Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

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

Acts 1:8
[Jesus said:] “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”
What an amazing day this must have been for the disciples! They were just about to see Jesus disappear before their eyes, and before He did so He gave them their marching orders. They were commissioned to take the good news to the whole world. These days, we know a great deal about the world and can easily communicate across the globe, but for Jesus’ disciples this must have seemed an overwhelming challenge. Where on earth would they start?
Jesus wanted His disciples to know that they were all witnesses. They had seen and heard things which needed to be shared. We don’t all have an evangelistic gift, which is often said to have been given to about 10% of Christians, but we are all witnesses. Our means of communication have changed completely since the first century, but our fundamental responsibility is still to bear our personal witness of what we have seen and heard.
Jesus asked His disciples to witness in Jerusalem. They needed to start where they were. This is often the greatest challenge. We all need to share our faith with our families, our colleagues and those who see us day by day. He then told them to go to Judaea. Though it wasn’t an easy area – much of it was rocky desert with scattered communities – Jesus wanted them to share their witness there. Because of the intense hatred that existed between the Jews and Samaritans, they were bound to get a hostile welcome in Samaria, but that’s where Jesus told them to go next. Then, as if they hadn’t already been challenged to the limit, He told them to go to the ends of the earth!
The challenge must have seemed overwhelming to the disciples. It must have felt like mission impossible, but it wasn’t. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, who would give them the wisdom and strength to obey His command.
Question
Who might you be able to witness to today?
Prayer
Lord God thank You that You have given me good news to share. Amen

Acts 1:3-4
During the forty days after [Jesus] suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised.”
Luke wrote two books: his gospel and what is often called “The Acts of the Apostles”. The first tells us what happened during Jesus’ earthly ministry and the second describes the birth and growth of the Church. However, before Luke launched into the Church’s story, he wanted his readers to know that there was no doubt about Jesus’ resurrection. He knew that everything hinged on it, so he informed his readers that Jesus met with His disciples on a number of occasions, even sharing meals with them.
It was clearly a tumultuous time for the disciples. They had experienced the trauma of Jesus’ appalling death and the exuberant joy of His resurrection and were now contemplating what life would be like after He’d left them. Jesus fully realised this and wanted His disciples to know He’d made perfect provision for their needs. All they had to do was wait, and then within a few days they would be baptised with the Holy Spirit. Mysterious as God’s plans were for them, they could look to the future with confidence.
Our situation is not so different from those disciples’. We have the blessing of living in the days of the Spirit, but there is still much about the future that is completely unknown to us. The shocking experience of Covid has made it clear how completely unpredictable the future is. We don’t know might happen here on earth, and we all have many questions about what will happen after we die. However, in common with the disciples, we can face the future with confidence, knowing that God has made perfect provision for us.
Question
What are your thoughts when you look to the future?
Prayer
Thank You, loving Lord, that my future is in Your hands. Help me to trust You completely and find peace in Your plans. Amen

Psalm 113:5-7
Who can be compared with the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.
When you hear that God is enthroned on high, it’s easy to assume that He must therefore be totally disconnected from the harsh realities of our world. The psalmist makes it clear that the reverse is true. Mighty and exalted as He undoubtedly is, God is also intimately concerned about what is happening here in the world, so much so that He not only looks down at what is going on but takes action to rectify the situation.
The whole Bible shows a concern for the poor. The law of Moses insisted on the poor being protected and supported, the prophets continually reminded people of their duty to care for the most vulnerable and Jesus went out of His way to reach out to the weak and marginalised. In every society, there are poor people, and yet the majority try to get on with life as if they didn’t exist.
God calls us to care for the poor in our world today. The facts are staggering and deeply disturbing. According to the World Bank, 700 million people live in extreme poverty, which they define as living on less than $3 a day. The majority of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by South Asia. However, poverty is present in every society. It is often carefully hidden, but none of us lives far away from people whose lives are distorted and restricted by a lack of money.
God is still in the business of lifting the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump and looks to us to make it happen.
Question
In what ways are you able to help the poor in your community?
Prayer
Lord God, I thank You that You care for the poor and vulnerable. Help me to find ways to reflect Your love to all those who are marginalised in my community. Amen

Psalm 112:4
Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate and righteous.
I will never forget my visit to Ruby. She was dying and knew that her end was very near. It was late in the afternoon when I went to her cottage and daylight was fading, but my overwhelming memory of that visit is of her radiant smile. On paper, the situation seemed so sad and hopeless, but Ruby didn’t see it that way. She knew God as a friend and was looking to the future with genuine excitement because she knew that He could be trusted. For Ruby, the light still shone.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of meeting many people whose life circumstances looked dark and forbidding, but whose faith in God meant that they simply didn’t see it that way. I think of prisoners, people with disabilities, those who had been thrown out of their communities because of their Christian faith and others who, through no fault of their own, were facing financial ruin. In each of their lives, the light was shining. Humanly speaking, it was unrelieved darkness, but because of their faith in God, a brilliant light shone that nothing could extinguish.
This whole psalm is a wonderful description of the person who has centred their life on God. They are generous and kind and are able to live their life with confidence because of their faith. They don’t spend their time fearing bad news because “they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless” (Psalm 112:7-8). The psalmist doesn’t deny the reality of life’s problems and threats. He doesn’t for a moment suggest that there is no darkness in the world. His point is that the godly person is able to see the light shining whatever the circumstances, and who wouldn’t want to be like that?
Question
In whose life have you seen light shining in the darkness?
Prayer
Lord God, I thank You that Your light shines even in the darkest of situations. Amen