Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Acts 16:25-26
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.
The ministry of Paul and Silas in Philippi soon hit the buffers when they healed a slave girl who was a fortune teller. She had made good money for her owners until the moment God healed her, and they were furious when they realised their source of income had disappeared. They dragged Paul and Silas into the marketplace, where the two men were beaten and imprisoned. Since they’d had a very specific call from God to serve Him in Macedonia, you wouldn’t be surprised if they were feeling very let down by Him. But there they were in a top security prison cell praying and singing hymns to God! What amazing men they were. To cap it all, the prison was suddenly shaken by an earthquake.
This is a gripping story, and it helps us to see what Paul meant when he wrote in Ephesians 5:20 about “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. On the face of it, Paul and Silas didn’t have anything to give thanks for when they were slung into that prison cell. Everything seemed to have gone disastrously wrong. But when the focus of our lives is God Himself, however terrible the circumstances, we will always have reason to give thanks.
Question
For what reason can you give thanks to God right now?
Prayer
Lord God our Father, whatever is going on in my life, I always have reason to praise You. Thank You that You are always worthy of my praise. Amen

Acts 16:15
When Lydia and the members of her household were baptised, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
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 travelled around, he normally began his ministry in a synagogue, but it would seem that there wasn’t one in Philippi. So he went to the river, where he met up with a group of women who gathered together to pray. As Paul spoke with them, Lydia responded to his message and was baptised. It is fascinating to see that her first response was to offer hospitality, and it seems that she was very insistent.
Hospitality was crucial for the early Church because there were no Christian buildings for many years. The only way they could meet was by people generously opening up their homes. In many ways, our homes are an extension of our personalities, and it is possible to become extremely possessive of them. The suggestion that “an Englishman’s home is his castle” isn’t just a jokey saying. It is possible to be defensive and selfish about where we live. However, the New Testament frequently encourages hospitality. It is good if we have a secure home that we love, but in common with all God’s gifts, our homes are given to us so that we can give them away.
Question
In what ways have you experienced the blessing of Christian hospitality?
Prayer
God our Father, thank you for the gift of my home and for the privilege of being able to share it with others. Amen

Acts 16:9-10
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia.
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 next. In a vision, Paul saw a man from Macedonia pleading with him to go and help. We receive no information about what this vision was like, although we might presume it was while Paul was dreaming. I wonder how you interpret your dreams. Much of the time dreams are, in my experience, extraordinary and impossible to unravel. If I can remember them at all beyond breakfast, they don’t seem to have any lasting significance. But dreams play an important role in many parts of the Bible, so God might well use them to guide us. Paul was clearly entirely sure that the vision was sent from God, so he and Silas immediately set out to Macedonia.
We need God’s guidance on a continual basis, because every day we need to make decisions. God will often guide us through our experience, prayer, the Bible, sermons and our friends, but we should not close the door to any way in which He might choose to speak to us. Perhaps in the future He will choose to speak to you through a film, a painting, a flower, a bird – or even a dream.
Question
In what different ways has God made His guidance to you clear?
Prayer
Loving Father, help me to hear Your voice, however You choose to speak to me. Amen

Acts 16:6
Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
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. He was travelling through what we now know as central Turkey, heading towards Ephesus, but then the Spirit prevented him from going in that direction. So, he then set off north until, in the next verse, the “Spirit of Jesus” told them not to enter Bithynia. We have no idea how Paul received this guidance. Perhaps it was through a dream or a word of prophecy. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Paul was ready to go wherever the Lord led him, and he was eager to respond immediately to the breath of the Spirit.
Planning is good. It is wise to think through plans for the future, whether we are thinking about family holidays, career, retirement or the mission of the Church. It is good to do thoughtful research and to talk with lots of people and, as a result, to devise a plan that makes sense and wins general approval. However, we still need to remain light on our feet and ready to adjust to new circumstances or the voice of God. Guidance is often not neat and clear-cut. It involves listening with all our attention to the voice of the Spirit.
Question
Has the Spirit ever said no to any of your plans?
Prayer
Lord God, thank you that You love us so much that You are willing to stop us going the wrong way. Amen

Acts 16:2-3
The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of [Timothy]. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
This is a fascinating moment. Paul had just come away from the council of Jerusalem, where the decision had been made that it was unnecessary for Christians to obey all the Jewish law. He, more than anyone, passionately believed it was not necessary for men to be circumcised, and in his letters, he was scathing of those who disagreed. So why did Paul then insist that his new companion, Timothy, should go through this ceremony? The answer is that he believed their priority was to preach the gospel, and nothing should be allowed to get in the way of that. If Timothy was to work effectively among Jews, it would be much more helpful if he were circumcised. Timothy’s mother was a Jew, so he already had much in common with the Jewish people. His circumcision would make it much easier for him to gain their respect and trust.
Paul was absolutely clear that his priority was to share the good news of Jesus effectively with as many people as possible. Nothing was more important than that. Our situation is very different from Paul’s, but that’s an important challenge for us as well.
Question
What could you do to reach out more effectively to your family, neighbours or work colleagues with the good news of Jesus?
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for Paul’s example. Help us to be humble enough to learn from it. Amen