Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Titus 1:15
Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted.
These words may well feel familiar. They closely echo the words of Jesus when he said that: “a good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:45). Paul’s particular challenge in Crete came from those who were insisting that all Christian men should be circumcised. This teaching was proving extremely destructive and was driving whole families away from the church. Paul was convinced that the only reason they were teaching this was to make money. He quoted a Cretan prophet who had said that: “The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals and lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12). This sounds incredibly harsh, but clearly Paul was desperate to protect the young church from those who were bent on its destruction.
Paul was convinced that what mattered before anything was the purity of people’s hearts. If they got that right then everything that flowed from them would be good. That is something that King David had to learn. He had proved to be a good leader in so many ways, but when he saw Bathsheba and longed to sleep with her his moral compass suddenly deserted him. The problem with sins is that they don’t come singly. His adultery with Bathsheba led to a string of lies and eventually to the murder of her husband. Bad went to much worse, but that’s the nature of sin. After Nathan’s confrontation with him, David discovered that the only way back to God was by seeking His forgiveness. He needed a purity which only God could give him. In Psalm 51 he cried out: “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1-2). The result was that he got his joy back and was able to serve God with a clear conscience.
There is nothing in life that is more important than maintaining a pure heart and every single day we need to seek God’s forgiveness, renewal and strength.
Question
In what ways do you need to seek God’s forgiveness today?
Prayer
Lord God, thank You that You understand me completely and are able to purify me. Here and now, I confess my sins to You and seek Your forgiveness. Amen

Titus 1:5-6
I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. An elder must live a blameless life.
Crete had many cities. Homer, the Greek poet, described the island as “Crete of the hundred cities.” The apostle Paul was clearly concerned that each community of Christian believers should have leadership and he trusted his friend Titus to get on with the job of appointing elders. He described these elders in many ways but, above all, it was the quality of their life that mattered. They needed to be blameless. That doesn’t mean that he was looking for perfection but, clearly, he was keen that they should live exemplary lives. This would set a high standard for the churches as they encountered continual challenges. A key part of this was the way in which the elder looked after his own family. How could an elder possibly lead God’s household if he couldn’t take care of his own?
When we appoint leaders, it is easy to be unduly impressed by their qualifications. Academic degrees are definitely important but they cannot take the place of character. Someone with a string of degrees and good communication skills would not make a good Christian leader if they were arrogant, uncaring or ill-disciplined. Different church streams have a wide range of ways of making appointments, but they all need our prayers and support as they try to find appropriate people.
Paul made it clear at the beginning of all his letters that he was appointed by God. Being a Christian leader wasn’t his own bright idea but God’s. Here, he was clearly urging Titus to make appointments on the same basis. Titus needed to seek out those whom God had already called and to set them aside for the awesome privilege of leading the church. Nothing has changed – that is still our responsibility today.
Question
What do you think are the most important character traits for a Christian leader?
Prayer
Loving God, thank You for those who are responsible for selecting Christian leaders. Please fill them with Your Holy Spirit and enable them to make decisions that will build Your Church. Amen

Titus 1:2
This truth gives [those God has chosen] confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.
We inevitably spend much of our life focused on the here and now. We need to eat, drink, work and sleep, and often there won’t be much time to do anything else. But we all need to make sure we find time to stand back from this busyness and look at our lives on a bigger scale. I’ve just been watching a rugby match. It was full of interesting incidents, but in order to understand what was going on and the significance of it, one needs to reflect on the match as a whole. So too with our earthly lives. We need to stand back and realise that our present experiences need to be seen as part of the great canvas of eternity.
Rick Warren, the American author and founder of Saddleback Church, has written about the importance of looking at life from an eternal perspective. He wrote: “When you live in light of eternity, your values change. You use your time and money more wisely. You place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Your priorities are reordered. Keeping up with trends, fashions, and popular values just doesn’t matter as much anymore.”
Having an eternal perspective also gives us a great confidence as we look to the future. Everything in this world is so obviously temporary. Possessions, fame and even our human relationships come and go. None of them is built for eternity, apart from our relationship with God. That doesn’t mean our present experiences are trivial and unimportant – far from it – but they need to be enjoyed and understood from an eternal perspective. When we look at life that way, it actually gives greater significance and importance to our everyday experiences.
Question
In what ways do you find it helpful to look at life from the perspective of eternity?
Prayer
Lord God, I thank You that my future is in Your eternal hands. Amen

Titus 1:1
This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Paul was born into a strongly Jewish family and also had the privilege of being a Roman citizen. It is quite likely that his family was wealthy and that he would have been waited on by slaves from birth. He himself certainly wasn’t a slave within his society, but when it came to his relationship with God, slavery was precisely the right description. God was in command of his life.
I wonder how you describe yourself. In our society, people like to be in control of their lives, but Christian faith deliberately involves handing over the controls to God. The reason for this is simply that He understands us perfectly and is far better able to direct our lives. Slave of God is therefore a title of honour and pride.
Paul’s other description of himself is as an apostle of Jesus Christ. For Paul, the defining moment of his life occurred on the road to Damascus. On that journey, he was confronted by the risen Lord Jesus, and he was convinced that he had been commissioned by Jesus himself to spread the good news among non-Jews. Paul hadn’t had the privilege of knowing Jesus during His earthly ministry, but he was sure that he had become one of His apostles, sent out to spread the gospel.
Paul was always concerned to emphasise that his ministry wasn’t his idea. It was God’s. It was God who had called him, and God who would equip him for his vital ministry. Whatever we are doing today, it’s important for us all to remind ourselves that we are called by God and therefore perfectly equipped to do whatever He calls us to do.
Question
How would you respond to being described as the ‘Slave of God’?
Prayer
Loving God, thank You for calling me to serve You today. Thank You that You promise to strengthen me for everything that You ask me to do. Amen

Acts 1:9-11
[Jesus] was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
The ascension of Jesus brought His ministry on earth to an end in an amazing way. It is not surprising that the disciples looked intently into the sky to see where He had gone, longing for Him to come back down again. As they stood there, they were told that the day would come when Jesus would return in the same way as He left.
The second coming of Jesus should be our confident expectation. It should be constantly in our minds, not as a threat but as the most wonderful promise. When I was a small boy, I must confess I thought of it entirely as a threat. Whenever I couldn’t find my mother in the house, I always assumed that Jesus had returned and I’d been left behind. However, the fact that Jesus will return is presented to us in the New Testament as a cause for encouragement. It’s a reminder that history is in God’s hands and, at the time that He chooses, the curtain will be brought down.
The knowledge that Jesus will return one day also encourages us to ensure that we keep our minds focused on serving the Lord. Jesus told a number of parables to stress the importance of keeping alert all the time because we don’t know precisely when He will return. The parable of the ten bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13) is an encouragement to us all to be fully prepared so that we don’t miss the moment. The parable of the servants (Matthew 25:14-30) reminds us that we need to work really hard with whatever resources we’ve been given. Whether or not Jesus returns during our lifetime is not the point. What matters is that we are always ready.
Question
In what way is your life affected by the fact that Jesus might return today?
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that I will always live in readiness for Your return. Amen