Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

• November 27th - Revelation 1:9

  Revelation 1:9 I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. Unfortunately, we cannot be sure who this John was. Some people have thought of him as the disciple who wrote the fourth gospel, but that is unlikely. The writing style in Revelation is very different from that of the gospel. However, what we do know is that he was clearly a significant Christian leader and, as a result of his ministry, he had been forced into exile in Patmos, a Greek island that lies off the coast of Turkey. He had probably been sentenced to work in the quarries on the island. John revealed himself both as a brother to his readers and also as a partner in their suffering. He was not writing this book from an ivory tower but standing among them, recognising that they were part of the same family and going through similar trials. In short, he understood their situation. He was encouraging them to stand firm to endure, knowing full well how demanding and costly that was. It’s always an incredible blessing when we meet people who understand us because they have had similar experiences. I had a knee replacement a little while ago, and it was so comforting to meet people who’d had the same operation. I need to add that I was also very grateful for the kindness and consideration of people who had perfect knees and never needed such an operation! Shared experience is inevitably powerful, and I am sure you will remember times of change, illness or bereavement when someone else’s experience brought instant support and encouragement. The book of Revelation is remarkable in many ways but, as you read through it, it is important to remember that it came from someone who was coming alongside his readers as a brother and friend in order to encourage and strengthen them. Question Who has given you encouragement as you have gone through difficult times? Prayer Lord God, I thank you for those wonderful people who have given me support and encouragement when I’ve been struggling with life’s challenges. Amen

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• November 26th - Revelation 1:8

  Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come – the Almighty One.” Everybody is interested in the future, and the book of Revelation is designed to help us as we prepare ourselves for it. If you were looking for a map or a timetable of events, you will be sadly disappointed. What the book gives us is a vision of God, who is so powerful that however great and fierce the opposition, he will be victorious. The book of Revelation is intended not to scare us or tantalise us but to give us confidence in our God, who has the whole of history in his hands. Our verse today beautifully describes how history is embraced by God. Using the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, God is described as being the Alpha and the Omega. He was there before the dawn of creation, and he will have the final word. He is described here as the Almighty, a description that is used nine times in this book, and only once in the rest of the New Testament. Writing at a time when the Church was experiencing desperate persecution, John wanted to make it clear that all power and might was in God’s hands. His readers could place their lives in his hands with confidence. Our society today is racked with fear as it looks to the future. There are multiple layers of fear ranging from climate change, social unrest and economic uncertainty to anxiety about pandemics and the possibility of nuclear war. This world is a precarious place and so it is all the more important that we put our faith and trust in a God who has the whole of history in his hands. Question Do you feel fearful or confident as you look to the future? Prayer Lord God, I worship you because you are the Alpha and Omega. Thank you for the confidence and peace that I can have as I look to the future. Amen

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• November 25th - Romans 16:3-5

  Romans 16:3-5 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home. This final chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans contains greetings to a number of specific people. It gives us a fascinating window into the early Church. We find that the Roman church was incredibly diverse in terms of race, social rank and gender. We can see in the following verses that it was composed of people from both Jewish and Gentile backgrounds. Some of the people have names that were common among slaves, but alongside them we meet people like Aristobulus who, many scholars suggest, was the grandson of Herod the Great and friend of the Emperor Claudius. Particularly notable is the fact that of the 26 people named, nine of them were women. It’s also interesting to note that six of these women are described in terms of their ministry, whereas only three of the men are described in this way, and two of the men ministered alongside their female partners. These verses reveal how generously inclusive the early Church was. Paul’s conviction was that in Christ, all human divisions came crashing to the ground. In Galatians 3:28, he wrote: “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Our society, like Paul’s, is full of divisions between people. We erect walls along lines of age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, wealth, health and education, to name but a few. When we become Christians, we don’t suddenly lose an awareness of these distinctions because they are so hard-wired into the thinking and life of our society, but when we join Christ’s Church, we come into a transformed community. This is no easy task but, in the power of the Holy Spirit, it is miraculously possible. Question Is your church truly welcoming to every kind of person? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, thank you the miracle of your Church. Help me to reflect your love and welcome to every kind of person. Amen

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• November 24th - Romans 15:30

  Romans 15:30 Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. It is an incredible privilege to belong to the Christian family. As soon as you become a Christian, you have brothers and sisters who are part of your new worldwide and eternal family. I treasure that moment recorded in Acts 9:17 when Ananias went to meet Saul after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. Ananias knew of Saul’s violent reputation and he was clearly surprised at the news that he had met the Lord, but we read that Ananias went into the house where Saul was staying, placed his hands on him and said: “Brother Saul.” What a miracle! In today’s verse, Paul speaks of how his brothers and sisters could join him in his struggle. There is no doubt of their love and respect for Paul, and I am sure that they were eager to do whatever they could to support him. Paul told them that the way to do so was through prayer motivated by the love for him that the Holy Spirit had given them. When we see someone struggling, we want to do something practical to help them, but often the greatest support that we can give is in prayer. There are many Christians struggling today. Millions of believers live in countries where the government is opposed to Christianity, and life is a continual challenge for them. I am sure that there are also Christians in your own community who are struggling. Perhaps their struggle is with health issues, or the care of relatives, or relationship difficulties, or challenges at work, or problems in their church. We won’t need to look far to find people who are struggling, and I pray that because of the love that the Holy Spirit has put in our hearts, we will commit ourselves to praying for them. Question Who do you know who is struggling at the moment? Take some time to pray for them right now. Prayer Lord God, I pray for those I know who are struggling at this time. Please show me how I can bring them your love and encouragement. Amen

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• 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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