Be Still And Know

John 3:16-17 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. I remember well the first time somebody, other than my parents, told me they loved me. I can recall everything about that moment, and it was simply amazing. In these verses, which are probably the most famous in the entire Bible, we hear the wonderful news that God loves us, and that his love is so total that he gladly sent his own Son into the world so that we could have eternal life. There is great emphasis upon God’s love for the people of Israel in the Old Testament, but now we see that the doors are flung open to the whole world. Everyone is welcome. The last thing God wants is for anyone to perish, so he invites everyone to believe in him and find eternal life. In the Old Testament, we meet Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice his precious son, Isaac,

John 3:3 Jesus replied [to Nicodemus], “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nicodemus was an unlikely visitor to Jesus. He was a Pharisee, and Jesus was locked in a constant struggle with this group of Jewish leaders throughout his ministry. Perhaps that’s why he came to Jesus at night. He wanted to ask his questions without being spotted by his fellow Pharisees. Jesus had no formal accreditation as a Jewish teacher, so it was generous of Nicodemus to address him as “Rabbi”. Clearly, he was impressed by Jesus’ teaching and miraculous signs and acknowledged that there was clear evidence that he had been sent by God. Jesus didn’t engage with this but responded to Nicodemus with words which would have rocked his world. He needed to be born again. Nicodemus seemed confused by Jesus’ words. He was baffled by the thought of entering his mother’s womb a second time, so Jesus spelt out exactly what he meant: just as human life starts with a birth, so too does spirit

John 2:23-25 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart. Whether we like it or not, the world knows a great deal about us. Organisations go to extraordinary lengths to store information about every aspect of our lives so they can lure us into buying their products and using their services. However, although it might not feel like it at times, there are limits to what they know. They can’t see into the deeper recesses of our minds, but there is one who can. In these verses, John reveals that Jesus knew all about the people of his time. Some were responding to his message because of the miraculous things he was doing, but Jesus knew that for many of them, this was a superficial response which would soon evaporate. He understood human nature completely and knew every person’s heart. When we

John 2:15-16 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” The Gospels generally present Jesus as a calm, compassionate and peaceful person. This account of him clearing the temple forecourts of traders seems to stand in marked contrast. Jesus was clearly angered by what he saw and determined that it should stop. He longed for his Father’s house to be a focus of prayer and worship, yet all he could hear was the noise of sheep, cattle, money and shouting traders. It could be argued that the money changers and the sellers of sacrificial animals were all making a contribution to the people’s worship, but the way they were doing it totally obscured the purpose of the temple. Jesus may not have actually used the whip he made, b

John 1:45-46 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Wherever you live, there is probably a town not far away with a dodgy reputation. For whatever reason, the place is held in suspicion, and you can’t imagine that anything good would ever come out of it! Nathanael came from Cana, which is not far away from Nazareth, and it appears that a typical town rivalry made Nathanael respond in that way. Philip wasn’t put off by Nathanael’s dismissive response to Jesus. He invited Nathanael to see Jesus for himself. That changed everything. Jesus saw Nathanael and made the amazing statement: “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity” (John 1:47). Within moments, Nathanael had declared that Jesus was the Son of God, the King of Israel. None of that would have happened unless Philip had persist

John 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” I love the simplicity of this verse. Jesus called Philip to follow him, and he did! From this moment onwards, Philip’s life was defined by following Jesus, right up until he was crucified upside down in Hierapolis about 50 years later. Throughout those years, he must have looked back to that initial moment when he responded to the call of Jesus. John’s Gospel is all about following Jesus, so it is no surprise that in the final chapter we hear Jesus inviting Peter to do so. Jesus had just heard Peter telling him how much he loved him, but still Jesus came back to him with the words: “Follow me.” Whoever you are, whether you have followed Jesus for years or haven’t yet made up your mind about it, Jesus says to you: “Follow me.” Christianity is all about a personal relationship with Jesus. Sadly, churches often get in the way, and we make it look as if our commitment is to a particular church. Jesus al

John 1:40-41 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). There used to be a lot of talk about friendship evangelism – bringing people to hear the good news of Jesus through friendship. I never liked the sound of it. It seemed scheming and awkward to me. I would much rather talk simply about friendship, and that’s exactly what we see in this passage. Friendship is the most natural thing in the world. Andrew met Jesus and then he immediately wanted to share the experience with his family and friends, so he went to find his brother Simon to introduce him to Jesus. I remember speaking to a minister who said that his church had recently distributed thousands of leaflets to local homes inviting people to their services. It was a huge effort, and no one came. That doesn’t mean it was wrong to do, but the minister reflected that it would have been so

John 1:26-27 John [the Baptist] told them, “I baptise with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognise. Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.” We are familiar with the stories of Jesus and have probably all seen film portrayals of him. It’s hard for us to imagine that there was a time when people didn’t know who he was. He didn’t stand out in a crowd. It seems that only John the Baptist could spot him; he recognised exactly who Jesus was and why he had come to the world. He knew he had a vital ministry of preparing the way for Jesus but that he himself was not worthy of even being his slave. The New Testament clearly proclaims that Jesus is alive today. In the power of the Holy Spirit, he continues to be present in our world, but most people don’t recognise him. Many people see Church as an irrelevance and, according to some surveys, weekly church attendance has now declined to about 5 per cent of the population.

John 1:16-17 From God’s abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. People have very different understandings of God. Some see him as being a strict disciplinarian, like a divine policeman. Others see him as a nice old man on a cloud with a flowing beard, very kind but completely cut off from normal life. Then there is the picture of God that we find in John’s Gospel – someone who is unfailingly generous and involved in every part of our daily life. His principal desire is that we should thrive, and he is looking for every possible way of blessing us. That’s what he did long ago when he gave the law to Moses, and then later when he sent Jesus into the world, and that’s still his agenda today. If you head into today with a conviction that God is generous and longing to bless you, it will colour everything that you do. You will be eager to pray, knowing that God loves to hear an

John 1:10-12 [Jesus] came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognise him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. Rejection is always painful. If you meet with a new group of people and feel unwelcome, it is an uncomfortable experience, but if you are rejected by people who are close to you, it is particularly agonising. Many people have experienced rejection from their parents, children or spouse. There is no way of simply brushing it off. It hurts deeply and is likely to continue to have an impact for years to come. Our verses today speak of the pain that Jesus experienced in coming to the world that he had created with his Father and being rejected. Even though he came to the Jews, his own much-loved people, they had no time for him. That wasn’t the end of the story. Although many rejected him, there were always some people who believed in him. In the Gospels, we see Jesus in r

John 1:6-8 God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. John was determined to help people to see that Jesus, and only Jesus, is the Light of the World. John the Baptist had a really important part to play, but he wasn’t the light. He simply prepared people to meet with Jesus. John wanted his readers to make sure that they were only looking for life’s meaning and purpose in Jesus. There is a traditional story from the Middle East which I have always loved. It tells of a man hunting for something in the middle of a dusty road. A stranger approached him and asked what he was looking for. “I’m looking for my key,” replied the man. “Where did you lose it?” asked the stranger. “Oh,” the man replied: “I lost it in my house.” The stranger looked puzzled and asked: “So if you lost it in your house, why are you looking for it here in the middle of the road?” The m

John 1:4-5 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. There has been darkness on every page of human history, but the last century saw darkness on a colossal scale. During the terrible dictatorships of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao, many tens of millions of people were killed, but we have also seen horrifying amounts of abuse even within the Church. Every day, we hear stories of darkness, and we feel the weight of pain that is borne by so many people, but there is good news amid this terrible darkness – however hard people may have tried, they have failed to extinguish the light of Christ. There have been determined efforts to destroy the Church over the past century, and there still are today. To those brothers and sisters in North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan who live under the most oppressive regimes, we can declare that the light of Christ will never be put out. N

John 1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. Can I be honest? I listened to these words for years without really understanding them. They are often used at Christmas carol services, and they seemed very mysterious to me. John would have been saddened by my reaction because for him and his readers, it was obvious. Everyone knew what he meant by ‘the Word’ or the Logos. This was an expression often used in Greek philosophy which shaped the thinking of his day. He was saying that Jesus was nothing less than God himself, and that when God spoke to the world, he did so in the form of his Son Jesus, the Word. This reminds us of the very beginning of the Bible, where we learn that God created the world. When God spoke, something happened. On day one he said: “Let there be light,” and there was light. There isn’t a distinction between the word and the action. When God sent Jesus as the Word, we see him acting in the most powerful way to bring life to the world

Acts 2:44-45 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. The Holy Spirit transformed every part of the early Christians’ lives. Yes, they were committed to teaching, fellowship and prayer, but they also looked at their possessions with new eyes. They were eager to find opportunities to share their resources with one another according to people’s needs. This is revolutionary stuff. It is really important to ensure that a church’s teaching, fellowship and prayer life are strong, but if they don’t affect our material possessions, something has gone seriously wrong. I don’t believe that there is just one way of doing this. This very brief description of the early Church gives the impression of all the Christians living together in community. It sounds so simple and straightforward, but I don’t think anyone who has lived in community would describe it like that. I remember a well-known Christian lea

Acts 2:42 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. The early weeks of the Church must have been amazing. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit had totally transformed everything. From a small group of disappointed and frightened believers, there was now a large number of believers fired up with a determination to change the world. These verses in Acts give us the first clues of what the Church looked like, and this verse spells out three key aspects. Firstly, the believers needed teaching. The Christians in Jerusalem were probably all from a Jewish background, so they needed to be shown how Jesus was the fulfilment of their Scriptures. They also needed to be reminded of Jesus’ teaching, because they had all heard different parts of it. It was decades later that the Gospels were written, although people had almost certainly started to write down some of Jesus’ sayings. Secondly, the Christians got to

Acts 2:37-38 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied: “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” A sermon is worth nothing if it doesn’t lead to action. Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost powerfully described the reason for Jesus’ death. In words that would have shocked much of his audience, he pointed out that they had been responsible for it. It was their sin that had driven Jesus to the cross just five weeks before. Having heard this, the people were deeply challenged and knew that they needed to take action. Peter’s response is interesting because of the way it speaks of the covenant partnership that God wants with us. There was something that the people needed to do, and then a response that God would make. Firstly, they needed to repent. They needed to recognise that th

Acts 2:16-17 What you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.’ When Peter spoke these words, he was addressing huge crowds of Jews who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the harvest festival known as Pentecost. On that day, the first fruits of the wheat harvest were offered to God. It was known as Pentecost because it occurred 50 days after the Sabbath that followed the Passover. It was one of three annual pilgrimage festivals, so Jerusalem would have been heaving with people. On that particular Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus’ 120 followers. An enormous wind roared and flames appeared to settle on all the believers. Then, as the Spirit filled them, they started speaking in tongues, which meant that the pilgrims who had come from many neighbouring countries were all able to hear God being prais

Psalm 59:17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love. Is your life a struggle at the moment? I’m really sorry if so, but I want you to know you’re not alone. In this psalm, like many others, David pours out the detail of his struggles. He feels physically threatened and compares his opponents to vicious dogs, snarling as they prowl the streets. He also reflects on the curses and lies they keep hurling at him. There seems to be no limit to the challenges that he faces. Whether you are struggling or not, we should all listen to how David faces up to his situation with brutal honesty. When life is difficult, and we all experience that from time to time, it’s so important for us to be honest about it, especially with God. He already knows the whole story. He knows the kind of people we are and our history, so he is perfectly able to understand whatever we are up against. Like David, we need to make sure our prayers express exactly how we are. It’s

Psalm 57:8-9 Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. I have always loved singing and have sung with many choirs over the years. Many of you may have had a similar experience. You will know what a joy it is to contribute your little sound to the united voice of a choir. It isn’t surprising that singing has always played such a major role in worship. It takes our words to another level as we seek to express our love for God and our devotion to him. It is wonderful that God’s people have sung through thousands of years. Whether they have been experiencing poverty or wealth, war or peace, sickness or health, there have always been songs on their lips. Not everyone is able to sing. Some people are tone deaf and the noise that comes out of their mouth could never be described as pleasant. It feels very unfair that some people have the ability and others don’t. However, I believe that

Psalm 56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Everything seemed to be going wrong for David when he wrote this psalm. He was being attacked continually by the Philistines. They were constantly slandering and spying on him, looking for an opportunity to kill him. But amid it all, David affirmed his confidence in the Lord, knowing that with God on his side, he couldn’t lose. He had a deep conviction that his all-knowing God had not only kept track of all his woes, but had stored them up. We all experience times of difficulty and tragedy. Such times are woven into the fabric of life and there is no avoiding them. When we are in the dark valley of suffering, it is wonderful to know that God doesn’t merely know we are there and accompany us, but also takes our tears and anger seriously. He doesn’t try to jolly us along and urge us to sing a few uplifting songs of worship to get over it. He sits with us in our sadness and re