Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

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5 von 2003

December 6th - Revelation 2:14
Revelation 2:14 [The risen Lord said:] “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel.” These letters to the churches in Revelation are wonderfully straightforward and personal. The risen Lord didn’t beat around the bush! He identified that the Christians in Pergamum had much to commend them. They had been loyal to the Lord in the face of great opposition, but they weren’t perfect. They were living in a society that was full of idolatrous practices and they weren’t standing up against them in the way that they should have been. I wonder what the risen Lord makes of your church. What would he be commending, and what might his complaints be? Your church, good as it may well be, isn’t perfect. It has room for growth, and every church needs to be willing to hear the truth so that it can come up with a plan for its development. Over the years, I have been involved in a number of consultation processes to help churches to stand back from their life and hear how they could move forward. In my experience, this needs to be done with the help of people from outside the local church. Those who know a church really well can rarely make honest and objective observations. If a review is done in a loving and encouraging way, it can be rejuvenating for the life of a local church. Many of us are inclined to get settled into a pattern of life and become very defensive when someone suggests we should change. I recall a church which met at a very unusual time – I think it was 10:15am. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I found it curious, so I asked why. It was related to the time that the train arrived at the nearby railway station. Good answer, apart from the fact that the train hadn’t come at that time for about 30 years! We all need to listen to the truth, however sharp its edges. We need to be gracious enough to receive the words of encouragement but, at the same time, humble enough to hear how things need to be changed. Question What do you think the risen Lord would want to say to you today about your life and the life of your church? Prayer Loving God, thank you that you always speak to me with love and grace. Help me to be willing to listen to you and bring my life in line with your will. Amen
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3:34
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3:34
December 5th - Revelation 2:12-13
Revelation 2:12-13 This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword: “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me.” The city of Pergamum was famous for its commitment to emperor worship. It had three temples that were exclusively devoted to the Roman emperor. Although it didn’t have the long history and grandeur of Ephesus, Pergamum was the Roman capital of this region. It was here that the proconsul lived, who had the power of life and death. This was a supremely difficult place for Christians to live and worship, so the commendation from the risen Lord was all the more powerful. Even though Satan appeared to be in charge, they had remained loyal to the Lord. JRR Tolkien, the author of [itals]The Lord of the Rings[end itals], wrote: “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” It is easy to be loyal and faithful when times are good and the going is easy, but the test is what you do when night comes. The Lord looks for followers to be loyal whatever the circumstances, whatever the weather and however great the opposition. The Christians of Pergamum had stood the test and continued to be faithful. The most beautiful illustration of loyalty in the Bible is that of Ruth in the Old Testament. When her husband died, her mother-in-law, Naomi, encouraged her to go back to her family home in Moab, but Ruth steadfastly refused. Ruth was committed to Naomi, whatever happened. She said: “Wherever you go, I will go, wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried” (Ruth 1:16-17). Nothing would break her loyalty to her mother-in-law, and she stayed true to her word. Loyalty in all relationships is wonderful to see, but no loyalty is more important than our loyalty to the Lord. Question Why is loyalty so important? Prayer Loving God, thank you that you have always been faithful to me. Help me to always be faithful to you, however great the distractions and pressures of life. Amen
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3:26
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3:26
December 4th - Revelation 2:10
Revelation 2:10 The risen Lord said: “Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.” It’s hard for most of us to imagine living with the continual likelihood of persecution for our Christian faith. The harshest treatment we are likely to receive is being laughed at because of it. Just imagine what it would be like to live with the fear that at any time there might be a knock at the door from the secret police. For those of us who have never had such an experience, we need to be aware that there are millions of Christians in many parts of the world who live today with exactly that threat. Throughout the past 2,000 years, there has been a constant tide of persecution. The Lord told the church of Smyrna not to be afraid because there would be an amazing reward for their suffering. They would receive the crown of life. This wasn’t the crown of a king, but the trophy awarded to someone who was a champion in athletics – particularly apt in Smyrna, which was famous for its Games. Smyrna has a very special place in the history of persecution because of one particular martyr in the 2nd century. His name was Bishop Polycarp. He was required to curse the name of Christ and make a sacrifice to Caesar or face being burned to death. Even the proconsul appealed to him to avoid death, but Polycarp replied: “Eighty and six years have I served him and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” After offering a prayer, Polycarp was put to death. Such suffering is hard to hear about, but it needs to drive us to pray for those who are still being called to pay the ultimate price for their faith. Revelation makes it clear that God has the final word, and those who stand strong will receive the crown of life. Question What do today’s reflections say to us about the way we should live for God in this country? Prayer Lord God, I thank you for those Christians around the world today who are suffering so badly for their faith. Help me to stand strongly for you, whatever pressures I face. Amen
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3:27
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3:27
December 3rd - Revelation 2:8-9
Revelation 2:8-9 This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive: “I know about your suffering and your poverty – but you are rich!” These words introduce the letter to the church in Smyrna. There was no surprise that the first letter went to Ephesus – it was viewed as the most influential of the cities. However, Smyrna was a close rival. It was a busy commercial centre with its own well-protected port. It had been founded long ago as a Greek colony, but in about 600BC it was largely destroyed by an invading army. Hundreds of years later, it was reconstructed, and it became a finely planned city with broad straight avenues and pavements. It was truly a city that had come back to life, so it was more than appropriate that they received a message from the Lord who had passed from death to life. The Lord’s message was that he totally understood where they were coming from. He knew just how much they had suffered and how grindingly poor they were. The word used for suffering describes someone who is crushed under a heavy weight. The word used here to describe their poverty does not refer to having nothing extra, but having nothing at all. They were in a bad way, but the risen Lord assured them that he knew all about it, and he also knew that they were rich. They might not have had riches in worldly terms, but they had real wealth: the Holy Spirit and the blessing of faith. We are continually bombarded with images of human riches. Advertisers have a very clear idea of what it means to be rich, and it has to do with the latest technology, fast cars, grand property, expensive holidays and the like. None of these things are necessarily bad, but they have nothing to do with real wealth. The treasures that last are the ones which only the Lord can give to us, and the Christians of Smyrna needed to look beyond their suffering and poverty to see and enjoy their real wealth. Question In what ways do you consider yourself to be rich? Prayer Loving God, thank you that you know my situation completely and that you show me how to be really rich. Amen
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3:31
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3:31
December 2nd - Revelation 2:7
Revelation 2:7 [The risen Lord says:] “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.” All seven of the letters to the churches end with these words. They make it clear that the letters have been written not merely to them specifically but to anyone with the ability to listen. They are the words of the Spirit, words of life for anyone who will hear them. Tuning our ears into the voice of the Spirit is vital for all of us. The Holy Spirit is the source of life and wisdom, and without him we will never be able to discern God’s will. However, his voice is only one of the innumerable voices with which we are continually bombarded. Listening to the Spirit is an activity which will only take place when we deliberately give him our attention. Most people don’t listen with the intention of understanding, but of replying. We are all looking for the opportunity to share what matters to us and often have no real interest in what the other person has to say. True listening is when we give our full attention to the speaker with the intention of receiving openly and humbly whatever they have to say. The Holy Spirit’s words will always be full of truth. Listening to them will often be challenging and sometimes painful, but they will always bring us life. He does want to hear from us as well, and in our prayers we should certainly bring our concerns to him, but we also need to ensure that we are good at not speaking. He wants us to be quiet in his presence, and that’s where we so often fall down. Our prayers are so full of noise that there is no space for him to share his wisdom and truth. Mother Teresa once said: “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.” The advice that many of us may need to receive in prayer is to speak less and listen more so that we can truly hear what the Spirit is trying to say. Question How good are you at listening to the voice of the Spirit, and what could you do that would help you to listen more carefully? Prayer Holy Spirit, thank you for loving me so much that you want to speak with me. Help me to listen carefully to your voice today. Amen
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3:25
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3:25