Be Still And Know

John 3:29-30 John the Baptist said, “It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at Jesus’ success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John the Baptist knew his place. He knew that he was simply the one who was preparing the way, and that all the attention should be on Jesus. He was like a best man, whose task was to do everything possible to make the wedding go smoothly, but without drawing attention to himself. The focus should be entirely upon the bridegroom and the bride. John knew what his God-given role was and he was clearly happy with it. Indeed, his goal was to become less and less, so that Jesus could become greater and greater. It is never appropriate for Christian leaders to become stars and try to draw attention to themselves. I thank God for men like Billy Graham, who gained considerable fame but consistently pointed people to Jesus with amazing ef

John 3:16-17 'For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.' I recall the first time somebody, other than my parents, told me that they loved me. I can remember everything about that moment. It was simply amazing – and I am sure that those of you who know me will think it was also completely astonishing! However, it happened, and it was absolutely wonderful. In these verses, which are probably the most famous in the entire Bible, we hear the amazing news that God loves us, and that his love is so total that he gladly sent his own son into the world so that we could have eternal life. In the Old Testament, there is great emphasis upon God’s love for the people of Israel, but now we see that the doors are flung open to the whole world. Everyone is welcome. The last thing God wants is for anyone to perish and so he invites e

John 3:3 Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nicodemus was an unlikely visitor to Jesus. He was a Pharisee, and we all know that Jesus was locked in a constant struggle with this group of Jewish leaders throughout his ministry. Perhaps that’s the reason he visited Jesus secretly, at night. He wanted to ask his questions of Jesus without being spotted by his fellow Pharisees. Jesus had no formal accreditation as a Jewish teacher and so it was generous of Nicodemus to address him as “Rabbi”. Clearly, he was impressed by Jesus’ teaching and miraculous signs and acknowledged that they were evidence that he had been sent by God. Jesus didn’t engage with this but responded to Nicodemus with words which would have rocked his world. He needed to be born again. Nicodemus seemed to be confused by Jesus’ words. He was baffled by the thought of entering into his mother’s womb a second time, and so Jesus spelt out exactly what he meant. He ma

John 2:23-25 'Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.' Whether we like it or not, the world knows a great deal about us. Organisations go to extraordinary lengths to store up information on every aspect of our lives so that they can lure us into buying their products and using their services. However, although it might not feel like it at times, there are limits to what they know. They can’t see into the deeper recesses of our minds, but there is one who can. In these remarkable verses, John reveals that Jesus knew all about the people of his time. Some were responding to his message because of the miraculous things that he was doing but Jesus knew that, for many of them, this was a superficial response which would soon evaporate. He understood human nature completely and knew every

John 2:15-16 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” The Gospels generally give us a picture of Jesus as being a calm, compassionate and peaceful person. This account of him clearing the Temple forecourts of traders seems to stand in marked contrast. Jesus was clearly angered by what he saw and determined that it should stop. He longed for his Father’s house to be a focus of prayer and worship, and yet all he could hear was the noise of sheep, cattle, money and shouting traders. It could be argued that the money changers and the sellers of sacrificial animals were all making a contribution to the people’s worship, but they were doing it in such a way as to totally obscure the purpose of the Temple. There’s no doubt t

John 1:45-46 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Wherever you live, I suspect that there is a town not far away that has a dodgy reputation. For whatever reason the place is held in suspicion, and you can’t imagine that anything good would ever come out of it. It is said that Nathanael came from Cana, which is not very far away from Nazareth, and it would appear that it was typical town rivalry which made Nathanael respond in the way that he did. Happily, Philip wasn’t put off by Nathanael’s dismissive response to Jesus. He invited Nathanael to come and see the Messiah for himself – and that changed everything. Jesus saw Nathanael and made the amazing statement: “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” Within moments, Nathanael declared that Jesus was the Son of God, the king of

John 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” I love the sheer simplicity of this verse. Jesus called Philip to follow him and he did! From this moment on, Philip’s life was defined by following Jesus, right up to the moment when he was crucified upside down in Hierapolis about 50 years later. I am sure that, throughout those years, he looked back to that initial moment when he responded to the call of Jesus. John’s Gospel is all about following Jesus. So it is no surprise that, in the final chapter, we hear Jesus inviting Peter to follow him. Peter had just told Jesus how much he loved him, but still he said: “Follow me.” Whoever you are, whether you have followed Jesus for years or haven’t yet made up your mind, Jesus says to you: “Follow me.” Christianity is all about a personal relationship with Jesus. Sadly, churches often get in the way. We make it look as if our commitment is to a particular church, but Jesus always needs to be the focus

John 1:40-41 'Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”).' There used to be a lot of talk about friendship evangelism. This was seen as a way of bringing people to hear the good news of Jesus through using friendship. I never liked the sound of it. It sounded scheming and awkward to me. I would much rather talk simply about friendship and that’s exactly what we see in this passage. Friendship is the most natural thing in the world. Andrew met Jesus and then he immediately wanted to share this with his family and friends, so he went to find his brother Simon to introduce him. I was talking to a minister who told me that his church had recently distributed thousands of leaflets to local homes inviting people to their services. It was a huge effort, and no one came. That doesn’t mean that it was a wrong thing to do, but the minister reflected that

John 1:26-27 John the Baptist told them, “I baptise with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognise. Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.” We are familiar with the stories of Jesus, and have probably all seen a number of film portrayals of him. It’s hard for us to imagine that there was a time when people didn’t know who he was. He didn’t stand out in a crowd. It seems that only John the Baptist could spot him, and he recognised exactly who Jesus was and the reason that he had come to the world. He knew that he had a vital ministry of preparing the way for Jesus but that he himself was not worthy of being so much as his slave. The New Testament clearly proclaims that Jesus is alive today. By the power of the Holy Spirit, he continues to be present in our world, but the fact is that the majority of people don’t recognise him. The Church is seen by many people as an irrelevance and, according to some surveys, weekly

John 1:16-17 'From God’s abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.' People have very different understandings of God. Some see him as being a strict disciplinarian, like a divine policeman. They picture him wielding a truncheon and looking for an opportunity to use it. Others see him as a nice old man on a cloud with a flowing beard. He’s basically very kind but completely cut off from normal life. And then there is the picture of God that we find in John’s Gospel, in which we meet someone who is unfailingly generous and involved in every part of our daily life. His principal desire is that we should thrive, and he is looking for every possible way of blessing us. That’s what he did long ago when he gave the law to Moses, then later when he sent Jesus into the world. And that’s still his agenda today in the 21st Century. If you head into today with a conviction that God is gen

John 1:10-12 'Jesus came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognise him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.' Rejection is always painful. If you meet a new group of people and feel unwelcome, it is an uncomfortable experience. But if you are rejected by those who are close to you it is particularly agonising. Many people have had the experience of being rejected by their parents, children or spouse. There is no way of simply brushing off such an experience; it hurts deeply and is likely to continue to have an impact on life for years to come. Our verses today speak of the pain that Jesus experienced in coming to the world that he had created with his Father and being rejected. Even though he came to the Jews, his own much-loved people, many had no time for him. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Although many rejected him, some people believed in him. In the Gospels, we see

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