Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Acts 14:14-15
When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you.”
After Paul and Barnabas were rudely bundled out of Iconium, they fled 19 miles south to the small Roman city of Lystra. A man who had been lame from birth had been healed while Paul was speaking, and the people were so excited that they concluded Paul and Barnabas must be gods. The missionaries were slow to understand what was going on because the people were speaking in their own local language. Things went from bad to much worse when the local priest of Zeus turned up with bulls and wreaths in order to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas.
Paul was determined to put the matter straight as soon as possible. He was clearly horrified to be thought of as a god. In his anguish and sadness, he dramatically tore his clothes and assured the crowd that they had totally misunderstood the situation.
Every public speaker is well aware of the danger of being misunderstood. This is a particularly dramatic illustration, but the principle is the same for anyone who opens their mouth in public. If you are a public speaker, you need to always have more than a small dose of humility. However carefully you prepare and speak, there will be occasions when you are completely misunderstood. This should prompt us all to pray for preachers and teachers who perform such a vital and challenging role.
Question
Which preacher or teacher do you need to pray for?
Prayer
Loving God, I pray that You will give wisdom and grace to all Christian preachers and teachers. Amen

Acts 14:2-3
But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
Paul and Barnabas were having an amazing time on their first missionary journey. A large number of people were accepting their message and becoming followers of Jesus. At the same time, they were meeting fierce opposition. At Iconium, in central Turkey, the mob was stirred up against them and, after a while, the situation became so dangerous that they fled the city. There was every possibility that they were going to be stoned to death. But I love the fact that amid the intensity of the opposition, their message was one of grace. It must have been very tempting for them to turn on the crowd and deliver a message of judgement and condemnation, but they chose to speak about the grace of the Lord.
Grace is a dominant theme in Paul’s ministry. He taught that there is nothing that we can do to gain salvation. It is completely outside our grasp. But, because God is so incredibly generous, He was willing to do for us what we could never do for ourselves and set us free from our sins. We Christians have many things that we would like to say to our society but, above everything else, we need to ensure that we are declaring boldly the grace of the Lord.
Question
In what way would you explain the grace of God to someone who had never heard about it before?
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for Your generosity to me. Help me to always speak to others with grace. Amen

Acts 13:5
When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
This is the start of the first missionary journey. It was an incredibly important moment for the Christian gospel. Saul (who from this point on was known by his Roman name, Paul) was happy to preach about Jesus anywhere, but it was his usual practice to start in the synagogue and work outwards from there. I find it fascinating that, on this most sensitive of missions, he and Barnabas took young John Mark with them.
We have already met John Mark in the previous chapter. He was clearly well known to Paul and Barnabas, but it was a major initiative to take him on this strategically important missionary journey. You can think of many reasons why it might not be wise to take a young and inexperienced person on such a crucial mission, but they were convinced his presence was important.
I am grateful for those leadership teams I have served on where there has been a commitment to have younger people in the group. I can think of some who looked out of their depth when they started, but because they were trusted and encouraged they quickly grew into effective leaders. From a human point of view, Paul and Barnabas were taking a risk, but they gladly took it for the good of the Church. The confidence they placed in Mark might well have been the reason why he later became the author of one of the gospels.
Question
Does your church encourage younger people to take on leadership roles?
Prayer
Lord God, help me to encourage young people to grow in the use of their gifts. Amen

Acts 13:2-3
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
This book of the Bible is often referred to as the Acts of the Apostles. A much better title for it would be the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Important as the apostles undoubtedly were, they were powerless without the Spirit. Nothing got going until the Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, and as history unfolded, the power, wisdom and guidance of the Spirit shaped every step of the journey. Here in chapter 13, we come to a decisive moment as the Spirit tells the Church to set Barnabas and Saul apart for a new ministry.
Nothing has changed. The Church today still completely relies upon the Spirit, but His guidance isn’t forced on anyone. It is perfectly possible for a church to be driven by tradition, human plans and budgets. It is only as a church intentionally and deliberately seeks the guidance of the Spirit that He leads His people. The church in Antioch was absolutely determined to hear what the Spirit was saying to them, and they showed their commitment by spending time in worshipping and fasting. It was in that context that the Spirit spoke to them. They showed that they were completely open to His guidance.
Question
In what ways have you seen the Holy Spirit lead your church? Have you found fasting helpful?
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for the gift of your Spirit to the Church today. Help me to listen with care to everything He has to say to me. Amen

Acts 12:14-15

When she recognised Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

What do you expect to happen when you pray? Does it occur to you that God might dramatically and immediately answer your prayer? Clearly, that thought hadn’t occurred to this fervent group of pray-ers! Peter, the leader of the Church, had been imprisoned by King Herod, and the Church was understandably scared. They knew how weak and vulnerable they were in the face of the authority’s power. So when Peter turned up at their door, they couldn’t imagine that it was really him. When Rhoda, the servant girl, ran to the door, she was convinced it was Peter but was so excited that she forgot to open the door! When she insisted that Peter was there, they refused to believe it. How foolish they must have felt when Peter finally stood in front of them.

When we pray, we are opening our lives to God, and we need to be ready for any response that He chooses to make. He always hears our prayers, and that should give us confidence as we ask Him to do things. As we pray, we are showing God our willingness to co-operate with whatever He chooses to do, however amazing and miraculous.

Question

How confident are you that God will answer your prayers?

Prayer

Loving God, help my confidence in You to grow as I pray. Amen