Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

• November 20th - Romans 14:1

  Romans 14:1 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. In every generation, there are issues on which Christians disagree. This will always be the case – the question is what to do with those disputes, particularly in relation to young Christians. Paul offers very strong and practical advice. He is desperately concerned that such issues shouldn’t be a stumbling block to those who are younger and weaker in the faith. He encourages his readers to respect one another’s different opinions and not to make a big issue of it. The two areas of tension in the Roman Church concerned food and the celebration of special days. Those from a Jewish background had some very strict rules about their food and the Sabbath. They were absolutely convinced that they were right, and clearly had no willingness to negotiate. Paul said that what mattered was doing what they believed was right before the Lord. If someone ate a particular food and another person refrained from eating that food, what mattered was that they were both doing so for the Lord. Paul summarised the teaching by saying that we should let God do the judging and stop looking down on other people. He urged his readers to “live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall” (Romans 14:13). However wonderful your church might be, people will always have many different opinions on a whole range of subjects. What matters is that we never allow them to get in the way of our fellowship with one another. We should hold our convictions with strength and grace and, at the same time, accept with love and generosity the fact that our Christian brothers and sisters may hold views with which we fundamentally disagree. Question What issues divide people in your own church? Prayer Lord God, help me never to allow differences of opinion to obstruct fellowship with my Christian brothers and sisters. Amen.

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• November 19th - Romans 13:11-12

  Romans 13:11-12 You know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armour of right living. In this life, everything is limited by time. You might want to have another day to complete your revision, but when the examination day comes, there is no more time. You might have lots of worthy things to do, but the aeroplane won’t wait for you. You may be a great athlete and keen to do some more training, but when the starting pistol is fired, there is no more time. Paul wanted his readers to have a clear understanding that their time was fast running out, so they needed to be on their toes, ready to serve God here and now, and not put it off. It would seem that Paul, in common with most of the early Christians, was expecting Jesus to return at any moment. However, whether we die or the Lord returns before our death, our lives are very brief, and we need to ensure that every moment is devoted to serving him. Paul encouraged the Roman Christians to get rid of their old way of life with its selfishness and destructiveness. They needed to abandon it like a set of dirty clothes. This wasn’t an automatic process but something they had to choose, and it is interesting to see the number of times that Paul had to remind his readers of this. When you become a Christian, the Lord loves you so much that he wants you to change. That process of transformation can take many years, but as we accept the new suit of clothes, we find that it is like shining armour, equipping us to serve God however tough the opposition might be. The evil one will always be whispering in our ears that there is plenty of time, that we don’t need to hurry, but the Lord’s word to us is that the time is short and we need to live our Christian lives with a daily sense of urgency. Question What is God calling you to do today? Prayer Lord God, forgive me for those times when I am lazy and slow to follow you. Help me to live this day and every day with a sense of purpose and urgency. Amen

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• November 18th - Romans 13:1

  Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. Our society has a high level of cynicism towards those in authority, and the media takes every opportunity to shoot politicians down in flames whenever they slip up. However, the apostle Paul would encourage us to look at our politicians with spiritual eyes and to remember that all authority on this earth ultimately comes from God. Therefore, it is vital that we pray for those in authority and play our part as good citizens, obeying the laws of the land and showing our willingness to support the community. I can hear you asking a very big question: “What should we do if the governing authorities command us to do something that is contrary to God’s law?” Paul doesn’t address this issue and it might well be because, at this stage, he hadn’t encountered any particular difficulties. The Jews had a special status of protection within the Roman Empire and, in the earliest days of the Church, Christians were viewed as a variety of Jews, so they enjoyed similar protection. All of that changed in later years. What might Paul have said in those more challenging circumstances? The answer to questions like this is always to look at other parts of the Bible, and a fundamental principle was clearly established in the earliest days of the Church. When he was commanded to stop preaching about Jesus in Acts 5, Peter replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (Acts 5:29). How do we fit this together with Paul’s teaching? We must always respect the fact that our leaders’ authority comes ultimately from God, so we should be good citizens and obey them as fully as possible, knowing that they are answerable to God. However, when laws conflict with God’s law, we must obey God, because he is the one with ultimate authority. This presents many Christians in the world today with incredibly difficult dilemmas, because many governments are firmly opposed to Christianity. We need to pray that these brothers and sisters will be given great courage, grace, patience and strength as they live for God, and we need to be ready to defy the law ourselves if obedience to God’s law demands it. Question In what circumstances could you imagine yourself defying the law of the land? Prayer Lord God our Father, help us always to obey you, whatever the cost. Amen

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• November 17th - Romans 12:17-18

  Romans 12:17-18 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. The Christian life involves a complete rewiring of the way we think and live. It involves a total revolution in our lives because when someone does something evil to us, the natural reaction is to retaliate. Everything in us makes us want to hit back. We want justice and we don’t want our attacker to think that they can get away with it. Jesus’ way is different. He calls us never to take revenge but to leave that to God. Our job is to feed our enemies when they are hungry and to give them a drink when they are thirsty. We are to go out of our way to bless them and help them, and that is tough. That’s not the way we are naturally inclined to act, but it is the way of Christ and it is the way of peace. Paul wasn’t unrealistic. His life brought him into conflict with many people and he had no illusions that his teaching would be easy to live out. He was as aware as anyone that Christianity was out of step with Roman society and that as Christians lived out their daily lives, they would face challenges and difficulties. However, he urged his readers to do everything within their power to live at peace with other people. When attacked, they had to do everything they could to restore peace, but when peace couldn’t be achieved, they needed to pray for those who were attacking them and to act honourably. None of this is easy, but it is important to be aware that Paul was addressing this teaching to a community of Christian people. He knew that they would need one another’s strength, encouragement and prayers. We are never invited to follow Christ as heroic individuals but as part of the body of Christ, within which we are surrounded by Christian brothers and sisters who will love us and stand with us amid all the challenges of life. Question In what situations are you bringing the gift of peace at this time? Prayer Loving God, help me to bring your peace to those with whom I live and work today. Amen

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• November 16th - Romans 12:9-10

  Romans 12:9-10 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other. Napoleon once said: “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I founded empires; but upon what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love.” It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of love. Without love there can be no Church, no blessing, no joy, no future worth having. Everything depends upon love, and here, Paul was concerned that the Christians in Rome didn’t make do with a phoney love. He recognised that it is possible to pretend to love other people. We can do it by being superficial and merely polite with others, glancing over the surface of their lives without really engaging with them and their needs. What Paul longed for was for deep, compassionate, sacrificial love which would totally transform their lives together. It is interesting that Paul speaks about love and hatred so close together. The truth is that the person who loves also knows how to hate, because if you truly love another person, you will hate with a passion anything that causes them to be hurt or undermined. If they are the victim of injustice, you will be compelled to stand up for them and to defend their cause. Love will not allow you to sit comfortably and merely wish them well. Your love for them will force you to take action. Nothing that you and I can ever do will be more important than loving other people, and as we do so, we need to keep Jesus at the forefront of our thinking. Jesus is the only person who perfectly lived a life of love. The way he cared for people, reached out to the marginalised and was willing to offer even his own life for others needs to stand before us as the inspiration for our love. Love is never the easiest way, but it is always the best. Question Do you think you are ever guilty of merely pretending to love other people? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you have shown us perfectly what it means to love. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and enable us to love in the way that you did. Amen

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