Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Acts 9:27 Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. Friends are a precious gift and we all need them. When Saul visited Jerusalem for the first time after his conversion, he found himself in a delicate position. He despera...

Acts 9:17 Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” I find this declaration from Ananias one of the most moving sentences in the whole of the Bible. He had been asked by God to go and meet Saul. Ananias was fully aware of Saul’s...

Acts 9:3 As [Saul] was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. Saul was a deeply committed Jew and his mission was to destroy the Church. He was acting with the authority of the High Priest in Jerusalem and his task was to search out any followers of Jesus and take them as prisoners. But suddenly everything changed as he travelled on the road to Da...

Nehemiah 12:27 For the dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem, the Levites throughout the land were asked to come to Jerusalem to assist in the ceremonies. They were to take part in the joyous occasion with their songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres. The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem was an incredibly significant moment and we are given a wonderful picture...

Nehemiah 9:5 Then the leaders of the Levites…called out to the people: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Time defines our lives so completely that it is very hard to understand eternity. I recall hearing about heaven when I was a child and I concluded that it was a very unattractive idea. I assumed that there must be a lot of worship going on in...

Nehemiah 9:3 They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God. This was the start of a new chapter for God’s people. It was a time for them to reassess their lives in the light of the Law of Moses. This was an occasion for encouragement because...

Nehemiah 8:10 “This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” When the people heard Ezra reading the Law of Moses they burst out crying (v9). Presumably they did so because they were reflecting on how far they had fallen as a nation. There was a huge gulf between what God had intended and the present reality. Nehemiah and Ezra were as aw...

Nehemiah 8:6 Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in just 52 days was an amazing achievement. But Nehemiah was quite clear that there was something that was even more important - ensuring that God was at the...

Nehemiah 6:9 They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination. Nehemiah was a remarkable leader, but I am particularly struck by his amazing resilience. Almost anyone can lead an organisation when the circumstances are easy and everything is going to plan. The real test of leadership is what h...

Nehemiah 5:14 For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. I once heard about a military officer who took his men on an arduous training exercise. They were all carrying heavy rucksacks which pushed them to their limits. At one point, they ha...

Nehemiah 5:6-7 When I heard their complaints, I was very angry. After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem. These verses give us a fascinating insight into Nehemiah’s leadership. First of all, he listened. The rebuilding...

Nehemiah 4:16 From then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. There is no question that Nehemiah trusted God. He was absolutely convinced that God was on his side and that he was going to succeed in reconstructing the walls of Jerusalem. He also knew that he had to work incredibly hard, and to ensure that the city and its people...

Nehemiah 3:10 Next Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired the wall across from his own house, and next to him was Hattush son of Hashabneiah. I vividly remember meeting a missionary for the first time. It was at a children’s mission in our local park and, with huge excitement, we were introduced to a real live missionary who had been serving God in the Amazon rainforest amongst a tribe whose language ha...

Nehemiah 3:8 Next was Uzziel son of Harhaiah, a goldsmith by trade, who also worked on the wall. Beyond him was Hananiah, a manufacturer of perfumes. I am so grateful to Nehemiah for the careful way in which he reported the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. He gives us lots of fascinating details. He tells us that every kind of person got involved, whatever their line of work, from priests to...

Nehemiah 2:19-20 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked. I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall.” Everything seemed to be going so well. King Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah the leave that he requested and also supplie...

Nehemiah 2:8 And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me. Nehemiah’s appearance before King Artaxerxes went incredibly well. Not only did the king grant him all the leave that he wanted, but he also gave Nehemiah letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates to ensure his safe travel, together with access to the royal forest for wood to help with the reconstructio...

Nehemiah 2:4-5 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” This was a terrifying moment. King Artaxerxes noticed that Nehemiah was looking sad. He could tell that there was something troubling his wine taster but N...

Nehemiah 1:11 “ O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honouring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favourable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” Nehemiah was on the verge of taking the boldest step of his life. He was going to ask King Artaxerxes, the mighty ruler of Persia, a question that could land him in a lot of trou...

Nehemiah 1:6-7 I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses. Over the last few weeks, we have had a problem with a water leak. We live in a reasonably new house but have seen water trickling down from the bathroom into the kitchen. We du...

Nehemiah 1:5-6 “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer!” These words give us a wonderful insight into Nehemiah’s understanding of God. Everything that follows in this book flows out of these few words. Nehemiah’s courageous actions were the result of the way he understood God, and...

Acts 7:59-60 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died. Stephen was one of the seven men 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...

Acts 6:1 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. If you have ever been part of a church – or indeed any other organisation – you will know exactly what is meant by “rumblings of discontent”! Th...

Acts 5:38-39 [Gamaliel said] “My advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!” The success of Peter and John’s healing and preaching ministry was deeply irritating to the Jewish authorities....

Acts 5:1-2 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. 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 lied and said they had done so. They c...

Acts 4:29-30 “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done 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, a...