Be Still And Know

1 John 5:14-15 We are confident that God hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. Prayer is of absolutely crucial importance to our lives. It has been wisely said that you and I are as strong as our prayer lives and no stronger. Every part of our lives depends upon prayer, so it is really important that we are clear about the Bible’s teaching on this subject. One of the most important things to recognise is that prayer is never a matter of simply saying certain words to God. Bishop Ryle said: “We have learned a great lesson when we have learned that ‘saying prayers’ is not praying.” Prayer is all about a relationship with God in which we talk to him and open our hearts so that he can work in our lives. The Old Testament prophets often observed that people said prayers that were completely unacceptable to God because their lives showed that they had no interest in serving him. God sp

1 John 5:11-12 This is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. Sooner or later, everyone is bound to ask what life is all about. Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, one of the most successful rock groups of all time, asked the question in one of his last songs: “Does anyone know what we are living for?” It was a genuine cry from the heart. In human terms, he had everything. He had money and fame on a colossal scale, but, shortly before his death in 1991, he admitted that he was desperately lonely. He said: “You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man, and that is the most bitter type of loneliness. Success has brought me world idolisation and millions of pounds, but it’s prevented me from having the one thing we all need – a loving, ongoing relationship.” John would have totally agreed with Mercury. A “loving, ongoing relationship” is what we all need,

1 John 5:4-5 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We need to be clear that whenever John talks about the world in this passage, he is talking about the world without God. When humankind rejects God, the world is a terrible place full of sin, death and destruction. We are all called to live in such a world, but John wanted to make it clear that we don’t need to be scared of it because in Christ, we have the victory. On Good Friday, Jesus died as the evil world unleashed its worst on him, but that wasn’t the end. On the Sunday morning, Jesus rose from death and proved that he had the victory. This has very practical implications for us. It affects our daily lives in a very profound way. Day by day, we head into a world where God is not respected by most people. The news is full of accounts of abuse, violence, brokenness and disorder. On the face of it,

1 John 4:11-12 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. You cannot see the wind, but you can easily see the effects that it has. Equally, you cannot see electricity, but we have no doubt that it exists because of all that it does. No one has ever seen God, but we know that he exists because we see his love reflected in the people around us. The more we love people, the more they will have the opportunity to see the living God. Tertullian, one of the early Church Fathers, wrote of how the pagan Romans were struck by the Christians’ way of life. “See how they love one another,” was their response. I would love to think this would be the response to each of our churches, and I believe it often is. People see churches setting up food banks, debt advice services, parent and toddler groups, listening services and many other activities. They are wonderful e

1 John 4:10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Most of the love that we experience in our lives is reciprocal. We love other people, and they love us. Sometimes we have taken the initiative and, on other occasions, they have done so. It is very different with God. There is nothing that we could ever do to win his love. However hard we might try, we could never get to a point where God was forced to love us. The fact that he has chosen to love us is entirely down to his own initiative. This is an incredibly important truth because the whole of our Christian life needs to flow from it. In his letters, Paul often used the word grace to describe God’s relationship with us. Forgiveness and salvation are a matter of sheer gift. There is nothing we could ever do to contribute towards them. When we take the step of faith and accept Jesus into our lives, we are simply responding to his incredible generosity to us. Paul wrote to the

1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. There have always been false teachers, but they must have been particularly difficult to face in the early Church. Many Christians would have come from completely different religious and philosophical backgrounds, and few of the church leaders would have had much education. It would have been extremely easy for articulate people to creep into the Church and lead people astray. Anyone can claim to speak by the Spirit, and it is not surprising that many young impressionable Christians simply accepted what they were saying. What John wanted to do was to encourage every Christian to test what they heard. Jesus himself was well aware of the challenge from false teachers. In the Sermon on the Mount, he said: “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify

1 John 3:16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. The most famous verse in the whole Bible is John 3:16: “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.” It’s a wonderful verse, and it takes us to heart of the good news. We need to read it alongside today’s verse, 1 John 3:16, its natural twin, which reminds us that it is not only a case of God loving us and sending Jesus for our salvation, but about us in turn offering up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. I thank God for the amazing Christians that I have known over the years who have poured out their lives for others. I think of children’s and youth workers, deacons and elders, ministers and carers who, because of their love for God, have gladly given everything to support other people. They have thought little of their personal safety or health

1 John 3:1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! My wife and I had the privilege of being foster parents for a number of years. Those years gave me a new understanding of how important our relationship with our parents is. To be honest, I took for granted the love, security, affirmation and warmth of my own parents, but I now treasure those amazing gifts in a new way. Here, John reflected on the even more important relationship that we can have with our Father God. He burst out in wonder as he reflected on the fact that God loves us so much that he chose to call us his children. He did so not as a mere formality, but because we really are his children. Just as the relationship between children and their parents will have life-long implications, so too will our relationship with God our Father colour and shape our lives. We have the privilege of being able to walk into every new day with the certain knowledge that we are loved. We are secure for time

1 John 2:26-27 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. Our world today is very different from the one that John knew, but I suspect that if he were addressing us, he wouldn’t have changed his message at all. The Christians he was speaking to were under constant attack from false teachers, and he was eager that they should be strong in their faith and able to stand up to every challenge. These days, anyone with access to the internet can have instant connection to an unlimited number of religions and philosophies. It can all be very bewildering and confusing. John would want to offer us the same encouragement that he brought 1,900 years ago. The Holy Spirit is still our completely reliable teacher. He teaches us everything that we need to know. Towards

1 John 2:15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. John’s concern here was very similar to that of Jesus when, in the Sermon on the Mount, he said that it was impossible to serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24). We have a choice to make as to whether we will allow all our energy to be expended on worldly interests or on God’s kingdom. We cannot possibly do both. John encouraged his readers to focus their attention on loving God and not the temporary pleasures of the world. Does that mean we should all leave our jobs and homes and sit on a park bench reading the Bible? No, far from it! We are called to enjoy God’s world, to serve him in our jobs and homes and to live alongside those who know nothing of him, but, as we do so, we need to keep our focus on the things that last and not on those pleasures, possessions and achievements which have a very short shelf life. John writes in very sharp language to encourage

1 John 2:9-10 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. The letters in the New Testament give us a great insight into the life of the early Church. These were exciting years for the Church, but enormous struggles were going on. There were people teaching heresy and others making great claims about themselves whose lives showed that they were a sham. There were the Gnostics, who claimed to have discovered deep mysteries and to have encountered the light, but their lives told a completely different story. So John set out some very clear guidelines to help the believers understand who was truly living for God and who wasn’t. The key test was love. If someone showed true love for their fellow believers, you could be sure that they were living in the light, but those who were showing hatred towards others were walking in the darkness. Even in

1 John 1:8-9 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to God, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. John couldn’t have been more blunt. If we claim to be sinless, we’re lying. Presumably, there were people in John’s day who were saying precisely that. He knew it was such a dangerous point of view that he had to be decisive in his language. We can’t be exactly sure who these people were, but in every age there have been people who have claimed to be perfect. We certainly know that there were gnostic groups around in John’s time who believed that they had special knowledge and were not touched by sin. We are all sinners and need to own up to the fact. We might like to blame our parents, our upbringing, our education, the government or the weather, but, at the end of the day, we must take responsibility and acknowledge that we have sinned. We have deliberately gone our own way and done th

1 John 1:3-4 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. As a teenager, I developed a great interest in the law, and often visited the local Magistrates’ and Crown Courts. To describe these as eye-opening experiences would be a considerable understatement. Having been brought up in a very loving and protected Christian home, I was learning about a world of which I knew nothing at all. I soon learned how the courts worked, and I recall the way in which the magistrates or judges would insist that witnesses stuck to their own personal memory. The moment witnesses strayed into talking about what they had heard from other people, they were quickly told to get back to their own personal experiences. John knew the importance of sticking to his own personal witness. He’d had the immense privilege of listening to Je

1 John 1:1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. Most of the letters in the New Testament start with a greeting in which the author identifies himself. The only exceptions to this are the letter to the Hebrews and this first letter of John’s. It seems to me that John was so eager to share his message that he didn’t have time for such pleasantries! He wanted everyone to know that Jesus really was the Son of God and that he came and lived a fully human life here on earth. John wrote this letter towards the end of the first century AD, which was about two generations after the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Some people had come up with the theory that Jesus wasn’t really human at all – he merely appeared to be human. John would have none of it. He knew for certain that Jesus really did come to this earth because he had seen him with his own eyes and even touched him. Th

Luke 19:26 “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” In this parable, Jesus spoke about servants who had all been entrusted with some money. Two of them managed to multiply the original amount enormously, and the king was thrilled when he discovered this. However, the third servant played it safe – very safe. He hid the money and ensured that he could return it in full to the king. The king was furious and ordered that this preserved money should go to the most successful servant. Jesus’ message is clear: don’t play it safe! If God has given you a gift, use it. If you have a gift of caring, studying, administrating, teaching, healing, praying, writing or whatever it may be, make sure you are using that gift as productively as you possibly can. One day, the Lord will ask you what you have done with the gift, and you must expect a severe response if your answer is that you played it safe and did noth

Luke 19:5-7 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. Everyone loves to be called by name. It is particularly special if you didn’t realise that the person speaking to you knew your name. Clearly, Zacchaeus was not only surprised that Jesus knew his name, but thrilled when he offered to visit his house. This changed everything for Zacchaeus, who realised that he had to turn his life around. The fact that Jesus came into the world to save sinners is amazing and wonderful, but it means little until you realise that he is addressing you personally. You matter to God. Incredibly, as Augustine stated long ago, if you had been the only sinner who had ever lived, Jesus would have died for you. As a teenager, I really st

Luke 18:35; 40-43 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road…When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too. Jesus knew that he was heading to Jerusalem where he would be killed. Despite what was ahead, he still had time for people, and when he heard a blind man call out, he stopped and gave him his full attention. From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he had declared that he had come to bring sight to the blind, in fulfilment of Isaiah 61. That didn’t mean he had come to impose his healing – he’d come to offer it, and that’s what he did when he met this blind beggar in Jericho. Jesus never barges into our lives telling us what’s best for us and imposing his w

Luke 18:31-33 Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.” A few days before Jesus’ death on the cross, he took his disciples to one side and give them a vivid description of what was going to happen. However, incredibly, they didn’t understand a word of it. It was a complete mystery to them, and the coming days were a total shock. They understood that Jesus was an amazing teacher and healer, but they hadn’t yet grasped the true meaning of his life - and didn’t want to think about his death. We live in a society that is equally unaware of the significance of Jesus’ death. This is a great tragedy, and we need to reflect on the ways we can help people to grasp its importance. We should be very glad that,

Luke 18:16-17 Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Jesus continually surprised people, but his reaction to children would have been particularly astonishing to his hearers. Children had no status in law and at best they were regarded as potential adults who needed to be seen but certainly not heard. The disciples were keen to protect their rabbi from the children so he could get on with the serious business of instructing the adults. However, as so often was the case, Jesus turned their thinking upside down. Not only did Jesus welcome the children, but he said they provided the role model for his disciples to follow. What was Jesus getting at? He wasn’t encouraging his followers to be childish. He wanted them to come to him with openness and simple trust. The beaut

Luke 16:10-12 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?” We all tend to be impressed by competent people who get things done, but competence isn’t everything. A person’s character is of far greater significance. Indeed, a person who has enormous competence but who has a bad character is very dangerous, and their activity is likely to lead to disaster sooner or later. Jesus’ words are wise ones and we need to listen to them carefully. Faithfulness is a key quality, and if someone has proved unable to be faithful in one area of life, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were unfaithful in other areas as well. If someone shows dishonesty in a trivial matter, it should come as no su