Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Acts 16.15 NLT Lydia and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed. Paul’s first convert in Europe was a businesswoman. Lydia came from what we now know as western Turkey and was a dealer in the purple cloth for which her home area was famous. As Paul t...

Acts 16.9-10 NLT 'That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once.' We should never put a limit on the ways in which God might choose to speak to us. Yesterday we saw God putting a block on Paul’s plans. Today he makes it crystal clear where Paul should go...

Acts 16.6 NLT 'Next Paul and Silas travelled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time.' This is a remarkable moment. Paul clearly had a carefully worked out plan for his missionary journey but, at the same time, was intensely sensitive to the guidance of the Spirit. Here we meet him in what we k...

Acts 16.2-3 NLT 'Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.' This is a fascinating moment. Paul has just come away from the Council of Jerusalem where the decision has been clearly...

Acts 15.37-39 NLT 'Barnabas wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated.' This is a painful moment, but I’m so glad that Dr Luke recorded it. I am sure that he could quite easily have airbrushed it out of the story, but he didn’t. Paul a...

Acts 15.28 NLT “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements.” It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of the Council of Jerusalem that we read about in Acts 15. The early church had hit upon a massive problem and they needed to find a way to resolve it. When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost, it came up...

Acts 14.23 NLT 'Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.' Paul’s first missionary journey is incredibly impressive. Having been nearly lynched in Iconium, they went on to Lystra where Paul was so badly stoned that some people thought he was dead. However, he summoned the...

Acts 14.14-15 NLT But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings— just like you!” After Paul and Barnabas were rudely bundled out of Iconium, they fled 19 miles south to the small Roman city of Lystra. They may well have presumed that Paul’s sta...

Acts 14.2-3 NLT 'Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord.' 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 sam...

Acts 13.5 NLT 'There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.' This is the start of the first missionary journey. It was an incredibly important moment for the Christian gospel and it started on the island of Cyprus. Saul (who suddenly becomes known as Paul) was happy to preach about Jesus anywhere, but i...

Acts 13.2-3 NLT One day as these men were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. 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...

Acts 12.14-15 NLT When she recognised Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “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 pra...

Acts 12.11 NLT Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” At this time the early church was growing fast and this was making King Herod increasingly nervous. He was determined to tighten the screws and so he arranged for the killing of James, the brother of John. This...

Acts 11.25-26 NLT 'Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)' 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...

Acts 11.22-23 NLT 'When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.' 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 s...

Acts 11.2-3 NLT When Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticised him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said. 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 God was wanting to welcome everyone to h...

Acts 10.44-45 NLT 'Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.' 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...

Acts 10.34-36 NLT Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favouritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” This might not sound revolutionary but you need to understand that Peter’s world had just been turned upside down. He...

Acts 10.1-2 NLT 'In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household.' He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. 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 sa...

Acts 9.27 NLT '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. Saul found himself in a delicate position when he visited Jerusalem for the first time after his conversion and he...

Acts 9.17 NLT 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 Sau...

Acts 9.3 NLT '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 t...

Nehemiah 12.27 NLT '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.' God’s people have always loved celebrating! The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem was an incredibly signif...

Nehemiah 9.5 NLT 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 finding it a very unattractive idea. I assumed that there must be a lot of worship going on in heaven a...

Nehemiah 9.3 NLT '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 worshipped 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...