Be Still - January 21, 2025

Psalm 34: 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good . . . (NIV)

It is folly for a man to pass sentence upon a matter which he has not patience to make a strict enquiry into.*

Like any good mom, I wanted my kids to eat healthy. I tried to prepare balanced meals – although sometimes that meant a PB&J in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. I also was careful not to serve foods I knew they would hate. But whenever I introduced a new dish to my repertoire, they had to try it. One bite. If they didn’t like it, they didn’t have to eat any more of it. But they had to taste it to see if it was good.

David urges us to taste and see that the Lord is good. How will we know if we want him to be a regular part of our diet if we don’t sample what he has to offer? Are you facing some challenges in your life right now that present an opportunity to taste the Lord?

Some suggestions for taste-testing the Lord can be found in scripture. First Peter 5: 7 dares us to cast all our anxiety on God because he cares for us. Try tasting the Lord when you are anxious. In the Beatitudes, found in Matthew chapter 5, we find some tests that might produce quick results: if you are in mourning, you will be comforted (verse 4); if you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you will be filled (verse 6); the pure in heart will see God (verse 8). But the quickest and easiest way to test the Lord’s goodness is with your finances.

In Malachi 3: 10, God challenges the people of Israel to test him by bringing the whole tithe into the storehouse. “See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it,” he tells them. While this promise is specific to Israel, the challenge is applicable to all. If you aren’t tithing (giving ten percent of your earnings to God), try it. See how well God provides with the 90 percent remaining.

Take a bite. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Strong Christians are strong because they enjoy the Lord.*

Be Still - January 20, 2025

Nehemiah 6: 9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.” (NIV)

Prayer is not preparation for the battle. Prayer is the battle.*

If you don’t know much about Nehemiah, take some time to read his story. One thing you will learn about him is that he was a man of prayer and a man of action – which tells me he was a man of faith. Sometimes waiting for God to give you some direction is the right thing to do; but other times you just have to step out in faith. Pray and get to work was Nehemiah’s motto. Seldom was waiting an option for him.

In this verse, we see an example of how Nehemiah’s faith gave him courage to disregard his enemies. He was not daunted by their attempts to thwart him. He dealt with them by praying. And he prayed specifically. The bad guys thought his hands were weak; he prayed for strong hands.

How does your prayer life measure up to Nehemiah’s? Do you remember to pray before you act? Do you have faith that God will act on your behalf as soon as he needs to? Can you tune out the voices of the hecklers in your life? Are you audacious enough to pray specifically? Start today. The only way to be as bold as Nehemiah is to pray like Nehemiah.

Confidence in prayer comes from knowing the faithfulness of God.*

Be Still - January 19, 2025

Deuteronomy 6: 18, 19 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said. (NIV)

It is never wrong to be right.*

This sounds like the kind of promise we should all want to claim: Do what is right and good so that it may go well with you. The truth is, doing right and good does not guarantee that all will go well with you. God never promised us it would. In these verses, he is making a specific pledge to the Israelites who were preparing to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land – and you might want to refresh your memory about what occurred between the making of this promise and the fulfillment of it. Doing right and good demanded a lot more from them than just being nice to each other.

We are reminded of the difference between living under the Law and living under grace. When Jesus fulfilled the Law – and canceled our obligation to it – he did not repeal the necessity to do right and good; he just eliminated it as the path to salvation. As one writer observes:  “The watchwords for blessing under the Old Covenant were earning and deserving; under the New Covenant, blessing comes by believing and receiving.”*

Doing right and good is still the right thing to do. But we do it because we love God and want to please him, not because we hope it will save us. 

God’s law is so perfect and absolute that no one can achieve righteousness. Yet God’s grace is so great that we do not have to.*

Be Still - January 18, 2025

I Corinthians 2: 4, 6 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power . . . . We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature . . . (NIV)

Biblical wisdom is not associated with great learning or with anything particularly intellectual or scholarly.*

Have you ever felt like a sermon was “over your head”? Are you friends with a “spiritual giant” who makes you feel like a spiritual gnome? Do you feel inadequate when your small group is having a lively theological discussion and you can’t keep up? Let me offer you some hope.

In this passage from Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he refers to the beginning days of his ministry with them. Because of some issues with a few other churches, he resolved to keep it simple with the Corinthians. Rather than attempt to speak to them with eloquence, he relied solely on the Holy Spirit’s power to persuade. And here is where we find our first glimmer of hope for the spiritually befuddled: The power of the Holy Spirit.

Just as Paul was relying on the Holy Spirit to relay his message to his audience, we can count on the Holy Spirit to deliver the message to us. No matter how smart we might be, or how slow we are to catch on, it is the Holy Spirit who speaks to us through the Word of God. If you are getting into the Word but it doesn’t seem to be getting into you, do not lose hope. Trust in God’s Holy Spirit to reveal the truths that you need.

Which brings us to the second whisper of hope: The Holy Spirit reveals the truths that you need. Yes, Paul goes on in this passage to say that he speaks a message of wisdom among the mature. Those who are ready for a deeper message should be getting a deeper message. Spiritual maturity is our goal, but, physically and spiritually, we all mature at different rates. It is a mistake to compare your level of maturity with someone else’s. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in you in his own time.

And finally: Just because someone is a few steps ahead of you doesn’t mean they are more saved than you are. We aren’t saved by what we know or what we do but by faith in Jesus Christ. How much more hope do you need?

People aren’t saved by how much they know.*

Be Still - January 17, 2025

James 1: 14 Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. (NIV)

Temptation is a tough business. It is managed by a real pro.*

Satan is very good at his job. I don’t say that because I admire him – I say it because we need to be aware of it every moment of every day. The Bible calls him the deceiver. By twisting the truth ever-so-slightly, he can make us believe a lie. As observed by another, he “promotes his own . . . counterfeit version of love, joy, and everything else good that God has created.”*

When it comes to temptation, Satan does his homework. He mass-produces enticements and evil, but he also personalizes it for individuals. I recently heard a prayer request for the daughter of a friend who left Christianity to become a Mormon. How many of us could include that in our list of temptations?

James says it is our evil desires that lead us into trouble. Because we have bought into society’s definition of evil, we reserve the word for only the most heinous perversions and atrocities. Tempted to gossip, tell a little white lie, take the Lord’s name in vain, go somewhere you shouldn’t – so what? It won’t hurt anyone so go ahead. Evil? That would be the child molester or the axe murderer; not me.

I have heard that we underestimate Satan’s power to tempt us and overestimate our power to resist. It is true. If we are not vigilant and prayerful, we will be dragged away and enticed and walk right into sin of our own free will. 

Jesus showed us how to resist temptation: Arm yourself with the Word and wield your weapon vigorously! Bathe yourself in prayer and never dry off!

Don’t ever think you are immune to temptation.*

Be Still - January 16, 2025

Luke 5: 16 Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (NIV)

The shortening of prayer will be the weakening of our power.*

Reading about Jesus’ prayer life causes me to assess mine. Perhaps yours could do with a little once-over as well.  I find that my prayer life is more of a contrast than a comparison to Jesus’.

· Quantity: I have set aside a time every day to spend in Bible reading and prayer. Once a day. And often not for very long. 

· Quality: Most of my time before the throne is wasted in whining. To be fair, I spend a lot of time being thankful . . . so . . . mostly my prayers are all about me.

I believe in the power of prayer, so why don’t I spend more time doing it? If Jesus had to pray for hours, why do I think it’s enough to lay my requests before God and move on? What can I learn from Jesus’ example?

I observe that prayer was a priority for Jesus. My once-a-day routine does not prove that prayer is a priority – it just proves that I have established a habit. The inconsistency in the amount of time I spend in daily prayer is evidence that I don’t always have anything to pray about. That I don’t always have anything to pray about points to the possibility that I don’t quite understand the purpose of prayer. Did Jesus spend his prayer time just asking God for stuff? Thanking him for the stuff he had already given him? Working his way down that prayer list from small group?

Jesus didn’t have to withdraw to lonely places to pray. Just like us, he could have prayed anywhere. He retreated from the crowds and his responsibilities in order to spend time with his Father. Quality time involves conversation. Conversation requires talking and listening. And while we believe that quality time trumps quantity time, it isn’t very high quality if the quantity is insufficient.

Want to pray like Jesus prayed? Learn to talk to the Father. Be intentional about the amount of time you spend in prayer. Be an interesting conversationalist, not a self-absorbed bore! (. . . I said to myself.)

Selflessness remains a key to prayer power.*

Be Still - January 15, 2025

I Peter 1: 6, 7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (NIV)

Suffering is inevitable, misery is optional!*

It was worth it.

Being in labor for 36 hours before delivering a healthy baby. Training 12 hours a day for the Olympics. I knew a man who claimed that being involved in a crippling car accident was worth it for the insurance settlement he got. Clearly, not all ordeals are created equal and not all of us place the same value on the prize at the end of the trial.

Rejoicing is not the first thing we think of when we face life’s trials. Our usual response is, What did I do to deserve this? It’s actually a good idea to address that question up-front. Is your trouble a result of a poor choice? Maybe you don’t “deserve” it, but it could still be self-inflicted. Next question: Did someone else cause it? Third question: What am I going to do about it? There may be actions you can take, restitution you should make; but above all, Christians should choose to rejoice when we suffer grief and trials because:

1. Our suffering is brief (even if it lasts a lifetime, it is no time compared to eternity).

2. Grief and suffering strengthen our faith (which is more valuable and longer-lasting than gold).

3. Our faith results in praise, glory, and honor when it has been proven genuine. 

4. Jesus Christ is revealed.

No healthy, sane person chooses to suffer. But a spiritually mature person can choose his attitude about it. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4: 4)

From fiery furnaces to prison cells, over and over throughout Scripture God allowed his people to suffer, sometimes because they disobeyed him and sometimes because they didn’t.