Be Still And Know

Mark 1:7-8 It’s always great to see people who know what their job is in life and are happy to get on and do it. I am thinking of the carpenters, car mechanics, ministers, nurses, carers, office workers and teachers that I know. All sorts of people who have discovered where their gifts are best used and who happily devote their time and energy to doing the very best that they can. That well describes John the Baptist. He knew exactly what his God-given role was. It was to prepare the way for the Son of God. He knew that he had a vital task to perform but that all the attention should go to Jesus, and not to him. Let me ask you a straight question. Do you know what your God-given role is in life? I’ve often found that people struggle with this question. They are not sure whether they have found God’s role for them and, very often, I find that people tend to be quite dismissive of what they are doing at the moment, seeing it as not very important. They imagine that God has something much more significant for th

When Mark put together his Gospel, he had a very clear purpose. You might have thought he was going to take us through the life story of Jesus, but he doesn’t. He totally disregards the first 30 years of Jesus’ life. He doesn’t tell us about Jesus’ birth, education, employment or relationships. We would be fascinated to know about all of those things, but Mark wants to get to the heart of the matter - which is that Jesus was nothing other than the Son of God. He was the Messiah, the one that the Jews had been anticipating for centuries. It is generally agreed that Mark was the first person to write a Gospel. Matthew, Luke and John’s were written in very different circumstances over the next 30 or 40 years but it was Mark who was breaking new ground. He was probably relying on Peter’s eye-witness account of Jesus’ ministry, and it is believed that he wrote it in Rome. Many scholars believe that he wrote his Gospel around AD 60, so that’s a full generation after the earthly life of Jesus. Mark devotes himself t

The psalmist isn’t merely talking about house building in this famous psalm. He is talking about everything we build – a life, relationship, family, organisation, city, or society. There is no point in building anything without God, because it is bound to fail. Throughout the Bible we are introduced to people who tried to go it alone. Adam and Eve are the supreme examples, but they were merely setting the pace for a succession of people who felt they knew better than God and who tried to build their lives without him. Jesus’ teaching about the vine is very similar to this verse where he concludes “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We simply weren’t created by God to act independently of him. It doesn’t work. The God who created us knows us better than we know ourselves, and it is only as we work in partnership with him that we can be confident of the future. This psalm is entitled a psalm of Solomon, and he was, supremely, a builder. He had the privilege of building the awesome temple in Jerusale

Psalm 126:5-6 If you know anything about farming you will know that it is hard work. But just imagine how incredibly tough it was in the psalmist’s day without the help of modern machinery. Planting was back breaking work, but year by year the farmer would sow his seed with the confidence of knowing that, one day, there would be a harvest. We cannot be sure, but it seems as if this psalm was written in celebration of the return from exile. After years in Babylon, the people finally had the opportunity to return to their homeland. They had had a tough time but now, at last, they were able to return to their beloved Jerusalem. Recently, I visited a minister and his wife working for the Lord on a tough housing estate. I hadn’t seen them for a few years and I was eager to hear their story. Quite apart from all the extra demands and pressures of Covid, they had faced a number of other challenges. There had been many tears and much hard work. But now they were beginning to see some significant signs of growth a

Psalm 125:1-2 I love these Psalms of ascent, which the pilgrims used as they travelled to Jerusalem. In this particular psalm, we almost get the feeling that we are travelling with them as they gazed at the mountains around Jerusalem. Even the mountains themselves spoke to them of the security they had in God. I don’t find it surprising that Christians throughout the centuries have found pilgrimages helpful as a way of encouraging them to focus on God. The psalmists were always incredibly honest about the threats of life, which seemed to come from all sides. There never seemed to be a shortage of enemies and there were also internal threats and doubts. But the psalmists were confident of their God and, time and again, they spoke about God as their rock, fortress and high tower. The threats might be real and scary, but God could always be relied upon to be much stronger. I am often struck by the speed with which people’s lives can change. It might be a heart attack, a road accident, a business collapse or the

Psalm 124:8 I wonder if you ever have “What if” conversations. You know the sort of thing: What if I had had a different career? What if I had gone to a different school? What if we had moved to a different town? In this psalm, David reflected on an even bigger question. He began the psalm with the question: “What if the Lord had not been on our side?” As the pilgrims made their way up to Jerusalem, he encouraged them to reflect on how terrible life would have been if God had not been on their side. He reflected that the people who had attacked them would have swallowed them alive in their burning anger. “The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us” (Psalm 124:4). It might seem a strange thing to do, but perhaps all of us, from time to time, should stand back from life and just imagine what it would be like if God had not been with us. It seems to me that this should fuel two responses. Firstly, it should strengthen our gratitude for all that God has done for us. It is so easy for u

Galatians 6:18 The story of John Newton is well known. He first went to sea with his father when he was eleven years old and soon became deeply involved in working on slave ships. It was a terrible experience and, after falling out with the crew of the Pegasus in 1745 he even found himself in slavery. Three years later, he was rescued and, on his return home, he read the Bible and became a Christian. He finally became a Church of England vicar and famously reflected on his conversion in his hymn ‘Amazing grace’. His life was completely transformed. He knew that it was entirely down to God’s gracious gift to him and, in his later years, he fought for the abolition of the slave trade. The apostle Paul often reflected on the amazing grace of God. The word ‘grace’ takes us right to the heart of God’s nature. He is a generous God who loves to share his gifts with us, and he did that supremely by sending Jesus into the world to be our saviour. When he wrote to the Ephesians, Paul said: “We praise God for the glo

Galatians 6:17 Alan Paton wrote a book called Cry, the Beloved Country (Simon & Schuster) and was a fierce opponent of apartheid in South Africa. He once wrote about his death: “When I go up there, which is my intention, the Big Judge will say to me, Where are your wounds? and if I say I haven’t any, he will say, Was there nothing to fight for? I couldn’t face that question.” If we are willing to stand up for truth and justice in this world, we will pay a price for it. That was certainly the apostle Paul’s experience. He was thrilled with the new life that Christ had given him, but he had to pay a very high price. When he wrote to the church in Corinth, Paul recounted the many occasions when he had suffered physically. He had been: “whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty- nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea” (2 Corinthi

Galatians 6:14 There was clearly a lot of boasting going on amongst the Galatians! There were those who boasted of the fact that they continued to keep the Jewish law. They continued to practice circumcision and to stand by the Old Testament law. They were convinced that they were doing extremely well, and looked down their noses at Paul, who was firmly opposed to circumcision for Christians and who spoke constantly about the inadequacies of the law. Paul was keen to do his own boasting but that was focused entirely upon the cross of Christ. For him, what Christ had done on the cross was all important. Through the cross he had found true freedom and a wonderful new life. I wonder when you last boasted. You were so proud of something that had happened in your life, or in someone close to you, that you just couldn’t wait for the opportunity to tell other people about it. I visited a couple yesterday and they couldn’t wait to tell me all about their grandson and his progress. He is two years old and extremely br

Galatians 6:7-8 The principle of “you reap what you sow” is both obvious and profound. If you sow a field full of wheat you would be crazy to expect a crop of potatoes. It’s so obvious that it hardly needs saying, but the message fundamentally challenges the way in which we live each day, because each word that we speak and action that we perform will have consequences. If we are kind, gracious and loving then there will be one kind of outcome, and if we are spiteful, angry and destructive there will be a completely different result. Paul drew the conclusion that we should, therefore, not become tired of doing good things, knowing that sooner or later there will be a good harvest. Of course, the problem is that it often takes a long time to see any positive outcome from doing good. It is possible to work in a children’s or youth club for years before you see any positive outcomes. I have known people work in local churches for decades without seeing any tangible successes. Indeed, sometimes people are unkind

Galatians 6:6 It’s not surprising that Paul spoke so clearly about the need to care for teachers in the early Church. They had a crucial role and, if they were not supported by the financial gifts of the church members, they would starve. The Galatian Christians needed to be reminded of their responsibilities. When Paul wrote to his young colleague Timothy, he referred to the need to show respect for church leaders and ensure they were well paid. He used an interesting verse from the Old Testament to support this view. “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). Perhaps you hadn’t thought of comparing your church leader to an ox but the point was clear – the church members needed to accept the responsibility to provide for their teachers and leaders. Churches are far more organised these days and most churches have a thoughtful and responsible way of supporting their ministers. But it is still important for church members to be alert to their responsibilit

Galatians 6:4-5 In the previous couple of verses, Paul spoke of the importance of us helping other people to carry their heavy burdens. Now he reminds the Galatians that they have their own burden to bear. The word he uses is also used of a soldier’s pack; that is to say we all have a certain amount that we have to carry. We have responsibilities to bear and sometimes, we just need to get on with it and do the very best that we can. When our lives come to an end, the Lord will not ask us whether we lived like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Martin Luther or Mother Theresa. He will ask us whether we lived the lives that he called us to live. Perhaps you have the awesome responsibility of being a shop worker, a cleaner, a teacher, an accountant, an MP or a carer. Whatever it is, God wants us to be the very best that we can be. Comparing ourselves to other people totally misses the point because the Lord is not calling us to be anybody other than the person we are. Spending energy comparing ourselves with others, or f

Galatians 6:2-3 We live in a society that appears to be far more interested in rights than responsibilities. That is not to say that rights are unimportant, because they are clearly crucial. The right to free speech, health, safety, care and justice are fundamental to society. However, none of them will ever happen unless we are all willing to take responsibility. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks powerfully put it: “Without responsibility, rights are a cheque on an empty account.” Here Paul describes the church as a community of people, each of whom needs to take responsibility for carrying each other’s burdens. He had no thought of the church as being there for us to gain inspiration and support so that we can live independent lives. Sharing other people’s burdens isn’t something that happens quickly. It is a tragedy that for so many people the experience of church is confined to attending worship services. Good as it is to worship with other people, such occasions are rarely an opportunity to get to know people well

Galatians 6:1 Sadly, in every organisation of human beings things sometimes go wrong. It’s sad but also an inevitable fact. I love the gracious and positive way in which this verse addresses the issue. When someone sins it is not the end of the world. We don’t need to make a drama out of it, but action needs to be taken, and quickly. The goal is always restoration, but that needs to be done really carefully. The three major qualifications of people who help with restoring someone who has done wrong are godliness, gentleness and humility. A godly person has their mind fixed on serving God and not themselves. They get involved in helping someone who has slipped up because of their love for God and their desire for his honour and glory. Clearly it would be disastrous if a person got involved because they were looking for their own glory, or because they just loved getting involved in the action. Gentleness is a crucial quality. Strong arm tactics will never achieve God’s purposes. Gentleness might be thoug

Galatians 5:25-26 Living in step with the Holy Spirit sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Just imagine a life which is full of love, joy, peace and all the other beautiful fruit of the Spirit. This must surely be life at its best. But the apostle Paul knew that the life of the Spirit had to be lived out in a world in which sin is still alive and well. I often hear people express disappointment in their church. They have found that there is a big gap between the pure life of the Spirit and the attitudes and actions of their Christian brothers and sisters. Paul was clearly well aware of this, and it is significant that he follows this challenge to live by the Spirit with the reminder that the Galatians needed to stop being conceited, jealous or provoking one another. We cannot be sure what was in Paul’s mind as he wrote these words but it is probable that he was concerned about those who had become conceited because they believed that they were more spiritual than others. Those who continued to obey the Jewish law str

Galatians 5:22-23 These beautiful spiritual qualities are the inevitable result of the Holy Spirit taking control of a person’s life. You can be sure of the genuineness of a person’s spiritual experience when you see these qualities flowing. It’s interesting that Paul speaks here of the fruit of the Holy Spirit but makes no mention of the gifts, which are also the result of the Spirit being at work in someone’s life. Perhaps the reason for this is that the gifts of the Spirit can be mimicked, but the fruit cannot. Jesus spoke of those who, on judgment day, would say: “Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.” And Jesus added that he would have to reply: “I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws” (Matthew 7:22-23). Nobody would doubt the beauty of the fruit of the Spirit. We all want our lives to be characterised by these beautiful qualities - but whether or not we display them is in our own hands. There need be no dou

Galatians 5:16-17 It’s always refreshing when you meet someone who is completely honest. The apostle Paul was such a man. In Romans 7:18-19, he gave an astonishingly frank account of how he ticked. He talked about the way he struggled with his sinful nature, summing it up this way: “I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” That all sounds rather bleak doesn’t it? However, whoever we are, we all know how easy it is for our selfish nature to dominate our lives, even when we know that that’s the wrong way to go. But we don’t need to despair because God offers to lead us by his Holy Spirit. He is able to give us the wisdom and strength to choose a better way. Paul then gave an agonising list of the destructive consequences of leaving our selfish nature in the driving seat. What’s fascinating is that he wouldn’t need to come up with a different list if he was addressing us today. Look at it. “Sexual immorality, impur

Galatians 5:7-9 We all know what is to be disappointed. It may be that someone has let you down, or that things just haven’t worked out in the way that you had hoped. Paul’s letter to the Galatians is dominated by his deep and agonising disappointment that they had allowed false teaching to mislead them. He wondered whether his ministry to them had been a complete failure. This was clearly intensely painful for Paul, because he longed to see them become joyful and fruitful Christians and it had all gone horribly wrong. They had gone back to following the rules and restrictions from which Christ had set them free. It’s easy to understand how quickly and easily false teaching spread in the early Church. Christianity was new and very few people had a deep knowledge or experience of it. Many people came from a Jewish background and they found it very difficult to understand the radical nature of the changes that Christ had brought about. Others came from a background in other religions and they were easily persua

Galatians 4:6-7 When I hear the word ‘father’ I immediately think of my own. We probably all do exactly the same thing. I think of a gentle and kind Christian man. He was a businessman and a busy member of our church, and was always absolutely devoted to my mother and his four children. He died a few years ago and I thank God for him. But I am well aware that the word can also trigger completely different reactions. For some people it reminds them of someone who was cruel, dismissive and rude to them. Does that mean that we should stop referring to God as a father? I don’t believe so. A number of people who have had bad experiences of fatherhood have told me how they desperately needed to know they had a heavenly father who was completely faithful and loving to them. The truth is, whatever experience we have had of human fatherhood, our fathers have not been perfect. Only God himself offers us that kind of fatherhood. Now that we are fully a part of God’s family we have the incredible privilege of cal

Galatians 3:11 For the apostle Paul, this was the crunch issue. The only way to be made right with God is through faith. He was addressing many people who believed that obeying the law was crucial for all Christians, but he argued that however well we live, we will always fail. By our own efforts, we will never be able to put right our relationship with God. Coming from a strict Jewish background, Paul knew all about the significance of the law. From his earliest days he had been taught that he needed to obey the letter of the law in order to please God. He had then been taught by the Pharisees, who were meticulous in their adherence to the law. So Paul knew exactly what he was talking about! He knew that the law could only ever be a burden, and that’s why he was so excited that Jesus came to set us free. Because of the impossibility of pleasing God by our hard work, all we can do is receive his salvation as a gift. This all sounds so simple but, interestingly, we find it surprisingly difficult to receive