Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Philippians 4:8
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Never in history have those words been more important than right now. When Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web in 1989 no one could have foreseen the way in which it would completely transform the way in which we access information. Our mobile phones are the gateway to a world of information and that has incalculable benefits. But the downside is undeniable. It has never been easier to view destructive and depraved information which is able to ruin lives. In such a situation we desperately need to hear Paul’s words. We need to become fixated on those things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Paul lived in the real world. He wasn’t inviting the Philippian Christians to hide away from their society. Being a prisoner, Paul, of all people, knew about the dark side of Roman life. He had no illusions about the world in which he lived, and probably that served to reinforce his conviction that Christians needed deliberately to focus their attention on the true, the pure and the admirable.
This is a big challenge for all of us in modern society. Paul knew that what goes on in a Christian’s mind is the most crucial issue of all. In Romans 12:2 he urged the Roman Christians not to “copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but to let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think”. As we welcome the true, honourable, right, pure, lovely and admirable influences into our minds, God is able to bring about that amazing transformation.
Question
How do you ensure that you are focusing your attention on things that are excellent and praiseworthy?
Prayer
Lord God, I invite You to guide my thoughts by Your Holy Spirit. Help me to become fixated on those things that will make me stronger in living for You. Amen

Philippians 4:6-7
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
The most unhelpful thing you can say to a person who is worrying is: “Don’t worry”. I am sure it is meant in a kindly way, but it actually increases the problems of the person who’s worrying. Not only have they got all their worries but they also feel guilty about it now too. Paul doesn’t fall into the trap of giving useless advice because he shows us the way out. He tells the Philippians that there is no need to worry because they can pray about everything. If you place your concerns in God’s hands then you can look to the future with confidence and thanksgiving.
Jesus also recognised that worrying was a significant issue for His followers. He pointed out that it was a waste of time. He asked the question: “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (Matthew 6:27). Worrying never achieves anything. I rather like the poster which reads: “Worrying is stupid. It’s like walking around with an umbrella up waiting for it to rain.” But Jesus went further and observed that there is absolutely no need to worry because God provides perfectly for all our needs. In Matthew 6, He pointed to the birds and the lilies of the field and reasoned that if God could look after them then He could clearly look after human beings.
The outcome of trusting God is not merely that the worries disappear, but that they are replaced by peace. Those are amazing words and I hope that is your personal experience. I was rushed into hospital a few years ago with sepsis. My blood was poisoned and my heart was racing at an unsustainable speed. As the medics treated me it was clear that I was in serious danger and I thank God that I was overwhelmed with peace. That isn’t something that I could have produced because there was nothing peaceful about the situation. It was God’s gift and I pray that you will experience that peace whatever you face.
Question
How do you deal with the worries that come your way?
Prayer
Loving God, thank You that You can replace our worries with Your miraculous gift of peace. Amen

Philippians 4:2-3
Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News.
There’s nothing new about people falling out with one another! It has been a feature of life from the very beginning, as we learn from the account of Cain and Abel (see Genesis 4). The question is: “What do we do when it happens?” Paul here offers some helpful advice.
The first step is for those who disagree to seek to resolve their differences. We have no idea what the women disagreed about. It must have been fairly serious for Paul to go to the trouble of referring to it in his letter. He reminded the women that they belonged to the Lord and that was the crucially important fact. Belonging to the same family doesn’t mean that disagreements won’t occur, but it does mean that we are not alone in seeking to resolve the situation. We can pray together and seek God’s guidance. Normally, in my experience, if there is a willingness to find a way through a disagreement, it can be found. Sometimes, however, the best that can be done is to agree to disagree. We agree to respect one another and affirm our love and commitment to one another as family members.
Sometimes no amount of conversation between the people who disagree resolves the situation. Paul clearly sensed that Euodia and Syntyche needed some help and asked his “true partner” to offer assistance. This isn’t an easy role, but it is a vital one and as a good news community it is important that every church can identify people who can act as peacemakers. This requires much love, grace and wisdom. There are times when even the most able peacemaker cannot resolve a situation and there needs to be an agreement to part company. This was Paul’s own experience when, after a difference of view with Barnabas, they decided to go off in different directions (Acts 15:36-41). What is vital is that disagreements are addressed and not allowed to rumble on for years, causing pain and yet further division.
Question
What have you found to be the best way of resolving disagreements?
Prayer
Lord God, help me to be a peacemaker today.

Philippians 3:17-18
Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
Paul didn’t pull his punches did he? He declared that some people were enemies of Christ. This is very harsh language, but he knew that it was essential for the Philippian Christians to know the difference between those who were true followers of Christ and those who were fighting against him. Paul said that he himself was the person they should be following. I don’t interpret this as arrogance but as a matter of necessity. The Christians in Philippi, most of whom would have been very young in their faith, needed to have a clear example of what it meant to live for Christ in everyday life. As Paul wrote this he was in prison, so he invited them to pattern their lives on those who had followed his example. This all begs the question of where Paul got his example from and in 1 Corinthians 11:1 he explains “you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ”.
It's good to follow the example of other Christians. I know that my Christian life has been massively affected by the example that has been set for me by Christians that I have known. I was given the example of carefulness from Peter, gentleness from Frank, graciousness from Victor, faithfulness from David, cheerfulness from Fred, courage from Tim and so on. I wonder who has inspired you, and I encourage you to keep actively remembering and thanking God for their example. But this works in the other direction as well. People are looking at you and me, whether we like it or not. We are also setting an example of what it means to follow Jesus and we need to make sure that it’s a good one.
Question
Whose Christian example has been particularly important to you?
Prayer
Thank You, Lord, for the people who have shown me what it means to follow You. Help me to set a good example for others. Amen

Philippians 3:12
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
Perfection is a word that makes most of us shudder, because we are so well aware that we fall very far short of it. But the danger with that kind of response is that we give up even trying. We come up with endless excuses to explain why we are the people we are today. I’ve heard people say that they have a bad temper because that’s exactly how their father used to be. Or they blame their impatience on their bad back. Paul fully acknowledged that he had a long way to go on the road to perfection, but he was determined to travel further on that journey and not to excuse his shortcomings. Wonderfully God accepts us just the way we are, but He loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to stay as we are. He longs that we should change and take steps forward towards perfection.
“Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time,” commented Voltaire, the French philosopher. I find that a helpful observation, but he missed out the vital factor of Christian faith. By ourselves we will never make much progress. But when we commit ourselves to Christ we discover that, as Paul said, the very reason that He took hold of our lives was to make us perfect. And that’s the reason why Paul was so determined to put all his energies into making progress. Like a runner who is always checking their times to ensure that they are making good progress, so too Paul was focusing on becoming everything that Christ wanted him to be. That’s our challenge today. We aren’t perfect but we must strive each day, in the strength that God gives us, to become more fully the people Christ want us to be.
Question
What progress are you making towards perfection?
Prayer
Lord God, thank You that You lovingly accept me just the way I am, but that You love me so much that You want me to change each day. Amen