Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

1 Timothy 6:20 'Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge.' In Greek, the name ‘Timothy’ literally means ‘he who honours God’. As Paul drew his letter to an end, he challenged Timothy to live up to his name. He would do that by looking after what had been entrusted to him. It is as if Paul was telling h...

1 Timothy 6:17 'Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.' If you look at the world’s stock markets over the past century you will know exactly what the apostle Paul meant! Money is completely unreliable. The 1920s were a time of huge economic expan...

1 Timothy 6:12 'Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.' As Paul draws towards the end of his letter to Timothy, he gives his young friend a huge amount of encouragement. He describes him as a man of God and urges him to be the best that he could possibly be. Paul, of all people, k...

1 Timothy 6:9-10 'People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.' This is one of the most misquoted verses in the whole Bible. It is often...

Timothy 6:6-8 'True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.' Everybody can see that to be contented is a wonderful way to be. Oscar Wilde wrote: “True contentment is not having everything, but in being satisfie...

1 Timothy 6:1 'All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching.' It’s hard for us to imagine what it must have been like to live in a society where slavery was normal. Between ten and 20 percent of the population were slaves in Roman times, so it was an issue with which everyone was familiar. Because the members of the early Ch...

1 Timothy 5:19-20 'Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others.' Accusations are always sad, and it is particularly tragic when a church leader is the one being accused. However, I’m afraid that’s all a part of being human and so the...

1 Timothy 5:17-18 Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!” As the early Church grew it inevitably had to face the issue of caring for its leaders. The C...

1 Timothy 5:8 'But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.' In days before the welfare state, caring for relatives could be a massive responsibility. Paul was clear that this was fundamental to the Christian faith. It was usual in his society for families to care for one another, and so i...

1 Timothy 3:1 This is a trustworthy saying: “Whoever aspires to be a church leader, desires an honourable position.” One of the key tasks for Paul and Timothy was to find good leaders. Without godly and effective leadership, the Church was never going to thrive. In this chapter, Paul spelt out the qualities that a church leader needs. And in 1,900 years, it is worth noting that the list hasn’t rea...

1 Timothy 2:8 'In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.' Lifting up hands in worship has happened for thousands of years. The psalmists often referred to it. In Psalm 63:4, King David proclaimed: “I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.” But the truth is that, by itself, lifting our hands in...

1 Timothy 2:1 'I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.' Although the number of people who attend church services is constantly shrinking, it is very good to see that prayer isn’t going out of fashion. It’s often assumed that people pray as they get older, however a ComRes opinion poll in 2021 revealed that twice a...

1 Timothy 1:16 'God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realise that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.' The apostle Paul never forgot his colourful past. He had been so committed to his Jewish faith that he had gone to extraordinary lengths to destroy the Church. He was convin...

1 Timothy 1:12 'I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work.' I seem to be surrounded at the moment by people telling me how tired they are. Perhaps it’s just the effect that I have on them! But the truth is that however you are feeling right now, there are limits to our strength. Paul had an extremely busy ministry and he was fully aware that he needed God’s special st...

1 Timothy 1:5-6 'The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. But some people have missed this whole point.' You only need to look at the religious section in your local bookshop to see that our society is still incredibly interested in religion. There is still a massive appetite to learn about Go...

1 Timothy 1:1 'This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Saviour and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope.' The apostle Paul always started his letters by making it very clear why he was writing. He was doing so because of his calling. Everything he did was shaped by the fact that God had appointed him to be an apostle (meaning ‘someone who has been sent...

Proverbs 27:6 'Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.' Surely we’ve all had moments when friends have said something to us which made us go: “Ouch!” Perhaps they were giving us a loving warning or strongly disagreeing with our opinion. The ouch was real but, when we got over it, we realised that they said it because they cared. That doesn’t mean they were necessari...

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." The writer to the Hebrews encouraged his readers to reflect on the leaders who had served them so well. He invited them to think about the good that had come from their lives and to follow their example. As we give thanks for the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth we recognise that there are many wonderful things for which to th...

1 Timothy 2:1-2 "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity." One of the greatest privileges and responsibilities of a Christian is to pray. Here Paul urges his young friend Timothy to und...

2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." The Queen’s Christmas Day broadcasts give us the clearest possible insight into her own personal faith. She wrote the scripts herself and it gave her a wonderful opportunity to reveal what he...

Galatians 5:22-23 "The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." One of the words that has been repeatedly used of Queen Elizabeth is faithfulness. She has been faithful to her vow to serve the nation, but also faithful to her husband and her family. Faithfulness is a wonderful word and these v...

1 Corinthians 11:1 "You should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ." When King Charles 3rd was declared our monarch on September 10th he promised to follow the example of his mother. I am interested how often people have spoken of the example that Queen Elizabeth set, and of its influence upon their lives. And the truth is, of course, that our lives all have an influence on other people. Whether...

Mark 10:43-45 “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Queen Elizabeth has often been described as the Servant Queen who served the Servant King.  Here in Mark’s gospel we hear Jesus take us to...

John 15:5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” The tributes that have been generously paid to Queen Elizabeth often make reference to her calmness and constancy. Through the many changes and challenges of life she maintained a remarkable equilibrium. We saw her as she faced national tragedy...

John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." When Jesus spoke these words to his disciples they were just about to enter an incredibly traumatic few days. They had spent the last couple of years with Jesus and now suddenly and violently it was going to come to an end. The disciples were well...