Be Still And Know

Colossians 1:13-14 'God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.' The apostle Paul was absolutely clear that when someone becomes a Christian, their whole life changes completely. We move to a new country! The kingdom of darkness is now behind us and we have entered the kingdom of light with Jesus Christ standing at the centre of it. In that new country, we experience freedom for the first time in our life, having been set free from all those things that conspire to enslave us. Slavery was a normal everyday part of Roman society and Paul often spoke of life before becoming a Christian as being like a form of spiritual slavery. Without Christ we are slaves to our own selfish will and passions, all of which are ultimately destructive. But Christ has made it possible for us to be set free. Under Roman law it was possible for a slave to be freed from slavery. It was a process called manumission and one of th

Colossians 1:11-12 'We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.' Life can often be incredibly tough. Paul often spoke of the challenges which he had faced personally which included rejection, betrayal, shipwrecks, imprisonment, beatings and much else besides. He also knew that the Colossian church was going through a difficult time, and would have to face many challenges in the future. He knew that they needed huge strength to keep going in a godly way. Most people who face attack will fight back, but Paul knew that this was not what God wanted. They needed to know how to endure and be patient when they were under extreme pressure. The word for patience used to be translated as ‘long suffering’ and that is a very good literal translation of the Greek. Being patient is tough enough but to be long suffering is beyond all of us. The only way in which we will keep on bei

Colossians 1:9 'We have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.' I recently heard someone saying that the situation they were facing was so desperate that all they could do was pray about it. They made it sound as if their situation was so hopeless that they were willing to grasp at any option, however daft. We need to be clear that the apostle Paul saw prayer in a completely different way. For him, prayer was not the last resort but the first. He prayed for the people in Colossae because, even though he didn’t know them, he cared about them desperately and, having heard of their faith in Christ, he longed that they would thrive as Christians in a tough environment. Paul’s prayer for the Colossian Christians was that they would know God’s will. That always needs to be at the heart of our prayers. Prayer is never our opportunity to tell God what we think is best, or to ask him to im

Colossians 1:6 'This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.' Following Christ always involves radical change. James and John had to leave their boats and their fishing nets to follow Jesus. Zacchaeus, the tax collector, had to make things right with all the people that he had defrauded. And Saul, the devout Jew who was determined to stamp out the Church, changed his name and his whole direction of life by becoming Jesus’ most passionate ambassador. Christ meets us as individuals. And so the changes that take place in our lives will be unique to us. As a teenager, I heard many amazing testimonies from people who had been dramatically changed by Christ. I heard about people who had been on hard drugs for years and who had found new life and liberty in their faith. I listened to people who had pursued a life of crime and w

Colossians 1:4-5 'We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven.' Having hope is incredibly important. The famous Russian writer, Fyodor Dostoevsky, wrote: “To live without hope is to cease to live. Hell is hopelessness.” Above the entrance to Dante’s hell was the inscription: “Leave behind all hope, you who enter here.” The Colossian church had the precise opposite experience. They were so confident of the future that God had for them that they were full of hope, and that inspired both their faith in Christ and their love for their Christian brothers and sisters. It was like an engine inside them producing nothing but blessing. Human life is often, tragically, characterised by hopelessness. In 1850, Bishop Wilberforce said: “I dare not marry for the future is so dark and unsettled.” In 1851, the Duke of Wellington, who will always be remembered for his outstanding military victories, said:

Colossians 1:3-4 'We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.' We have no reason to believe that Paul and Timothy had ever visited the church in Colossae. It was a relatively minor town in what we now know as Turkey, and there is no reference in the book of Acts to them paying a visit. However, although they hadn’t met the Colossians, Paul and Timothy had heard all about them and kept them constantly in their prayers. The key facts that they knew about the Colossian Christians included their strong faith in Jesus and their love for other Christians. This is the calling of every follower of Christ, because loving him immediately brings us into relationship with other Christians. When we start following Christ we are, unfortunately, not cured of our natural self-centredness. It is, unfortunately, totally possible for Christians to be extremely self-centred in their discipleship.

Colossians 1:2 Paul and Timothy wrote: “We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace.” Colossae was not a particularly important town, overshadowed by its rich and much more illustrious neighbours, Laodicea and Hierapolis. We don’t have any reason to think that Paul ever visited the church there. However, in this important letter he wanted them to know how significant they were. He calls them saints, God’s holy people. What mattered was not how they viewed themselves, or how other people saw them. It was their relationship with God that was all important. And he saw them as a special people, set apart for him. Many people have a very low view of themselves. They are convinced that they are of no importance. They don’t count. It’s the people with gifts, money and influence who really matter in this life. But God would disagree with that. Everyone is important because all of us have been made in his

Psalm 119:1-2 'Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.' This is the beginning of what is by far the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible. It is made up of 22 sections, each one of which begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of those sections is made up of eight verses and the whole psalm is beautifully designed like a piece of intricate tapestry. It is nothing like those psalms in which the psalmist pours out his emotions of anger, sorrow and joy. The whole purpose of this psalm is to declare the blessing of God’s laws, because they are the key to living life to the full. It’s as if the psalmist sees God’s instructions as being so beautiful that, like a diamond, every single angle of them needs to be identified and celebrated. When we first hear the word ‘law’ we are inclined to think of restrictions, and no one likes the thought of that. We want to be free to do

Psalm 118:5-6 'In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?' The Duke of Wellington said: “The only thing I am afraid of is fear.” He had good reason to say this. Doctors tell us that fear can have a huge effect on our lives. It can lead to accelerated ageing and even premature death. Fear can cause damage to certain parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus, and this can make it even more difficult to regulate fear and leave a person feeling anxious. The psalmist knew all about fear. We can’t be sure who he was, but it is clear from this psalm that he was a national leader. He reflected on the experience of being surrounded by hostile nations. They swarmed around him like bees and did their best to kill him (Psalm 118:10- 13). Such experiences are far away for the majority of us but whoever we are, we all face situations that can invite us to feel fearful. Perhaps it is a health issue, concerns

Psalm 117 'Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord!' So reads the whole of Psalm 117. It’s the shortest psalm but it has an enormous message which embraces the whole of the Bible. That is to say, every single person needs to join in praising God. Praising him isn’t confined to a little group of fervent believers. He is God of the world and so needs to be worshipped by everyone. I love the fact that all the churches I know draw together people from a number of different nations. Some of them choose to display the flags of the countries that are represented in the congregation and this seems to me a wonderful way of affirming this great psalm. Although God had a very special relationship with the people of Israel, it was never his intention that they alone should worship him. God’s heart was always for non-Jews as well as the Jewish nation. When the apostle Paul wrote to the

Psalm 115:1 'Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.' It is said that William Wilberforce marked the passing of the bill to abolish the slave trade by meditating on this psalm. However great our human successes, it is always our first duty to worship God and to praise him for his greatness and provision. The reason for that is simple. Everything we have and are comes to us as a gift from God, and so we need to make sure that he is the first one to get the praise. This is not to ignore the massive amount of hard work, fiery determination and sheer courage that Wilberforce put into the campaign to dismantle the slave trade. From our modern perspective, the slave trade appears so obviously evil that it is hard to believe that the struggle was so great. However, the grim reality is that it was a very long and bitter battle during which Wilberforce and his friends struggled against huge vested interests including, not least, within the Church

Exodus 34:9 Moses said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favour with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession.” What an incredible job Moses had! The people had rebelled against God in the most dramatic way. They knew that Moses had gone up Mount Sinai to meet with God, but they were fed up with waiting and so they constructed a new god of their own, who they then worshipped with huge enthusiasm. To describe Moses as disappointed would be a huge understatement. He must have been gutted. Who would have blamed him if he had decided to throw in the towel? Who would want to be the leader of such a rude and rebellious people? But the fact is that Moses hung in there, and he did so because he knew the nature of his God. In the previous verses the Lord revealed himself as a God of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and filled with faithfulness, lavishing unfailing love to a thousa

Exodus 32:1 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” Moses spent 40 days and nights on top of Mount Sinai receiving the instructions which were to be the foundation of life for the people of Israel. Not only was he given the Ten Commandments but also detailed plans for the building of the tabernacle, which would be the focus of the people’s worship. Forty days and nights was, however, too long for the people, who became desperately impatient. They became restless and decided to look for some different gods to lead them. Incredibly, Aaron, Moses’ brother and trusted co-leader, took the lead in this and commanded the people to bring him their gold rings so that they could be melted down in order to make a calf out of them. He then set up an altar so that the people could worship their newly

Exodus 23:9 'You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.' The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 400 years, and so they had a huge experience of being foreigners. Throughout that time, they knew that their true home was elsewhere and that one day they would enter the land that the Lord had given them. This meant that, of all people, they had reason to be sensitive to the vulnerabilities of foreigners in their community. Time and again, the law of Moses reminds them of this important responsibility. When I lived in India, I had the huge privilege of living with an Indian family. They generously took me into their home where we shared meals, worship, leisure and a lot of laughs. They couldn’t have been more generous. But the truth is that I didn’t speak their language at all at first, and was never fluent. Their customs were very unfamiliar to me and I often felt rather lost. It was only the kindness and consi

Exodus 23:8 'Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.' I had never really thought about bribes until I spent two years living in India. There we spoke about bribes on a regular basis because bribery was a normal part of life. Soon after I arrived, a servant girl was murdered near where we lived. Her body was found at the bottom of a well. I was very alarmed by this, and was relieved when my Indian host told me that the murderer had been found. I asked what would happen to them and my gentle, gracious Christian host explained in a very straightforward manner that nothing would happen because he had bribed the police. I am not for a moment suggesting that our justice system is perfect, but I was really shocked. Bribery takes place in many countries on a regular basis. In India, it was well known that the only way to get a delivery of full gas canisters was to bribe the driver. Bribery was just a normal part of life an

Exodus 23:5 'If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.' These laws make fascinating reading. Here the people are told that they have a responsibility to other people, whoever they are. If you see the donkey of your enemy struggling, the immediate ungodly response would be to say of the owner: “Serves him right. Just what he deserves.” But God declares that our responsibility is to give practical support to other people whether they are our close friends or enemies. This law reminds us of the words of Jesus, who went even further. We are not merely to be caring towards our neighbours but we have a responsibility to love them. This command, more than any other, shows that Jesus was turning normal human thinking upside down. Jesus seemed to take it for granted that his followers would have enemies, just as he had throughout his ministry. There is no way of avoiding that. But the person who walks in Jesus’ steps has a completely d

Exodus 23:2-3 'When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. And do not slant your testimony in favour of a person just because that person is poor.' Telling the truth is absolutely crucial in a healthy society. However uncomfortable and awkward the truth might be, it needs to be proclaimed and followed at all times, or society is in peril. That means that we must not bend the truth even when we are seeking to help vulnerable people. When I first read this verse I thought it was a misprint. Surely the greatest danger is of bending the truth because a person is powerful and influential. But in saying that we mustn’t slant the truth in favour of a poor person, God is saying that we mustn’t play around with the truth whoever the person might be. However sympathetic we might be to a vulnerable and needy person, it is still vital for us to uphold the truth. I have no doubt that we all seek to tell the truth. We have been brought up to do so and we know it’s the co

Exodus 20:13-17 God said, “You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely against your neighbour. You must not covet your neighbour’s house.” These blunt commandments are even more brief in Hebrew, where a better translation would be: “No murder. No adultery. No stealing.” In quick succession, God sets out the activities that must be stopped if a community is to thrive. Having respect for human life, marriage, property and truth-telling are foundational to a peaceful and harmonious society, and coveting what others have can only be destructive. On first reading, the trouble with these commandments is that they sound so negative. But the reason for this is, quite clearly, because God’s desire is the best. He won’t settle for anything less than that and so he is ruthlessly opposed to anything that will spoil life for his much- loved children. The sanctions showed how serious he was. Murder would lead to capital punishment, adultery to stoning and the thie

Exodus 20:8-10, 12 'Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God... Honour your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.' Here are the first two positive commandments. The first three declared that we shouldn’t put any other gods in front of the true God, shouldn’t make idols and shouldn’t blaspheme. Having established those foundational principles, we are given positive guidance on how to build a secure, God-focused society. The first is by ordering our time properly, and the second is through building strong families. Respect for the Sabbath is far more important than merely having a day off each week. That is undoubtedly a wise and healthy thing to do but the principle reason for respecting the Sabbath is that, by so doing, we put God in the place that is rightfully his. The Sabbath day is dedicated to the

Exodus 20:6-7 God said: “I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.” The word commandment sounds demanding and perhaps even harsh, and so we need to be clear that God’s motivation was lavish, unfailing love. When I think back to my childhood, I recall that my father had some very clear principles. The most major amongst them was showing respect to my mother, and if I said or did anything that suggested less, I would know about it! There is absolutely no question that his reaction was based on love for my mother – and also for me, although it could seem and feel quite harsh at the time. In a similar way, God insists that his name must be given absolute respect, and the penalties for showing disrespect would be very severe. Some devout Jews have taken this commandment to mean that we shouldn’t use the word God at all, but that seems unnecessary