Be Still And Know

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

Luke 6:42 I am quite sure that Jesus was smiling when he spoke these words. The picture he gives is like a cartoon. It’s plainly ridiculous to pick out a tiny speck in someone else’s eye when you have a huge log stuck in your own. Jesus’ point is absolutely clear: we need to make sure that we are not being hypocritical, because it is very easily done. The danger of hypocrisy was one that greatly troubled Jesus. He often pointed out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They gave the appearance of being devoted to their Jewish faith. They worshipped at the Temple regularly and gave their tithes faithfully. I have no doubt that most people in Jerusalem saw them as the best example of Judaism. Unlike so many people in the city, they really took their faith seriously. But Jesus saw through their performance. He could see that it was all an act, and he loved them too much to let them get away with living a lie. While having a good laugh at Jesus’ illustration, we need to own up to the fact that we can all be

Psalm 139:23-24 One of the reasons many people read daily newspapers is to find out what terrible things other people do, in order to feel a little bit better about themselves. I won’t ask you whether that has ever been your motivation! In this psalm, David reflected on the wickedness of other people. He expressed his hatred of people who hated God. But he didn’t hide from the fact that he was also a sinner. He knew there was absolutely no point in pretending with God, as God already knew the whole story. So he ended this amazing psalm by inviting God to point out anything that might be wrong in his life. He knew God could put his finger on those things that needed to be changed. I recently had an MRI scan on my back. I was placed in a large white metal tube for a full hour while the noisy magnets whirled around me. It was an amazing process and, at the end of it, I knew a phenomenal amount of data had been collected. The surgeon had a full picture of my far from perfect spine. To be honest, when I w

Psalm 139:13-14 Our bodies are simply amazing. Here are a few random facts: Every second our bodies produce 25 million new cells. The tongue is covered in about 8,000 taste buds, each containing up to 100 cells. The entire surface of our skin is replaced every month. If we live to 70, our heart will have enjoyed about 2.5 million beats. The human brain possesses about 100 billion neurons with roughly one quadrillion (that’s one million billion) synapses wiring these cells together. That means your brain is more powerful than any supercomputer! I struggle to understand how anyone can think about the human body without bursting out in worship to our great God. That was exactly how King David responded in this glorious psalm. I challenge you to spend time today specifically thanking God for your amazing body. We so often focus on the bits we don’t like or that don’t work; they clamour for our attention, and visits to the doctors absorb an increasing amount of our time and attention as we get older. But

Psalm 139:1-2 These days, we are incredibly sensitive about protecting our personal data. Quite rightly, we don’t want everyone to know everything about us. We have no doubt all received emails or letters from organisations who know far more about us than we would want. However, this psalm reveals, with breath-taking clarity, that there is someone who knows absolutely everything about us – and I mean absolutely everything! God not only knows our name, address, phone number, bank account and medical details but also what we are thinking, feeling and what we are going to say next. Nothing is hidden from him. If you are hearing this for the first time, I realise it might sound alarming. You may not like the idea of having absolutely no secrets. But that’s how it is. It’s simply a fact. God created you and knows everything there is to know about you. If God had bad intentions, it would be horrifying that he is so well informed. But the exact opposite is true. He loves us completely, and so the fact that he kn

Psalm 138:8 When you sing about it or listen to a sermon on the subject, guidance can often sound very straightforward. But life rarely runs in a straight line. King David, who wrote this psalm, was definitely aware of that. He got himself into endless scrapes and was always up against determined opposition. He was never without external enemies but, in addition, there were often many within Israel, and even within his own family, who were determined to bring him down. He was acutely aware of his need to rely upon the Lord for guidance. I am convinced that God has good plans for our lives, but those good things won’t happen without our full cooperation. God won’t enforce his plans upon us, good as they are. It has been wisely said that there is no point in asking God to guide our footsteps if we are not willing to move our feet. Sitting in an armchair, waiting for guidance, is rarely the way to discover God’s will. We need to get up and start walking. As we do so, I believe God will lead us in the right wa

Acts 2:44-45 It’s fascinating to see the impact that the Holy Spirit had in the earliest days of the early Church. He transformed every part of their life. Yes, they were committed to teaching, fellowship and prayer but they also looked at their possessions with new eyes. They were eager to find opportunities to share their resources with one another, according to people’s needs. This was revolutionary stuff. It is really important to ensure that a church’s teaching, fellowship and prayer life are strong. But if they don’t affect our attitude towards our material possessions, something has gone seriously wrong. I don’t believe that there is just one way of doing this. This very brief description of the early Church gives the impression that all the Christians lived together in community. It sounds very simple and straightforward, however, I don’t think anyone who has lived in community would describe it as either simple or straightforward! I remember one Christian leader, when asked to pick one word to de

Acts 2:42 The first weeks of the early Church must have been amazing. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit totally transformed the situation. From a small group of disappointed and frightened believers, there was now a large number of people fired up with a determination to change the world. These verses in Acts give us the first clues of what the Church looked like - and this verse spells out three key aspects. Firstly, the believers needed teaching. The Christians in Jerusalem were probably all from a Jewish background, and so they needed to be shown how Jesus was the fulfilment of their scriptures. They also needed to be reminded of Jesus’ teaching because they may well have all heard different parts of it. We need to remember that it was decades later that the Gospels were written, however at this point in time, people had almost certainly started to write down some of Jesus’ sayings. Secondly, Christians gathered to eat together. Sharing meals is a wonderful way of deepening relationships and this was