Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

• November 18th - Romans 13:1

  Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. Our society has a high level of cynicism towards those in authority, and the media takes every opportunity to shoot politicians down in flames whenever they slip up. However, the apostle Paul would encourage us to look at our politicians with spiritual eyes and to remember that all authority on this earth ultimately comes from God. Therefore, it is vital that we pray for those in authority and play our part as good citizens, obeying the laws of the land and showing our willingness to support the community. I can hear you asking a very big question: “What should we do if the governing authorities command us to do something that is contrary to God’s law?” Paul doesn’t address this issue and it might well be because, at this stage, he hadn’t encountered any particular difficulties. The Jews had a special status of protection within the Roman Empire and, in the earliest days of the Church, Christians were viewed as a variety of Jews, so they enjoyed similar protection. All of that changed in later years. What might Paul have said in those more challenging circumstances? The answer to questions like this is always to look at other parts of the Bible, and a fundamental principle was clearly established in the earliest days of the Church. When he was commanded to stop preaching about Jesus in Acts 5, Peter replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (Acts 5:29). How do we fit this together with Paul’s teaching? We must always respect the fact that our leaders’ authority comes ultimately from God, so we should be good citizens and obey them as fully as possible, knowing that they are answerable to God. However, when laws conflict with God’s law, we must obey God, because he is the one with ultimate authority. This presents many Christians in the world today with incredibly difficult dilemmas, because many governments are firmly opposed to Christianity. We need to pray that these brothers and sisters will be given great courage, grace, patience and strength as they live for God, and we need to be ready to defy the law ourselves if obedience to God’s law demands it. Question In what circumstances could you imagine yourself defying the law of the land? Prayer Lord God our Father, help us always to obey you, whatever the cost. Amen

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• November 17th - Romans 12:17-18

  Romans 12:17-18 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. The Christian life involves a complete rewiring of the way we think and live. It involves a total revolution in our lives because when someone does something evil to us, the natural reaction is to retaliate. Everything in us makes us want to hit back. We want justice and we don’t want our attacker to think that they can get away with it. Jesus’ way is different. He calls us never to take revenge but to leave that to God. Our job is to feed our enemies when they are hungry and to give them a drink when they are thirsty. We are to go out of our way to bless them and help them, and that is tough. That’s not the way we are naturally inclined to act, but it is the way of Christ and it is the way of peace. Paul wasn’t unrealistic. His life brought him into conflict with many people and he had no illusions that his teaching would be easy to live out. He was as aware as anyone that Christianity was out of step with Roman society and that as Christians lived out their daily lives, they would face challenges and difficulties. However, he urged his readers to do everything within their power to live at peace with other people. When attacked, they had to do everything they could to restore peace, but when peace couldn’t be achieved, they needed to pray for those who were attacking them and to act honourably. None of this is easy, but it is important to be aware that Paul was addressing this teaching to a community of Christian people. He knew that they would need one another’s strength, encouragement and prayers. We are never invited to follow Christ as heroic individuals but as part of the body of Christ, within which we are surrounded by Christian brothers and sisters who will love us and stand with us amid all the challenges of life. Question In what situations are you bringing the gift of peace at this time? Prayer Loving God, help me to bring your peace to those with whom I live and work today. Amen

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• November 16th - Romans 12:9-10

  Romans 12:9-10 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other. Napoleon once said: “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I founded empires; but upon what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love.” It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of love. Without love there can be no Church, no blessing, no joy, no future worth having. Everything depends upon love, and here, Paul was concerned that the Christians in Rome didn’t make do with a phoney love. He recognised that it is possible to pretend to love other people. We can do it by being superficial and merely polite with others, glancing over the surface of their lives without really engaging with them and their needs. What Paul longed for was for deep, compassionate, sacrificial love which would totally transform their lives together. It is interesting that Paul speaks about love and hatred so close together. The truth is that the person who loves also knows how to hate, because if you truly love another person, you will hate with a passion anything that causes them to be hurt or undermined. If they are the victim of injustice, you will be compelled to stand up for them and to defend their cause. Love will not allow you to sit comfortably and merely wish them well. Your love for them will force you to take action. Nothing that you and I can ever do will be more important than loving other people, and as we do so, we need to keep Jesus at the forefront of our thinking. Jesus is the only person who perfectly lived a life of love. The way he cared for people, reached out to the marginalised and was willing to offer even his own life for others needs to stand before us as the inspiration for our love. Love is never the easiest way, but it is always the best. Question Do you think you are ever guilty of merely pretending to love other people? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you have shown us perfectly what it means to love. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and enable us to love in the way that you did. Amen

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• November 15th - Romans 12:7-8

  Romans 12:7-8 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. In three of his letters, Paul talks about the gifts that God has given to Christians, and each list is very different. Here and in Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12, he makes it clear that every follower of Christ has been given a unique gift from God which is vital for the Church, the body of Christ. God gives his gifts according to the needs of the Church, and I am quite sure that if Paul were writing today, he would be keen to add the gift of helping with public address systems and digital technology. The Holy Spirit gives just the right gifts to his Church to enable it to be effective. The point that Paul is making here is that once you have found your gift, you need to get on and use it. It isn’t like an award or certificate that you can put on display in a prominent place in your house so you can show off to other people. Gifts are given so that they can be put to good use. There’s nothing more tragic than someone keeping their gift to themselves. It is vital that we all know what our individual gift is. I don’t believe for a moment that God wants to keep this a secret from us, so if you can’t immediately identify your gift, I would encourage you to pray about it. Ask God to show you, and remember that gifts change with time and circumstances. As we get older, our strength and opportunities change, so the gift he might give you now may be very different from the gift you used to have. If you don’t hear God telling you what your gift is, I would urge you to talk to a trusted friend about this. I suspect that they will quickly be able to identify it. Whatever it is, remember that God wants you to use that gift wholeheartedly for him. Questions Do you know what your gift is? If not, what action are you going to take to identify it? Prayer Loving God, thank you that you have given me a special gift. Help me to use it enthusiastically for you. Amen

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• November 14th - Romans 12:3

  Romans 12:3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. It is vital for all of us to have a true understanding of ourselves. If we go around with an inflated view of our own importance, the whole of life will look distorted. Relationships will be damaged, and we will add layers of difficulty to everyday life. It is just as damaging to have too low a view of ourselves. If we go into the day feeling that we are unimportant and don’t count, we are liable to be steamrollered by the smallest of difficulties. What we need is an accurate understanding of who we are, and that’s what we gain by faith. As we place our trust in God, we learn that we are made in his image and are of infinite worth. Nothing we do is unimportant when we know that the Holy Spirit is filling us and directing our actions. The apostle Paul is clearly very concerned about this subject and presents it to the Roman church as a warning at the beginning of this section on living the Christian life. He knew the destructive power of arrogance, and was aware that it could creep into any area of life, including the Church. The moment anyone claims that they know best, there are problems. That’s why God is so firmly opposed to arrogance. Proverbs tells us that “the LORD detests the proud” (Proverbs 16:5) and warns us that “pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). God invites us to live a life of humility which means that, however strongly we might feel about something, we are always ready to learn, and always willing to admit that we might be wrong. Jesus couldn’t possibly have been clearer on the subject. When the disciples asked him who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, he said that unless they changed and became like little children, they would never be able to gain entry. Time and again, the disciples were in competition with one another, but they needed to learn that humility was the key to blessing in God’s kingdom – and it still is. Question In whose life have you seen true humility? Prayer Lord God, help me to learn more today about living humbly before you. Amen

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