Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4
Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.
From this bold introduction to Paul’s second letter to the church in Thessalonica, you might have thought that they were perfect, but they weren’t! As the letter progresses, he addresses a number of issues. They had got confused about the timing of the Lord’s return and many of them had become lazy, using the excuse that there was no point in getting a job if the Lord might come back at any moment. They were far from perfect, but there was still much to celebrate, and Paul did so with confidence. Their faith was deepening, their love for one another was growing and the way in which they were standing up to persecution was impressive.
It's so easy for us to focus on the failings of other people. Because churches are made up of sinners, we shouldn’t be surprised that there is often misunderstanding, tension and difficulty among Christians. Sad as that is, it is an inevitable part of living in a broken world. We must be careful not to focus our attention on the negatives. We need to encourage one another and so, amid the disappointments, we should look carefully for those things that we can praise and celebrate in one another.
Paul was clearly convinced that encouragement was the right approach. I think the most stunning illustration of this is found in his opening words to the church in Corinth. In his first letter he reveals such a long list of their failures that it might feel as if they got absolutely nothing right. Their worship was chaotic; they were divided; they totally misunderstood and mishandled spiritual gifts; and to cap it all they had a case of incest in the church which they hadn’t addressed. It was a very gloomy situation, but Paul began the letter by saying: “I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you” (1 Corinthians 1:4). What a wonderful attitude! When we are feeling glum and depressed about the failures of our fellow Christians, we would do well to remember Paul’s example.
Question
In what ways would you praise the members of your church?
Prayer
Lord God, thank You for the blessing of belonging to Your Church. Help me to celebrate the qualities of my Christian brothers and sisters and to forgive their shortcomings. Amen

Proverbs 16:32
Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.
It’s good for us to ask the question: “What matters most in life?” Time and again, the book of Proverbs helps us to think this through. Many people would assume that it is good to have control of people and even whole communities. Some would want to be a powerful politician or the head of a major company. To be in charge of a whole city might seem like an amazing and very desirable achievement, but the writer observes that it is far more important to have patience and self-control than to have great power and influence. He is talking about what the New Testament describes as the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible never suggests that it is wrong to have wealth or power. If either have come your way, you should give thanks to God for them. What matters is that we put them in their proper place. They are nowhere near as important as living for God with the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control which He gives to all those who walk in His ways. Money and power come and go. They are temporary. But the fruit of the Spirit is of a completely different nature, being as eternal and indestructible as God Himself.
As ever, the focus of the book of Proverbs is on helping the reader to live life to the full. The writer’s many severe words of warning are always with the intention of helping the reader to avoid pitfalls and disaster. He sees living for God as the most exciting and desirable way of life which brings blessing to us and all those around us. Choosing God’s way is often not the easiest path, but it’s always the best.
Question
Be honest. What matters most to you in your life?
Prayer
Thank You Lord that You love us so much that You share the unvarnished truth with us. Help us to seek the fruit of Your Holy Spirit before anything else. Amen

Proverbs 13:11
Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.
Work is often spoken about negatively. It is seen as something that gets in the way of the really exciting things of life. It needs to be avoided, and if that can’t be achieved, one should aim to retire as early as possible. This thinking is in complete contrast with Proverbs, where work is seen as something inherently good. It is worklessness and laziness which are to be avoided at all costs.
It is interesting that the writer of Proverbs refers to get-rich-quick schemes. This all sounds very modern, but throughout history people have wanted to find short cuts to wealth. There’s nothing new about laziness! God wants us to work hard because it not only provides for our needs and the needs of other people but also enables us to bless others with the gifts that God has given us. We have all been given the ability to enhance the lives of people around us, and God looks to us to work hard at doing so. The apostle Paul wrote: “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9).
Over the years, I have been particularly blessed by the way I have seen retired people working hard for God. At a time when they had no pressure upon them to earn money, they wanted to make sure they were still being productive for God. I have been inspired by their example. Working hard is good at any time of life, but it needs to be added that working too hard is never what God intends. Overwork causes tension and pressure that is never God’s desire. Whatever our age, we need to find a balance between the work that God calls us to do and times of leisure and refreshment which allow us to continue to serve Him with confidence and enthusiasm.
Question
How well are you balancing your work and leisure?
Prayer
Loving God, thank You for the blessing of work. I pray Your blessing on those who struggle to find work, or who find their work difficult. Amen

Proverbs 12:15-16
Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others. A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.
The language of Proverbs is very black and white. The writer refers to wise people and does everything he can think of to illustrate how wonderful it is to live in this way. It’s a life of happiness, prosperity and peace and is marked by humility, grace and generosity. It stands in complete contrast to the fool, whose way of life is miserable, poor and full of conflict. We all lurch between these two extremes. We can see the huge blessings of being wise but have to admit that we are still capable of foolishness at times. The value of Proverbs is that it gives us some clear practical pointers on how to live wisely.
These verses give us two pieces of valuable advice. Firstly, we must listen to others with care because this allows us to be blessed by their experience and wisdom. I am delighted that mentoring has become so popular in recent years, and I find it an enriching part of my own life both as a mentor and mentee. However confident you may be about a course of action, you need to check your thinking with others.
Secondly, we need to stay calm when we are insulted, which is incredibly tough. If someone is rude to us, the instinct is to hit back immediately for self-preservation, but it is wiser to keep calm and respond in a measured way when we have had time to think things through. A quick-tempered outburst is bound to make things worse. I’m so glad that we can read this wise advice through the perspective of the New Testament, knowing that God has given us His Holy Spirit to strengthen us and give us His wisdom amid the rough and tumble of life.
Question
In what way do you need the Holy Spirit to help you to be wise in your relationships with others?
Prayer
Lord God, pour out Your Holy Spirit upon me so that I will become increasingly wise and gracious each day. Amen

Mark 16:6-7
The angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”
Long ago, an old man told me about an experience he’d had as a teenager during the first world war. Many of the young men from his village had gone off to fight in France. Some families received the terrible news that their sons had been killed, but one family heard that their son was “missing believed killed”. Everyone encouraged them to believe their boy would be found, but as weeks turned to months, all hope was lost. Then, much later, at the end of the war, my friend was cycling into his village and saw that a huge crowd had gathered. Such a thing was unheard of in that sleepy community. In the centre of the crowd was the mother of the missing soldier. She was dancing and shouting “he’s alive” as she held above her a telegram informing her that her son had been taken prisoner and would soon be returning home.
Just imagine the joy of that mother and the celebrations that followed, then multiply it by 1,000 to understand some small part of the amazement of the women who found the empty tomb on Easter morning. They had actually witnessed Jesus being killed. They knew that the Romans were professional killers. They had no doubt that Jesus was dead, but the angel told them to completely change their thinking. Jesus had conquered death and was alive. This staggering news changed everything. The world would never be the same again.
My greatest fear when we talk about the resurrection is that we can get used to it. Many of us have heard about it since we were children, but we need to allow it to shock us and amaze us as if we were hearing about it for the first time. Our hope for the future is totally founded upon the fact that Jesus rose from death. As John Stott wrote: “Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The concept of the resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed.”
As Christians, we are a resurrection people. And that should fill us with joy, peace and hope not just at Easter but every day.
Question
How has the resurrection of Jesus impacted your life?
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, I praise You because You are the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen