Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Acts 11:2-3
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticised him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

Criticism always stings. It must have been so hard for Peter to face a barrage of criticism when he returned home to Jerusalem. God had given him a vision and opened his eyes to a new world in which He wanted to welcome everyone to Himself, whether or not they were Jews. How discouraging it must have been to face up to his critics, but we can learn a lot from the way that he did so.
Peter would have fully understood where his critics were coming from because, before his recent revelation, he would have been saying exactly the same things himself. So he patiently went through his testimony. Peter’s hearers in Jerusalem were silenced by his story and offered no further objections. Instead, they praised God and acknowledged that he was now willing to accept even the Gentiles.
It's never pleasant being criticised, but the best response is to do exactly what Peter did. He gave a calm and thoughtful account of his experiences, explaining how he had come to his conclusion. His moving testimony soon won over his critics. It is always a bad response to be defensive and, worst of all, to be rude. We all need to pray for the wisdom, strength and grace to handle all criticisms, however sharp they may be. In that way, God is honoured and people are built up.
Question
What have you learned from this story about how you could handle criticism in the future?
Prayer
Lord, please give me Your wisdom so that I may always respond to criticism with love, thoughtfulness and grace. Amen

Acts 10:44-45
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.
This has often been described as the Gentile Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in Jerusalem, it was on the occasion of a major Jewish festival. But Jesus made it clear that the good news belonged to the whole world, so it was necessary for it to be firmly established that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon non-Jews. That’s exactly what happened here, to the great astonishment of the Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter. Peter had already learned that God has no favourites and that the doors had been flung open to non-Jews. However, there were many Jews who still struggled to believe that God would do such a thing.
The book of Acts tells us how the good news of Jesus moved from its Jewish beginnings in Jerusalem all the way to Rome at the heart of the mighty Roman empire. It wasn’t a simple or straightforward journey, but ultimately nothing could stop the progress of the gospel because it belonged to the whole world. As we meet people today, we need to remind ourselves that the good news is God’s message of love to everyone. His desire is to pour out His Holy Spirit on everyone.
Question
What would it look like if God poured out His Spirit on the people you meet today?
Prayer
Lord God, I open my heart to Your Holy Spirit. Give me your wisdom and strength as I live for You today. Amen

Acts 10:34-36
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”
This might not sound revolutionary, but we need to understand that Peter’s world had just been turned upside down. He had been brought up with the Old Testament idea that it was only the people of Israel whom God had chosen to be a special people. The Jews had been given very clear rules about what they should and shouldn’t eat. However, Peter had just had a vision in which he had been told to do the unthinkable. He’d seen a large sheet containing all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles and birds and had been told to eat any of them. His response was exactly the right one for any Jew: he said no. But then the voice said to him, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and then the penny dropped. God was telling him that the good of news of Jesus was no longer limited to the Jews. The doors had been flung open to the world.
The Christian Church must always have its doors open to everyone. That’s what Jesus came to do. The moment we confine it to a narrow group of people, we have fundamentally missed the point.
Question
Is your church welcoming to every kind of person? If not, what could you do to make it so?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you that Your arms are always open to everyone. Amen

Acts 10:1-2
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.
Cornelius is a fascinating character. He wasn’t a Jew and neither was he a follower of Jesus. He was a God-fearer, and the most positive things are said about him. He was generous, prayerful and willing that God should use him on this crucial mission to meet up with Peter (v5). Peter was a faithful Jew and struggled to imagine that God could work outside the Jewish nation. Cornelius was going to be the means of helping Peter to see God’s greater plans.
It’s interesting that centurions occur on a number of occasions during Jesus’ ministry. It was the centurion on duty for Jesus’ crucifixion who concluded: “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54).
When I was young, I got the impression that there were two kinds of people: people who loved God and others who hated Him. But it’s not as simple as that. The Bible introduces us to many people who were not signed-up believers, yet in whose lives God was powerfully at work. Let’s give thanks that God is at work in the lives of many people who know nothing of the Bible or Jesus. We will definitely want to share with them the good news of Jesus, but we shouldn’t be surprised when we find that God is already working in their lives.
Question
Can you think of anyone you know who is not yet a Christian, but in whose life God is clearly at work?
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you that You are at work in so many people’s lives. Amen

Psalm 127:1
Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
The psalmist isn’t merely talking about house building in this famous psalm. He is talking about everything we build – a life, relationship, family, organisation, city or society. There is no point in building anything without God, because it is bound to fail. Throughout the Bible we are introduced to people who tried to go it alone. Adam and Eve are the supreme examples, but they were in fact merely setting the pace for a succession of people who felt they knew better than God and who tried to build their lives without Him.
Jesus’ teaching about the vine is very similar to this verse. He concludes “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We simply weren’t created by God to act independently of Him. It doesn’t work.
This psalm is entitled a psalm of Solomon, and he was supremely a builder. He had the privilege of building the awesome temple in Jerusalem and, at first, things went well. However, he didn’t remain faithful to God and was particularly disobedient in his sex life. God had warned him that he shouldn’t marry foreign wives because they might turn his heart away from God, and that’s exactly what happened, with disastrous consequences for him and the kingdom.
The point is clear. We need to make sure we invite God to be the builder of our lives from day one, and then make sure that we keep close to Him as we continue to build.
Question
What does Solomon’s life teach you?
Prayer
Loving Father, thank you that You love me so much that You want to bless every part of my life. Amen