Learning to be still

'"BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD..."' PSALM 46:10 KJV

Former CBS anchorman, Dan Rather, found himself unprepared for a television interview with Mother Teresa. Ron Mehl described the encounter this way: 'All of Dan's standard approaches were inadequate. And the little nun from Calcutta didn't seem inclined to make his task easier’. 'When you pray,' asked Dan, 'what do you say to God?' 'I don't say anything,' she replied. 'I listen.' Dan tried another tack. 'Well, okay.. .when God speaks to you, then, what does He say?' 'He doesn't say anything. He listens.' Dan looked bewildered. For an instant, he didn't know what to say. 'And if you don't understand that,' Mother Teresa added, 'I can't explain it to you.'

Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

It's in the place of silence that the Holy Spirit boils the truth we receive from Scripture down to its essence, reveals specific insights that are pertinent, and then applies them to our most perplexing problems and our most stubborn misconceptions. As He transforms our heart to beat in sync with His, our decisions begin to accomplish His will and we begin to reflect His character.

Go ahead, try it. Open the Word of God in a peaceful place and sit in quietness before Him. In time, the Holy Spirit will illuminate a passage and it will come to life in your mind. Before you know it, the knotty situation that drove you to distraction will unravel. As you learn to 'be still' in God's presence, your greatest problems will suddenly become more manageable. He will reveal Himself to you. He will calm your emotions and relieve your mind. You'll discover new direction, freedom from worry, and a fresh sense of peace.

Hungering for God's Word

A baby won't rest until its hunger is satisfied. It's irrelevant that mummy's been up all day and is tired. 3 am means nothing. When a baby is ready to eat, the world stops.

Peter referred to God's Word as 'pure milk,' which means undiluted, the real stuff. As the old commercials used to say: 'no substitutes added.' Pure milk is the opposite of a dummy, which looks real but provides no nourishment. Too many of us are spiritually undernourished because we're feeding on substitutes. We're teething on dummies instead of drinking the pure milk of the Word. No baby ever grew feeding on a dummy. Don't get fooled into accepting anything but the authentic, undiluted truth of Scripture.

1Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

What's more, the only truth that will cause you to grow is the truth that's heard - and put into action. And notice something else: babies don't drink all the milk they can in two hours on Sunday morning. Yet that's what we do, and then we wonder why we're not growing in God. Babies eat regularly for one simple reason -they're hungry.

Why don't we feed on God's Word more than we do? Either because we aren't hungry for it, or because we've been trying to satisfy our hunger with dummies and substitutes. Understand this: without a daily diet of God's Word you'll end up weak and vulnerable to defeat! Only when you want to hear from God through His Word more than you want to eat, are you on your way to developing a healthy hunger for the Scriptures.

If you plan to do it - do it now!

Redwood trees last for 1,000 years. Most other things go relatively fast. A face lift lasts 6-10 years, a £5 note one year, a painted white line on the road only four months. 'What about me?'

The average life span is between 75-80 years of age. That sounds pretty good if you're young, but tends to be sobering when you pass 50. The Bible says your life is like a vapour, and vapours aren't known for longevity; just a puff of smoke and they're gone! So why are you still waiting? You don't have forever, get at it!

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.


You may say that you have always wanted to play the piano. Stop talking about it, and start taking lessons! Or that you have always dreamed of a trip to the Holy Land; start planning and call a travel agent. You say you hate your living room wallpaper, quit complaining - scrape it off and paint it the colour you like! You say you feel better when you exercise, start jogging or some other exercise that you may enjoy!

You say you're angry about the potholes in your street; go to your Town Hall meeting! You say you want to make a mark for God; talk to your pastor, and remember, you start at the bottom, not the top!

Think you're too old? Not a chance! Consider one of the greatest pianists that ever came from Russia only learned to play the piano at 56 years old. The older folks in God's Word often made the biggest impact. So get out of neutral and get going. Time is not on your side, and if there is something bothering you, that you can do, do it and make a start. If you discover it was the wrong thing to do, stop, back track quickly and cover your losses. Either way you will have peace of mind because that is what you do not have now. But act and stop moaning, put your life into God's hands and let him show you what He can do with it!


This is not the best article I have put into this web site, but I have done so as I feel many people need to hear it, including myself. I am fed up of saying I need to do, … and don’t because of lethargy or some great plausible excuse, when deep down I know I am fooling myself. Take for example this web site, I have put it off for years, and when I did start I spent many many days studying what and how to do it. At my age, this was very difficult, but thinking back, I am still not sure of the computer, but I have come a long way, and have made a good start. What loses are there If it fails, well I certainly missed a lot of television. So you answer the question, what was more important?

Keep your head down, while enjoying the victory!

This is a disturbing message today, but there is a lot of unseen positive victory in it. It is a very advanced teaching, taking me years to accept it, and only now am beginning to agree with it. In fact until you treasure it, you won’t be a winner, aven though it has loser written all over it.

We all want to be at the top, it is natural, it is human; it is what everyone is trying to achieve. It is called the natural “survival of the fittest”. Christianity directly opposes this, Jesus opposed it. Satan offered him the world if he bowed down and worshiped him. Jesus knew of a better way, an won. He is now the name about all names. We can accept that, and now we love to talk about ruling and reigning with Jesus, but Paul writes:

‘…IF WE ARE TO SHARE HIS GLORY, WE MUST ALSO SHARE HIS SUFFERING.’ ROMANS 8:17 NLT

That changes things, doesn’t it? The only time Jesus was elevated was when they nailed Him to a cross. The only time the crowd cheered, was when they assumed He planned to overthrow the Romans. He died like a common criminal.

Very few even knew He had risen. Now Jesus says to us, “[If you intend] to come with Me… Don’t run from suffering; embrace it” (Matthew 16:24 TM). He also said, “Whoever does the will of My Father…is My brother and sister…” (Matthew 12:50 NRS). That’s because back then you could not challenge your earthly father’s authority and expect to remain in the family.

Taking flack because you are Christ’s disciple requires character, discipline, love and vision. If you lack these qualities, don’t worry, let the suffering develop them. I certainly had a life of suffering, more so since I became a Christian, but my character has been totally transformed because of it. I am told this has been very much to the better; I have many more friends, most non Christian, I am a thousand of times stronger, and my life in general is so much better for it. I have still many problems, and I always will. But it is these problems that give you life. Embrace them, conquer them, there are there for you benefit. Don’t look at them as being there to destroy you, because by thinking that way, they will. I know this is easy for me to say, but I have to say it because that is the way Jesus told us to handle them. But the rewards far outweigh the pain because when He comes back He will not take the spotlight alone. No. Listen:

‘When Christ, who is your life, appears…you also will appear with Him in glory’ (Colossians 3:4 NIV).

Did you get that? Until Christ returns, ours is a serving role not a starring one! Actually Jesus told the religious leaders of His day that if you get the applause of men now, enjoy it, for it’s at the expense of the honour God will give you later. Now that is very strong, and appears to give you no hope for living, but the higher your calling takes you, the more vulnerable you become to pride, and that will kill you. So keep your head down. John said, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’ (John 3:30 KJV). And John got it right! By the way, if you cant wait for you glory when Christ returns, take assurance that you will automatically be elevated if you are a good server, just make sure you handle it with humility, (to my mind, when it is used wisely, it is the strongest of all weapons, because you are allowing Jesus himself to defend you).

Spiritual Discipline

'...THAT I MAY...BECOME MORE DEEPLY AND INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH HIM...' PHILIPPIANS 3:10 AMP

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, an American poet and journalist, wrote: “One ship drives east and another drives west, with the selfsame winds that blow. Tis the set of the sails and not the gales, that decides the way to go. Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate, as we voyage along through life; 'Tis the set of the soul that decides its goal, and not the calm or the strife.”

Have you noticed that the same difficult circumstance that lays one person low, lifts another to incredible heights? "Tis the set of the sails and not the gales, which tells us the way to go.

“Clearly, the apostle Paul had set his sails: That I may...become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him.” And he refused to compromise or be sidetracked. Intimacy with God was his all-consuming goal. Is such a goal reached easily?

No! It means never quitting, giving yourself ample time. You can't put godliness on a schedule. Spiritual disciplines must be worked with until they become enduring habits. Your mind needs time and experience to assimilate them. And like any new model of behaviour they must be wrestled with, talked through, come to terms with, and tried on. With time, a few of them will begin to settle in and become a consistent lifestyle.

Looking back, you'll discover you've actually changed. How? You set your sails in a new direction and you are no longer hopelessly blown by the winds of impulse, circumstance, expediency, popular opinion or self-interest. Christ-likeness is a journey, not a destination. So plan on a lifetime of travel. And while you're at it, be sure to enjoy the journey.

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Without hope? Has God put us on hold?

It’s that time of year when God puts us on hold, and we appear to be without hope.

Christmas and especially New Year is a time for serious reflection, especially for us Scots. It is the only time we can truly reflect. Summer holidays come at different times, and Easter lands when it feels like it, but at the start of January we can truly reflect on the new year. I find this reflection helpful with the miserable weather. It’s blowing a gale and raining heavily outside as I write. I am totally miserable, my boat is still in the water (hopefully not sunk), my money is very low after Christmas, I am back at work where everybody else is miserable and worst of all, we have only a few hours of daylight, if we are lucky. The Bible says,

To every thing there is a season...' (Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV).

So no matter how hard we pray, we just can't pray our life's seasons away. There are some situations you aren't meant to change; we are just meant to survive!

'SO DON'T TRY TO GET OUT OF ANYTHING PREMATURELY...' JAMES 1:4 TM Paul calls these times, '...light affliction, which are...for a moment...' (2 Corinthians 4:17 KJV).

When you can't alter your circumstances you must learn to grow through them. In winter, trees take advantage of the season to rebuild their strength and prepare to be fruitful next season. Their sap and substance goes underground. Then in the spring they push their way back up again in the form of new growth.

Looking back over your life you'll find that your achievements are seasonal. Growth comes, then struggle, and vice versa. Each season has its purpose. God has a reason for not wanting you to be productive all the time. When he permits winter winds to blow through your life, he is preparing you for the coming spring.

James writes, 'Consider it a...gift...when tests...come... under pressure, your faith...shows its true colours.

So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.' One of the issues you'll struggle with, in a waiting period, is the urge to hurry, to make permanent decisions based on temporary circumstances. Don't do it! Every situation doesn't call for immediate action. Remember, patience comes from trust, and you can't trust a God you don't know. That's why you need to spend more time getting acquainted with Him through reading His Word and praying.

Just now the wind has blown down my much on my fence, blown the windows out my greenhouse, and smashed a glass table. There is no point repairing it just now. The money and time I do not have. I am going to let the wind do its worse. I need good weather to repair the fence, (which needed repair anyway). If any more glass is broken on my greenhouse, (which is good size), I am just going to demolish it, (as one door closes, another opens). And as for the table, it was bound to get broken one way or another.

My real problems facing me at the moment are: money as I am really struggling, time as I am grossly overworked and have 10 million things to do, and hope for the future, so I can put some tangible plan in place. My people have much worse, death in the family, divorce and illness, so I would say what we need now more than anything is hope. Hope for many things, but consider what you have been through, has God helped you to survive, well he will help you survive again, (I hope). But that is the point, we have hope. We have been through it before, and we will go through it again without doubt, but that is what changes us, that is what makes us grow, and that is what gives us more faith, and more hope. Please contact me with your problems, then contact me next year, and tell me how they came to pass.

Icebergs

The Titanic received five iceberg warnings just before it went down. When the sixth message came during the wee hours of the morning: 'Look out for icebergs,' the operator wired back 'Shut-up! I'm busy!' Thirty minutes later the great vessel; whose captain said, 'Even God couldn't sink this ship;' was sinking fast. What happened?

They forgot the truth about icebergs. What they saw above the water couldn't have sunk the great ship. But unfortunately most of an iceberg is below the water. Do you know what? That iceberg represents your life! The 10% above the water is your reputation, the 90% below is your character. And it's what's below the surface that sinks your ship.


What is character?
a) self-discipline -the ability to do what's right, even when you don't feel like it
b) core values - principles you live by in spite of the pressures around you
c) sense of identity - a self-image based on who God, not others, says you are
d) emotional security - the capacity to be emotionally stable and consistent.

Your life's greatest impact doesn't come from what you own, but from what you are.

Jesus said, '"Each tree is recognized by its own fruit...The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart..."' (Luke 6:44-45 NIV).

Luke 6:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Whatever's happening today on the outside of your life comes from what's happening on the inside. God puts 'being' before 'doing.' He prioritises taking care of the inside, (your heart), because that will determine what takes place on the outside, (your behaviour and thus your quality of life). Think about it!