Be Still And Know

John 1:6-8 'God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.' John was determined to help people see that Jesus, and only Jesus, is the light of the world. He himself had a really important part to play, but he wasn’t the light. He simply prepared people to meet with Jesus. If you are looking for something or someone to point you towards God, you need to make sure that you are looking in the right place. John wanted his readers to make sure that they are only looking for life’s meaning and purpose in Jesus. I love traditional stories and there is one from the Middle East that I have always loved. It tells of a man hunting for something on a dusty road. A stranger approached him and asked what he was looking for. “I’m looking for my key,” replied the man. “Where did you lose it?” asked the stranger. “Oh,” the man replied: “In my house.” The stranger looked puzzl

John 1:4-5 'The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.' There has been darkness on every page of human history. However, the last century saw darkness on a colossal scale. During the terrible dictatorships of Hitler, Stalin and Mao many tens of millions of people were killed, but we have also seen horrifying amounts of abuse even within the Church. Every day we hear stories of darkness and we feel the weight of pain that is borne by so many people. But there is good news because, however hard people may have tried, they have failed to extinguish the light of Christ. There have been many determined efforts to destroy the Church over the past century, and there still are today. But to those brothers and sisters in North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan who live under the most oppressive regimes, we can declare that, even though the Church might seem incredibly weak, the light o

John 1:1 'In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.' Can I be honest? I listened to these words for years without really understanding what they meant. They are often used at Christmas carol services and they seemed very mysterious to me. John, who wrote them, would have been deeply saddened by my reaction; for him, and his readers, the meaning was obvious because everyone knew what he meant by ‘the Word’ or, as the original Greek says, logos. This was an expression often used in Greek philosophy and shaped the thinking of his day. He was saying that Jesus was nothing less than God himself and that, when God spoke to the world, he did so in the form of his Son, Jesus, the Word. This majestic verse reminds us of the very beginning of the Bible, where we learn that God created the world. When God spoke, something happened. On day one, he said: “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) and there was light. That is to say, there isn’t a distinction between the word a

Proverbs 26:14 'As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed.'  The writer of Proverbs has a great deal to say about laziness. He is terrified of it, viewing it as the surest route to poverty. In a society without a welfare state, that could easily spell starvation and even death. Fighting the war with laziness starts at the very beginning of the day when we decide to stop turning over in bed and actually get up! I will leave you to work out whether this particularly relates to you and your life, but the point is clear. Laziness will try to lure us into its trap if it possibly can. A Latin proverb says: “As worms breed in a pool of stagnant water, so evil thoughts breed in the mind of the idle.” I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with times of relaxation. But if life is devoid of purpose, without a clear sense of direction, evil thoughts can take root and breed. Charles Spurgeon, the famous Baptist preacher, wrote: “Some temptations come to the

Proverbs 25:28 'A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.' It’s always tragic to see someone who is drunk. They stagger along the road with no clear sense of direction, their speech is slurred and you sense that they might fall over and hurt themselves at any moment. But there are many other less obvious examples of a loss of self-control. Some people lack self-control in their spending or eating and the results can be disastrous. The writer of Proverbs compares the person without self- control with a city with broken-down walls; that is to say a city that is open to attack at any moment. It is completely vulnerable and the citizens are right to live in fear. Who would want to live in a city like that for a single day? The New Testament has much to say about self-control, and identifies it as one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:2-23). These fruits – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control – naturally grow when the Holy

Proverbs 25:25 'Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.' This wonderful proverb doesn’t make much sense in our modern world when communications across the globe are instant. You could have a chat right now with someone in America, Australia or Mongolia – or all of them together! It’s an amazing world. However, I remember the days before such instant communications. When I lived in India if we wanted to communicate, it was by letter – and it could take a couple of weeks for them to arrive from the UK. The highlight of the day was when the postman cycled onto our compound proudly ringing his bell. And when I learnt that he had letters for me, it was just like being given a glass of cold water on a hot day. Wonderful! When the writer of Proverbs was putting together his wise words, it was incredibly difficult and dangerous to send news over a long distance. To receive any news was amazing, and to receive good news from a distant place was absolutely wonderful. The Bible is full of good new

Proverbs 25.20 NLT 'Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.' Ouch! This is a painful proverb because the fact is that we all have the capacity to be insensitive. Singing cheerful songs is obviously a lovely thing to do but to impose this on someone who is depressed is the very last thing that we should ever do. It’s certain that we can all be insensitive. We can all do the wrong thing. We can all say things that are inappropriate and act in a way that we later realise was extremely unhelpful. So the question we need to ask is, “How can we avoid getting it so agonisingly wrong?” Let’s begin with humility! We need to be aware of our capacity to get things wrong. The truth is that we are always learners in the area of human relationships. Am I the only person who has called another person by the wrong name? Probably not! It’s horribly embarrassing – particularly if you have known them for a long time. They are humbling

Proverbs 25.19 NLT 'Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot.' What a wise saying this is! The importance of being able to trust reliable people cannot be exaggerated. It’s always important, but when we are going through a tough time it is absolutely crucial. I thank God for the privilege of working with people over the years who have been totally trustworthy and whose word was their bond. I knew that if they promised to do something, it would not only be done, but done well. But I am sure we have also had the experience of people who promised generously to help but who simply didn’t get round to it, or helped so half-heartedly that it would have been better for everyone if they hadn’t started. The powerful and painful imagery of chewing with a broken tooth and walking on a lame foot comes easily to mind. I have no doubt that we all want to be reliable people. We don’t want to make others suffer through our unreliability.

Proverbs 25:18 NLT 'Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an axe, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.' Lying is a terrible business and the writer of Proverbs captures its awful destructiveness. It is a very tempting route when the truth is hard to face and passing it on feels impossibly difficult. The temptation is to at least massage the truth, so that its sharper edges aren’t obvious. But the fact is, when you start lying it is very hard to stop. Washington Allston, the American artist and poet wrote, “Nothing is rarer than a solitary lie; for lies breed like toads; you cannot tell one but out it comes with a hundred little ones on its back.” Lying becomes nothing less than a tragic way of life for those who choose its path. The writer of Proverbs wants his readers to understand that the only way of life worth living is one where the truth is treasured. Hymn writer, Phillips Brooks, wrote, “Truth is always strong, no matter how weak it looks, and fals

Proverbs 25.16 NLT 'Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick!' We can always trust the writer of Proverbs to give us sound advice! His purpose is to help us live life to the full, and to avoid the many traps that lie in wait for us every single day. One of those traps is overeating. He draws attention to honey, which is undoubtedly good but, like everything else, is only good in moderation. If we overdo it, the outcome is inevitable and well worth avoiding. Life is full of good things, but each of them will be spoilt if we give them the wrong prominence in our lives. Later in this chapter, the writer repeats the warning about overindulging on honey and adds “and it’s not good to seek honours for yourself.” Once again, honours are inherently good. It is a blessing to be recognised, appreciated and honoured but if you end up seeking them, you’ve lost the plot. They should simply be regarded as a gift and a blessing. Keeping everything in proportion is crucial to the enjoyment of life.

2 Corinthians 13.14 NLT 'May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.' As Paul concludes this tough letter in which he has responded to fierce criticism of his ministry, he ends by blessing the church in Corinth. These beautiful words are ones that are repeated millions of times every year as Christians meet together. They are the strongest words of blessing that could be imagined and summarise the majestic work of the Trinity. Jesus’ life and ministry are wonderfully summed up in the word ‘grace’. Grace means ‘gift’, and his life and death were God’s perfect gift to the world. In a world in which there is often brokenness, sadness and a distinct lack of grace, it is wonderful to be able to pray for people to experience the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. His grace brings healing, forgiveness and restoration. Many things could be said of God the Father, the creator of the world. He is all powerful and all knowing. No word of praise or ador

2 Corinthians 12.9-10 NLT The Lord said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. The apostle Paul revealed that he suffered from a thorn in his flesh. He didn’t give any hint of what kind of thorn it was, and there have been endless suggestions over the centuries. It may well have been a physical difficulty and it has often been suggested that he had a speech impediment. This would account for the fact that he was described as being a poor preacher. But it might just have well have been a emotional, mental or spiritual difficulty. We just don’t know. What is more important is that it really doesn’t matter. What matters is the spiritual lesson that it taught him, namely that God finds it easiest to work in us through our weakne

2 Corinthians 10.3-4 NLT 'We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.' Paul was under attack from people within the church in Corinth. There was a view among some of them that he was quite timid when he was with them in person but extremely bold when he was away from them and expressing himself in letters. It’s never pleasant to be the target of criticism in this way and Paul responds by helping his critics to understand that he wasn’t trying to impress them with powerful oratory and clever arguments. He was content to be thought of as a dull preacher because what mattered was not his clever performance but the declaration of the cross of Christ. That’s where true wisdom is found. When people challenge Christian teaching, it is absolutely right that we should respond and give a thoughtful and sensitive response. But we should never imagine that people will be won over by

2 Corinthians 9.10-11 NLT 'For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.' I am sure that we can all think of moments when we have been really generous, and times when other people have been generous to us. They are precious moments but that’s just it. They are moments which come and go. What the apostle Paul is talking about here is very different. He is talking about generosity as a way of life, not an occasional and unusual outburst. And he says that God makes it possible for us to always be generous. Generosity has everything to do with our hearts, and little to do with the quantity of what we give. The widow, who Jesus observed giving a tiny gift into the Temple collection box, was supremely generous. Her two little copper coins were just a tiny fraction of what the rich people gave, b

2 Corinthians 9.7 NLT You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” Some years ago, I was involved with the setting up of a new hospice. There was a desperate need to raise funds and, although I had never done such a thing before, I offered to organise a house-to-house collection. I recruited collectors and off we went. It was the most beautiful experience. Almost everyone was not only keen to give but thanked us for going to the trouble of knocking on their door. I am sure that many of you will have been involved in door-to-door collections and have had a very different experience. I certainly have. On occasions, doors have been slammed in my face but, more often, there has been an attitude of indifference and an eagerness to put some money in my box to encourage me to go away! God loves cheerful givers and it is easy to understand why. He loves to see the cheerfulness because it shows that the gi

2 Corinthians 9.6 NLT 'Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.' The law of the harvest is easy to understand. In short you reap what you sow. If you are miserly with your giving, you need to be prepared for a deeply disappointing harvest. However, if you give generously, you can be sure of an amazing crop – probably far larger than anything you had imagined. Money is particularly important because, as Jesus observed, it is a rival god. You have to make a choice between serving God or money. You can’t do both. Money makes huge boasts. It pretends that it can offer security, popularity, contentment and satisfaction, but it demands worship in return. In every generation there have been people who have fallen for the god of money. None of this is to say that money is inherently bad. It is part of God’s creation and so is, in fact, inherently good. The problem is when it becomes our master and begins to drive our

2 Corinthians 8.20-21 NLT 'We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. We are careful to be honourable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honourable.' Paul had spent some time encouraging people to give money towards a collection that would help the Christians in Judaea who had suffered a severe famine. He knew how easily there could be accusations about the misuse of money, so he put in place measures to prevent this happening. One of them was to appoint Titus as his travelling companion when the money was taken to Jerusalem. He wanted to ensure that the way that he handled the money was not only honouring to the Lord, but also to everyone else. Such wisdom in the handling of money is necessary in every generation. Through the years there have been far too many occasions when treasurers of churches and charities have been found guilty of misusing funds. It has often been observed that such crimes are more easily

2 Corinthians 8.11-12 NLT 'Give in proportion to what you have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.' People often ask what amount of money they should give to the Lord and I think Paul’s words here are incredibly helpful. It is more than likely that the majority of people in the Corinthian church were quite poor and his intention wasn’t to make their lives more difficult. But, at the same time, he knew that it was very important that they should give in a disciplined and thoughtful way. And so he encouraged them to give money in proportion to what they had. I was brought up in a family which practiced tithing. One tenth of my father’s income went into a small wooden box in the sideboard in our dining room. What impressed me as a child was that that box seemed to have more money in it than anywhere else in the house! It showed me, from the beginning of my life, how important it was to set aside money for God. I don’t believe

2 Corinthians 8.10-11 NLT 'Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving.' Does any of this ring a bell with you? It certainly does with me! We begin to do something and we feel very enthusiastic about it, but then other things get in the way. Here in Corinth, the church had shown a desire to give money to support Paul’s collection for the Christians living in poverty in Judea. But, over time, they seem to have forgotten about it. Paul is now eager to remind them of their earlier enthusiasm and encourage them to turn that into action. It is said that the path to hell is paved with good intentions. That is to say, anyone can have good intentions, but what matters is that we do something about them. Another wise saying is that people with good intentions make promises

2 Corinthians 8.9 NLT 'You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.' The Christian life is, before anything else, characterised by giving. Because that’s how Jesus lived. As we follow in his footsteps, our lives need to be shaped by giving generously. His generosity was so complete that he gave everything and became totally poor in order to make other people rich. This is a huge challenge to all of us in a society that is deeply acquisitive. The assumption is that life is found in acquiring more and more, but Jesus turns that thinking completely on its head. There is an old proverb which says, “He who takes but never gives, may last for years but never lives.” That’s a scary thought and should redouble our determination to work out how we should go about our giving. I believe that we need to find a deeper understanding of where our money and resources come from. When we realise that they have all