Be Still And Know

Exodus 3.15 NLT God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.” I wonder what you would say if God asked you to lead his people at a time of desperate need. I suspect that you, like Moses, would have a string of questions to ask! The first thing that he needed to know was who was sending him. The people of Israel were bound to ask, and he needed to have a good answer for them. God told him that he should say that “I am” had sent him to them, and then spelt out that this was God’s eternal name and that he was the God of their forefathers. We can be sure that the stories of the great fathers of the Jewish faith would often have been told amongst the people of Israel, and they needed to know that Moses stood in that line of succession. At the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry a similar situation occurred. As Jesus sent out his disciples he recognised that they would need to know with what

Exodus 3.11-12 NLT But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” God answered, “I will be with you.” Moses was about 80 years old when God spoke to him from the burning bush. He was in the desert of Midian, on the eastern side of the Red Sea, because he was running away after he had murdered an Egyptian. The idea of not merely returning to Egypt but appearing before Pharaoh must have seemed crazy to him. And, given his upbringing in the royal palace, he hardly had the common touch to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. It is little wonder, therefore, that Moses questioned God’s decision to appoint him as the people’s leader. When God calls people to serve him they almost always the same question, “Who am I?” I certainly did. I was 18 years old when a man in our church asked me to go and preach in a village church near our home. I was amazed that he thought I would be suitable. It sounded like a terrifying responsibility. What would

Exodus 3.4 NLT When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. Moses’ life had been a remarkable one. Born in Egypt when the People of Israel were in slavery there, Pharaoh had gone to extraordinary lengths to kill off all Israelite baby boys. Moses had miraculously survived and was brought up as a member of Pharaoh’s household. Years later he saw one of his own Israelite people being abused and, in his anger, killed the perpetrator. Moses soon recognised that his own life was in danger and so he fled from the country. He got married to Zipporah and in our reading today we find him looking after his father in law’s sheep. The life of a shepherd was a tough one. The heat could be intense and he continually needed to be alert to the threat from wolves and other wild animals. Much of what happened was familiar and predictable. However, in the midst of his working day he was suddenly aware of a burning bush. That

Acts 28.30-31 NLT 'For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.' Paul’s journey to Rome was an amazing adventure. It was a long and difficult journey during which he and his companions survived a shipwreck. We would love to know far more details but now, in these final verses of the Acts of the Apostles, we find Paul settled into a house in Rome. We are informed that he was guarded by a soldier and so he was being kept under what we would normally call house arrest. However, he was clearly given considerable freedom and, wonderfully, he was able to continue with his ministry. There was no keeping Paul down! The book of Acts began with a small, frightened and confused group of Jesus followers waiting in Jerusalem. Jesus gave them instructions to take the Good News to the ends of the earth but that seemed impossible at the time. The 28 chapters of t

Acts 24.24-25 NLT Sending for Paul, Felix and his wife Drusilla listened as he told them about faith in Christ Jesus. As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment, Felix became frightened. “Go away for now,” he replied. “When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.” Paul is now on the Mediterranean coast in Caesarea, the regional centre of Roman authority. The city had only recently been built and it became the largest settlement in Judaea. It was here that Pilate had been based. Governor Felix was in charge by this stage and Paul was brought before him after the plot to kill Paul in Jerusalem. What I love about our verses today is that they are such a beautiful illustration of the fact that, whatever the circumstances Paul was in, he just kept witnessing. You couldn’t stop him! At one moment he was happy to share his testimony with a crowd who, he knew, were hating every word he said and the next we find him sitting down with the most powerful man i

Acts 23.11 NLT That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.” Paul was going through an incredibly difficult time. His arrival in Jerusalem had sparked a riot and the Roman authorities struggled to know what to do with him. They didn’t know how to handle religious disputes and so they tried to hand the matter over to the Jewish council. However, when Paul appeared before them the meeting soon descended into chaos. The Roman commander who was watching the proceedings thought that Paul was in danger of being torn apart and so he ordered his soldiers to rescue him and take him back into protective custody. By this time they had discovered that he was a Roman citizen and so they knew that they had to be very careful with Paul. In the midst of this confusing and dangerous situation, God spoke to Paul confirming the fact that his witness would continue and even take him to the heart of

Acts 22.1-2 NLT “Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defence.” When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater. Paul faced intense hostility when he reached Jerusalem. People had heard reports of his ministry amongst the Gentiles, and he was accused of telling people to disobey the Jewish laws. A riot broke out and the crowd cried out for Paul to be killed. The commander of the Roman regiment was informed that the city was in uproar and so he sent his troops to get hold of Paul. The soldiers were clearly unsure what to do with Paul and indeed at first the commander had got him confused with an Egyptian who had led a major rebellion. Paul clarified that he was a Jew from Tarsus and asked for the opportunity to speak to the crowd. Interestingly, the commander agreed. This was an incredibly sensitive moment. Many in the crowd were going to hate what Paul had to say, and he knew it. He needed to tread with extreme care, and we can learn a lot

Acts 21.13 NLT Paul said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” There was no stopping Paul. He was absolutely determined to go to Jerusalem and no one was able to stand in his way. That’s not to say that they didn’t try! When he arrived in Tyre in Syria, he spent a week with the believers there and they prophesied through the Holy Spirit that he shouldn’t go to Jerusalem. Some days later he went down the coast to the important city of Caesarea where he met a man named Agabus who had the gift of prophecy. He dramatically took hold of Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands with it, and then declared that the owner of the belt would be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and then turned over to the Gentiles. Upon hearing this everyone begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But he wouldn’t be stopped. He announced that he was ready to be jailed and even to die for the sake of his Lord. If risk assessments

Acts 20.36-38 NLT 'When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them. They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye. They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again.' There was clearly a very strong bond between Paul and the Ephesian elders and this moment of parting was painful. Paul, of all people, had an absolute conviction in the wonderful future that God had for him. He often spoke with great confidence about the after-life. In Philippians he reflected on the life to come and summarised the situation by saying “I long to go and be with Christ, which would be better by far for me.” (Philippians 1.23) I am sure that Paul had no doubt that the elders would also have been looking forward to the same future. But even so this moment of departure was sad and painful and the tears flowed. We shouldn’t be afraid of our emotions. At the funeral of a Christian we always have much to celebrate. We believe that Jesus came to bring us eternal life and, therefo

Acts 20.28 NLT 'So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.' I suspect that most people would choose not to be compared with sheep! It would hardly be seen as a flattering description! Sheep are rarely viewed as the brightest of animals and are generally understood to be easily led. However, God’s people are frequently described as being like sheep in both the Old and New Testaments. It isn’t surprising therefore that, as Paul addresses the Ephesian elders in his final talk with them, he speaks of their responsibilities for caring for the flock. Paul knows that the church, like any flock of sheep, needs to be guarded, fed and cared for. The responsibility for caring for the church was so great that the appointment had to be made by the Holy Spirit. That is still the case today. If an individual feels an inner conviction that this is something that they should do that should always be g

Acts 20.24 NLT 'But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.' What’s the purpose of your life? We all have to agree that this is an excellent question, but most of the time we are far too busy to be able to ask it. We may be busy with our work, family, church, hobbies, sport and a thousand other things and asking the biggest question of all gets put off. We promise ourselves that we will ask it one day when we’ve got a bit more time! For the apostle Paul the moment was now because he recognised that his life was under threat and he might not have much time left. Paul was clear that his life’s work was to communicate the Good News about the wonderful grace of God revealed in Jesus. What an amazing ministry he had! His leadership, teaching and example were of incalculable importance and we are still deeply conscious of our debt to him. In all honesty our roles are unlikely to hav

Acts 20.18-20 NLT “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.” I want to tell you about something which regularly happens in our home. My son works for a well-known food retailer. When he leaves for work I will naturally wish him well and he always has exactly the same response. “I’ll do my best, Dad.” And what is even better than that is that I know he will. And that’s exactly what we are reading in this passage today. We are meeting Paul as he addresses the leaders of the church in Ephesus and he wants them to know that he did his best. He didn’t hold anything back from them. He suffered with them and told them everything they needed to know, even if they weren’t keen to hear it. He had done his best. Paul had spent three years with the church in Ephesus wh

Acts 19.11-12 NLT 'God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.' Isn’t this wonderful? I have no personal experience of my own handkerchiefs or aprons being a blessing to anyone else, but that’s not the point. God can work in the way that he chooses and in this wonderful period of Paul’s ministry that was exactly what he chose to do. The reference to the handkerchiefs here is probably to the sweat bands that Paul used in his daily tent making work. This story reminds me of an earlier account in Acts when people were healed by Peter’s shadow falling across them as he walked by. God was blessing his ministry in such an amazing way that sick people were brought out in the street on their beds and mats to be healed. (Acts 5.15) When we hear about God working in wonderful and miraculous ways we are, naturally, very keen to see him do exactly the s

Acts 18.9-10 NLT One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” Throughout the Bible we hear God telling people not to be afraid. When God made a covenant with Abram, the father of the nation of Israel, he spoke to him in a vision and said, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” (Genesis 15.1) Later, we meet Joshua after the death of Moses and God said to him “This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1.9) Much later, we hear the angel telling a young girl called Mary that she should not be afraid when she is told that she will bear the Son of God. The command not to be afraid indicates how damaging fear can be. God knows that we cannot be effective in serving him unless we overcome the problem of fear. Our vers

1 Thessalonians 5.19-21 NLT 'Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.' It has been estimated that as many as 20 per cent of the paintings held by Britain’s major museums may be forgeries. It is apparently extremely difficult to be certain of the precise origin of paintings and it takes a great deal of forensic work to gain any degree of certainty. The apostle Paul is greatly concerned about an even more serious kind of fake, and that is when someone claims to be speaking a word of prophecy but is not. This was clearly a matter of great concern for the early church. There were undoubtedly many people who enjoyed the influence that they acquired by stating “thus saith the Lord” and were delighted by the ease with which they could deceive people. Paul was eager to encourage the church to know how to approach prophecy. He certainly didn’t want them to dismiss all prophecy just because there were some irresponsible people who deli

'Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.' On the face it we are looking at three impossible commands here. Being continually joyful, prayerful and thankful sounds wonderful, but can Paul seriously mean that that’s how we should live our lives every single day? What about those times when we are sick, or feeling depressed or let down, or when we have just had an accident, or seen the death of a friend? I believe that Paul would confirm that we should indeed be joyful, prayerful and thankful and that that this apparent impossibility is actually possible for all those who belong to Christ Jesus. The point is that our relationship with him changes everything. If it was just down to us, then we would never keep it up. Moans and groans would quickly grab our attention and rob us of any sense of prayerfulness. But as we deliberately open our lives to Christ and allow his Spirit to lead us these three seemingly impossible comma

1 Thessalonians 5.14 NLT 'Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.' Although the leaders of the church in Thessalonica had a particular responsibility for caring for the people, Paul was clear that everyone had a part to play. As members of God’s family, everyone needed to get involved in what we would often call pastoral care. This is far more than merely listening to one another’s woes and being kind to one another. Paul told his readers to warn the lazy. The verb ‘warn’ is sometimes translated ‘admonish’. Paul saw laziness as being so dangerous that direct action needed to be taken. It had to stop if the church was to thrive. Some people in the church had stopped working because of their belief that Jesus might return at any moment, and in so doing they had become a burden on others. Whilst Paul was absolutely convinced that the Lord might indeed return at any moment, he strongly object

'Dear brothers and sisters, honour those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work.' Leaders were appointed from the earliest days of the church. Paul knew that the church could only thrive if it had committed, loving, and wise leaders and so in every place he sought to appoint such people. When he referred to the Thessalonian leaders who “work hard among you” you can be sure that he was drawing on his own personal experiences. Paul not only devoted himself to the work of ministry but, in order not to place a burden on the churches, he also made a living as a tent-maker. Paul knew all about really hard work, and he knew that this particular church was going to be a challenge. It seems that in Thessalonica there was a particular problem with those who had given up their work because of the possibility of the Lord’s imminent return. Paul was concerned that the leaders took action to a

1 Thessalonians 5.5-6 NLT 'You are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.' When I was in my teens, I did a fascinating six-week course at a local fire-station. Because it was held over a number of weeks I got to know the fire-fighters and became familiar with the atmosphere of the station. In many ways it felt quite relaxed but it was also clear that they were ready at any moment to respond to a call. When the deafening bells sounded, they responded instantly. As they ran, they were putting on their jackets and within moments they were all on the fire- engine and heading out of the station. It was an impressive performance and gave me a wonderful picture of what it means to be alert. That is precisely Paul’s message to the Thessalonian church. Jesus might return at any time and so they needed to ensure that they were always ready for it. Paul tells his readers that they need to have cl

1 Thessalonians 4.15 and 18 NLT 'We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died... So encourage each other with these words.' The Thessalonian church lived with the expectation that Jesus might return at any moment. This inevitably triggered lots of questions. It did so then, and has done so ever since. The particular issue that Paul addresses in this chapter is what would happen to those who had already died. He makes it clear that they will rise from their graves, whilst those who are still alive when Jesus returns will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then, he claimed, “we will be with the Lord for ever”. He doesn’t go into any more detail than that. The important point to recognise is that Paul saw his words as a word of encouragement. In truth, they didn’t need to know exactly what the programme of events for that day would look like, and neither do we. What we do need to know is that God