Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Philippians 1:27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. The residents of Philippi were very proud of their city. They had been rewarded by the Emperor Octavian after his defeat of Antony and Cleopatra and were designated a Roman colony. The city was in Macedonia, which is now part of northern Greece, but the Philippia...

Philippians 1:21-24 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. During the two years that I lived in India a number of people...

Philippians 1:15,18 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives…Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. It would be nice to live in a perfect world where everyone agreed. We could then get on with living our Christian lives wit...

Philippians 1:12-13 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. My chief memory of prison visits is the huge bunches of keys and the slamming of doors. The lack of liberty must be terrible, and we have every rea...

Philippians 1:9-10 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. I’m sure that we are all members of lots of organisations, such as a car breakdown service, a political party, a sports club etc. If I...

Philippians 1:6 I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. When people talk about the future, they are often hesitant and anxious. I’m sure you will have heard people saying: “Things just keep going from bad to worse,” or “What a terrible world to be brought up in.” Paul is so different. He lo...

Philippians 1:3-5 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. I love this Philippian letter because it is so full of bubbling joy. That’s particularly remarkable because Paul was in prison as he wrote these words! Pau...

Philippians 1:1 This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons. The apostle Paul is absolutely clear that it is not what you know but who you know that really matters in life. And so he begins this warm and encouraging letter by focusing on Jesus. It was Paul’s r...

Proverbs 20:29 The glory of the young is their strength; the grey hair of experience is the splendour of the old. Tension between the generations is not new. Aristotle in the 4th-century BC once commented: “When I look at the younger generation, I despair of the future of civilisation.” Long after Aristotle’s day, in the year 1237, a monk named Peter gave his reasons for despair when he looked at...

Proverbs 20:20 If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness. Family relationships were of central concern to the writer of Proverbs. The incredibly harsh language that he uses in this particular proverb shows his complete contempt for those who insulted their parents. No punishment was too great for those who were able to sink to such depths. Later in Prove...

Proverbs 19:28 A corrupt witness makes a mockery of justice; the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil. Justice is a persistent theme throughout the Bible, because it is one of the characteristics of God. He loves justice. This is beautifully described in Deuteronomy 32:4: “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just an...

Proverbs 19:18 Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives. The word discipline has a harsh ring to it, but the writer of the Proverbs is clear that it is absolutely essential for every parent to know how to do it. He saw discipline as the way in which parents show love to their children. In Proverbs 22:6 he wrote: “Direct your children onto the right path, an...

Proverbs 18:4 Wise words are like deep waters; wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook. If you look at the history of many communities, you will find that they originally grew up because they were close to a river, brook or spring. The source of water gave them life and here Proverbs says that it is just the same with wisdom. Wisdom brings life wherever it goes and so wise people will cen...

Proverbs 17:5 Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who rejoice at the misfortune of others will be punished. Every society has poor people, but that certainly doesn’t mean that we should be unconcerned for the poor. The opposite is true. The whole Bible encourages us to take the needs of the poor seriously and do everything we can to support them. Leviticus gave some very practical ad...

Proverbs 17:4 Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander. The book of Proverbs was written thousands of years ago, but the issues that it tackles are so up to date that you could easily imagine that it was written yesterday! Today’s verse reminds us that there have always been gossips. There are many references to gossips in Proverbs and it is clear that the writer i...

They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.

Those who believed what Peter said were baptised and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied: “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” On one occasion I was taking a group of friends to a railway station at the end of a conference. I spoke movingly to them about the excellence of my satnav and the help that it had been to m...

Acts 2:36-37 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” In his Pentecost sermon Peter carefully explained to his Jewish audience that what had happened had all been in fulfilment of God’s plans. He was ve...

Acts 2:17-18 “In the last days,” God says, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy.” Peter responded to the suggestion that Jesus’ followers were drunk by making the practical observat...

Acts 2:11-13 “We all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!” Despite only giving us a very brief summary of what actually happened on the day of Pentecost, Luke doesn’t miss out the fa...

Acts 2:5-7 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. The arrival of the Holy Spirit caused a stir in Jerusalem. The city was packed with Jewish pilgrims from a huge...

Acts 2:1-4 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as...

Acts 1:24-26 Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven. After the ascension of Jesus, the eleven disciples needed to find a successor to Judas Iscariot. The...