Be Still And Know

Psalm 4:8 How are you sleeping at the moment? If you always sleep well, that’s wonderful. But for many people, sleep is hard work. In the UK, 33 per cent of people over the age of 55 struggle to fall asleep quickly. For 25 per cent of adults, money worries are a major factor in disturbing their sleep. No one questions the importance of sleep - and the psalmist was well aware of the blessing it brings. In this psalm, David was reflecting on the pressures of life. Despairingly, he asked how long he would have to live with people who were trying to ruin his reputation and speaking lies about him. We may not have faced these particular challenges, but many of us will go through tough or unsettling times. Perhaps we will face pressures at work, strained family relationships or health challenges. Such times can shake us and test what we are made of. David responded to his challenges by concluding that he could “be sure of this. The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to hi

Psalm 3:1-3 Some of the psalms have a brief introductory note, and this is one of them. It tells us that it was written when David fled from his son, Absalom. This was possibly the most tragic moment in David’s long, eventful reign. Absalom was a great favourite of David and much loved by the people as well. He was handsome, charming and loved all the pomp which went along with belonging to a royal family. He drove a magnificent chariot with 50 men running in front of it. However, tragically, he was determined to take over his father’s throne, leading a rebellion which forced David to flee from Jerusalem in fear for his life. Can you imagine anything worse? It is bad enough to be attacked by your enemies, but for David to have his much- loved son turn against him must have been a crushing experience. David stood back from this disaster and reflected on where his true security lay. He knew God was the one who gave him lasting security and that he would hold his head high. The Bible never pretends t

If this psalm had been written recently, you might assume the psalmist had just read that day’s newspaper or listened to the news on TV. He begins by asking: “Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans?” (v1). Sound familiar? He then reflects on the fact that the rulers of the earth plot against God, trying to get free from his control. In response, he pictures God in heaven having a good laugh at their stupidity, for whatever they do, he is in ultimate control. This psalm underlines God’s interest in the political life of our world. At times, I fear that our churches talk as if God is really only interested in what happens among Christians. But he is God of the whole world - and his longing is for every nation and individual to live in unity with him. The punch line of this psalm is the statement that God gives joy to “all who take refuge in him” (v12). Our verses today are God’s words of advice to the rulers of the world. They are encouraged to act wisely and to giv

Psalm 1:1-2 It’s interesting that the Book of Psalms begins on a negative note. Here are three things that godly people reject. They don’t accept the advice of wicked people. They don’t hang around with sinners. And they don’t have anything to do with those who mock God. It’s almost as if he is talking about preparing a field for cultivation. There is no point in sowing seed until the stones and weeds have been cleared out. God’s desire is to bless us and give us his joy, but none of that can happen until the rubbish is gone. When people hear about the invitation to give their life to God, the danger is that they simply try to add this dimension to their present way of life. They want to ‘join the God club’ in the same way as one might join a motoring organisation or gym. They simply want to add it to their list of subscriptions and commitments. But this is precisely what God doesn’t want. His desire is for us to turn our back on our old way of life, in order to set off with him on a new journey. Th

James 5:19-20 These verses bring James’ letter to an end. They are very different from the ending of many New Testament letters, which are often full of warm greetings and prayers for the recipients. James’ letter was utterly practical and, in these final verses, he confronted the fact that, sadly, there are those who wander away from the Christian faith. The verb “to wander” is absolutely correct in my pastoral experience. I have been aware of very few people who depart from the Christian faith because they suddenly decide that it is all wrong. Most of the time, people get busy with other things and simply drift away from the Church. This very often happens when people move to a new area. They visit a few local churches but never really feel at home - and so they stop attending and, eventually, wander away from their faith. James wanted his readers to know the importance of restoring someone who has wandered away. They were effectively saving them from death. Restoration needs to be on the active

James 5:16 This is one of many verses in the Bible where I wish the author had written a lot more! In fact, I would have been perfectly happy if James had written a book to explain exactly what he meant when he suggested Christians should confess their sins to each other. I wonder how he expected this to be done, and which sins he had in mind. I assume that he didn’t expect services of worship to be the context within which these confessions would take place. But was he thinking about a small group, or a meeting between just two people? We just don’t know. In the early days of Methodism, John Wesley devised a number of accountability questions which would help people to grow in holiness. People would meet together in groups of three to five of the same gender (known as bands), and ask each person the following four questions: What known sins have you committed since our last meeting? What temptations have you met with? How were you delivered? What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt

James 5:13-14 I love these verses. Basically, James is saying that whatever is going on in your life at the moment, it’s the right time to pray! Many people seem to see prayer as a religious activity that needs to be confined to particular times or places. Churches are well known as places to pray, and many people set aside a special quiet time each day so that they can bring their prayers to God. This is all splendid, but we still need to hear James’ encouragement. It is always the right time to pray - whether you are in church or not, and whether it is your special time to pray to God or not. James is introducing us to the idea that prayer is a way of life in which we share whatever is going on with a God who cares about every aspect of our lives. James’ letter contains many indications that the churches he was writing to were going through a hard time. The people were under pressure from the authorities and probably from their neighbours and employers, too. They needed to pray to God about their di

James 5:7-8 After Jesus’ ascension, his disciples were assured that he would return. The messengers said: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but some day he will return in the same way you saw him go” (Acts 1:11). In the early Church, there was a widespread belief that it was going to happen in their lifetime. However, Jesus had made it clear that the timings were entirely in his Father’s hands. Even Jesus didn’t know when he was going to return! We continue to live between the first and second coming of Jesus. So the 21st-century Church has much in common with first-century Christians. We are still waiting, and because the Lord might return at any time we need to be prepared. James used the illustration of the farmer to stress the need for patience. Much of the time, farmers are waiting and hoping. They might be tempted to dig up their seeds every now and again to see how they are getting on, but they know that wouldn’t help!

James 4:13-14 James’ readers would have immediately understood his description of the eager business person. At the time, markets were opening up all around the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. There were endless opportunities to set up new businesses and James isn’t objecting either to business or the making of profit. His problem was that individuals had forgotten how temporary their life was. They were acting as if they were in full control of the future, and they weren’t. These verses remind us of Jesus’ parable about the rich man whose farm was doing so well that he needed to build bigger barns. The man smugly concluded that he could now sit back and say to himself: “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink and be merry!” But God called him a fool because he hadn’t taken into account that he could die that very night (see Luke 12:19-20). God doesn’t want us to live in a state of daily anxiety because of the fragility and brevity of lif

James 4:11-12 Of course, we all know that we shouldn’t speak evil against one another. But it can happen so subtly that we often don’t spot it. Inevitably, within a church or any other community, there will be conversations about people. Those conversations might become slightly critical, because none of us are perfect. But this is when it gets dangerous, however, because such conversations can lull us into making firm judgements about someone - and that just isn’t on. There are two main problems with judging other people. Firstly, we are commanded to love our neighbour as ourselves. If we were being judged, we would want the opportunity to give a clear account of ourselves. We would want people to know exactly why we had spoken or acted in the way that we did. The danger with secretly gossiping about another person is that often, we don’t know the full facts about a situation. And, in truth, sometimes we’re not all that interested in hearing the facts anyway! William Tyndale translated the phrase “sp

James 4:6-7 We are right to think of God as being incredibly loving, forgiving and generous. But we must not lose sight of the fact that he is also a God who hates. The writer of Proverbs makes a list of the seven things that he detests: “proud eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family” (Proverbs 6:17-19). It’s significant that, at the top of the list, is pride. A proud person has no room for God. There are three main problems with a proud person. Firstly, they don’t understand their need. They are so confident of themselves and their own ability that they think they don’t need anything. The tragedy of that attitude is that it is absurdly wrong and makes it impossible for God, or anyone else, to help them. Secondly, the proud person loves their independence. They are thrilled that they don’t need to depend on anyone at all. They think they are self-sufficient, but th

James 4:2-3 My wife and I have three children. I am well used to them asking me for things, and I am really pleased that they do so - even more now that they are adults. However, there are limits to what I am happy to give them. That’s not because of a lack of love, but because I love them. If they ask me for something which I know will cause problems or damage them, I will say a firm: “No”. This is exactly the principle behind today’s verses. God loves to give us gifts because he is incredibly generous. But he refuses to give us things when we ask with bad motives because he knows the outcome will be disastrous. It’s a weak and unloving father who piles gifts on his children simply because that’s what they’ve asked for. If we are only seeking to satisfy our own selfish desires, our loving heavenly Father will say no. So what should we be asking God for? He loves it when we ask for his love, joy and peace, and when we ask him to strengthen and guide us. Those are exactly the gifts he loves to give

James 3:18 There’s a big difference between peace loving and peace making. Surely, we all love the idea of peace. But peacemakers are those who are willing to do the tough job of getting involved in situations where there is no peace, in order to make peace. Peacemaking sounds like a quiet and gentle way of life. But it’s often the exact opposite. The person who wants to make peace needs to be tough enough to engage with those who are in bitter dispute with one another. Peacemaking is a wonderful way of life but the person who thinks that it’s easy has almost certainly not understood what it’s about. Jesus said: “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Jesus was the Man of Peace. Through both his life and death he brought peace to humankind, but that certainly didn’t mean that he avoided difficulties and dodged disputes. Far from it! His ministry was continually characterised by spending time with and challenging his detractors - and it was all

James 3:17 I wonder what sort of person you would most like to be. I suspect many of us would love to look something like James’ description here of a wise person. He has spent the last few verses talking about those destructive attitudes which can so easily ruin life - jealousy, selfish ambition, boasting and lying. One senses that he is speaking from personal experience; that he has witnessed the pain and suffering that flow from people whose lives are dominated by selfishness. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If we allow God’s wisdom to shape our lives, everything can look very different, for his wisdom is pure, without anything to spoil it. James was clearly concerned about the false teachers who were continually stirring up disputes and tension. Wise people are quite different. They love peace, and spend their time promoting it because they know it is the only environment in which people grow. While there is aggravation and unhappiness, people become wearied and discouraged. A wise person know

James 3:1 Teachers have an incredibly important role in the life of the Church - and that was especially true in the early Church. On a number of occasions, Paul referred to them as having one of the three most prominent ministries, alongside apostles and prophets (see 1 Corinthians 12:28). If the Church was to thrive, it needed effective, faithful teachers. Equally, it needed to be protected from people who simply fancied themselves in an influential role, or who deliberately sought to mislead the Church. There were plenty of false teachers around, and James needed to warn against them. He wanted to do everything he could to dissuade the wrong people. They needed to know that the responsibilities of teaching were great, and they would be answerable for what they taught. The Church still needs good teachers today. The level of understanding of the Christian faith is incredibly low, and reading the Bible is sometimes not seen as a priority by many Christians. In a survey conducted by the Bible Soci

James 2:19-20 James was clearly sick and tired of people who thought that having faith was all that mattered. Here he launches a full-scale attack on that point of view by pointing out that even the demons believe in God. Their belief is so strong it makes them terrified. We also see this illustrated by Jesus. Soon after his ministry began, he went to the synagogue in Capernaum. A man with an evil spirit cried out: “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are- the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24). Mere belief in God is absolutely no proof at all that a person is a follower of Christ. They might be the exact opposite. James believed that faith was crucial. But if didn’t lead to action, it was completely useless. He pointed to two very contrasting characters to make his point. Firstly, he reminded his readers of Abraham (vv20-24), the father of faith and of the Jewish nation. Abraham was called “God’s friend” and was clearly a man of faith. The pr

James 2:15-17 There have always been people who suggest that James and the apostle Paul disagreed with one another. Paul was absolutely clear that no amount of good works could ever earn us salvation. In Ephesians 2:8 he says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” In today’s verses, James is clearly saying that good works are absolutely vital as well. I don’t believe James and Paul did disagree with one another, however. It is true James wanted to stress the importance of good works, but not as a way of gaining salvation. He saw good works as the inevitable consequence of being saved. His concern was to see the reality of people’s faith at work. If it didn’t lead to action, it was dead. The illustration James offers us is really painful. He pictures a Christian who meets a person in obvious need. A warm and caring greeting is given but nothing else. They just walk on by, doing nothing to help the situation. This is a challen

James 2:13 Mercy lies right at the heart of God’s dealings with us. Because we have sinned against God we have no right to expect anything other than condemnation. That’s what justice would demand. But God has decided that justice should be set to one side and that we should be shown mercy instead. There is nothing we could ever do to deserve this. It is simply a gift. Having received that gift, we are then under an obligation to pass it on to others. That is not a matter of choice. Jesus could not have been clearer on this point. He said: “If you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:15). It has only happened to me on one occasion, but I once spoke with someone who told me that there was someone in their church whom he could never forgive.
He told me what the person had done and assured me, in very strong terms, that nothing would ever persuade him to forgive. I knew my duty. I reminded him of the words of Jesus: if he really meant what he said, God could not fo

James 2:1 It’s hard for us to imagine the social tensions with which the early Church had to live. The majority of Christians were poor, and many of them were slaves. Imagine the potential difficulties if a slave owner then became part of the church, too. Slaves had no legal rights. How would a slave master worship alongside someone that he ‘owned’? James was only too well aware of these challenges, and was concerned that there shouldn’t be any hint of favouritism in the Church. The Church should be a place where all human distinctions fall away and everyone is equally loved and precious. James then gives an agonising illustration of how badly things could go. Two people walk into a Christian meeting. One is very obviously wealthy and the other is just as obviously poor. The rich person is immediately cared for and given a good seat at the front. The poor person is given a bad seat, or even told to sit on the floor. Nothing could more flagrantly fly in the face of a God who opposes all discrimination.

James 1:27 The question of what genuine faith looks like is one that we meet in both the Old and New Testaments. The prophet Amos spoke powerfully about the rich people in his society who were so pleased with themselves that they were sure God would reward them in due course. But he told them that, because they had built their wealth through exploiting the poor, God would judge them harshly. They attended the Temple regularly, but Amos told them that God would not accept their sacrifices or listen to their worship (see Amos 5). In the New Testament, Jesus spoke severely to those who put on a show of their praying and fasting but lived lives that far away from God (see Matthew 6). It was crucial for the early Church to know the difference between people who had genuine faith in Christ and those who didn’t. James was clear that genuine faith would be expressed in loving action towards the most vulnerable members of the community. In the Old Testament, orphans and widows were often identified as those wh