Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

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5 of 1859

July 15th - Daniel 1:17
Daniel 1:17 God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams. The book of Daniel transports us to the time when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, invaded Judah and took thousands of its residents into exile. This happened in the 6th century BC. God had clearly prophesied that this would happen if the people failed to obey him, and Babylon’s victory was utterly humiliating. To be dragged hundreds of miles away to a completely unfamiliar place and culture represented Judah’s total failure. However, King Nebuchadnezzar recognised that amid the exiles were some very gifted young men. He chose four of them who were strong, healthy, and good-looking, and trained them up for service in the royal palace. They were Daniel and his three friends, who we know best by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The four exiles clearly fitted well into their new life. They had an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. We also learn that God gave Daniel the special gift of interpreting dreams. It wasn’t an innate ability or a skill that he had acquired through doing extensive reading. God gave him the gift, and the outcome was transformative for the exiles and for the future history of God’s people. This isn’t just an ancient story of how God worked long ago. Today, God gives gifts to the right people to do his work. Sometimes the gifts we are given are closely related to our natural abilities, but often they are not. He gives gifts of caring, speaking his word, administration, healing, listening and prophesying. Our need is to be open to receive God’s gifts, however big a surprise they may be to us. When we receive them and start using them, we need to remember that they aren’t the result of our own personal brilliance, but a gift from God, who deserves all the praise. Question What special gift has God given you, and how are you going to use it today? Prayer Loving God, thank you for your generosity and love. Help me to treasure every gift that you have given to me. Amen
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3:28
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3:28
July 14th - Psalm 68:28
Psalm 68:28 Summon your might, O God. Display your power, O God, as you have in the past. There’s a Russian proverb which says: “Dwell in the past and you’ll lose an eye. Forget the past and you’ll lose both eyes.” This is particularly important for those who follow God because we learn so much about him from history. As we consider how he has led his people through thousands of years, we see his faithfulness, love, kindness and generosity. The psalmist looked back to the time of Moses when God gave the law on Sinai. This was a foundational time for the people of Israel, giving shape to every aspect of their life together and with God. The psalmist then recalled the time of Deborah, when the earth shook as God fought for his people. All of this led up to the time of David, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought up to Jerusalem with great rejoicing. Every step of the journey had shown them more about the nature of their God. We have the blessing of being able to read the Bible and see how God led his people through that whole period, but we have more. Since the Bible was written, we have almost 2,000 years of history in which God has revealed himself to millions of people across the world. Anyone who claims that history is dull clearly hasn’t taken the trouble to read about the amazing ways in which God has led his people through times of plenty, of persecution, of growth and of war. There is even more than that. Our churches have a story to tell of God’s goodness and provision. Many have faithful members who have been around for decades, and hearing their stories builds faith and confidence in God, allowing us to have both eyes open to the exciting things that God wants to do in our own day. Question In what ways are you inspired by what God has done in history? Prayer Loving God, thank you that you have been at work amongst men and women through thousands of years. Help me to listen to the past and get to know you better. Amen
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3:15
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3:15
July 13th - Psalm 66:1-2
Psalm 66:1-2 Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is. When we think about worship, we naturally focus on the church community we meet with regularly, and this is entirely understandable and deeply precious. We thank God for our brothers and sisters and the relationship we share with them. We need to be careful, however, because worship belongs to the whole world, not just to the group with whom we worship. The psalmist’s vision was for everyone to worship God, so when we worship, we should keep everyone else in mind. Because everyone has been made by God, everyone needs a relationship with him, and their life will only be complete when they live in partnership with him. At the heart of our worship, there needs to be a longing that everyone around us will join in. We see a similar attitude in the New Testament. Writing to the Philippians, Paul spoke about how Jesus took upon himself the nature of servant. He humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. As a result of this, God gave him a name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. When we worship, we should always have this much larger congregation in mind. The psalmist moves from encouraging the whole world to join in with the worship to declaring how great God is. We should see our worship as the inevitable launchpad to our evangelism. Proclaiming the greatness and love of God should propel us into a life of sharing the good news with others. If we’re honest, there can be times when worship becomes stale. It can be dull, predictable and uninspiring, but when we recognise that God’s love embraces the whole world and that everyone needs to join in, we should start seeing worship as the most exciting thing we do. Question What do you find most inspiring about worship? Prayer Father God, I thank you for the privilege of worshipping you and of knowing of your perfect love for everyone. Amen
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3:30
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3:30
July 12th - Psalm 65:9
Psalm 65:9 You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so. These days, less than two per cent of the population works in agriculture so, for most of us, harvesting feels a world away from our everyday lives. In pre-industrial society, most people were involved in agriculture, and harvest was a massive communal activity. It was desperately hard work, and the lives of agricultural workers were intimately bound up with the rhythms of the seasons. It’s no wonder that many of the psalms make reference to harvesting. Our circumstances are very different, but we are still dependent on the work of our farmers, and I am delighted that most churches hold harvest celebrations every year. They remind us that our food, however it comes to us, is a gift from God. This is a good moment to focus attention on our farmers. It is well known that the rate of suicide is high among those who work the land. The pressures upon them at any time are many, and these have been exacerbated by the changes in our climate and the increase of extreme weather events. Isolation is a pervasive problem, and many farmers live with constant financial insecurity. It is good for us to give thanks for the amazing contribution that our farmers make, and to pray for God’s blessing upon them. Before anything else, the harvest encourages us to look to God, whose hand provides our food. Our heavily processed and cleverly packaged food will often give the impression that it is man-made, but it isn’t! It comes to us from our loving creator, who deserves our worship and thanksgiving. Question How are you going to celebrate God’s gift of the harvest this year? Prayer Thank you, loving God, for the gift of our food. We praise you for all those who work so hard to bring it to us. Amen
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3:12
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3:12
July 11th - Psalm 63:1
Psalm 63:1 O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. This psalm was almost certainly penned by King David after he had fled from his son Absalom, who had attempted to take over his father’s throne. It was an agonising situation. Absalom was David’s third son and great favourite. He was charming and handsome and clearly loved the life of pomp and ceremony. We learn that he drove in a magnificent chariot with 50 men running in front of him. After a while, the power went to his head, and he decided to rebel against his father. To be betrayed by anyone is an appalling experience, but to be betrayed by your own much-loved son must have been almost too awful to bear. In despair, David fled to the desert, and had time to reflect on what mattered most in his life. He was absolutely clear that his relationship with the living God was everything to him. “Your unfailing love is better than life,” he concluded (Psalm 63:3). You might not have been through an experience as devastating as David’s, but all times of disappointment and tragedy can help us to reflect on life’s priorities in an intense way. David’s relationship with God was central to his life, so in the moment of despair, his gaze was fixed on the perfection of God’s love and provision. He recognised that even in this most extreme of circumstances, God was able to meet his needs. None of us knows what the future holds, so we need to ensure that we keep our relationship with God strong all the time. Question What have you learned about God in the tough times that you have experienced? Prayer Father God, thank you that you can always satisfy my deepest needs and that you will never leave my side. Amen
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3:06
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3:06