Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

• November 23rd - Romans 15:23-24

  Romans 15:23-24 But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey. Paul’s love for the church in Rome is very clear, and he couldn’t wait to visit them. I love how he sets out his strategy so clearly. He was always looking to develop the mission of the Church, so, having paid them a visit, he then aimed to go to Spain to preach the gospel. In order to enable that mission to succeed, he would be looking to the Roman church to support him. These few verses give us an insight into Paul’s heart and his plans, but, as we all know, it didn’t work out in the way that he had hoped. His first task was to go to Jerusalem to take the money he had collected for the relief of the famine victims. He knew that it would be a potentially dangerous journey. His presence in Jerusalem was never going to be widely welcomed. He was arrested, and for the next few years, he was a prisoner. When he did finally arrive in Rome, it was under armed guard. We can learn so much from Paul. We should be inspired by his passionate mission heart and his careful planning, but we should also remember that things don’t always work out in the way that we plan. We need to be humble before God and recognise that even if things don’t work out in the way that we hope and plan, God is still God and his plans will triumph in the end. When things go in the opposite way from our plans, it can be deeply discouraging. We can feel that we have failed. In such times, we need to keep our eyes firmly fixed on the Lord, knowing that we are ultimately secure in his hands. Question How would you respond if your life plans suddenly changed? Prayer Loving Father, thank you that our lives are in your hands. Help us to have complete confidence in you, whether or not life works out in the way that we had expected. Amen

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• November 22nd - Romans 15:13

  Romans 15:13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Hope is a slippery word, so we need to be quite clear what Paul means by it. When we use the word ‘hope’, there is normally a ‘maybe’ in our voice – we are not confident. When I say “I hope it will be sunny tomorrow”, you know that I mean well and would love to think that it might be sunny, but I also realise that it might not be. Or if I say I hope the train will arrive on time, once again you know that I’m not absolutely sure it will. In order to understand Paul’s use of the word ‘hope’, we need to get rid of any suggestion of doubt, because he was absolutely confident that the future was secure in God’s hands. His future hope was built on the solid rock of Jesus’ death and resurrection. He didn’t have any trace of doubt that what God has promised would come true. The language of confident hope was so important for the Christians in Rome. Their daily life was a continual battle. They were few in number and surrounded by a sea of cynicism and opposition. Paul knew it was crucial that they should be inspired and strengthened by their hope in Christ. His language is amazing. He doesn’t merely say they should be full of hope as they lived for Christ – he goes much further by suggesting that they should overflow with hope! They wouldn’t merely have enough hope to keep them going, but have hope to spare to share with those around them. In our society, there are not many people who speak about hope as they look to the future. The normal language is one of threats and fears, but we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and in the power of the Spirit to overflow with his hope. Question Are you hopeful as you look to the future? Prayer Holy Spirit, I invite you to fill me to overflowing with hope as I live in your strength today. Amen

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• November 21st - Romans 15:5-6

  Romans 15:5-6 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You don’t need to be a genius to work out why Paul so often spoke about the issue of unity! He knew how hard it was to achieve. If the early Church had always enjoyed harmonious relationships, he could have kept quiet on the subject. His continual reiteration of the message of unity was because he knew that it was the demanding daily work of the Church – and it still is! It is often very small issues which cause huge disputes in churches. It’s just the same in marriage. When I’ve had the privilege of walking with couples who have encountered difficulties, almost always when I ask them to trace back to the original dispute, they fall about laughing at the absurd triviality of the issue. If a small disagreement is not resolved, it can soon turn into an agonisingly vast and unbridgeable chasm. The only way to live in complete harmony is by recognising that we cannot do it by ourselves. We need the God of patience and encouragement to accompany us. We need to commit our difficulties to him in fervent prayer so that we can find his Spirit’s way of resolving the situation. The outcome that we are looking for is united worship. When our eyes are fixed on the Lord and we can sing together with one voice, we will know that we have found true unity. Always remember that unity is fragile, so you and I need to make our contribution to unity if it is to flourish. Question In what way can you contribute to the unity of the Church today? Prayer Lord God, I thank you that you are the source of true unity. Thank you for your endless patience with me and your constant encouragement. Amen

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• 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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