Be Still And Know

Mark 2:27-28 Jesus said to them: “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” Some years ago, I spent a couple of months living in Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, which is home to a very large number of ultra-orthodox Jews. I very soon learnt, to my surprise, that the Sabbath begins late afternoon on Friday. It begins when the first star is seen in the sky and, from that moment, the shops shut and people go home to begin the rituals that mark the start of the Sabbath. There is something incredibly special about setting aside one day in seven as a day of rest. This was the example that God set when he created the world, and the law of Moses protected the day with a penalty of death for anyone who worked on the Sabbath. Over the centuries, the laws of the Sabbath were developed extensively. By the time of Jesus, there were scores of laws which regulated people’s activities on the day. There were, essen

Mark 2:22 Jesus said: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.” We all know what happens to leather after a few years. It becomes hard and brittle. So just imagine what happens when you put wine into an old leather wineskin. The wine inevitably leaks away. In Jesus’ day, wine was largely stored in wineskins so everyone got the point. If you want to keep your wine, then you need to make sure that you only put it into new wineskins. Jesus’ teaching was radical and new. He was telling people about the new wine of the kingdom of God and firmly telling them that there was no point in them trying to put it into the old wineskins of Judaism. There needed to be a complete revolution. To use the language that he used in other places, it was vital for them to be born again. A new life needed to begin. Many people hear the teaching of Jesus and conclude that they need to turn over a new leaf. The

Mark 2:17 Jesus said: “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” The way in which Jesus lived was a shock to the respectable religious leaders of his day. They were eager to do everything they could to avoid becoming ritually impure, as this would mean they couldn’t take part in temple worship. Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan powerfully describes the situation. The first two people who walked past the wounded man were a priest and a Levite. Jesus wasn’t suggesting that they didn’t care. However, their priority was to remain ritually clean so that they could perform their duties in the temple. Jesus, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be bothered about staying ritually clean according to the Jewish law. He gladly associated with dodgy people, even though he must have known that this would have offended the religious leaders. Here, Jesus explained the reason why he acted in this way. It was because

Mark 1:35 'Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.' Although Jesus’ ministry had only recently begun, he was clearly already very busy. His authoritative preaching and miraculous healings were attracting great interest and he had little time to himself. But he knew that his authority came from God his Father and so he needed to keep in close contact with him. That meant that he had to work hard to find a special time and place to pray. He knew that his ministry relied upon it. As we walk in the footsteps of Jesus, we need to work just as hard to find our special times and places to pray. One thing is certain – personal prayer won’t happen without discipline and determination. We will always be able to fill our time with other activities. The key thing is to become convinced that prayer is our priority and that other activities, however worthy and enjoyable, are of lesser importance. That’s often hard to accept because we tend to judge ourselves (and others

Psalm 108:1-2 92 'My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.' Isn’t it wonderful when you can say that you have total confidence in someone? Perhaps it’s your doctor or dentist, a plumber or a friend that, without hesitation, you could recommend to anyone. You know that they would never let you down. But the reality, of course, is that they are human. However wonderful they might be, they could become sick and, just occasionally, they may forget. You cannot be 100 per cent certain that they will always be reliable. However, our confidence in God is wonderfully different. The psalmist was so confident of God that he burst into song! He knew that God would never let anyone down and so he grabbed every instrument in sight and decided to wake up the day with his song. Martin Luther was a man who showed his confidence in God by courageously standing up against the Church authorities of his time. It would ha

Psalm 107:1-3 'Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.' This psalm celebrates the return of the people after the exile. This was a massive moment in national life and the psalmist is clear that it is entirely because of God’s consistent faithfulness. In the psalm, he looks back through different chapters in the life of God’s people and records the fact that, despite repeated human failings, God did not give up on them. Time after time they rejected his guidance and went their own way, but God did not abandon them. The final verse of the psalm sums up the situation beautifully: “Those who are wise will take all of this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord” (Psalm 107:43). Our own personal stories are not so very different from this. As we look back through ou

1 Timothy 6:20 'Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge.' In Greek, the name ‘Timothy’ literally means ‘he who honours God’. As Paul drew his letter to an end, he challenged Timothy to live up to his name. He would do that by looking after what had been entrusted to him. It is as if Paul was telling him that he had been called by God to look after a treasure chest, and he needed to ensure that it wasn’t spoilt in any way. It needed to be passed on to others. We all have exactly the same responsibility. Our Christian faith is so precious and important that we need to ensure we look after it so we can hand it on to the next generation. Looking after our Christian faith sounds simple enough, but Paul often reminded Timothy that his faith would be continually under attack. Timothy needed to keep away from time-wasting conversations. The Greeks loved nothing better than to engage in philosophical debate and there

1 Timothy 6:17 'Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.' If you look at the world’s stock markets over the past century you will know exactly what the apostle Paul meant! Money is completely unreliable. The 1920s were a time of huge economic expansion. Known as the Roaring Twenties, they saw the advance of many technological innovations including radio, the automobile, aviation and the telephone. But the growth was unsustainable and, in the great crash of 1929, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 40 percent of its value, leading to the deep economic depression of the 1930s. It caused incredible misery for millions of people. More recently, the crashes of 1987 and 2008 saw massive losses on stock markets around the world, with huge implications for the global economy. Paul wasn’t telling his friend Timothy that it was wrong to have money, but simply

1 Timothy 6:12 'Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.' As Paul draws towards the end of his letter to Timothy, he gives his young friend a huge amount of encouragement. He describes him as a man of God and urges him to be the best that he could possibly be. Paul, of all people, knew his frailties, but urged Timothy to nonetheless run as fast as could from anything that might hold him back. Encouragement is so important, isn’t it? We all need it in whatever we do, especially when we are facing major challenges. Paul has no doubt that Timothy is going to face enormous difficulties and intense persecution, so is at pains to encourage him. Many people see the expression “fight the good fight” as a reference to the Olympic Games, although Paul may well have been using military language. Either way, the challenge is clear: the journey ahead was going to be tough and Timothy needed to be totall

1 Timothy 6:9-10 'People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.' This is one of the most misquoted verses in the whole Bible. It is often said that money is the root of all evil. It isn’t. It’s the love of money that’s the real problem. Money is neither good nor bad. It is part of the world that God has made and like everything that he has given us it can be used for our benefit or to our detriment. Time, sex, possessions, creation – and anything else you care to name – can be used to build or to destroy. It’s the love of money that is the problem, because it’s the worst possible love affair. Money promises so much and delivers so little. It promises happiness, security and peace but it cannot buy any of them. The problem with loving money too much

Timothy 6:6-8 'True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.' Everybody can see that to be contented is a wonderful way to be. Oscar Wilde wrote: “True contentment is not having everything, but in being satisfied with everything one has.” Those are wise words and they well reflect the thinking of the stoics, whose philosophy was so influential at the time that Paul wrote. But the apostle goes a step further. Contentment is thoroughly good, but the best of all worlds is when it is combined with a life that is focused on God. The person who has found a relationship with God can have confidence that they will have peace, whatever their circumstances, for time and eternity. We live in a society that is fundamentally discontent. The advertising industry works hard on us all the time to convince us that our contentment relies

1 Timothy 6:1 'All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching.' It’s hard for us to imagine what it must have been like to live in a society where slavery was normal. Between ten and 20 percent of the population were slaves in Roman times, so it was an issue with which everyone was familiar. Because the members of the early Church were largely drawn from the poorer parts of society, it is likely that the proportion of Christians who were slaves was much higher. It was vital, therefore, that Paul addressed the question of how Christian slaves should act towards their masters, and the fact that he does so in many of his letters shows what a major issue it was. Here, he tells his reader that Christians slaves must give their masters full respect. How tough that must have been, especially if their masters were unreasonable and cruel. And it does not mean that Paul, or Christianity more generally, condoned slavery. However, Paul knew that

1 Timothy 5:19-20 'Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others.' Accusations are always sad, and it is particularly tragic when a church leader is the one being accused. However, I’m afraid that’s all a part of being human and so the Church has to have effective ways of coping with its worst moments. I often hear people say things like: “You wouldn’t expect such things to happen in a church.” My question would be: “Why wouldn’t you expect such things to happen in a church? If a church is made up of sinners, then surely such things are inevitable?” Please don’t think for a moment that I find bad behaviour in any way acceptable. I simply believe that it’s inevitable in a fallen world full of fallen people, and the whole of history supplies ample evidence that I am right. We should all be saddened and heartbroken when things go wrong but, at the

1 Timothy 5:17-18 Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!” As the early Church grew it inevitably had to face the issue of caring for its leaders. The Church was never going to prosper unless leaders were well looked after, and one of the very practical issues was that of pay. Paul had often supported himself through his work as a tent maker but, even so, he had always insisted that it was appropriate for churches to take responsibility for paying for their leaders. Here he refers to the Old Testament law concerning oxen. When the sheaves of corn had been harvested, they would be laid out on the threshing floor and oxen would walk across them, often tethered to a post. The farmer was obviously keen not to lose too much of his crop but, even so, he was commanded

1 Timothy 5:8 'But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.' In days before the welfare state, caring for relatives could be a massive responsibility. Paul was clear that this was fundamental to the Christian faith. It was usual in his society for families to care for one another, and so it was crucial that the Church didn’t lag behind in this. He could hardly have been stronger in his language: if anyone neglected their family responsibilities, they were worse than an unbeliever. It was unthinkable. Caring for our families is very different today. The state provides a huge range of care, and pensions ensure that families are not alone in providing financial support for older people. But, even so, the responsibility that families bear is still very great and we should be grateful for the many charities that support us in this work. One of them is Care for the Family which offers a wide range of pa

1 Timothy 3:1 This is a trustworthy saying: “Whoever aspires to be a church leader, desires an honourable position.” One of the key tasks for Paul and Timothy was to find good leaders. Without godly and effective leadership, the Church was never going to thrive. In this chapter, Paul spelt out the qualities that a church leader needs. And in 1,900 years, it is worth noting that the list hasn’t really changed much! A church leader still needs to have good relationships within their family. They need to be faithful, hospitable, able teachers and gentle. It’s interesting that Paul felt the need to say that a leader shouldn’t be a heavy drinker, violent, quarrelsome or a lover of money, but no one would disagree with him. Paul was also concerned that leaders were not new Christians and that people outside of the church community spoke well of them. What interests me is that Paul begins these comments by talking about those who aspired to be a church leader. He wanted to encourage them; they were desiring an

1 Timothy 2:8 'In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.' Lifting up hands in worship has happened for thousands of years. The psalmists often referred to it. In Psalm 63:4, King David proclaimed: “I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.” But the truth is that, by itself, lifting our hands in worship says nothing at all about what is happening in our hearts. A person could be living the most immoral life and thrust their hands in the air. Paul was concerned that those who worshipped God in this way were doing so in the right spirit. He wanted to know that their hands were holy, and that the person worshipping wasn’t angry or stirring up controversy. When we worship God, we must come in holiness. That is to say, our minds must be focused on God. It is so easy for us to come to worship with our minds distracted by any number of things. For that reason, it is often very helpful to make sure that we have

1 Timothy 2:1 'I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.' Although the number of people who attend church services is constantly shrinking, it is very good to see that prayer isn’t going out of fashion. It’s often assumed that people pray as they get older, however a ComRes opinion poll in 2021 revealed that twice as many people in the 18-34 age group prayed, compared with those aged over 55. But the question is: what do we do when we pray? In our verse today Paul encourages Timothy to have the right focus in his prayers. Our natural condition is to be self- centred, and so it is very easy for us to see prayer in an entirely selfish way. We pray for ourselves, our happiness, our health, our family, our future and so on. All of those things are perfectly proper subjects for prayer but if they become the exclusive focus, something has gone seriously wrong. Paul reminds Timothy that the priority of his prayer life needs to

1 Timothy 1:16 'God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realise that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.' The apostle Paul never forgot his colourful past. He had been so committed to his Jewish faith that he had gone to extraordinary lengths to destroy the Church. He was convinced that Jesus was the enemy of everything that he held dear and so he enthusiastically threw his energies into trying to crush Christianity. When his life was turned around on the road to Damascus, it changed everything. He came to realise how completely wrong he had been and to see the wickedness of what he had done. He felt that he was the worst possible sinner but all of that changed when he encountered the mercy of God. He knew he could never have deserved God’s love and forgiveness, but he received it anyway, because God is also unfathomably merciful. Mercy is a wonderful thing, but it can be hard for us to

1 Timothy 1:12 'I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work.' I seem to be surrounded at the moment by people telling me how tired they are. Perhaps it’s just the effect that I have on them! But the truth is that however you are feeling right now, there are limits to our strength. Paul had an extremely busy ministry and he was fully aware that he needed God’s special strength for the work that he had to do. This verse reminds us of Paul’s words to the Philippians: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). That’s a bold claim, but clearly it was Paul’s personal experience as he faced up to continual resistance and challenges in his ministry. Few Christian leaders have faced the range of trials and difficulties that he did. He was confronted by violent opposition on many occasions, endured years of imprisonment, suffered three shipwrecks and was constantly exposed to abuse and danger. When he talks about God giving him strength, he is worth liste