 When showing our weakness to others points them to Christ, it makes it worth the embarrassment. Last week I was running late. This isn't a typical morning but the type of morning where the kids won't listen, you're missing one shoe and someone forgot to brush their hair. That morning I forgot my lid for my coffee, so I spilled it in the car trying to be a Nascar driver on the way to church. Though there are many ays when everything seems to fall apart, Sundays seem harder to get ready for than any other day of the week. When I pulled into the parking lot, I finished buckling and gave the speech about how we are to smile and be friendly when others approach us. Fake it til' you make it, right? When we show our weaknesses of not having our lives all together and allow people into our bubble or chaos, that's when God can use our mess for His message.
Still Striving to be like God No one is perfect. I'm sorry to break it to you, but it's the truth. Romans 3:23 says clearly "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". We all have to make a choice everyday to spend time with the LORD. This time that we set apart to read our Bible and pray, is how we strengthen our relationship with our Creator. It is our opportunity to allow God to speak to us, and accept His invitation for a deeper understanding of who He is; we are also able to adjust our lives to His will. It is one thing to spend time with God on Sundays but we should be spending time with Him everyday. Most people I know spend this " Quiet Time" in the mornings to start their day, but as long as we choose to set time apart, that is what allows change to take place in our hearts and lives. Let the Holy Spirit lead you, guide you and teach you, filling your spirit up for the rest of the day. After this time that we devote to the Lord is spent, we are better able to see when we make mistakes, and repent. God uses our mistakes for His glory When we do make a mistake and repent, God teaches us through the experience to draw us closer to Him. To repent is to turn away from, to change. I have heard that when we turn away from something we must then turn toward something else, that being Christ. This doesn't mean that we say we are sorry but continue to make the same mistakes over and over. When true repentance takes place, God renews our relationship with Him. When we change to be more like Christ, we allow Him to be able to use us for His glory. Lamentations 3:22-23, states, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness". Even when we are unfaithful, how incredible it is to know that God is always faithful to us. This should inspire us to pursue Him and make Him our priority. This does require discipline, to choose to put God first everyday. When our motivation is love then the discipline becomes a desire. Desire to glorify God by loving Him and choosing to daily repent and strive to walk closer with Him. He gets the Glory When we repent and change our lives according to His will, by our actions, we give God the glory. We trust in Him to accept our change of action by faith, to become renewed. He does the work for us, and our change gives Him glory. We are never able to change ourselves or anyone around us. He does the work for us by our faith to change our perspective of the choices we make. An act of worship is choosing to adjust our lives to His will. We can do this by meaning what we say, by living out our lives as God intended, by desiring Him daily. We must accept that we are not in control. By daily repenting and continuously striving to walk closer and closer to God, our actions of our renewed character will point people to Christ. Matthew 5:16 says "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven". When we point to Christ in all that we do and say, He receives the glory. Willing to be vulnerable When we are vulnerable in front of others it allows hearts to be softened and points them to Christ. This vulnerability allows people around us to realize that just because we are saved doesn't mean that we have everything figured out, or put together perfectly. To show our mess opens others' hearts to realize that they are not alone. We all need help. God does work for us all. Next time you are running late and everything is falling apart, choose to embrace the mess. Let's all strive to show our weakness, to encourage one another in the midst of chaos. Instead of faking it, let's make a choice to be vulnerable so our weakness can encourage those around us. Imagine that we have it all together all the time, then what work does God need to do for us? How will we tell others how God changed us if we never expressed how far we have come through His strength? by Hannah Austin  A Familiar Phrase
Be still, and know that I am God: Psalm 46:10 I would venture to say that most of us are very familiar with this phrase as it is used in a myriad of objects, from tumblers to art work. Sometimes there is a danger when we become too familiar with something, it can lose power or presence. We might lose sight of what it means or what it can do. This is why it is important to study the word of God especially in its context. Just as a realtor stresses location, location, location. I like to stress context, context, context because this helps us gain a better understanding of the meaning of a verse and why it was placed in that particular spot. I remember reading hearing someone say that this verse was a battle cry and when I heard them say that I thought that was ridiculous but as I have studied and meditated on this verse I will say that there is some validity to their conclusion but that is not all that is contained here. I will circle back to this idea in a moment but first let’s read the preceding verses of verse 10 to help us set the stage. 1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. 9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. There are a lot of things mentioned in these verses that could cause chaos, fear, and anxiety. The earth is moved which makes me think of earthquakes. The mountains are carried into the sea perhaps a volcano eruption like the island of Pompeii. The waters roar, I think of a hurricane or tsunami. Notice that there is a Selah, meditate on this. Mediate on what? Who God is. The heathen rage, kingdoms are moved but still God is with us, He is our refuge. Again, Selah. Meditate on this fact. Then there is a focus on His power and His person. Now let’s read verse 10 again along with verse 11: 10. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Is this a battle cry? Yes, because the Psalmist is saying that in the midst of absolute chaos and fear we don’t have to yield, in fact, we can rise up as if in battle and sing the praises of our God. Just as Moses said in Exodus 14, Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord when Israel was in a full panic attack as Egypt's army was pressing in behind them. Moses sounded the battle cry spreading his arms out as God parted the Red Sea, their path of deliverance. But with both of these passages there is one common denominator, a prerequisite to the battle cry. Be still. Stand still. Just as Israel could not witness God’s power when they were running around in fear, neither can we. We will remain restless, fearful, and defeated until we are still before God. So what does it mean to be still and know that He is God? What does it mean to be still and know that He is God and how does this impact our lives? Let’s start with the phrase be still, in the Hebrew it is one word which means to refrain, to let alone meaning to do nothing, to be quiet. Though everyone may not admit it, many of us have a fear or dread of stillness. We have become so used to noise that we keep things running on a regular basis, even at night. How many run a fan at night not because you are hot but because you enjoy the white noise? I am raising my hand. What is it about silence that makes us so uncomfortable? Perhaps it's the lack of stimulation our brains have become accustomed to. Maybe it's the fact that we can hear our own thoughts or we start to think about things we would rather forget. Silence can also pave the way for contemplation as we consider what kind of person we are and we want to avoid that too. Many have even started wearing their earbuds or AirPods constantly because they dread the silence so much. I’m afraid we tend to view silence as an enemy that must be conquered, but what if silence were not the enemy but noise? The enemy of our souls already knows the answer which is why as Elizabeth Elliott says: The devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds. He will not allow quietness. Our world is full of noise from traffic sounds, to loud music everywhere we go, and even the sound of conversation. We are also a busy people, kept running from one thing to the next and there tends to be an abundance of crowds whether we go to the grocery store or just for a stroll downtown. Satan delights in our lack of stillness because he knows if we truly understood the power of the quiet place our lives would be transformed. Truly, silence is the necessary path to knowing God but it is a path we are afraid to take. Often we behave like the prophet Jonah who knew what God wanted from him but chose to run in the opposite direction. We would rather take another scroll through Facebook instead of sitting quietly with our Bibles, but only one will allow us to know God. So how do we stop running from the silence and instead learn to embrace it? First we need to retrain our mind and soul from viewing silence as something to be avoided and instead see it for what it truly is, an invitation from God to know Him. There is no other God who does what our does, desires to be known. All other leaders of religion hid behind some shroud of mystery but our God rent the veil in two just so we could enter boldly into His presence. When Moses asked to see God’s glory he was not denied. Consider that we don’t even have to earn the right to know Him. As His children, He, like any good father, wants His children to be near and have a relationship with Him. Silence is the necessary means to developing a relationship with our Heavenly Father. The necessity of stillness Young Samuel is a wonderful reminder of the necessity of stillness: Speak Lord for thy servant heareth. Eli knew that the boy would not be able to hear God until he stopped talking and was intentional about listening. Stillness takes intention, it does not just happen by chance, we have to plan for it. It requires that we leave our phone on silent and perhaps don’t even take it with us when we are having our quiet time. Sadly, these devices, meant to make our lives easier and keep us more connected, are part of the reason we are so disconnected with God. Their endless notifications and vibrating grab our attention even going so far as to form an addiction to having to know right at that moment what that notification represents. The enemy of our souls is not asleep but busier than ever in cultivating new distractions for us. We must be vigilant and diligent regarding these constant distractions that are seemingly bombarding us on every side. Just as Samuel went back to his bed and was ready when God spoke to him again, we too must enter our quiet time with a plan of action to ensure we can succeed. A plan for stillness Let’s go back to the definition of be still. To refrain, to let alone meaning to do nothing, to be quiet. The word refrain means to stop oneself from doing something. What are some things we need to stop ourselves from doing when we are in the quiet place? Perhaps it is looking at our phones or thinking about something that we need to do and refrain from the urge to get up at that moment and doing it. What does it mean to let alone? Here it indicates the need to do nothing, to be quiet. There is something interesting that happens when silence appears, you remember every chore that needs to be done and your mind is flooded with a million questions from the meaning of life and whether or not you took out the ground beef you want to use for dinner tonight. To help with this, I keep a small notebook nearby where I can jot down something really important so I can empty my mind but have a means of remembering it later. We must make the choice to quiet our mind and hearts before God so that we will be prepared to hear and learn the message He has for us, just as He did for Samuel. This is our time to leave all earthly cares behind and enter into the heavenly realm so that we can be better equipped to serve on earth. Being still takes intention and planning paired with one other key ingredient, desire. Be still is God’s invitation to know Him but if we don’t desire it we will never put in the effort to accept it. Whatever we desire is what fuels which direction we go and how much effort we put forth. Again, the prophet Jonah had no desire to do the will of God so he ran the opposite direction which led to nothing but disaster and despair. My friends, can I tell you that as long as you run from the silence, from being still, your outcome will be the same. We will never experience all that God has for us if we don’t yield our lives to Him, but we can’t surrender to someone we don’t know and Satan understands this which is why He makes it his business to keep us busy and distracted. It will take work to be still but the rewards or results of being intentional about our quiet time, our moment of stillness, are great. What are the results of stillness? We will know God. I want us to stop and consider for a moment what that means. When we know someone we can finish their sentences, we know what makes them smile, what makes them sad, where they like to go and do. This is what God desires from us, to know Him, His character, what things He delights in, what things grieve His heart, and the meaning behind the names of His that He has revealed to us in His Word. We will also learn the heart of our God both in who He is and His desires toward us. We will discover He loves us with an everlasting love and withholds no good thing to them who walk up rightly. We will understand that He gives peaceful sleep and sweet rest. He provides us with hope, mercy, and forgiveness to all who ask. We will also learn about the beautiful home He has prepared for us where we will spend all eternity delighting in His very presence. This is just a few of the things we will learn when we practice being still and knowing God. I want to share an interesting passage from Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Did you catch it? What are we supposed to glory in? Not our wisdom, might, or riches but in our understanding and knowledge of God. When I read that for the first time I was amazed, in fact I had no idea that it was in the Bible. But here God is telling us that knowing Him is something we can glory in, in our knowledge of God. Enduring Word Commentary said that to glory in something is to celebrate it, and to proclaim it as the source of one’s happiness and satisfaction. That’s why God said not to find your happiness or satisfaction in wisdom, might, or riches because they don’t last. Only our knowledge of God can do that. Why, because it is the foundation upon which we build our entire life and this knowledge of God enables us to weather any storm and helps us keep our eyes on what matters. Knowing God is a lifetime pursuit, a worthwhile one, that is deserving of all our resources, energy, and effort. Truly it is the only pursuit that matters because it makes all the difference in eternity but it can only be achieved when we choose to be still so that we can begin our journey of knowing Him. It is our knowledge of God that keeps us grounded while on earth, it allows us to stand in the midst of fear and sound the battle cry. It also prepares us for eternity when we will finally see with our eyes the One we have been seeking to know by heart.  Scavenger hunts are a fun activity but they do require a lot of energy plus a good eye as I found out when my teen group was given a list of items we needed to complete. Our biggest challenge was the fact that it all had to be caught on video via the camcorder we were given(those were the days before cell phones had good cameras!). I remember going all over town, from the local mall where one of the guys had to propose to a manikin (definitely memorable) to having to get three cars to honk (slightly embarrassing). In many ways scavenger hunts are designed to create memories and encourage us to do something we never did. On the first Christmas so many years ago there was a group of shepherds who were about to go on the first Christmas scavenger hunt only theirs would lead to a life changing encounter.
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Luke 2:8 Though they are key to any Christmas play, the shepherds rarely have a leading role or even a speaking part. I believe the sheep are more noticed than they are and get a bonus line or two. In the Gospel of Luke, however, these simple keepers of the flocks are critical to the story and teach us something about pursuing truth. A list of clues That first Christmas night started out like any other boring evening as these sheep guardians prepared for another round of guard duty over their fluffy companions. They never could have guessed the events they would witness, ones that would be retold and replayed for thousands of years. They had no idea of the impact it would have on the world. Perhaps what would amaze readers more than anything is the fact that they were even part of it at all. These were shepherds, no one of importance yet they were the chosen audience to hear the news that the Prince of Peace had finally come to earth as well as the first to declare the news of Jesus’ birth to the world. Though considered a lower or inferior class by many, they were anything but as they took in the heavenly message. They immediately understood that the Lord had revealed a great revelation to them. “…Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” Luke 2:15 They didn’t pause to wonder if this was really true, that what they had seen was perhaps a figment of their imagination. They saw and believed without question or reservation. This realization led them to forsake their flock, their livelihood, in order to pursue the truth of what had just been told to them by the angel. They walked away from their responsibility to see a miracle, a promise fulfilled. What is interesting to note is the fact that while the angel told them to go and see he did not give them a direct address, only a few clues.
Consider what was involved in this scavenger hunt, after all, they did not have a star to guide them as the wise men did. They had to look all over town asking, seeking, and knocking. What a sight they made, these humble shepherds going around looking for a newborn baby who fit the exact description given them by the angel. True to their trade, these shepherds diligently sought to find the Babe and when they did they were quick to tell others. May we follow the example of these lowly shepherds who left all behind in order to pursue the truth of the heavenly message. We too have been given the good tidings of Jesus Christ, the redeemer of all people and tasked with the same mission as these Bethlehem flock keepers: “And when they had see it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.” Luke 2:17 May we be willing to leave behind whatever is holding us back. May we be discerners of truth just as they were and always be in relentless pursuit. Let’s be busy making the Good News known abroad this Christmas and all year long telling other lost sheep that the Good Shepherd has come for them! |
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