Be Still And Know

Acts 11:25-26 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch…(It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.) Barnabas’ famous gift of encouragement was not only expressed in words; he also took action. Antioch, in Syria, was a busy commercial centre with a very mixed population. There were many Jews in the city and an increasing number of people from a non-Jewish background who were following Christ. It was crucial that a good leader was found and Barnabas was sure that Saul had exactly the right qualifications. So he set off to search for him in his home town of Tarsus in southern Turkey, as it’s known today. It was 14 years since Saul’s conversion and so he had had ample time in which to grow as a follower of Christ and develop his teaching ministry. Having tracked down Saul, Barnabas took him back to Antioch. There they spent a year working alongside one another in the church, which was to be the springboard for the mission to the

Acts 11:22-23 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. When the church leaders in Jerusalem heard about the rapid growth of the church in Antioch they had lots of questions. Because the church in Jerusalem was strongly Jewish in character, there were some who were deeply suspicious of what was going on in Antioch. Their concern was that the followers of Jesus should follow the Old Testament law. Others were excited but wanted to know more, so they sent a representative. For this role, they needed someone who would be able to understand the non-Jewish background of most of the new converts in Antioch and who could give them plenty of encouragement. They made a very good choice when they selected Barnabas. Barnabas came from Cyprus. He had a much wider understanding of the world than the leaders in Jerusalem, who had probably n

Acts 11:2-3 When Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticised him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said. Criticism always stings. It must have been so hard for Peter to face a barrage of criticism when he returned to Jerusalem. God had given him a vision and opened his eyes to a new world in which God was wanting to welcome everyone to himself. This turned Peter’s previous thinking on its head and this discovery clearly excited him. How discouraging it must have been to face up to his critics. But we can learn a lot from the way that he did so. He would have fully understood where his critics were coming from because, before his recent revelation, he would have thought exactly the same way. So, he patiently went through his testimony. He told them about the remarkable vision and the way in which the Gentile visitors from Caesarea had come and received the gift of salvation. Peter’s hearers in Jerusalem were silenced by his story and offered no further obj

Acts 10:44-45 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. This has often been described as the Gentile Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in Jerusalem it was on the occasion of a major Jewish festival. But Jesus made it clear that the good news belonged to the whole world and so it was necessary for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon non-Jews. And that’s exactly what happened here, to the great astonishment of the Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter. The book of Acts tells us how the gospel moved from its Jewish beginnings in Jerusalem all the way to Rome, situated at the heart of the mighty Roman Empire. It wasn’t a simple or straightforward journey: but ultimately, nothing could stop the progress of the gospel because it belonged to the whole world. Today, the good news is still God’s

Acts 10:34-36 Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favouritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” This might not sound revolutionary to us today, but it is important to understand that Peter’s world had just been turned upside down. He had been brought up with the Old Testament idea that it was only the people of Israel whom God had chosen to be a special people. The Jews had been given very clear rules about what they should and shouldn’t eat. However, Peter had just had a vision in which he had been told to do the unthinkable. He had seen a large sheet containing all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles and birds, and he was told he could eat any of them. His response was exactly the right one for any Jew. He said no. But then the voice said to him, “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean” (v15). This happened

Acts 10:1-2 In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. Cornelius is a fascinating character. He wasn’t a Jew and neither was he a follower of Jesus. He was a God-fearer; generous, prayerful and willing that God should use him on this crucial mission to meet up with Peter. Peter was a faithful Jew and struggled to imagine that God could work outside the Jewish nation. Cornelius was going to be the means of helping Peter to see God’s greater plans. Centurions were immensely powerful army officers, usually having command of 80 legionaries. It is interesting that centurions played a significant part in Jesus’ ministry. On one occasion a centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant. He had complete confidence that if Jesus only said the word, the man would be healed. Jesus responded that he hadn’t found anyone in Israel with s

Acts 9:27 Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. Friends are a precious gift and we all need them. When Saul visited Jerusalem for the first time after his conversion, he found himself in a delicate position. He desperately needed a really good friend. His visit came a couple of years after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, and there is no doubt that many people in Jerusalem would have remembered what kind of man he used to be. They might have heard stories about his preaching ministry, but they were deeply suspicious. Maybe it was all an elaborate trap. So Saul needed Barnabas to introduce him to the apostles. Barnabas believed in Saul and was able to speak warmly of his powerful preaching ministry. This was a crucial moment and Barnabas, whose name meant ‘son of encouragement’, was just the friend that Saul n

Acts 9:17 Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” I find this declaration from Ananias one of the most moving sentences in the whole of the Bible. He had been asked by God to go and meet Saul. Ananias was fully aware of Saul’s reputation and that he was on a mission to arrest the followers of Jesus. He was bound to think that there must be some mistake (v13). But the Lord informed him that Saul had been appointed to take the gospel to the non-Jewish world (v15). In obedience to the Lord, Ananias courageously headed off to the house in Straight Street, placed his hands on Saul and called him brother. How amazing! The story of Saul’s conversion should be a warning to us all not to put a limit on what God can do. I invite you to think of people whom you know who are completely dismissive of Christian faith. Perhaps they laugh at you fo

Acts 9:3 As [Saul] was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. Saul was a deeply committed Jew and his mission was to destroy the Church. He was acting with the authority of the High Priest in Jerusalem and his task was to search out any followers of Jesus and take them as prisoners. But suddenly everything changed as he travelled on the road to Damascus. A brilliant light flashed around him and he heard a voice asking, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” (v4). Saul knew the scriptures well enough to know that this must be God so he asked: “Who are you, Lord?” (v5) The reply was not the one he wanted to hear. He was sure that there was nothing in this new-fangled Jesus religion. How shocked he must have been to hear the voice saying: “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.” This moment changed everything. Saul’s life was turned upside down and inside out. He would never be the same again and neither would the Church. But let’s spend a moment longer

Nehemiah 12:27 For the dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem, the Levites throughout the land were asked to come to Jerusalem to assist in the ceremonies. They were to take part in the joyous occasion with their songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres. The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem was an incredibly significant moment and we are given a wonderful picture of the people’s celebrations. The Levites had the responsibility for leading worship and so they came to Jerusalem from all over the country for this special moment. There was a wide range of musical instruments, and Nehemiah organised the singers into two choirs who walked in different directions around the walls of the city. Nobody was left out. It must have been a great deal of fun. The whole Bible is punctuated with times of exuberant worship. It is no surprise that, when John received his vision of heaven, it was in the form of the most amazing wedding banquet. John records: “I heard what sounded like a vast

Nehemiah 9:5 Then the leaders of the Levites…called out to the people: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Time defines our lives so completely that it is very hard to understand eternity. I recall hearing about heaven when I was a child and I concluded that it was a very unattractive idea. I assumed that there must be a lot of worship going on in heaven and so I built up a picture of it being like a never ending church service. The service I had in mind started with a brilliant presentation by the angelic choir who sang beautifully for 650 years. This was followed by a welcome and some notices, which were relatively brief at only 200 years. And then there was an absolutely amazing sermon that had 1,400 extremely good points and went on for 2,000 years. I decided that heaven probably wasn’t for me! Fortunately, heaven will be nothing like that. It is beyond time, just like God. Whenever the Bible talks about God being eternal it is as a springboard to wo

Nehemiah 9:3 They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God. This was the start of a new chapter for God’s people. It was a time for them to reassess their lives in the light of the Law of Moses. This was an occasion for encouragement because they were reminding themselves of the love and faithfulness of their God, who wanted to live in covenant partnership with them. But it was also a time of deep pain as they were reminded that the people of Israel had a long history of rebellion against God. Worship should always contain these two elements. As we declare the greatness of God and celebrate his love for us, we are bound also to see our own failures. God doesn’t call us to wallow in our sins or to exaggerate them. He wants to set us free from our shortcomings, but that cannot happen unless we are honest with him. It is, therefore, vital that every a

Nehemiah 8:10 “This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” When the people heard Ezra reading the Law of Moses they burst out crying (v9). Presumably they did so because they were reflecting on how far they had fallen as a nation. There was a huge gulf between what God had intended and the present reality. Nehemiah and Ezra were as aware as anyone of these things, but they saw this day as one for celebration and rejoicing, not for sorrow. They encouraged the people to bring together the best food and drink and to have an enormous party to celebrate what God had done. The celebrations were a recognition of the fact that the joy of the Lord was their strength. We may experience the joy of birth, seeing a toddler take their first step, watching children playing happily, smelling a flower or seeing a majestic landscape; success in sport or work or the joy of finishing a jigsaw puzzle. But such joys tends to be a brief response to a pleasant exper

Nehemiah 8:6 Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in just 52 days was an amazing achievement. But Nehemiah was quite clear that there was something that was even more important - ensuring that God was at the centre of the city’s life. In this chapter, Ezra the priest addresses all the people, bringing out the book of the Law of Moses. This may refer to the whole of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) or perhaps just the book of Deuteronomy. What we know for certain is that Ezra read for three hours. This was quite a marathon, but it is recorded that the “people listened closely to the Book of the Law” (v3) We read that Ezra stood above the people and, as he opened the book, the people all stood up and praised God. What an amazing moment that must have been as the people lifted up their hands in worship

Nehemiah 6:9 They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination. Nehemiah was a remarkable leader, but I am particularly struck by his amazing resilience. Almost anyone can lead an organisation when the circumstances are easy and everything is going to plan. The real test of leadership is what happens when you are living with constant pressure and an endless supply of discouragements. From the very beginning of his heroic rebuilding operation, Nehemiah had been mocked and threatened. The opposition intensified with time. No one would have blamed him for throwing in the towel, complaining about the unfair way in which he had been treated. But he didn’t. He not only hung in there but continued the work with even greater determination. Whatever you do in life, there will be times when the going is so tough that it looks as if the only sensible thing to do is to resign and move away. I am not denying that t

Nehemiah 5:14 For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. I once heard about a military officer who took his men on an arduous training exercise. They were all carrying heavy rucksacks which pushed them to their limits. At one point, they had to climb over a gate and the officer’s rucksack split open to reveal that, although it appeared to be full, it was in fact empty! It had no weight at all. In that moment, the officer completely lost the respect of his men and rightly so. He didn’t deserve it. It is impossible for leaders to command respect unless they live up to the highest standards. In today’s verse, Nehemiah points out that, during the twelve years that he was governor of Judah, he lived in an exemplary way. The previous governors had been very different, laying heavy burdens on the people and demanding not only a daily ration of food and

Nehemiah 5:6-7 When I heard their complaints, I was very angry. After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem. These verses give us a fascinating insight into Nehemiah’s leadership. First of all, he listened. The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem might sound a simple and straightforward task. In fact, it proved to be anything but. The problem, as it is so often, was money. People were struggling to pay their taxes. This problem was made worse by the fact that, in order to pay them, they needed to mortgage their properties and fields and even sell their children into slavery. Nehemiah listened to the complaints. No leader will ever succeed unless they learn to listen carefully. This sounds simple enough, but true listening is incredibly demanding. It demands our full attention, compassion and wisdom. As Nehemiah listened it’s no

Nehemiah 4:16 From then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. There is no question that Nehemiah trusted God. He was absolutely convinced that God was on his side and that he was going to succeed in reconstructing the walls of Jerusalem. He also knew that he had to work incredibly hard, and to ensure that the city and its people were adequately defended. The opposition became so intense that he had to halve his work force in order to release men to stand on guard. It must have been very frustrating not having everyone working on the wall, but he knew that it was vital for his workers to have adequate protection. Every now and again, I hear people say that because they trust God they don’t need to have insurance or make plans for the future. This sounds very spiritual and impressive on first hearing, but I don’t believe that that is how God intends us to live our lives. It certainly wasn’t the way Nehemiah lived. He could have said tha

Nehemiah 3:10 Next Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired the wall across from his own house, and next to him was Hattush son of Hashabneiah. I vividly remember meeting a missionary for the first time. It was at a children’s mission in our local park and, with huge excitement, we were introduced to a real live missionary who had been serving God in the Amazon rainforest amongst a tribe whose language hadn’t yet been written down. Everything about his life seemed adventurous and he had clearly done a fantastic job of getting alongside the tribal people and finding ways of telling them that God loved them. It was obvious to me that this was exactly what Jesus meant when he told his disciples to go to the ends of the earth. If God has told you to go to the ends of the earth, that’s great! I pray you get on really well. But that wasn’t all that Jesus said. Jesus told his disciples to start in Jerusalem. Most of us are not told to go to the ends of the earth, we’re told to to start where we are. In Nehemiah’s accou

Nehemiah 3:8 Next was Uzziel son of Harhaiah, a goldsmith by trade, who also worked on the wall. Beyond him was Hananiah, a manufacturer of perfumes. I am so grateful to Nehemiah for the careful way in which he reported the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. He gives us lots of fascinating details. He tells us that every kind of person got involved, whatever their line of work, from priests to perfume makers. Many would have no experience of building work but they all wanted to play their part. Nehemiah clearly valued the work that they were doing and kept meticulous records of it. It is little wonder that, under his inspired leadership, the wall was soon rebuilt. It is so important for us to value every single person, because that’s precisely what God does. We don’t all have the same gifts but we all have a part to play. This is fundamental to the apostle Paul’s understanding of the Church. He said that we are the body of Christ and that every part of it is essential (1 Corinthians 12:12-26). When I