Be Still And Know

2 Thessalonians 3:11-13 There were people in the church in Thessalonica who thought of themselves as being so spiritual that they should spend their days waiting for the return of Jesus and not going to work. Paul couldn’t have been clearer in his response to them. They had missed the point. The fact that they didn’t work meant they had become a burden on the other believers. And, worse than that, instead of being busy workers they had become busy bodies. They spent their time interfering in other people’s lives and causing grief. As CH Spurgeon, the Victorian preacher, said: “Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle.” Paul responded to these lazy people by pointing to his own example. He worked hard day and night in order not to be a burden to others. He was convinced that everyone should work hard, and never grow tired of doing good. The problem that Paul faced in Thessalonica isn’t one that I have ever encountered, but his teaching does help us to reflect on

2 Thessalonians 3:1 As Paul brings this letter to the Thessalonians to a close, we see his heart. He asks them to pray for him. He doesn’t give any details about specific personal needs, but he asks that the Lord’s message would spread rapidly. A literal translation of the Greek would be “that the word of the Lord may run”. Because Paul so often used athletic imagery, he was almost certainly trying to convey his desire that the good news should be spread as quickly and effectively as possible. He longed for the message to be respected and accepted by as many people as possible. That’s what had happened when he visited Thessalonica and he was eager that it should happen in the same way in the much tougher context of Corinth, from which he was writing this letter. I believe that we need to be praying today with a new urgency “that the word of the Lord may run”. It’s all too easy for us to accept our multi-faith society and lose our passion for sharing the good news of Jesus. We are absolutely ca

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Whether we are conscious of it or 
not, our thoughts about the future will have a huge impact on the way we live today. That’s probably most easily seen when we are worried about something. Perhaps a visit to the dentist, a meeting with our boss or a tense issue in the family which needs to be resolved. In this letter, Paul was particularly concerned that the Thessalonian church should have a clear understanding of the future that God had in store for them. He was quite clear that the return of Jesus was at the heart of this, but he was alarmed that some of the people had decided this was a reason to give up their jobs! Paul knew the believers needed to remain committed to their regular employment, alongside having a confidence that the Lord might return at any time. Paul wanted his readers to look to the future with hope because he was confident that the best was yet to be. It’s really important that we handle the word ‘hope’ carefully. Most of the time, there is a ‘maybe’

2 Thessalonians 1:11 It is often rightly pointed out that the Christian life is a marathon and not a sprint. Keeping something up isn’t too difficult if you are doing it for just a short while. But keeping going as a Christian for years on end is a different matter. Living for Christ consistently in the face of all the ups and downs of life is not easy. When you have good health, a steady income, a united family and interesting work to do, it may seem easy. But how do you keep the faith when you are in pain, go through financial problems, family disputes or difficulties at work? Paul’s answer is that God enables us to keep going. He gives us the power to do all the good things that he has called us to do. We must never think of the Christian life as being a heroic solo effort. Although we may feel alone at times, God is beside us always. And we are never without Christian brothers and sisters, even if they may be far away. Our own strength can fluctuate. One day, we feel strong and able to face ev

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 From this bold introduction to Paul’s second letter to the church in Thessalonica, you might have thought that they were perfect. But they weren’t. As Paul’s letter progresses, he addresses a number of issues. They had become confused about the timing of Jesus’ return and many of them had become lazy, using the excuse that there was no point in getting a job if the Lord was to come back at any moment. They were far from perfect, but there was still much to celebrate, and Paul did so with confidence. Their faith was deepening and, as a consequence, their love for one another was growing and they were standing up to persecution. It’s so easy for us to focus on the failings of other people. Because churches are made up of sinners, we shouldn’t be surprised that there is often misunderstanding, tension and difficulty among Christians. Sad as it is, it’s an inevitable part of living in a broken world. But we must be careful not to focus our attention on the negatives. We need to encou

Psalm 143:7-8 Depression is tragically common and is one of the world’s most pervasive health conditions. It’s estimated that one in three women and one in five men have an episode of major depression before the age of 65. King David was clearly given to bouts of depression and, in this psalm, he reveals the depth of his despair. He had been pursued by his enemy and knocked to the ground. He describes himself as losing all hope and being paralysed by fear. Many famous people throughout history have suffered from depression. Four years before she went to the Crimea, Florence Nightingale wrote: “O weary days, O evenings that never end! For how many long years I have watched that drawing-room clock and thought it would never reach ten! ... In my 31st year I see nothing desirable but death.” Twenty years before he became US President, Abraham Lincoln wrote: “I am now the most miserable man living. Whether I shall ever be better I cannot tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is imposs

Psalm 142:1-2 This psalm was written by David as he reflected on the experience of hiding from his enemies in a cave. This happened on two occasions. Firstly, in Adullam and secondly in En Gedi. On both occasions he was being threatened by King Saul, who was eager to kill him. There’s no way of knowing which occasion he was thinking about when he wrote this psalm, but it doesn’t matter. What is clear is that he was under extreme pressure and needed help. In his despair he cried out to the Lord, knowing that God knew the whole story. The words of the African-American spiritual song ‘Nobody knows the trouble I seen’ sum up David’s experience very well, together with his conviction that the one person who does know everything is the Lord. We are often inclined to bottle up our fears and worries. We don’t like to trouble other people with them, recognising that they might well have bigger problems than ours. But it is good and right that we should pour out our concerns to the Lord. Through the centuries,

Psalm 141:5 This verse reminds us of the Proverb which says: “An open rebuke is better than hidden love! Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy” (Proverbs 27:5- 6). These words are no doubt wise, but that doesn’t mean it is easy when somebody says something harsh to us, or tells us that we have gone wrong. It might prove to be soothing medicine in the end but, at the time, it can really hurt. In Ephesians 4, Paul reflects on the fact that we all need to become more mature. He was eager that his readers shouldn’t be “blown about by every wind of new teaching” (v14). He was aware of the dangers that came from false teachers whose clever lies sounded like the truth. The antidote to this was for the Church to be a community within which people spoke the truth in love. It sounds simple, but it is often very far from it. Truth has sharp edges and we are sometimes inclined to shrink from sharing it. We would rather take refuge in pleasantries and superficial talk. But if we

Psalm 141:3-4 This psalm begins as we meet David worshipping God. He asked God to accept his prayer as an incense offering and raises his hands in worship. But he knew that his worship couldn’t stand apart from everyday life. If he worshipped God, he knew it had to affect the way in which he spoke to other people. He knew he needed God to take control of his speech and to set a guard on his lips. The language he used in these verses is interesting. He asked God not to let him “drift towards evil”. When we sin, it is normally part of a process in which we have gradually moved towards sin. Perhaps we were just a bit annoyed by something that someone said, and then we felt unhappy with them, then really annoyed. Eventually, we snapped. It’s all too easy to slowly and subtly drift into evil. David also saw the danger of spending time with the wrong kind of people. Having meals with others sounds innocent enough, but if we spend too much time with people whose language and actions are evil, it will ha

Luke 8:20-21 For 30 years, Jesus had lived with his family and, apparently, no one had taken much notice of him. Certainly, we have no record of him coming to public attention. But now, suddenly, he had started a ministry which was drawing huge crowds. His own family wanted to speak with him – and they had to queue up with everyone else! It must have been a very strange experience for them. The fact that Joseph isn’t mentioned in this account has led many to believe that he was dead by this point. We have no firm knowledge of this. He might have been busy working in his carpentry shop, although the fact that there isn’t a single mention of him during the years of Jesus’ public ministry supports the view that he had passed away. Certainly, if he had been alive at the time of Jesus’ death, it wouldn’t have been necessary for Jesus to address John from the cross, asking him to look after Mary. And it would have been usual for Joseph, as Jesus’ father, to take responsibility for burying Jesus, not for tha

Luke 8:18 In many ways, these wise words are the punch line to the parable of the sower. Jesus is saying we need to listen carefully to his words, so they will grow deep roots which shape the people we are. The sad fact is that it’s perfectly possible to listen to something with so little interest or attention that the words fly over our heads without having any impact at all. This principle is true to the whole of life. The person who looks after what they have will acquire more but, sadly, the person who doesn’t will lose even the little that they have. This is true of our bodies. If you exercise regularly, the body will grow stronger. But if you stop doing any exercise, you will lose your strength with terrifying speed. If you have ever spent two or three days in bed, you will know exactly what I mean. The body very quickly loses its ability to walk. I remember visiting a 90-year-old man when I was a teenager. I hadn’t met people of his age, and I was impressed to find him reading a book a

Luke 8:16 Here, Jesus is making an absolutely obvious point. It would be absurd to go the trouble of lighting a lamp and then cover it so it cannot be seen. If you decide to light a lamp, you want its light to shine. So you find a place where the greatest number of people can see it and be helped by the illumination it brings. So much, so obvious. Jesus was clearly saying that if you have already received the light which he came to bring, you need to be sharing it. It would be absurd to accept the light of God’s truth and then act as if it didn’t exist, or was just a private possession. The light needs to shine, so we need to ensure we put it in a prominent place. I wonder what this means for you today. It might mean you take the opportunity to explain to someone how you discovered Jesus to be your light. You may have a very clear opportunity to share the story of how God has transformed your life. Perhaps you will not have such a clear opening. However, we can all still shine the light of C

Luke 8:15 Although this is still early on in Jesus’ public ministry, he already had a considerable following. In telling the parable of the sower, he was making it clear that it wasn’t enough for people merely to hear his message. They needed to let it go deep. Like any preacher, Jesus was aware of the wide range of reactions to his words. There were those who heard the message and almost immediately forgot it. They quickly moved on to something else. Then there were those who listened and embraced it enthusiastically. But it didn’t last. They never put down roots and so they were easily lured away. And there were those who did put down roots, but distractions grew up at the same time and they were pulled away by the cares, riches and pleasures of life. However, there were also some honest, good-hearted people who heard God’s word and clung to it. And the result was a huge harvest. There are many lessons that we can draw from this famous parable. Those of us who are preachers and teachers need the

Luke 7:50 The woman in this story was almost certainly a prostitute. She had come to Jesus while he was visiting the home of a Pharisee called Simon, and had generously poured out an expensive perfume on Jesus, kissing his feet and wiping them with her hair. Simon the Pharisee saw this as a test case. If Jesus really was a prophet, he thought, he would identify this woman as a sinner and have nothing to do with her. But Jesus didn’t work like that. Jesus saw that the woman needed forgiveness and freely gave it to her. Jesus challenged Simon’s thinking by pointing out that when he had entered the house, Simon had neither kissed him nor washed his feet. However, this woman had gone to extraordinary lengths to welcome and honour Jesus. Jesus then told Simon a story: “A man loaned money to two people – 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he generously forgave them both, cancelling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that? Sim

Luke 7:35 John the Baptist and Jesus had very different personalities. John spent much of his time in the desert, well away from the main centres of population. He dressed in camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey. Many people concluded that he was possessed by a demon. On the other hand, Jesus spent his time with people - and often with the more unsavoury members of society. Far from keeping away from drink, Jesus acquired a reputation for partying with people. These two men could hardly have been more different, but both of them came in for scathing criticism. As a result, Jesus concluded that a person’s true wisdom could only be revealed by the way they lived. We all know many people, probably all very different from one another. That’s exactly the way it should be; I don’t believe God intended people to be pressed into the same mould. Individuality is a wonderful gift but what matters most is that, whatever way of life we have chosen, we live wisely. Wisdom was the major focus of the

Luke 7:22 John the Baptist was in prison when he sent his disciples to check out Jesus. He asked them to go and ask him whether he really was the Messiah or whether they should be looking for someone else. John had prepared the way for Jesus’ coming by telling the people that the Messiah would judge people severely. He preached that the Messiah would “clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire” (Luke 3:17). Perhaps John was surprised that Jesus didn’t seem to be preaching judgement in the way he had expected. Jesus responded by pointing to his ministry of mercy and love. He had come to bring healing and good news to people in the way that had been prophesied in Isaiah 61, which Jesus had read in the synagogue in Nazareth. Here was the evidence that he really was the Messiah. It’s good when people ask questions. People often ask very critical questions of the Church, and we should always welcome that. They want to know whether the

Luke 7:6-7 The Roman officer who spoke these words was a fascinating character. He was not a Jew but was clearly deeply respectful of the Jewish faith. He had even paid for the construction of a synagogue and was, not surprisingly, much loved by the Jewish people. When his slave became ill, he decided to invite Jesus to heal him. His concern for his slave was remarkable in itself. Slaves were usually regarded merely as tools, and a master was able to mistreat or even kill them as he chose. This Roman officer was different. He was eager to see his slave recover, and so he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask Jesus to heal him. The faith of the Roman was so great that he didn’t even consider it necessary for Jesus to meet the slave. He knew that Christ’s word was powerful enough. All that was necessary was for Jesus to pronounce the healing. He reasoned that, as a military officer, he had authority to order people around; therefore, Jesus had the necessary authority to declare his slave was healed.

Luke 6:47-48 The foundations of a building are not a luxury. If you have ever purchased a house, you will have almost certainly had a building survey carried out. Part of this process would be to ensure that the foundations were solid. Subsidence is no laughing matter! The recent hot summers have caused problems for many, as loss of moisture in the soil has caused it to contract, damaging foundations. It’s always important to find out what is happening underneath a building. Jesus used the illustration of a building’s foundation as the punch line of his sermon. He pointed out that in good weather, all houses look the same. It doesn’t matter whether they have been built on rock or sand. But when the storm comes, you definitely notice the difference! The house built on rock stands confidently and securely, while the one that was foolishly built on sand gets swept away by the storm. It’s just the same in life. When everything is going smoothly, you cannot easily tell the difference between those who

Luke 6:46 The title ‘Lord’ is far more than just a term of respect. It is to affirm that they have authority, and deserve to be worshipped and obeyed. That was the reason the early Christians felt that they couldn’t possibly declare: “Caesar is Lord”, even when they were compelled to do so by law. They knew that Caesar did not have ultimate authority and didn’t deserve to be worshipped and obeyed. The person who comes to Jesus and declares him to be Lord is saying he deserves to have first place in their life. So Jesus asked his hearers what they meant when they called him Lord but failed to do what he said. Christianity is totally misunderstood if it is just seen in terms of words. Saying the creed, singing Christian songs or hymns, listening to sermons (even preaching them) is a total waste of time if the words are not converted into life-long obedience. Jesus made this point forcibly in the Sermon on the Mount when he said: “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of He

Luke 6:45 Whether we like it or not, our words give us away. They reveal the kind of people we really are. The person whose words are always gentle, positive and encouraging gives us a window into their heart. But so, too, does the person who is forever complaining and cursing. Jesus’ observation might well sound obvious, but it needs our most careful attention. If we agree with him, it is clear that we need to direct our energies at ensuring we continually fill our minds and hearts with good things. Paul summed it up well when he said: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). In a world in which we all have instant access to an ocean of information, these words have never been more important. Within moments, we all have access to content which has the potential to damage or inspire us. The choice is ours. In the vast country of Australia, there is apparently a roa