Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

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RELIGIÃO E ESPIRITUALIDADE
DIÁRIO

Bring some Spirit-filled peace into your hectic schedule every weekday morning with this new Daily Devotional.

HÁ 11 H

March 12th - 1 Peter 2:21

1 Peter 2:21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. I’ve known many wonderful people, and I am sure you have as well. I have only to think of words such as kindness, graciousness, love, thoughtfulness, joy, integrity, hospitality and hope, to be reminded of people who have reflected those qualities to me in a very special way. They weren’t perfect, but I saw something that was beautiful in their lives and my life has been enormously enriched through knowing them. It’s good to follow the example of other Christians and, on a number of occasions, the apostle Paul encouraged his readers to follow his example. But we need to remember that the supreme example that we need to follow is of Jesus himself. Jesus was unlike anyone else who has ever lived, because he was perfect. We are called to be disciples and that means deliberately looking at Jesus’ teaching and his way of life and allowing them to shape the way in which we live. There is an ancient Jewish blessing which says: “May you be covered by the dust of your rabbi.” That is to say, may you walk so closely behind your rabbi that the dust from his feet will fall upon you. Jesus is our rabbi and if we walk at a great distance from him, the dust from his feet will never fall on us. We need to organise our lives so that, day by day, his wisdom, love and joy influence everything that we do. Peter knew that his readers were going to face great difficulties in the future and that they needed to look at Jesus’ example because he stayed true to his Father, even when he faced the most terrible suffering. Whatever we face in the coming days we cannot do better than deliberately follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Question What will it mean for you to follow in the footsteps of Jesus today? Prayer Lord Jesus, help me to love you more dearly and follow you more nearly today. Amen

3min
HÁ 1 DIA

March 11th - 1 Peter 2:18

1 Peter 2:18 You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. Everything about slavery is horrifying. The idea that someone could own another human being sounds barbaric, and so it is difficult for us to handle a verse like this. Context is so important. At the time of the early Church, slavery was extremely common. About 20 per cent of the population were slaves and there was never any serious thought that the institution should be dismantled. It’s also important to realise that under Roman law, slavery was heavily regulated. Slaves received very low wages but they lived with the hope that one day they might be able to purchase their freedom. Slavery at any time is an odious idea, but clearly the experience was nowhere near as hellish or dehumanising as it became during the centuries of the transatlantic slave trade. It has been suggested that a better translation of the word slave could be servant, or even employee. Suddenly this verse has something to say to our own day. We should show respect to our employers, and we should do so because, ultimately, all authority derives from God. This means that we should be respectful of them, even when they are wrong. This is tough talk, but Peter knows that such an attitude is far more likely to commend the Christian faith than retaliation. Peter strengthens his argument by reminding his readers that even though Jesus was terribly mistreated he didn’t fight back. He could easily have commanded a legion of angels to destroy his oppressors, but he didn’t. Tough as it undoubtedly is to suffer ill treatment, we need to learn from Jesus and walk in his steps. Question How would you respond if your employer treated you in a cruel way? Prayer Loving Father, give me your strength to live in a way that pleases you, even when it’s really hard to do so. Amen

3min
HÁ 2 DIAS

March 10th - 1 Peter 2:16

1 Peter 2:16 You are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. On the face of it this verse doesn’t seem to make much sense. Surely freedom means that you can do whatever you like? All constraints have been thrown off and you can do exactly what pleases you. But it doesn’t take long to realise that this kind of freedom would be a horrific experience. If you were able to do whatever you wanted, then you would have a licence to dominate everyone else and to destroy whatever you liked. Freedom ruled by our own selfishness would be nothing less than hell on earth. The New Testament introduces us to the concept of true freedom, and that can only be found by being slaves to God’s will. By finding his perfect will for us we are set free to be everything that God intended us to be. When we get to heaven God will not ask us: “Why weren’t you like Abraham, Moses, David or the apostles?” He will look to us to be everything that we were created to be, which will be very different from everyone else. A fish would not be free if it were taken out of the sea, and an eagle would not be free if it were not allowed to fly in the sky. By the same token, we are not free until we learn what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. All the time we allow the world to rule our values, thinking and expectations we will be chained and completely unfree. However, as we live in step with the Spirit, his fruit will flow from our lives and we will not only experience freedom for ourselves, but also naturally encourage others to find that same freedom for themselves. Question Are you free? Prayer Loving Father, thank you that you not only call me to a life of freedom but also fill me with your Spirit to enable me to live freely. Amen

3min
HÁ 3 DIAS

March 9th - 1 Peter 2:12

1 Peter 2:12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when he judges the world. Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher, once said “the unconsidered life is not worth living”. Peter would have agreed with him, because he knew that it was crucially important for Christians to think very carefully about their way of life. It wasn’t good enough for them merely to have the right doctrines. They needed to ensure that their daily life reflected their Christian faith, so that those around them would get a very clear picture of what it meant to live for Christ. But the importance of living well was even greater in an environment where the Christians were hated and often the target of slanderous accusations. It was vital that they lived uprightly so that false allegations would be immediately seen as nonsense. We might not be in such an embattled situation, but you can be sure that the way you live is always being noticed. Whether you like it or not, people will be drawing conclusions about the Christian faith from what they see in you. If you are always grumpy and negative, that will bound to leave a very powerful and damaging impression. On the other hand, if you are always positive and cheerful it will give an attractive and encouraging picture of what it means to follow Christ. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul spoke about their lives being like letters that anyone could read and which showed the reality of God at work in them. In this life we will never be perfect, and we should always live with a continual awareness of our need for forgiveness. But the New Testament encourages us to think carefully about the way in which we live, in the sure knowledge that other people are reading our lives and looking for clear evidence of what Christianity is all about. Question Think of the last week. What impression of Christianity would people have picked up from your life? Prayer Lord God our Father, I confess that I often let you down. Help me to live more and more closely to you, so that others will see your love, joy and peace in my life. Amen

3min
HÁ 4 DIAS

March 8th - 1 Peter 2:10

1 Peter 2:10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” The television series, Who do you think you are? always makes fascinating viewing. Researchers delve into the lives of famous people and reveal amazing details about their family history. It is interesting to know about our history but what really matters is who we think we are today. What is our identity? Peter says that as Christians our identity has completely changed. In the past we had no identity but now we are God’s people. In the past we had not tasted the mercy of God, but now we have. A true understanding of our identity is of crucial importance to the way in which we live today. If we thought that our lives were our own and we could do whatever we liked, we would live in one particular way. We wouldn’t be bothered about other people’s rules and expectations. “I did it my way” would be our signature tune. But when we see ourselves as one of God’s people, everything is different. The Christian’s aim is to be able to sum up their life by singing “I did it his way”, because as we live for God we quickly learn that walking in his way is always best. It’s the path of love, joy and peace and in the process it leads to the greatest fulfilment that this world can offer. Jesus summed up his teaching to the disciples by saying that his purpose was to give us a “rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10). Of course, we all have lots of identities. I am a husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle, minister, Englishman and a thousand other things. Each of those identities has real importance and we should cherish all the different aspects of our lives. But our identity as Christians is the one that needs to colour, shape and enhance all our other identities because it is not only the most wonderful description of us, but also the most enduring. Question Who do you think you are? Prayer Loving Father, I thank you that you have given me an identity that not only enriches every single day, but which lasts for ever. Amen

3min
HÁ 5 DIAS

March 7th - 1 Peter 2:9

1 Peter 2:9 You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. In the Old Testament we learn that God decided that the people of Israel should be his chosen people. In Exodus 19 and Isaiah 43 they are described in a number of ways, and here Peter brings together all those descriptions and applies them to the Church. The people of Israel enjoyed their position by birth. They were all descended from Abraham, the father of the faith. And now every Christian is part of the Church, the new chosen people, by our new birth. Through our faith in Christ, we have all the privileges and responsibilities of being a citizen of God’s holy nation. One of the distinctive features of the Church is that each one of us is a priest. In the Old Testament, the privileged role of the priest was to have access to God, and to enable others to come to God. The priests were drawn from the family line of Aaron and only the high priest was able to enter into the Holy of Holies once a year. But now, in Christ, the doors have been thrown open. Jesus, our great high priest, took upon himself the full weight of human sin. So now, through him, it is possible for us all to have access into the holy presence of God. We can all bring our prayers to God directly and can offer him our worship. If every Christian is a priest, the obvious question is: “Why do we need Christian ministers at all?” The New Testament gives a very clear answer to this by showing that God has appointed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers “to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). We all have wonderful, direct access into the presence of our holy God but there are still many gifts that God gives us through his Holy Spirit to enable us to be faithful and fruitful in our Christian lives. In Latin the word for priest is pontifex, which literally means bridge-builder. Today God is calling us to build a bridge between him and those with whom we will spend our time. Question In what way will you be able to be a bridge-builder for God today? Prayer Lord God, thank you that you have given me new birth through the Lord Jesus Christ. Help me today to serve you as a faithful priest. Amen

4min
HÁ 6 DIAS

March 6th - 1 Peter 2:4-5

1 Peter 2:4-5 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honour. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. In the Old Testament, huge attention is given to the building of the temple. King David took the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and longed to give it a proper home. He went to enormous lengths to prepare for the building of the temple, but this only happened during the reign of his son, Solomon. The temple was the place where God lived among his people and at the heart of it was the Holy of Holies, which was so special that it could only be entered once a year and only by the high priest. All of God’s people looked to the temple as being at the heart of their worship, and it was the focus of the elaborate sacrificial system. In the New Testament we learn that Jesus was in the process of building a new temple and this would be completely different from the impressive structure that we meet in the Old Testament. This temple is built not out of huge blocks of stone, but out of people who love God and it finds its meaning and shape entirely through Jesus, who is described as its cornerstone. The cornerstone is the stone which determines the building line for the walls, and everything depends upon it. If the cornerstone is out of line, then the building will be completely unstable. But if it is in exactly the right position then everything else will fall perfectly into place. Jesus is our cornerstone and, as we take the lead from him, we will fit beautifully into his living temple. There are some people who like to think of their Christian faith as a private matter. They love Jesus and seek to serve him, but don’t join up with other Christians. Sometimes it is because of a bad experience in the past, or because of their natural shyness. But the New Testament has no concept of a solitary Christian. If you follow Jesus then you belong to God’s family and, day by day, Jesus is wanting to help you to find your place within his living temple. Question What does it mean to you to know that you are a living stone in God’s temple? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, I worship you because you are the chief cornerstone of God’s temple. Help me to align my life to your will today. Amen

4min
5 DE MAR.

March 5th - 1 Peter 2:2-3

1 Peter 2:2-3 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. Babies are not subtle in their demand for milk. When they need feeding they are very happy to let everyone know about it! Peter uses this powerful imagery to describe a young Christian’s desperate need to be fed spiritually. There can be no doubt that he is referring to our need for the word of God. We have been given the treasure of the Bible and we need to ensure that we are continually receiving nourishment from it. Only in that way will we grow and become strong and mature. The need to be fed isn’t just good advice for new Christians. We all need feeding and we need to organise our lives in such a way as to ensure that it happens. We wouldn’t think of being haphazard about our physical feeding, having a meal from time to time when we happened to be in the mood. We know full well that without regular food and drink we would soon be ill. Our spiritual nourishment is equally crucial and the Lord’s Prayer reminds us of its importance. “Give us each day the food we need” (Luke 11:3). Having a huge spiritual meal from time to time won’t be enough. It is a great encouragement to attend Christian festivals and large celebrations where we may be wonderfully well fed with spiritual food. But we all need to be nourished by the daily rhythm of receiving God’s word. I love the reason that Peter gives for encouraging his readers to seek God’s nourishment. He says it is because they have had “a taste of the Lord’s kindness”. It’s as if he is saying, now that you have experienced how great God is, you won’t want to miss out on all the other blessings that he has in store for you. Spending time with God’s word cannot fail to be an amazing experience. Question In what ways have you been nourished by God’s word recently? Prayer Lord God, thank you for the way in which you strengthen me with your word day by day. Amen

3min

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