Tag: Quiet

Learning to Listen

October — A Month of Prayer

Sunday Morning Sermon
October 15, 2017
Mark 4:35 – 41; 1 Timothy 2:1, 2
John McKeel

 “Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10

“The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” — Habakkuk 2:20

All Pervasive NOISE

We might chuckle at the phrase “noise pollution,” but it is all around us. Who hasn’t been woken in the middle of the night by somebody on a motorcycle? Stop for just a moment and listen. We are surrounded by noise, but it is nothing compared to the noise that goes on inside of our heads!

Sleeping in the Back of the Boat

Jesus was exhausted. It was the end of a very long day of teaching and preaching and he just needed to get away from it all. At evening, he got in a boat and told his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” Then he fell asleep so soundly that even a hurricane[1] couldn’t wake him. Have you ever wondered how that was possible? (Mark 4:30-34)

Two Kinds of Quiet

Timothy was the Apostle Paul’s protégé (Acts 16:1-5) and when young Timothy became the new evangelist for the church in Ephesus, the apostle sent a letter to him and the church there explaining how Christians should behave as a church.

Prayer is so important, Paul told them to think about it “first of all,” but what should we pray for? Paul’s answer guides us too. “… that we may live peaceful and quiet lives.”

Peaceful Life

Let’s think about “peace.” In the Bible, peace doesn’t mean the absence of conflict. It means, God is in control. Do you really believe that?

God is in control and that’s how it should be. Smile quietly to yourself because you know, behind all the noise and chaos we call “life,” God is sitting on His throne and everything is going to be okay. That’s peace!”

Quiet Life

The second word Paul uses to describe what we should pray for is “quiet.” We need “peaceful and quiet lives.” Alas, this word has been sorely abused by English translations. For example, just a few verses later many translations announce women “must be silent,” but this is the very same word translated “quiet” in verses 2 and 11!

No, Paul isn’t commanding the women to “shut up” (see Mark 1:25 for that word), but he is agreeing with Peter who teaches that true beauty is a “gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4) – something God highly values in all of us.

You can’t make yourself be quiet any more than a gardener can make a plant grow or a sailor can call the wind. Quiet is something you cultivate or capture. For most people, it is a blessing that is just out of reach, but only because we don’t take the time to nurture this special virtue.

Putting It All Together

Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Focus on God and “count your many blessings.” God loves us – that never changes. Now we can pray – commune with our heavenly Father!

[1] Mark 4:37 “a furious squall” NIV, but lailaps literally refers to a hurricane or whirlwind.

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Three Minutes with God

 

 

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Mt 6:25–34). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Sleeping in the Back of the Boat

Jesus was exhausted. It was the end of a very long day of teaching and preaching and he just needed to get away from it all. At evening, he got in a boat and told his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” Then he fell asleep so soundly that even a hurricane[1] couldn’t wake him. Have you ever wondered how that was possible? (Mark 4:30-34)

Take a minute this morning to make a list of all the things that keep you up at night, or the things that wake you up in the wee hours of the morning and prevent you from falling back to sleep. Now spend your second minute giving each of those worries to God. As you pray, draw a line through each worry knowing God will take care of it. Finally, spend your third minute thanking God for carrying those burdens for you and asking for His help to let go.

Blessings,

John McKeel

 

 

[1] Mark 4:37 “a furious squall” NIV, but lailaps literally refers to a hurricane or whirlwind.