Be Still And Know

Nehemiah 2:19-20 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked. I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall.” Everything seemed to be going so well. King Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah the leave that he requested and also supplied him with wood for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Nehemiah made the 1,000-mile journey to the city and inspected the broken walls, finding them just as he had been told. He called the people together and challenged them to rebuild the walls. They were eager to start, but even before the building work started, the opposition got going. The builders were mocked and ridiculed and had to face the dangerous allegation that their work would be an act of rebellion against the king. But Nehemiah confidently brushed off the opposition. He knew that God was on his side and that his work would succeed. The waspish criticis

Nehemiah 2:8 And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me. Nehemiah’s appearance before King Artaxerxes went incredibly well. Not only did the king grant him all the leave that he wanted, but he also gave Nehemiah letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates to ensure his safe travel, together with access to the royal forest for wood to help with the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s response was to acknowledge that this happened because the gracious hand of God was on him. When things go well in our lives it is so important that we immediately turn to God in praise. If we succeed in sport, we should praise God for the gift of our bodies and the strength he has given us. If we do well in our studies or in business, we should praise God for the skills and abilities that he has gifted us. If our families are healthy and doing well, we should praise God for the way in which he graciously gave them to us in the first place. Every day provides us with reasons to praise G

Nehemiah 2:4-5 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” This was a terrifying moment. King Artaxerxes noticed that Nehemiah was looking sad. He could tell that there was something troubling his wine taster but Nehemiah had to be very careful with what he said. The king was extremely powerful and if he didn’t like the answer it could have been the end for Nehemiah. We read that Nehemiah prayed. In the previous chapter we saw Nehemiah praying at great length but, at this point, time was of the essence. He could only offer up the briefest prayer to God. These ‘arrow’ prayers are good. It is a blessing that in the midst of our busy lives we can offer God quick prayers, knowing that he will hear us. But it would be tragic if those were the only kind of prayers that we brought to God. It’s the same in any relationship. If the

Nehemiah 1:11 “ O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honouring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favourable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” Nehemiah was on the verge of taking the boldest step of his life. He was going to ask King Artaxerxes, the mighty ruler of Persia, a question that could land him in a lot of trouble. In light of this, he brought his majestic and humble prayer to an end by making the bold request that God should grant him success. I think we often feel rather coy about asking God for success, but we needn’t feel that way because he loves to hear our prayers. He wants us to be completely honest as we address him and, in a situation like Nehemiah’s, it was absolutely right to make such a bold request. This wasn’t a selfish prayer. He was asking for success so that he could bless his Jewish brothers and sisters by restoring Jerusalem. If the king granted his request it was going to give him a great deal of

Nehemiah 1:6-7 I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses. Over the last few weeks, we have had a problem with a water leak. We live in a reasonably new house but have seen water trickling down from the bathroom into the kitchen. We duly called in a plumber who used bright lights and careful instruments to discover where the leak was coming from. There are times in life when we just have to face the facts, uncomfortable as they may be. In a sense, that’s what happens when we come into the presence of a holy God. The truth about our lives is suddenly revealed. The fact is, we are sinners and we live in a community that is sinful. Nehemiah knew that he had to be absolutely honest with God. At times we like to play games with ourselves and make out that we are really not that bad. We open the newspapers and compare ourselves with people who have

Nehemiah 1:5-6 “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer!” These words give us a wonderful insight into Nehemiah’s understanding of God. Everything that follows in this book flows out of these few words. Nehemiah’s courageous actions were the result of the way he understood God, and it’s the same for us. Our understanding of God (or to use the technical term - theology) will shape the way in which we speak and act. Nehemiah knew the awesome greatness of God but, at the same time, he recognised that the God of love wanted to live in covenant relationship with him. Nehemiah lived far away from Jerusalem, where the problems facing the Israelites were colossal. Added to that, he held an important and trusted position in the court of the Persian King Artaxerxes. As the royal wine taster, it was almost unthinkable that he would be released him from his sensitive role. Anyone looking out for the

Acts 7:59-60 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died. Stephen was one of the seven men appointed to handle the distribution of food to the widows. Chapter 7 reveals that he was also a very fine preacher. He delivered a careful exposition of Old Testament history which showed that God had repeatedly raised up deliverers of his people, and the Jews had systematically rejected them. And now they had murdered the Righteous one, Jesus himself. The sermon did not go down well. Stephen’s Jewish audience was infuriated and shook their fists at him. They covered their ears, yelled at the top of their voices and rushed at him, dragging him out of the city where they stoned him to death. He was the first Christian martyr. As he died, Stephen used words that remind us of what Jesus said as he breathed his last. However, while Jesus had placed himself in his Father’s hands, Stephen asked Jesus

Acts 6:1 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. If you have ever been part of a church – or indeed any other organisation – you will know exactly what is meant by “rumblings of discontent”! They are an exhausting but inevitable part of life. On this occasion, the problem was a practical one, but it was clearly causing great unhappiness. The church in Jerusalem was composed of Jews from different backgrounds. Some of them had always lived in the Jerusalem area and spoke Hebrew or Aramaic, but there were others who were from neighbouring countries and largely spoke Greek. Some of the latter had come to live in Jerusalem towards the end of their lives, were far from their families and so were particularly vulnerable. The response of the apostles gives us a good model as to how to handle rumblings of disc

Acts 5:38-39 [Gamaliel said] “My advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!” The success of Peter and John’s healing and preaching ministry was deeply irritating to the Jewish authorities. They were anxious to silence them but nothing seemed to be working. They tried imprisoning them but the apostles miraculously managed to escape and carry on their preaching ministry in the Temple. So, once again, they were hauled before the Jewish leaders who became so furious that many of them wanted to put Peter and John to death. Gamaliel, as one of the most prominent rabbis of the time, was greatly respected by everyone. He was so revered that he held the title ‘rabban’, which literally means ‘our teacher’, to distinguish him from the other, ordinary rabbis. Gamaliel suggested that it would not be wise to ta

Acts 5:1-2 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. This is a chilling story. Ananias and Sapphira were not obliged to give all the money from their property sale to the apostles, but they lied and said they had done so. They conspired together to trick the apostles and the result was that, when confronted with their lies, they both dropped dead (vv4–10). Given that everything seemed to have been going so well for the infant Church this must have been a shattering moment. No wonder Dr Luke concluded the story by saying that great fear gripped the Church and everyone else who heard what had happened. Lying is always serious. Facing up to what we have done may be painful but massaging the truth for our convenience is always destructive. It undermines trust and a relationship that is built on lies cannot possibly last long. Above all, we

Acts 4:29-30 “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Having been ordered by the Jewish council to keep quiet, Peter and John returned to their Christian friends to update them. Their response was to pray, and what a beautiful prayer it is. You might have expected them to ask God to sort out their opponents, but they didn’t. They simply asked God for more boldness to continue their ministry and prayed for yet more miraculous signs and wonders. The pressure of the authorities wasn’t going to silence them for a moment. I have had the privilege of meeting with a number of Christians who have suffered greatly for their faith. During the communist era, a friend and I visited Romania and met with a prominent Christian leader. We knew that we were being followed during our visit and so went to a secret location to hear hi

[The council of the Jews] called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” The miraculous healing of the lame man attracted great attention. This gave Peter a further opportunity to speak to the crowd. He explained that the healing had been done in the name of Jesus, pointing out that they had “killed the author of life but God raised him from the dead” (Acts 3:15). This was too much for the Jewish authorities, who were desperate to find a way to shut him up. When told to stop talking about Jesus, Peter responded by making it clear that if it was a choice between obeying the Jewish council or obeying God, he would choose the latter. It is worth stopping for a moment and reminding ourselves that this bold, confident speaker is the man who, only a few weeks before, had denied ever knowing Jesus. Peter is clearly a

Acts 3:4-6 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” At 3pm, Peter and John went up to the Temple for the service at which one of the daily sacrifices was made. As they walked through the city gates they met a beggar who was strategically placed to receive people’s money as they went to worship. Beggars knew that worshippers often gave them gifts and so the man looked at the apostles expectantly. Peter told him that he didn’t have any money but, in the name of Jesus, he healed the man. With these few words Peter made it plain that what he was doing was continuing the ministry of Jesus who, only a few weeks before, had walked through those same streets. Nearly 2,000 years have passed but it is still our privilege to continue the ministry of Jesus on earth. In the name of Jesu

Acts 2:46-47 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. What amazing days these were! The believers were seeing astonishing things happen and, not surprisingly, their numbers were growing day by day. It was an exceptional period in every way, and they had the added advantage that everyone spoke well of them. In the days to come, the Church would be reviled, rejected and persecuted by other people, but this was a time of great favour. Amid all the excitement and encouragement, the believers maintained their regular rhythm of prayer and worship. In these early years of the Church, the Jewish Christians continued to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem or in their local synagogue, and maintained their Jewish identity. Alongside their Jewish acts of worship, they met regu

Acts 2:43-45 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. In his Pentecost day sermon, Peter referred to the fact that in his earthly life Jesus did “powerful miracles, wonders and signs” (v22). Now the apostles, empowered by the Holy Spirit, were able to continue Jesus’ ministry as they also performed miraculous signs and wonders. It’s no wonder that there was a deep sense of awe as people saw God working in power among people they had previously known only as fishermen. At the same time, the fledgling Christian community adopted a new way of looking at their possessions. They shared all that they owned in order to support one another. This was all done voluntarily and shows the depth of commitment that they had for one another. It has never been a rule that Christians must pool all their

Acts 2:41-42 Those who believed what Peter said were baptised and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. I love the fact that what churches do today is so similar to this earliest description of the Church. The world looks completely different in almost every respect, but Christians continue to be nourished in the same way. Teaching was at the heart of their life together. We need to remember that it was decades before any part of the New Testament was written, and so teachers had a crucially important role in the early Church. We have the privilege of easy access to the New Testament and innumerable books of Christian teaching, but we still need gifted teachers to help us to understand the Bible and apply it to our lives. The New Testament knows nothing of solitary Christianity. Christians belong to one another and are sustained by mutual lo

Acts 2:38 I was very fond of my first satnav. I knew that I could completely trust its wise directions. On one occasion I was taking a group of friends to a railway station at the end of a conference. I spoke to them about the excellence of my satnav and the help that it had been to me. We weren’t far away from the station when my passengers expressed some surprise at the route we had taken. There was grass growing up the middle of the road and it certainly didn’t look ideal. However, it was the way the satnav had brought me so I assured them that it must be right. Then, to my horror, the road came to an abrupt halt. It was a dead end! The only way to remedy the situation was to turn around and retrace our steps. I had to admit that my wonderful satnav was, after all, not infallible. There are times when the only way to correct a situation in our lives is by admitting that we have done wrong, and do a U-turn. That’s called repentance and it was precisely what Peter told his listeners to do on the day

Acts 2:36-37 In his Pentecost sermon, Peter carefully explained to his Jewish audience that what had happened to Jesus had been in fulfilment of God’s plans. He had been very respectful
of their patriarch King David but pointed out that, despite all his greatness, David had not risen from death, unlike Jesus, whom they had had a hand in crucifying. Peter’s sharp challenge pierced them to the heart and they wanted to know what to do in response. I wonder whether you can think of a moment when you were pierced to the heart. It’s agonising when you know that you cannot avoid the challenge that has been put to you.
It reminds me of the time when King David was confronted by the prophet Nathan. David was feeling very pleased with himself. He believed he had got away with his adultery with Bathsheba. He had now married her, having successfully arranged the murder of her husband. But Nathan bravely confronted David by telling him the story of a rich man who had cruelly prepared a meal for a visitor by killin

Acts 2:17-18 Peter responded to the suggestion that Jesus’ followers were drunk by making the practical observation that it was far too early in the morning for anything like that (v15)! He then went on to point out that Joel, in the ninth century BC, had prophesied that in the last days the Spirit would be poured out upon everyone in exactly this way. In Old Testament times we often see the Spirit coming upon specific people – usually prophets, priests and kings. In this new era of the Spirit, it would be fundamentally different. The doors were flung open to everyone to receive the Spirit and to hear God speak with them. We are still living in the last days, as described by Joel, and we should expect to hear God speaking through one another as his Spirit comes upon us. We thank God for those whom he has called to be church leaders. We often hear them faithfully declaring God’s word. But we should be expecting to hear God speak to us through everyone else in the church as well – and just as much throu

Acts 2:11-13 I love the carefulness of Dr Luke’s account of the day of Pentecost. He is giving us only a very brief summary of what actually happened, but he doesn’t miss out the fact that many people struggled to work out what on earth was going on! For us it is absolutely clear what a significant day it was, but for many people at the time it was thoroughly perplexing. Some asked genuine questions, and soon after Peter gave them a very full explanation. But other people concluded that the bizarre events could only be explained by alcohol. When God works in your life in a big way there will always be a variety of responses. Perhaps you have felt led to be confirmed or baptised, to change your job in obedience to the Lord, or to work for him in another country. Some people will have questions and we should always be delighted by this. I remember the time when an uncle of mine became a minister. He had a well-paid job in the oil industry and lived in a beautiful home in the suburbs. As a minister he li