Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Titus 1:2
This truth gives [those God has chosen] confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.
We inevitably spend much of our life focused on the here and now. We need to eat, drink, work and sleep, and often there won’t be much time to do anything else. But we all need to make sure we find time to stand back from this busyness and look at our lives on a bigger scale. I’ve just been watching a rugby match. It was full of interesting incidents, but in order to understand what was going on and the significance of it, one needs to reflect on the match as a whole. So too with our earthly lives. We need to stand back and realise that our present experiences need to be seen as part of the great canvas of eternity.
Rick Warren, the American author and founder of Saddleback Church, has written about the importance of looking at life from an eternal perspective. He wrote: “When you live in light of eternity, your values change. You use your time and money more wisely. You place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Your priorities are reordered. Keeping up with trends, fashions, and popular values just doesn’t matter as much anymore.”
Having an eternal perspective also gives us a great confidence as we look to the future. Everything in this world is so obviously temporary. Possessions, fame and even our human relationships come and go. None of them is built for eternity, apart from our relationship with God. That doesn’t mean our present experiences are trivial and unimportant – far from it – but they need to be enjoyed and understood from an eternal perspective. When we look at life that way, it actually gives greater significance and importance to our everyday experiences.
Question
In what ways do you find it helpful to look at life from the perspective of eternity?
Prayer
Lord God, I thank You that my future is in Your eternal hands. Amen

Titus 1:1
This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Paul was born into a strongly Jewish family and also had the privilege of being a Roman citizen. It is quite likely that his family was wealthy and that he would have been waited on by slaves from birth. He himself certainly wasn’t a slave within his society, but when it came to his relationship with God, slavery was precisely the right description. God was in command of his life.
I wonder how you describe yourself. In our society, people like to be in control of their lives, but Christian faith deliberately involves handing over the controls to God. The reason for this is simply that He understands us perfectly and is far better able to direct our lives. Slave of God is therefore a title of honour and pride.
Paul’s other description of himself is as an apostle of Jesus Christ. For Paul, the defining moment of his life occurred on the road to Damascus. On that journey, he was confronted by the risen Lord Jesus, and he was convinced that he had been commissioned by Jesus himself to spread the good news among non-Jews. Paul hadn’t had the privilege of knowing Jesus during His earthly ministry, but he was sure that he had become one of His apostles, sent out to spread the gospel.
Paul was always concerned to emphasise that his ministry wasn’t his idea. It was God’s. It was God who had called him, and God who would equip him for his vital ministry. Whatever we are doing today, it’s important for us all to remind ourselves that we are called by God and therefore perfectly equipped to do whatever He calls us to do.
Question
How would you respond to being described as the ‘Slave of God’?
Prayer
Loving God, thank You for calling me to serve You today. Thank You that You promise to strengthen me for everything that You ask me to do. Amen

Acts 1:9-11
[Jesus] was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
The ascension of Jesus brought His ministry on earth to an end in an amazing way. It is not surprising that the disciples looked intently into the sky to see where He had gone, longing for Him to come back down again. As they stood there, they were told that the day would come when Jesus would return in the same way as He left.
The second coming of Jesus should be our confident expectation. It should be constantly in our minds, not as a threat but as the most wonderful promise. When I was a small boy, I must confess I thought of it entirely as a threat. Whenever I couldn’t find my mother in the house, I always assumed that Jesus had returned and I’d been left behind. However, the fact that Jesus will return is presented to us in the New Testament as a cause for encouragement. It’s a reminder that history is in God’s hands and, at the time that He chooses, the curtain will be brought down.
The knowledge that Jesus will return one day also encourages us to ensure that we keep our minds focused on serving the Lord. Jesus told a number of parables to stress the importance of keeping alert all the time because we don’t know precisely when He will return. The parable of the ten bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13) is an encouragement to us all to be fully prepared so that we don’t miss the moment. The parable of the servants (Matthew 25:14-30) reminds us that we need to work really hard with whatever resources we’ve been given. Whether or not Jesus returns during our lifetime is not the point. What matters is that we are always ready.
Question
In what way is your life affected by the fact that Jesus might return today?
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that I will always live in readiness for Your return. Amen

Acts 1:8
[Jesus said:] “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”
What an amazing day this must have been for the disciples! They were just about to see Jesus disappear before their eyes, and before He did so He gave them their marching orders. They were commissioned to take the good news to the whole world. These days, we know a great deal about the world and can easily communicate across the globe, but for Jesus’ disciples this must have seemed an overwhelming challenge. Where on earth would they start?
Jesus wanted His disciples to know that they were all witnesses. They had seen and heard things which needed to be shared. We don’t all have an evangelistic gift, which is often said to have been given to about 10% of Christians, but we are all witnesses. Our means of communication have changed completely since the first century, but our fundamental responsibility is still to bear our personal witness of what we have seen and heard.
Jesus asked His disciples to witness in Jerusalem. They needed to start where they were. This is often the greatest challenge. We all need to share our faith with our families, our colleagues and those who see us day by day. He then told them to go to Judaea. Though it wasn’t an easy area – much of it was rocky desert with scattered communities – Jesus wanted them to share their witness there. Because of the intense hatred that existed between the Jews and Samaritans, they were bound to get a hostile welcome in Samaria, but that’s where Jesus told them to go next. Then, as if they hadn’t already been challenged to the limit, He told them to go to the ends of the earth!
The challenge must have seemed overwhelming to the disciples. It must have felt like mission impossible, but it wasn’t. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, who would give them the wisdom and strength to obey His command.
Question
Who might you be able to witness to today?
Prayer
Lord God thank You that You have given me good news to share. Amen

Acts 1:3-4
During the forty days after [Jesus] suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised.”
Luke wrote two books: his gospel and what is often called “The Acts of the Apostles”. The first tells us what happened during Jesus’ earthly ministry and the second describes the birth and growth of the Church. However, before Luke launched into the Church’s story, he wanted his readers to know that there was no doubt about Jesus’ resurrection. He knew that everything hinged on it, so he informed his readers that Jesus met with His disciples on a number of occasions, even sharing meals with them.
It was clearly a tumultuous time for the disciples. They had experienced the trauma of Jesus’ appalling death and the exuberant joy of His resurrection and were now contemplating what life would be like after He’d left them. Jesus fully realised this and wanted His disciples to know He’d made perfect provision for their needs. All they had to do was wait, and then within a few days they would be baptised with the Holy Spirit. Mysterious as God’s plans were for them, they could look to the future with confidence.
Our situation is not so different from those disciples’. We have the blessing of living in the days of the Spirit, but there is still much about the future that is completely unknown to us. The shocking experience of Covid has made it clear how completely unpredictable the future is. We don’t know might happen here on earth, and we all have many questions about what will happen after we die. However, in common with the disciples, we can face the future with confidence, knowing that God has made perfect provision for us.
Question
What are your thoughts when you look to the future?
Prayer
Thank You, loving Lord, that my future is in Your hands. Help me to trust You completely and find peace in Your plans. Amen