Be Still And Know

John 17:3 You can sum up Christianity very easily with the expression: “It’s not what you know but who you know that counts.” Christian faith is all about a personal relationship with God the Father and his son, Jesus. Everything hinges on that. Here in Jesus’ prayer to his Father, he reflects on the relationship they enjoyed. They lived in complete unity and Jesus expresses his desire that everyone else should experience a similar relationship. It is amazing to think that it is possible to have a personal relationship with the God of all creation and with the Son of God. But it is possible - because God has chosen to enter into such a relationship with us. In the book of Jeremiah, we learn about the new covenant that God wants to have with his people. God said: “I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbours, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will kno

John 15:18-19 Jesus faced opposition throughout his ministry. It was important that his disciples knew the same would be true for them. In these verses, Jesus gives the reason for this. Fundamentally, they no longer belonged to this world. Of course they continued to live in the world, but their values and objectives had totally changed since they met Christ. This was an important message for the disciples, all of whom were going to face brutal opposition in the years to come. Indeed, apart from John, they were all killed because of their faith. Peter was martyred around AD 66 during a time of persecution headed by the Roman emperor Nero. Peter demanded that he be crucified upside down, not feeling worthy to be crucified in the same way as his master. Thomas, who is generally believed to have taken the gospel to India, was pierced to death by the spears of four soldiers. Matthew is said to have been stabbed to death in Egypt. James was stoned and clubbed to death, and Matthias burnt alive. Such ap

John 15:16 If you are a follower of Jesus, you can probably remember the time when you chose to start following him. But one this is for sure: our step towards following Jesus came long after he took the first move towards us. What you and I did was merely responding to his love. He took the initiative. This is a really important point because, at times, it sounds as if we have done the Lord an enormous favour by following him. The reality is that we have simply responded to the love and grace he showed us long before we knew anything about him. As the apostle Paul put it in his letter to the church in Rome: “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). Because we have been chosen by God, we live lives of continual gratitude. God has showered his love upon us in a way we could never deserve. I love how the apostle Paul summarised this in his letter to the Ephesians. He wrote of the way in which we have redemption through the blood of Jesus

John 15:15 To be Jesus’ slave would be the greatest possible privilege. But Jesus wanted his disciples to know that he was looking for a much more intimate relationship than that. At the end of the day, a slave, however trusted and respected, had no rights at all and would certainly not be taken into the confidence of their master. But friends are different. The barriers are down. There is an intimacy that a slave would never experience. In the Old Testament, we hear God referring to Abraham as his friend (Isaiah 41:8). And in Paul’s letter to the Romans, the apostle reflected on the fact that it was through the death of Jesus on the cross that we are now God’s friend, rather than his enemy. Friendship is the most incredible privilege. It cannot be forced. A friendship only occurs because two people want it to happen, and are willing to be flexible enough to make the relationship work. The essence of friendship is that it is open ended. It isn’t based on a contract, but simply on love. As a result

John 15:5 Jesus’ language in this verse is uncompromising. We live in days when such language is deeply unpopular. People want to hear that every way of life is equally valid; it is just a matter of your own personal opinion. But that is completely different from Jesus’ approach. He claimed that, if we’re not living our lives in union with him, we can do nothing. He wasn’t offering an interesting and fulfilling way to find purpose in life. He came to bring the only way to find life. Just as branches will die without a connection to the vine so, too, are we as good as dead without a relationship with Jesus. What, then, does it mean to remain in Jesus as a way of life? Most of us live a busy life with lots of relationships, pressures and responsibilities. Many of the things we do are simply practical: we must eat, drink, exercise, work, walk the dog, clean the house - and a thousand other things. We may wonder how remaining in Jesus affects any of these things. But this is where the rubber hits the

John 15:1-2 I often drive past a large vineyard. When the vines are not in leaf there are few sights more unattractive. Just lines of contorted branches looking completely dead and useless. But then, in the spring, they burst into life and gradually produce the fruit for which they have been carefully cultivated. The whole purpose of a vine is to produce grapes, and a gardener will be absolutely decisive in the way in which they prune it to ensure the best possible crop. In the growing season, dead branches must go, and good branches are carefully pruned to encourage even more growth. The picture of the vine is often used in the Old Testament. It was God’s intention that Israel should be his vine. Psalm 80: 8-11 describes the way in which God brought the people out of Egypt as transplanting a grapevine, clearing the ground for it to take root and fill the promised land. They would have room to spread their branches all the way to the Mediterranean in the west, and to the Euphrates river in the eas

John 14:27 Peace is critically important for all of us. It has said that with peace of mind, a poor person is rich and, without it, a rich person is poor. The Bible tells us that Jesus was the Prince of Peace, and his intention was to offer his peace to everyone. But unfortunately, in our broken and tempestuous world, the word ‘peace’ tends to be seen negatively, or as merely the absence of war and conflict. When we look at the peace of Jesus, we need to tune our minds into thinking differently. Peace is the Lord’s gift to all who open their hearts and minds to him. Peace treaties are certainly impressive achievements, and they are often the result of many hours (sometimes years!) of careful negotiation. The Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998, was far from perfect. Yet it has led to a period of much greater peace in Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, the peace that Christ makes available to us is quite different. It isn’t something which we can achieve by clever negotiation and hard work. It is

John 14:26 How’s your memory? You will doubtless know the joke about the person who goes upstairs to get something only to totally forget why they went. They then return downstairs with something else simply to justify the journey. For me, that’s no longer a joke but a way of life! Forgetting is part of the human condition, and it undoubtedly gets worse with age, so it isn’t surprising that the Bible has much to say about it. When Moses gave instructions to the people of Israel before they entered the promised land, he anticipated that they might well forget the Lord’s commandments. So he urged them to “tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:8). Sadly, the Old Testament is full of instances when God’s people totally forgot about him. Jesus wanted to prepare his followers for the years to come by giving them tools to remind them of the things he had taught them. During Jesus’ last supper with h

John 14:15-17 The word that is translated ‘advocate’ in today’s verses is hard to pin down. Some of us were brought up with the term ‘Counsellor’ which was the word used in the Authorised King James’ version of the Bible. The Greek word literally means ‘someone who is called in alongside’. Undoubtedly, the Holy Spirit is an advocate and he will definitely bring comfort, but we will never find a word which embraces the Spirit’s whole ministry. I like to think of the Holy Spirit as being our supreme friend. He is always with us, continually pointing to Jesus and leading us in the right direction. One key role that the Spirit plays is to lead us “into all truth”. Earlier in this chapter, we learnt that Jesus is the truth, so the role of the Spirit is principally to keep us focused on Jesus. The world can be full of lies and half-truths. The truth can be hard to find, and people often choose to hide away from it. So the role of the Spirit in leading us into truth is a continual one. Jan Hus was a ch

John 14:13-14 On the face of, it this sounds like Jesus is writing us a blank cheque. If you hadn’t read anything else from the Bible, this passage might give you the impression that we can come to God and ask for whatever we want. Request a jet aeroplane, the latest electric car, the biggest house in the area or a guaranteed income for life and it will be yours on a plate! But, mercifully, that is not what Jesus was talking about. I say mercifully because if God were willing to do whatever our selfishness dictated, we would soon transform our lives into a living hell. We would be fully in control and God would be pushed out. And that’s never good. Jesus was describing to his disciples what it is like to live in obedience to him. As they followed him, they would be doing the work of God, with his full authority. They wouldn’t be thrust out into the world all by themselves but, as they were soon to learn, they would have the power of the Holy Spirit. They would, therefore, be able to pray with confiden

John 14:12 When the disciples heard Jesus say these words, they were doubtless in a state of shock. They had just learnt that their master and friend was going to be leaving them. Given that they had abandoned their previous ways of life to follow Jesus, this was going to mean a colossal challenge. Surely everything, from now onwards, was going to be much worse. But Jesus had a surprise for them. He told them that, in fact, much more was going to happen after he left them. And it would be good. Jesus spoke along the same lines again in John 16. There, he explained it was to the disciples’ advantage that he went away because, “the Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave” (John 16:7, CEV). Jesus wasn’t saying that more powerful miracles would happen after he left, but simply that there would be more of them when the Holy Spirit was poured out. During Jesus’ ministry he accepted the limitations of being human. He could only be in one place at one time. But with the release of the Holy Spirit on

John 14:6 Jesus had just told his disciples that they knew the way to where he was going. But Thomas denied it. He didn’t know where Jesus was going, so how could he have any idea how to get there? Jesus’ answer is one of the most crucial statements in the whole of the Christian faith, because he makes it clear he is not talking about geography at all. He is talking about relationship. Thomas wanted to know the destination, and then be given a map to get there. But Jesus simply offered himself. He is the true and living way. Religions come in many shapes and sizes, but they all tend to have rules or practices which must be followed, and which lead to understanding or enlightenment. Christianity is different. It is all about a person - Jesus. It is through a personal encounter with Jesus and a relationship with him that we find what life and truth are all about. He is the one who shows us the way to live our everyday lives. When I lived in India, I often struggled to find a particular house in the

John 14:1-2 The disciples were facing the biggest challenge of their lives. For the previous three years, their life had been defined by Jesus. They had intimately shared all the daily challenges and excitements of his healing and teaching ministry. But now, suddenly, Jesus had told them he will be leaving. His pronouncement was followed by Jesus informing Peter, one of the inner circle of closest friends, that he was going to betray him. They must all have wondered what would happen to them, knowing Peter was the most devoted of all the disciples. There was much to make them very anxious. However, Jesus tells them not to be worried but to trust in him. He was indeed going to leave them, but he promised them a completely secure future. Jesus spoke about the rooms in his Father’s home as if he had booked them all into a hotel. All they needed to know was that the booking had been made, and there was room for everyone. Life can, for all of us, often seem very predictable for a long period of time.

John 13:34-35 It’s not entirely clear what was new about this commandment from Jesus because the command to love one’s neighbour is firmly embedded in the Jewish Law (Leviticus 19:18). Perhaps Jesus was pointing to the new example of love which he had set for his disciples. Certainly, when he died on the cross not long afterwards their understanding of love would be totally transformed. Jesus knew that the most effective way for the good news to be communicated to the world would be through love. Looking back through Church history, there have been attempts to influence the world through power, prestige, grand buildings, art, poetry, books and music. But the only language which is truly effective is love. The tragedy, of course, is that the Church has so often gained a reputation for the exact opposite. Only the other day, I was talking to a friend who doesn’t go to church. She was saying that all she heard about one of the churches in her village was that they were “always bickering”. I felt so e

John 13:14-15 At no time in the history of the Church has foot washing been a regular practice, and I don’t believe that Jesus was suggesting that it should be. He was simply giving his disciples an example of costly service. If we want to live in step with Jesus, we need to be willing to serve others - even though that will often prove difficult and unpleasant, and come as a surprise to those whom we serve. In Jesus’ teaching, the supreme illustration of costly service was that of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). He was willing to expose himself to considerable danger by helping the man who had been attacked by robbers. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho wound its way through rocky desert, and was well known as a place where bandits operated. But he was willing stop and help the wounded man in this potentially hazardous area. He was willing to offer his own donkey, to take the injured man to a place where he would be cared for. And when he got there, he offered to pay the inn keeper enough mon

John 13:8-9 For Peter, everything seemed wrong about Jesus washing his feet. The task of foot washing was such a lowly role that a Jewish slave had the right to refuse to perform it! Peter’s refusal was as strong as he could make it, and totally understandable in the context. He would never let it happen! But then Jesus explained how vitally important it was that Peter should allow him to do so. If Peter were to refuse, he could never be said to belong to Jesus. Peter’s complete devotion to Jesus was such that these words changed his mind instantly and, with predictable enthusiasm, he invited Jesus to not merely wash his feet but the rest of his body as well. This beautiful story makes a very important point which we all need to understand. We can only serve the Lord effectively when we have, first of all, allowed him to serve us. We may be full of ability, energy and enthusiasm but, before we serve God, we need to allow him to first nourish and strengthen us. It takes considerable humility to

John 13:6-7 Everything was surprising about the fact that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. First of all, this was a job for a junior slave, not a rabbi of Jesus’ standing. It was also a job that was done as soon as people entered a house, not when they were sitting down for a meal. So when Jesus approached his disciples to wash their feet, Peter asked what many of the others may well have been thinking. Was Jesus really going to wash their feet? What I find interesting is that Jesus didn’t offer an explanation. He seemed content with the fact that they couldn’t understand what was going on, and simply reassured them that, one day, they would. Very often, this is the way in which the Lord works in our lives, too. So often we want a complete explanation of the way things happen. When we experience failure or rejection, we want to understand why. Or we face some unexpected good news and just can’t understand that either. Peter and the disciples needed to learn they could trust Jesus completely. Even

Psalm 149:4-5 As we read through the book of Psalms, we see that they are full of declarations of how great God is. They constantly remind us that he is the creator of heaven and earth, and is therefore worthy of all our worship and praise. But we also learn a great deal about God’s understanding of us. Even though he knows absolutely everything about us, he looks at us with love and delights in us. He honours us. No wonder the psalmist says that God’s people sing for joy as they lie on their beds. I love that! He is saying that we can praise God wherever we are. As we relax at the end of the day, we can do so joyfully. We can sleep peacefully and calmly because we are in God’s hands. The blessing of the psalms is that they are constantly pushing the boundaries. However great you think God is, the psalmists want you to know that he is much, much greater. But, at the same time, the psalmists also want you to understand that you are more loved, accepted and treasured than you ever imagined. The psal

Ezekiel 37:4-6 The prophecy of Ezekiel isn’t an easy read. It records the complete failure of God’s people, and the details of God’s judgment are spelt out in vivid and terrifying detail. When Ezekiel was given a vision of a valley filled with dry, dead bones he must have felt that is was a very apt summary of all that God had said to him. It was a scene of total lifelessness. But God hadn’t given up on his people. He was still longing to breathe on them and bring them back to life. Imagine the scene. The whole valley was full of bones. Nothing else. And then, suddenly, there was a rattling noise. It echoed across the valley as the bones started to come together and form complete skeletons. And then, as he watched, he saw muscles and flesh form over the bones. Finally, skin was stretched in place. This was all very encouraging, but the newly constructed bodies still couldn’t live. They needed breath. And so the Lord breathed on the bodies and they came to life, standing up on their feet like a great a

Ezekiel 16:62-63 These words come at the end of a long and agonising chapter in which God reminds Jerusalem of its rebellion against him. He recalls the fact that the city had heathen roots. Before it became the holy city for the people of Israel, Amorites and Hittites lived in the city. God paints the picture of the city of Jerusalem as a baby, unwanted by its parents and cast out, left to die. This appalling custom was quite common at the time. But God came to this abandoned child and lavished his love and care upon her. The child became a beautiful woman, with whom her rescuer fell in love. She was given status and security, but was unfaithful and freely offered herself to other men as a prostitute. It’s a tragic story, and tells of the way in which God had been consistently rejected and mistreated by his people. God was furious with Jerusalem for the way in which they had treated him, but he was also a God of covenant. He longed for restoration. This reminds us very strongly of the parable of