

Acts 12:14-15 When she recognised Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” What do you expect to happen when you pray? Does it occur to you that God might dramatically and immediately answer your prayer? Clearly, that thought hadn’t occurred to this fervent group of pray-ers! Peter, the leader of the Church, had been imprisoned by King Herod, and the Church was understandably sca...

Acts 12:11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” At this time, the early Church was growing fast, and this was making King Herod increasingly nervous. He was determined to tighten the screws, so he arranged for the killing of James, the brother of John. This went down very well with the Jews, so he decided to arrest Peter, the leader of the Church, and kept him under the closest possible survei...

Acts 11:25-26 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch…The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Barnabas’ famous gift of encouragement was not only expressed in words. He also took action. He could see that the church in Antioch desperately needed a good leader, and he was convinced that he knew the right man. Antioch, in Syria, was a busy commercial centre and it had a very mixed population. There were many Jews in the city and an increasing number of people from a non-Jewish background who were...

Acts 11:22-23 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. When the church leaders in Jerusalem heard about the rapid growth of the church in Antioch, they had lots of questions. Because the church in Jerusalem was strongly Jewish in character, there were some who were deeply suspicious of what was going on in Antioch. Their concern was that the followers of Jesus should follow...

Acts 11:2-3 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticised him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Criticism always stings. It must have been so hard for Peter to face a barrage of criticism when he returned home to Jerusalem. God had given him a vision and opened his eyes to a new world in which He wanted to welcome everyone to Himself, whether or not they were Jews. How discouraging it must have been to face up to his critics, but we can learn a lot from the way...

Acts 10:44-45 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. This has often been described as the Gentile Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in Jerusalem, it was on the occasion of a major Jewish festival. But Jesus made it clear that the good news belonged to the whole world, so it was necessary for it to be firmly established that the Holy Spirit...

Acts 10:34-36 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” This might not sound revolutionary, but we need to understand that Peter’s world had just been turned upside down. He had been brought up with the Old Testament idea that it was only the people of Israel whom God had ch...

Acts 10:1-2 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. Cornelius is a fascinating character. He wasn’t a Jew and neither was he a follower of Jesus. He was a God-fearer, and the most positive things are said about him. He was generous, prayerful and willing that God should use him on this crucial mission to meet up with Peter (v5). Peter was a faithful Jew and struggled to...

Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. The psalmist isn’t merely talking about house building in this famous psalm. He is talking about everything we build – a life, relationship, family, organisation, city or society. There is no point in building anything without God, because it is bound to fail. Throughout the Bible we are introduced to people who tried to go it alone. Adam and Eve are the supreme examples, but they were in fact merely setting the pace for a succ...

Psalm 126:5-6 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. If you know anything about farming, you will know that it is hard work, but just imagine how incredibly tough it was in the psalmist’s day without the help of modern machinery. Planting was back-breaking work, but year by year the farmer would sow his seed with the confidence of knowing that, one day, there would be a harvest. We cannot be sure, but it seems as if...

Psalm 125:1-2 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore. I love these Psalms of Ascent, which the pilgrims used as they travelled to Jerusalem. In this particular psalm, we almost get the feeling that we are travelling with them as they gaze at the mountains around Jerusalem. Even the mountains themselves spoke to them of the security that they had in God. I don’t find it surprising that Christians throughout the centuries have found pi...

Psalm 124:8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. I wonder if you ever have “what if” conversations. You know the sort of thing: “What if I’d had a different career? What if I’d gone to a different school? What if we’d moved to a different town?” In this psalm, David reflected on an even bigger question: “What if the Lord had not been on our side?” As the pilgrims made their way up to Jerusalem, he encouraged them to think about how terrible life would have been without God. It might seem a st...

Acts 9:27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. Friends are a precious gift, and we all need them. Saul found himself in a delicate position when he visited Jerusalem for the first time after his conversion and he desperately needed a really good friend. His visit came a couple of years after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, and many people...

Acts 9:17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said: “Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” I consider this to be one of the most moving sentences in the whole of the Bible. Ananias had been asked by God to go and meet Saul. He was fully aware of Saul’s reputation and was bound to think that there must be some mistake, but the Lord informed h...

Acts 9:3 As Saul neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. Saul was a deeply committed Jew and his mission was quite simply to destroy the Church. He was acting with the authority of the high priest in Jerusalem to search out any followers of Jesus and take them as prisoners. But suddenly everything changed as he travelled on the road to Damascus. A brilliant light flashed around him and he heard a voice asking: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (v 4). Saul was familiar enough with the scriptures to know that this must be G...

Acts 7:59-60 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Stephen was one of the seven men who were appointed to handle the distribution of food to the widows. Chapter 7 reveals that he was also a very fine preacher. He delivered a careful exposition of Old Testament history, which showed that God had repeatedly raised up deliverers of His people and the Jews had systematically rejected them. Now, they had murdered the righ...

Acts 6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. From time to time, every human organisation will experience rumblings of discontent. They are simply a part of life; exhausting but inevitable. It isn’t open warfare, but it isn’t something that can be brushed to one side either. The problem on this occasion was a practical one, and it was clearly causing great unhappiness. The church in Jerusalem was composed of Jews from different backgrounds. Some...

Acts 5:38-39 Gamaliel said: “I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” The success of Peter and John’s healing and preaching ministry was deeply irritating to the Jewish authorities. They were anxious to silence the apostles, but nothing seemed to be working. They tried imprisoning them, but even that didn’t work, as the apostles miraculously managed to escape and carry on their...

Acts 5:1-2 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. This is a chilling story. Ananias and Sapphira were not obliged to give all the money from their property sale to the apostles, but they made the false claim that they had done so. They lied. They conspired together to trick the apostles and the result was that, when confronted with their lies, they both, one afte...

Acts 4:29-30 “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Having been ordered by the Jewish council to keep quiet, Peter and John returned to their Christian friends to update them. Their response was to pray, and what a beautiful prayer it is. You would have understood if they had asked God to sort out their opponents, but they didn’t. They simply asked God for more boldness so that they could continue their...

Acts 4:18-20 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” The miraculous healing of the lame man attracted great attention, so Peter found himself with a further opportunity to speak to the crowd. He explained that the healing had been done in the name of Jesus. This was too much for th...

Acts 3:4-6 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said: “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said: “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” At 3pm one afternoon, Peter and John went up to the temple for the service at which one of the daily sacrifices was made. As they walked through one of the city gates, they met a beggar who was strategically placed to receive people’s money as...

Proverbs 21:26 All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing. Longing for more money and possessions is a terrible disease, but our materialistic society is built on the assumption that this is how we should all live. Long ago, the Greek philosopher Epicurus wrote: “Nothing is enough to the man for whom enough is too little.” The place of true peace and contentment is where you know you have enough and have no desire to find more. God’s desire for us is that our focus should never be upon seeking to acquire more, but to become...

Proverbs 21:23 Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity. Speaking is such a huge part of our daily lives that we need all the wisdom we can find to guide us. The book of Proverbs comes back to the subject time and again, precisely because it is so important. We need to be constantly learning how to use our tongues more effectively, and part of that is to learn when to speak and when to be silent. Benjamin Franklin wrote: “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult st...

Proverbs 21:3 To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. The offering of sacrifices lay right at the heart of Old Testament worship. Strange as it may seem to us, it was what God wanted from His people. This led many to conclude that all they needed to do was offer sacrifices, and they could then act in whatever way they wanted. Time and again, God had to remind His people that the mere offering of sacrifices and worship was not enough. He was looking for them to act justly and fairly in their...

1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 1 Corinthians 13 is a really famous chapter, and rightly so, but Paul didn’t write in chapters. Chapter divisions arrived about 1,200 years later! Whenever we see a chapter division, we need to at least peer at what happens next. This is really important in this particular letter, because if you only look at chapter 13 you might think love is so important that you can forget about the gifts of the Spirit. After all, they have a limited shelf life, as Paul has just explained. But here at...

1 Corinthians 13:8-9,13 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part…And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like throwing things away. Whether it’s a kettle, iron, car or laptop, I’m always inclined to hang on to it for as long as possible. However, the truth is, of course, that all our posses...

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. When I was young, I was very confused when I met new people. I presumed that they had just been made, because I had never seen them before! I came up...

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. I am sure you have often heard these famous words. They give us the most beautiful description of love and, understandably, they are often read at weddings. Love sounds incredibly attractive, doesn’t it? We all long to be as lo...

1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. I will never forget Sheila. She was in her early 70s when I first met her, and every Friday evening, without fail, she helped out with her church’s youth club. The church was on a rough housing estate and the evenings were full of action. The young people were rarely appreciative and at times violent. The language they used was normally rude and often deeply offensive. I could go on, but I am...

1 Corinthians 12:14, 16-17 The body is not made up of one part but of many…If the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? I love Paul’s sense of humour! He imagines a conversation going on within the body, which is plainly ridiculous. It would be crazy if the ear were to compl...

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. I often hear people being described as gifted. They may be referred to as a gifted pianist, flower arranger or speaker. I totally understand what is being said, but it could be very misleading. It seems to suggest that there...

1 Corinthians 11:27-28 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. If you are employed, you probably have the delight of an annual appraisal. The intention is to stand back from how things are going in order to acknowledge what went well and what went not so well, and to reflect on how things could be strengthened for the year ahead. Conducted well...

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Life throws up many challenges for us in the 21st century, and it was no different in Paul’s day. One of the issues he had to face was that sometimes meat was taken to pagan temples as an act of worship before being sold by the butchers. Paul was quite clear that pagan gods were not true gods, so it really didn’t matter if the meat had been waved in front of them. But if someone were to point out...

1 Corinthians 9:19,22-23 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible…To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. I love meeting people who are passionate about something, whatever it is. It may be their love of horses or of a particular football club, or their devotion to gardening. Yo...

1 Corinthians 4:16-17 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church. The disciples learned how to follow Jesus by looking at His example. They saw how He responded to the constant demands of His ministry. They saw His kindness and patience and how He welcomed every kind of person. They were often shocked by the things that He said and...

1 Corinthians 3:5-6 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. Think for a moment about the Christian leaders that you have known. I’ve been a Christian a long time and I could easily come up with a long list of leaders who have helped me to understand the Christian message. I am so grateful to God for them. To be honest, I can remember very few words that...