Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Acts 9:3
As Saul neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
Saul was a deeply committed Jew and his mission was quite simply to destroy the Church. He was acting with the authority of the high priest in Jerusalem to search out any followers of Jesus and take them as prisoners. But suddenly everything changed as he travelled on the road to Damascus. A brilliant light flashed around him and he heard a voice asking: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (v 4). Saul was familiar enough with the scriptures to know that this must be God, and he asked: “Who are you, Lord?” The reply was not the one he wanted to hear. He was sure there was nothing in this new-fangled Jesus religion. How shocked he must have been to hear the voice saying: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
We know the rest. We know that this moment changed everything. Saul’s life was turned upside down and inside out. He would never be the same again, and neither would the Church. Most of us will never have had an experience quite like Saul’s. If you have, I am delighted for you and praise God for this blessing, but for most people, coming to faith in Christ is a slow and gradual process which often takes place over a number of years through spending time with Christians and learning more about God. Whether your experience has been sudden or gradual, meeting with God is a miracle, and we need to praise Him for it.
Question
How did you come to faith in Christ?
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you that You meet with me in all sorts of ways, and that You want to walk with me today. Amen

Acts 7:59-60
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen was one of the seven men who were appointed to handle the distribution of food to the widows. Chapter 7 reveals that he was also a very fine preacher. He delivered a careful exposition of Old Testament history, which showed that God had repeatedly raised up deliverers of His people and the Jews had systematically rejected them. Now, they had murdered the righteous one, Jesus Himself. The sermon did not go down well. Stephen’s Jewish audience was infuriated and shook their fists at him. They covered their ears, yelled at the top of their voices and rushed at him, dragging him out of the city where they stoned him to death. He was the first Christian martyr.
As he died, Stephen used words that remind us of what Jesus had said as He’d breathed His last. However, his words were interestingly different. Jesus had placed Himself in His Father’s hands, and now Stephen asked Jesus to receive his spirit. He clearly recognised that Jesus was God Himself. His final words were to ask the Lord not to charge his murderers with their sin. They were words of mercy and grace, which are further evidence of how wise and full of the Holy Spirit Stephen was.
Question
What do you learn from Stephen’s example?
Prayer
Lord God our Father, I pray today for those who risk their lives out of their love for You. Fill them with Your Spirit and give them the strength to face every challenge. Amen

Acts 6:1
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
From time to time, every human organisation will experience rumblings of discontent. They are simply a part of life; exhausting but inevitable. It isn’t open warfare, but it isn’t something that can be brushed to one side either. The problem on this occasion was a practical one, and it was clearly causing great unhappiness. The church in Jerusalem was composed of Jews from different backgrounds. Some of them had always lived in the Jerusalem area and spoke Hebrew or Aramaic, but there were others who were from neighbouring countries and largely spoke Greek. Some of the latter had come to live in Jerusalem towards the end of their lives and were far from their families, so they were particularly vulnerable.
The response of the apostles gives us a good model as to how to handle rumblings of discontent. Firstly, they acted quickly. So often, in my experience, people live with the hope that if they ignore a problem, it will go away. This very rarely happens. The action they took was to appoint seven people to oversee the distribution of the food, to ensure that fairness prevailed. The crucial qualifications that these people had was being full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit.
Question
Why is it so crucial that Church work should be done by people who are full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit?
Prayer
Lord God our Father, help me to be wise whenever I need to respond to rumblings of discontent. Fill me with Your Spirit as I serve You. Amen

Acts 5:38-39
Gamaliel said: “I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

The success of Peter and John’s healing and preaching ministry was deeply irritating to the Jewish authorities. They were anxious to silence the apostles, but nothing seemed to be working. They tried imprisoning them, but even that didn’t work, as the apostles miraculously managed to escape and carry on their preaching ministry in the temple. So, once again, they were hauled before the Jewish leaders.
Gamaliel was one of the most prominent rabbis of the time and was greatly respected by everyone. He suggested that it would be wise not to take action against the apostles for the simple reason that if the new movement was not of God, it would fizzle out anyway. The decision was to flog the apostles and let them go.
Wise Gamaliel got it right. It is impossible to stop God. Take China as an example. In 1960, there were about 1 million Christians in the country. During the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, thousands of Christians were imprisoned and subjected to humiliation, but the Church was merely driven underground, and since that time it has grown enormously. It’s impossible to know how many Christians there are in China today, but it is likely to be about 100 million! When God is at work it is impossible to stop Him, however hard people try.
Question
In what way do Gamaliel’s words encourage you?
Prayer
I praise You loving God that ultimately no one can stand in the way of Your plans. Amen

Acts 5:1-2
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
This is a chilling story. Ananias and Sapphira were not obliged to give all the money from their property sale to the apostles, but they made the false claim that they had done so. They lied. They conspired together to trick the apostles and the result was that, when confronted with their lies, they both, one after the other, dropped dead. Given that everything seemed to have been going so well for the infant Church, this must have been a shattering moment. No wonder Dr Luke concluded the story by saying that great fear gripped the Church and everyone else who heard what had happened.
Lying is always serious. Facing up to what we have done may be painful, but massaging the truth for our own convenience is always destructive. It undermines trust, and a relationship that is built on lies cannot possibly last long. Above all, we need to be truthful in our relationship with God. Nothing could possibly be more foolish than lying to Him, because He already knows the whole truth about us. However, amazingly, if we are willing to confess our sins, He is always willing to forgive us.
This chilling account of Ananias and Sapphira’s deaths doesn’t need to worry us if we stick to the truth. But if we don’t, then their story is a timely warning.
Question
Have you ever struggled to tell the truth?
Prayer
Lord God, I own up to the fact that I have sinned. Thank you that You are willing to set me free from my sins. Amen