Be Still And Know

READ: 1 Corinthians 13.4-7 NLT 'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.' I am sure that you have often heard these famous words. They give us the most beautiful description of love and, understandably, they are often read at weddings. Love sounds incredibly attractive doesn’t it? We would all long to be as loving as this. But there’s a problem. A very big problem, and we won’t make any progress until we have recognised it. The problem is that no amount of human effort will enable us to be as loving as this. However hard we try we are bound to fail. The reason for that is that the only way to show perfect love is by enabling God to work through us. Hard as we might try, we will never succeed in being truly lo

READ: 1 Corinthians 13.1 NLT 'If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.' I will never forget Sheila. She was in her early 70s when I first met her and every Friday evening, without fail, she helped out with her church’s youth club. The church was on a rough estate and the evenings were full of action. The young people were rarely appreciative and at times violent. The language they used was normally rude and often deeply offensive. I could go on but I am clearly not describing a relaxing evening, to put it mildly! And yet, Friday after Friday, Sheila would faithfully go and support the youth club with the hope that it might be a blessing to the young people and possibly even lead them closer to finding faith in Jesus. I only know one word to describe that kind of commitment – love. Sheila truly loved those young people and nothing would stop her seeking to help them. I’ve started with a personal example because we all

READ: 1 Corinthians 12.14 and 16-17 NLT 'Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?' I love Paul’s sense of humour! He imagines a conversation going on within the body which is plainly ridiculous. It would be crazy if the ear were to complain that it wasn’t a proper part of the body because it wasn’t an eye. But, funny as it is, Paul is making a very serious point. He is talking about inferiority complexes and they get everywhere. Many people in churches look down on themselves. Some think they don’t count because they are only a Sunday school teacher, or only a cleaner, or only a newcomer. Paul wants to make it clear that, so far as God is concerned, there are no “only” people in the church. Every single person is vital. Paul recognises that there is another prob

READ: 1 Corinthians 12.4-7 NLT 'There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.' I often hear people being described as gifted. They may be a particularly able pianist, flower arranger or speaker. I totally understand what is being said, but it could be very misleading. It seems to suggest that there are two types of people – those who are gifted and those who are, sadly, not gifted at all. This passage makes it clear that every one of us is gifted. Whatever your age, strength, ability or disability, background or temperament you have got a unique gift that God, in his generosity, has given to you. Our task is therefore to discover the gift that God has given to us and to make sure that we use it. People have often told me that they don’t know what the

READ: 1 Corinthians 11.27-28 NLT 'So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.' If you are employed then you probably have the delight of an annual appraisal. The intention is to stand back from how things are going in order to acknowledge what went badly and what went well, and to reflect on how things could be strengthened for the year ahead. Conducted well, appraisals can be a great blessing and I have always been grateful for the ones that I have had. Here Paul is suggesting that we need to conduct a self-appraisal on a regular basis before we meet together to celebrate Christ’s death for us on the cross. The Corinthian church had clearly made a huge mess of their services. When they had a meal together to celebrate Jesus’ death some of them ate so much that there was nothing left for others. It makes their services sound like a riot!

READ: 1 Corinthians 10.31 NLT 'So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.' Life throws up many challenges for us in the 21st Century, and it was no different in Paul’s day. One of the issues that he had to face was that sometimes meat was taken to pagan temples as an act of worship before being sold by the butchers. Paul is quite clear that pagan gods were not true gods and so it really didn’t matter if the meat had been waved in front of them. But if someone were to point out that they had been presented in the temple then he concluded that it would be better not to eat it, out of respect for the informant’s conscience. It was a tricky issue but clearly a live one in Paul’s day and he had to find a careful way of handling it. The key principle in all of this was that whatever you do it needs to be done for the glory of God. Every day we have to make decisions. Most of them are simple and straightforward but, like Paul, we need to be clear about the guiding principle.

READ: 1 Corinthians 9.19 and 22-23 NLT 'Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ... When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.' I love meeting people who are passionate about something, whatever it is. It may be their love of horses or of a particular football club or their devotion to gardening. You sense that their whole life is tuned into their passion and I find it fascinating learning how they organise their lives. Paul was clearly passionate about people finding salvation in Jesus and here he gives us a very clear insight into how he was wired. He lets us see his strategy for spreading this amazing message. His method was to get alongside people whatever their background or their way of life. Whether they were a Jew or a Gentile, weak o

READ: 1 Corinthians 4.16-17 NLT 'I urge you to imitate me. That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.' The disciples learnt how to follow Jesus by looking at his example. They saw the way in which he responded to the constant demands of his ministry. They saw his kindness and patience and the way in which he welcomed every kind of person. They were often shocked by the things that he said and by the sort of people that he spent time with. Until now they had steered well clear of prostitutes, tax collectors and people with leprosy but Jesus always seemed to have time for them. As the disciples looked at Jesus, they learnt what it meant to be one of his followers. Paul wasn’t around at the time of Jesus’ ministry but he recognised the crucial importance of people learning by example, and he offers his life as one to be imitated. How else would people learn how to put Christian teac

READ: 1 Corinthians 3.5-6 NLT 'After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.'  Think for a moment about the Christian leaders that you have known. I’ve been a Christian a long time and I could easily come up with a list of hundreds of leaders who have helped me to understand the Christian message. I am so grateful to God for them. I can remember very few words that they have spoken even though I must have heard thousands of sermons, but I can easily remember their sincerity, kindness, humour, love, compassion, thoughtfulness and their strength of faith. Every one of them has been different and they have each made their unique contribution. But, at the end of the day, they were all servants. They made their contribution but the person who really matters is God himself because he alone gives life and growth. It is impo

READ: 1 Corinthians 2.1-3 NLT 'When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling.' I once heard about a church that regularly visited the houses nearby. They sent out people two by two and many people got involved. A young girl nervously agreed to join in. She came to one house and a large man came to the door asking in a gruff voice what she wanted. She struggled to speak and then, in a quivering voice, she blurted out, “I’ve come to tell you that Jesus loves you.” The man didn’t know what to do and slammed the door in her face. He went inside and slumped into a chair weeping like a baby. His wife asked what was wrong and he told her that a young girl had just come to their front door and told him that Jesus loved him. He had never had an experience like this before a

READ: 1 Corinthians 1.18 NLT 'The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.' Paul was absolutely sure that the cross of Jesus stood right at the heart of his life and ministry. Nothing was more important than the fact that God showed his perfect love for us by sending Jesus to die the most excruciatingly painful death for us. It was, if you like, the lens through which Paul saw everything. For him it was the most wonderful message in the world communicating God’s love and power and the way in which he could bring peace into the world. So Paul was determined to take every opportunity to speak about the cross. But Paul was more than aware that the message of the cross sounded like nonsense to many people. The Greeks were looking for wisdom. They were very happy to listen to carefully reasoned arguments and to enter into learned debate. But the idea of a man dying at the hands of the Romans, showing that he was totally po

READ: 1 Corinthians 1.4-5 NLT 'I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way.' If you know anything at all about the church in Corinth you will know that it was a disaster area. Everything seemed to be going wrong. They were divided. They had a case of incest in the church and nothing had been done to sort it out. Their times of worship were an embarrassment. They totally misunderstood what the gifts of the Spirit were for, and viewed them competitively. It’s hard to find anything to celebrate but look how Paul starts this letter. He gives thanks for them and for the way in which God had blessed them and rejoices in the way that through Jesus God has enriched them in every way. I love this! He could have kicked off the letter with a long list of moans, but he doesn’t. He begins with encouragement. My junior school was very small and so I found my huge secondary school a very bewildering pla

READ: Proverbs 5.3-5 NLT 'For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.' When you first hear that the Bible is a holy book you might expect that it would steer well clear of subjects such as murder, adultery and abuse. However, in fact the Bible confronts all of these issues on many occasions. Here in Proverbs the writer comments in detail about the temptations of immoral women. He speaks of the way in which they ply their trade and he wants to warn his son of the threat that they pose. They come across as attractive and welcoming. Their words are flattering and enticing. They know how to lure the unsuspecting into their trap. But be warned! The outcome will be a disaster because in fact the path they are offering is as bitter as poison and as dangerous as a double-edged sword. They will lure their victims to death. The

READ: Proverbs 4.18-19 NLT 'The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.' I have spent most of my life living in towns or cities which means that I have had very little experience of darkness. However, when I lived in a village in India I found out exactly what it was like. I can recall occasions when I would walk around on our compound without a single clue as to what was in front of me. Pathetically I would reach out my hands in the hope that I would feel a building or tree before I collided with it. Such complete darkness is very threatening and it isn’t surprising that the Bible often uses it as a picture of living without God. With none of his light to shine on life’s path it is certain that a person will spend their life stumbling about, lurching from one danger to the next. The contrast couldn’t be sharper for the person who walks in God’

READ: Proverbs 3.13-14 NLT 'Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.' Proverbs spends a lot of time reflecting on wealth and the question is – where can you find it? I find it fascinating that the writer often speaks of the preciousness of silver and gold. Some things don’t change. Last year, when the Covid crisis started biting, the price of silver and gold shot up, as people looked for a safe haven for their wealth. Isn’t it fascinating that after thousands of years, even though the world has changed out of all recognition, people are still trying to find safety in the same place? But true wealth lies elsewhere. The writer of Proverbs is convinced that what really matters is wisdom and that needs to be treasured far more than any possessions, beautiful and impressive as they might seem to be. Possessions try to persuade us that they can give us everything that we need to live fulfilled lives, but th

READ: Proverbs 3.9-10 NLT 'Honour the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.' If you have ever supported a charity by getting involved in a door-to-door collection you will, I am sure, have gained deep insights into the different way in which people give their money. A few people just aren’t interested and shut the door quickly. Others are clearly eager to get rid of you but are overwhelmed by a desire to be polite and so grab some loose change and quickly pop it in your collecting box. And others thank you for going to the trouble of visiting and joyfully make a contribution. There are many different ways of giving, and here the writer encourages us to give God the best. It was King David who pointed out that when we give to God all we are doing is giving what he first gave to us. We would never be able to outgive God. It has been wisely said that you make a life out of what you give, not out

READ: Proverbs 3.5-6 NLT 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.' Trusting is something we do all the time. We trust mechanics, electricians, gas engineers, teachers, police, judges, doctors, nurses – the list could go on and on. But the fact is that our trust in them can never be complete, because they are human. They will have good days but, sadly, they will have some bad ones as well. And occasionally, and mercifully this is rare, there are some people who are completely untrustworthy and let us down completely. God is different. When we trust in God we can rely on him completely. We can trust him with the whole of our heart and be confident that he will never let us down. Proverbs is an amazingly practical book that is concerned with how to live life to the full, and the writer is clear that trusting God is the most crucial issue. Every detail of our lives in our families, work and leisure turns

READ: Ephesians 6.10-11 NLT 'A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.' Just imagine if someone were to walk onto a battlefield wearing casual clothes and whistling a merry tune to themselves. The thought is absurd. No one would do that. If you knew that you were heading into battle then, obviously, you would go fully equipped. Paul has made it absolutely clear to his readers that they are an Easter People. He has informed them that they have nothing short of the resurrection power of God at work in their lives. But, at the same time, he has reminded them that they are involved in a daily struggle with the powers of evil. Paul’s conclusion, as he draws this letter to an end, is that they must go into every day fully equipped for the battles that they are going to face. The wonderful truth that Paul shares is that God perfectly equips us for the challenges that we might face. He gives us tr

READ: Ephesians 4.22-24 NLT 'Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.' Do you like change? If I’m honest I have a love hate relationship with change and I suspect we’re all a bit like that. There is much about life that is comfortable and congenial and I would be happy if it stayed the way it is, but there are other things that I would be happy to change in an instant. In these verses Paul confronts us with the fact that, as Easter people, we need to get used to the fact that God is looking for revolutionary change in our lives. And he wants that because his desire is that our lives should be completely blessed, and not merely an improvement on what they used to be. This process of change is so radical that it has to start in our thoughts. Only if God can renew our thinking will any real change take place in our actio

READ: Ephesians 3.20-21 NLT 'Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.' The resurrection of Jesus is so completely amazing that it needs to challenge every aspect of our thinking about life. It needs to take us on to a new level. If God was like us then it would be understandable if we expected only ordinary and predictable things to happen in life. But he isn’t like us. He was able to bring his son Jesus back to life again, and so we need to stop expecting ordinary and predictable things to happen and to expect him to do infinitely more than we can even imagine. William Carey was a Baptist and the founder of the modern missionary movement. He lived in Northamptonshire and worked as a shoemaker at the end of the 18th Century. Carey was overwhelmed by the greatness of God and, in order to become more useful to the Lord, he