Be Still And Know

READ: Isaiah 56.6 NLT “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord, who serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fast to my covenant.” In the Old Testament, God’s people were often told to be welcoming to foreigners. God’s love was not confined to the Jews and they were reminded that, as a nation, they used to be foreigners in Egypt so it was only right that they should be generous and loving towards foreigners. The people of Israel had spent four hundred years in Egypt so there was nothing that they didn’t know about the vulnerabilities and insecurities of being foreigners. The celebration of the Passover was a continual reminder of their roots in Egypt. We live in a wonderfully diverse country which, over the centuries, has welcomed people from many nations. This continues to be the case and every year we welcome many thousands of people. Some of them come to us as refugees and asylum seekers because of the dangers in th

READ: Isaiah 56.1-2 NLT 'Be just and fair to all. Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you and to display my righteousness among you. Blessed are all those who are careful to do this.' Justice is a major theme throughout the book of Isaiah. From the first chapter, God declares his hatred of every form of injustice and his unwillingness to receive the worship of people who refuse to act justly. God declares that he has had more than enough of the people’s sacrifices and is burdened by their religious festivals. It’s vital that we realise that fighting for justice is not an optional extra for Christians but integral to our worship. Or to use the blunt language of Isaiah 1.15-17 if we don’t live justly then God won’t listen to our prayers. I wonder how well you know the community where you live and whether you can identify where injustice is taking place. I say that because most forms of injustice are hidden. They can happen in busy cities and quiet villages. The only way to know what is

READ: Isaiah 55.10-11 NLT 'The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.' There is something about me that you need to know, and that is that I am incredibly excited writing these daily devotionals. Believe me, that’s got nothing to do with my abilities as a writer but everything to do with the fact that God’s word is powerful. So being asked to encourage people to read, enjoy and live by God’s word is as exciting as life can get. Every day, thousands of people read and listen to these words and I have very little idea of what the impact will be. However, what is certain is that God’s word is challenging, changing and encouraging people’s lives. We are completely dependent on water. There can be no life without it. Therefore, when it

READ: Isaiah 55.8-9 NLT “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Life is full of mysteries. Every day tragedies occur and people scream out to God that life is not fair. As we reach out to others in their times of loss we would love to be able to offer an explanation, but we cannot. The problem of suffering has challenged humankind since the dawn of time and will continue to do so. But the mysteries of life are not only at that end of the spectrum, because the wonders of life are just as mysterious. How can you explain the beauty of a flower, or the wonder of a sunset, or the majesty of the night sky? All these things are beyond our ability to understand. However, we worship a God whose understanding is infinite and whose love knows no limits. How should we respond to the knowledge that God is infinit

READ: Isaiah 55.1-2 NLT 'Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink – even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk – it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.' Much of Isaiah’s prophecy is dominated by the theme of judgement. The people had wandered away from God and had lived lives that were a complete disappointment to him. They had worshipped other gods and had neglected to care for the poor and needy. But, through it all, God’s deep desire was to bring the people back to himself, and so he promised to send his servant to bring them salvation. In today’s reading God’s incredible offer is spelt out. He alone was able to satisfy their deepest need and he was willing to give them everything they needed freely. The offer today is just the same. God sent his servant to us in the person of Jesus Christ and he offers his gift of forgiveness and new li

READ: Acts 7.59-60 NLT As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died. Stephen was one of the seven people 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 the Old Testament story which showed that God had repeatedly raised up men to act as deliverers of his people, and the Jews had systematically rejected them. And now they had murdered the Righteous one, Jesus himself. The sermon did not go down well. His 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 what Jesus had said as he breathed his last, but his words were interestingly different. Jesus ha

READ: Acts 6.1 NLT 'But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.' If you have ever been part of a church or other human organisation you will know exactly what is meant by rumblings of discontent! They are part of life and are exhausting. It isn’t open war, but it isn’t something that can be brushed to one side either. The problem on this occasion was a practical one but 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 had lived in neighbouring countries and largely spoke Greek. Some of the latter had come to live in Jerusalem at the end of their lives and were far from their families and so were particularly vulnerable. The response of the

READ: Acts 5.38-39 NLT Gamaliel said, “My advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even 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 them 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 who had become so furious that many of them wanted to put Peter and John to death. Rabban Gamaliel suggested a different approach. Gamaliel was one of the most prominent rabbis of the time and was greatly respected by everyone. He was the apostle Paul’s rabbi and was so revered that he had the title rabban which literally means

READ: Acts 5.1-2 NLT 'But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.' 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. There’s no getting away from it. 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 convenience is always destructive. It undermines trust and a r

READ: Acts 4.29-30 NLT “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Having been ordered to keep quiet by the Jewish council, Peter and John returned to their Christian friends to update them. Their response was to pray, and what a beautiful prayer it is. You would have understood if they had asked God to sort out their opponents, but they didn’t. They simply asked God for more boldness so that they could continue their ministry and they prayed for yet more miraculous signs and wonders. The pressure of the authorities wasn’t going to silence them for a moment. I have had the privilege of meeting with a number of Christians who have suffered greatly for their faith. During the communist era I remember speaking with a Romanian Christian leader who had been repeatedly threatened by the secret police. We knew that we were be

READ: Acts 4.18-20 NLT The council of the Jews called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” The miraculous healing of the lame man attracted great attention and so Peter found himself with a further opportunity to speak to the crowd. He explained that the healing had been done in the name of Jesus pointing out that they had “killed the author of life but God raised him from the dead”. This was too much for the Jewish authorities who were desperate to find a way to shut him up. Peter responded by making it clear that if it was a choice between obeying the Jewish council or God, he would choose God. Nothing would be able to stop him from witnessing about his faith in Jesus. It is worth stopping for a moment and reminding ourselves that this bold, confident speaker is the Peter who only a few weeks before had den

READ: Acts 3.4-6 NLT Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” At 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Peter and John went up to the Temple for the service at which one of the daily sacrifices was made. As they walked through one of the city gates they met a beggar who was strategically placed to receive people’s money as they came to worship. Beggars knew that worshippers often gave them gifts and so the man looked at the apostles expectantly. Peter told him that he didn’t have any money but in the name of Jesus he healed the man. With these few words Peter made it plain that what he was doing was continuing the ministry of Jesus who, only a few weeks before, had walked through these same streets. Nearly 2,000 years have passed but it is still our privilege to continue the ministry

READ: Acts 2.46-47 NLT 'They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.' What amazing days these were! The believers were seeing astonishing things happen and, not surprisingly, their numbers were growing day by day. It was an exceptional period in every way, and they had the added advantage that everyone spoke well of them. In the days to come the church would often be reviled, rejected and persecuted by other people so this was a time of great favour. And amidst all the excitement and encouragement the believers maintained their regular rhythm of prayer and worship. In these early years of the church the Jewish Christians continued to worship in the Temple and to maintain their Jewish identity. Alongside their Jewish acts of worship, they met regularly with the other follo

READ: Acts 2.43-45 NLT 'A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.' In his Pentecost day sermon Peter referred to the fact that in his earthly life Jesus did “powerful miracles, wonders and signs” (verse 22). Now the apostles, empowered by the Holy Spirit, are able to continue Jesus’ ministry as they performed miraculous signs and wonders. It was an amazing time and it’s no wonder that there was a deep sense of awe as people saw God working in power. At the same time the fledgling Christian community adopted a new way of looking at their possessions. They shared all that they owned in order to be able to support one another. This was all done voluntarily and shows the depth of commitment that they had for one another. It has never been a rule that Christians must pool all their money, pro

READ: Acts 2.41-42 NLT 'Those who believed what Peter said were baptised and added to the church that day— about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.' I love the fact that this earliest description of the church is so similar to what we do today. The world looks completely different in almost every respect, but Christians continue to be nourished in the same way. Teaching was at the heart of their life together. We need to remember that it was decades before any part of the New Testament was written, and so teachers had a crucially important role in the early church. We have the privilege of easy access to the New Testament and innumerable books of Christian teaching, but we still need gifted teachers to help us to understand the Bible and to apply it to our lives. The New Testament knows nothing of solitary Christianity. Christians belong to one another and are sustained by mutual

READ: Acts 2.38 NLT Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” I was very fond of my first satnav. It became a great friend to me and I knew that I could completely trust its wise directions. On one occasion I was taking a group of friends to a railway station at the end of a conference. I spoke movingly to them about the excellence of my satnav and the help that it had been to me. We weren’t far away from the station when my passengers expressed some surprise at the route we had taken. There was grass growing up the middle of the road and it certainly didn’t look ideal. And then, to my horror, the road came to an abrupt halt. It was a dead end! The only way to remedy the situation was to turn around and retrace our steps, and I had to admit that my wonderful satnav was, after all, not infallible. There are times when the only way to correct a situati

READ: Acts 2.36-37 NLT “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” In his Pentecost sermon Peter had carefully explained to his Jewish audience that what had happened had all been in fulfilment of God’s plans. He had been very respectful of their patriarch King David, but in all his greatness David had not risen from death, unlike Jesus the Messiah whom they had had a hand in crucifying. Peter’s challenge pierces them to the heart and they want to know what to do in response. I wonder whether you can think of a moment when you were pierced to the heart. It’s an agonising moment when you know that you cannot avoid the challenge that has been put to you. It reminds me of the time when King David was confronted by the prophet Nathan. David was feeling so pleased with himself. He believed his adultery with Bathsheba would

READ: Acts 2.17-18 NLT ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy.’ Peter responds to the suggestion that Jesus’ followers were drunk by making the practical observation that it was far too early in the morning for anything like that! He then goes on to point out that Joel, in the 9th Century BC, had prophesied that in the last days the Spirit would be poured out upon everyone in exactly this way. In Old Testament times we often see the Spirit coming upon people but it was always to the prophets, priests and kings. In this new era of the Spirit it would be fundamentally different. The leaders of the church would continue to play a crucial role but now the doors were flung open to everyone to receive the Spirit and to hear God speak with them. We are still living in t

READ: Acts 2 11-13 NLT “We all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!” I love the carefulness of Dr Luke’s account of the day of Pentecost. He is giving us only a very brief summary of what actually happened on that amazing day, but he doesn’t miss out the fact that many people struggled to work out what on earth was going on! For us it is absolutely clear what a significant day it was, but for many people at the time it was thoroughly perplexing. Some asked genuine questions, and Peter is just about to give them a very full explanation. But other people concluded that the bizarre events could only be explained by alcohol. When God works in your life in a big way there will always be a variety of responses. Perhaps you have felt led to be confirmed or baptised, or to change your job in obedience t

READ: Acts 2.5-7 NLT At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. The arrival of the Holy Spirit caused a stir in Jerusalem. The city was packed with Jewish pilgrims from a huge area and they were eager to find out what was going on. What amazed them was that they were hearing God’s name being praised in their own languages. Dr Luke provides us with a fascinating list of where the pilgrims had come from. To use their modern names they had come from, amongst other places, Rome, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and other parts of North Africa. What a perfect moment for the Holy Spirit to be given. By the end of the day thousands of people would have heard the good news of Jesus for the first time. They were able to take the message back home and start drawing together Christian