Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Philippians 2.14-15 NLT 'Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.' Complaining has always been a part of life. Sometimes we need to complain but as a way of life it can be very destructive. It has been wisely said that complaining doesn’t...

Philippians 2.12-13 NLT 'Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.' If you have given your life to Christ, confessed your sins and received hi...

Philippians 2.5-7 NLT 'You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.' These amazing words form the beginning of what many people consider to be a First Century hymn. They beautifully express the...

Philippians 2.1-2 NLT 'Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.' One of the biggest problems with unity is that it looks so easy. If you listen...

Philippians 1.29-30 NLT 'For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.' We don’t know the exact nature of the problems in the Philippian church. It had been planted in a hostile environment and was led by new C...

Philippians 1.27 NLT '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 which was a Roman Colony. They had been rewarded by the Emperor Octavian after his defeat of Antony and Cleopatra. The city was in Macedonia and is now part of northern Greece, but the Philippians enjo...

Philippians 1.21-24 NLT '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...

Philippians 1.15 and 18 NLT '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.' From time to time we probably all think how nice it would be to live in a dream world where everyone agreed wi...

Philippians 1.12-13 NLT '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 keys and the slamming of doors and I am sure that would have been just the same in Paul’s day. The la...

Philippians 1.9-11 NLT '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. It may be the National Trust, a car breakdown service, a political pa...

Philippians 1.6 NLT '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.' I love the confidence with which Paul writes about the future. When you hear most people talking about the future they are often hesitant and anxious. I’m sure, like me, you have often heard people saying, “Things just keep going...

Philippians 1.3-5 NLT '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 is in prison as he writes these word...

Philippians 1.1-2 NLT '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 focussing on Jesus. He is...

READ: Psalm 59.17 NLT 'O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.' Is your life a struggle at the moment? I’m really sorry if that’s the case, but I want to encourage you with the thought that you are in very good company. In this psalm, like many others, David pours out the detail of his struggles. He feels physically threatened and d...

READ: Psalm 57.8-9 NLT 'Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.' I have always loved singing and have sung with many choirs over the years. I suspect that many of you will have had a similar experience and you will know what a joy it is to contribute your little sound t...

READ: Psalm 56.8 NLT 'You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.' Everything seemed to be going wrong for David when he wrote this psalm. He was being attacked continually by the Philistines. They were constantly slandering him and spending their days spying on him, looking for an opportunity to kill him. But amidst it...

READ: Matthew 5.14-16 NLT “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” On the face of it, it seems really surpr...

READ: Matthew 5.13 NLT 'You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.' I have often heard people say that they are happy for individuals to have a Christian faith so long as it’s a private matter. Jesus’ words here prove that there is no way in which a Christian can keep their...

READ: Matthew 5.10 NLT 'God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.' The life to which Jesus calls us is one of blessing. This is life at its very best. But Jesus never tried to disguise the fact that his followers would face rejection and persecution just as he did. Jesus assures his followers in every age that it is inevitable that if they stand up...

READ: Matthew 5.9 NLT 'God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.' In this Beatitude Jesus isn’t talking about being peace- lovers but peace-makers, and that’s something very different. A peace-lover will often do anything to avoid conflict, and will even allow bad behaviour to continue because of the desire to “keep the peace”. Sadly, that kind of attitude...

READ: Matthew 5.8 NLT 'God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.' If you have any gold or silver you will know that it is vital that the metal is free from all impurity. If it is even slightly impure it will be worth only a fraction of the value of the pure metal. Here Jesus is saying that the same rule applies to our spiritual lives. We need to be single-minded, keeping our...

READ: Matthew 5.7 NLT 'God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.' Jesus told many stories that make us sit up. One of the most powerful was the story of the king who was owed millions of pounds by one of his servants. (Matthew 18.21-35) The man couldn’t possibly pay his debt. The servant fell on his knees and begged the king to be patient. The king took pity on him and canc...

READ: Matthew 5.6 NLT God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. I wonder when you last felt painfully hungry or thirsty. I suspect for most of us that, if it has ever happened, it is a distant memory. However, it is likely that Jesus’ hearers would have been very familiar with both. Harvests could be good or bad, and it was impossible to achieve a reliable fl...

READ: Matthew 5.5 NLT God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. Mother Teresa taught the world a great deal about humility. She gave us a wonderful example of what it looks like through her costly service to the most rejected and unloved members of her society. But she also offered us many wise words on the subject. She wrote,” Learn to be humble by doing all the hum...

READ: Matthew 5.4 NLT God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. The word that is used for mourn here is also used in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, to describe Jacob’s grief when he was led to believe that Joseph, his treasured son, was dead. (Genesis 37.34) He was grief stricken. God’s promise is that those who are overwhelmed with sorrow now will find his...