These are busy days. Days filled with so much to do, so many people to see, so many things to decide. Sometimes we can become so immersed in small, but important, things that we lose track of the big picture. Our concern about getting things done becomes doubt, and if neglected long enough doubt can cause us to lose hope.
How do we find hope? How do we strengthen it? I have a wise friend who believes that prayer and hope are consistently linked in scripture. I believe that he is right. But I believe that God has other ways to help us find and strengthen this most important virtue in our lives.
One of the ways in which God builds hope is meditation on scripture. Now, I want to make clear that merely reading the text as so many words won’t do this. We need to be silent, and welcome the word of God in the midst of silence, and dwell with it for a while. If we lift up our hearts and hands to receive the word, it will not leave us unchanged. In the text, we may find conviction or affirmation, but we will also find God. If we will do this, then we will find enough hope for the moment and perhaps even a little joy. We will find ourselves sent out into our world by the word of God to join in the mission of God.
Consider the case of Nehemiah and the people:
When the seventh month came — the people of Israel being settled in their towns — all the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month.
He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, "Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved." And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
Nehemiah 7:73-8:12 – NRSV
May you find hope and joy in your day.
Blessings,
Ron
Showing posts with label silence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label silence. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The hum of fluorescent lights ...
“Solitude molds self-righteous people into gentle, caring, forgiving persons who are so deeply convinced of their own great sinfulness and so fully aware of God’s even greater mercy that their life itself becomes a ministry.” - Henri Nouwen
Waking up every morning and spending time in the Word, time in silence just staring at the steam coming up from my coffee cup, listening to nothing but the refrigerator motor and the hum of the fluorescent lights overhead has been a blessing. You are in that place where you really can feel God there with you. You can feel his presence, and almost hear his voice as you read his Word. You can feel yourself being molded and sharpened for another day.
Then you hear one of the kids wake up. You realize that it is time to go and get the boys up for school. There is a lot to be done before we walk out that door. You just don’t want to get up. You have had such a wonderful time of devotion with your God. You feel like you are changed and are growing, but you have life to live. You know that you are going to face boys who don’t want to wake up, possible fights because of crankiness, chores to make sure get done, animals to feed, noise, busyness, noise, lists, meetings, and more noise. What do you think God is preparing you for?!
“I am the vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:1-5
We have discussed silence, solitude, and meditation. These three will be a part of almost all of the disciplines we look at in the future. You have to be able to sit with God, before you can do the others. You have to be able to put your time with him as the highest priority before you can practice service, study, fasting, and so many others. Remain in Christ and he will remain in you. He longs to pour out of your life. He longs to overflow from your cup and touch every person and situation that you go through in a day.
Yes it’s hard to sit and be still long enough. Yes it is then hard to go out and be in the noise of life, but we are called to take our lives and use them for the glory of our Father. Are we bearing fruit yet? How are people seeing our lives? How is God seeing our lives? Is he getting more and more proud or longing for you to come and be with him? Only you and He know the answer to these questions. Hopefully we are on the right track. Remember, we are together on this journey. Together we overflow into the lives of those around us.
God’s blessings today.
Jason
Waking up every morning and spending time in the Word, time in silence just staring at the steam coming up from my coffee cup, listening to nothing but the refrigerator motor and the hum of the fluorescent lights overhead has been a blessing. You are in that place where you really can feel God there with you. You can feel his presence, and almost hear his voice as you read his Word. You can feel yourself being molded and sharpened for another day.
Then you hear one of the kids wake up. You realize that it is time to go and get the boys up for school. There is a lot to be done before we walk out that door. You just don’t want to get up. You have had such a wonderful time of devotion with your God. You feel like you are changed and are growing, but you have life to live. You know that you are going to face boys who don’t want to wake up, possible fights because of crankiness, chores to make sure get done, animals to feed, noise, busyness, noise, lists, meetings, and more noise. What do you think God is preparing you for?!
“I am the vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:1-5
We have discussed silence, solitude, and meditation. These three will be a part of almost all of the disciplines we look at in the future. You have to be able to sit with God, before you can do the others. You have to be able to put your time with him as the highest priority before you can practice service, study, fasting, and so many others. Remain in Christ and he will remain in you. He longs to pour out of your life. He longs to overflow from your cup and touch every person and situation that you go through in a day.
Yes it’s hard to sit and be still long enough. Yes it is then hard to go out and be in the noise of life, but we are called to take our lives and use them for the glory of our Father. Are we bearing fruit yet? How are people seeing our lives? How is God seeing our lives? Is he getting more and more proud or longing for you to come and be with him? Only you and He know the answer to these questions. Hopefully we are on the right track. Remember, we are together on this journey. Together we overflow into the lives of those around us.
God’s blessings today.
Jason
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Being and doing ...
Being and doing, being and doing. Even though I preach that lesson and long to be in the presence of my Father, I find myself doing more and more. Yesterday in the chaos of the day, and the busyness that we all do not want to have on Sunday, I found myself running around the house cleaning and moving furniture. I couldn’t stop. I was organizing our bedroom, I was folding laundry, I was getting more and more frustrated as the day wore on. This came right after preaching about being and doing. I wanted to sit down all day and just be in the presence of God, but that is so hard when you have this person asking for this, your daughter choosing to never fall asleep for her nap, someone always asking “what’s for snack?”
I know that many of you can feel my pain. I kept saying to myself, if I only have an organized space, I can sit and relax and be with God. I just can’t focus when things are not in order. Some of you may think I am insane, but that is how I get sometimes when I am tired and worn out from the wonderful life that we all live. I am reminded of someone else who had this same problem.
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed, Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
I know that our world doesn’t always slow down for us to sit and be in God’s presence, but that is when we need to make ourselves slow down. We may feel we need everything perfect in our universe, but that’s not going to happen. Spending time with God is important, so if you need your world ordered for that time, spend some time preparing.
Find yourself a quiet place in your house. Pick a corner of a room that no one seems to come in very often. Find yourself a comfy chair, speak with your spouse and those around you and let them know that there is a time that you will be taking as your quiet “Being” time with God. They should understand, they are hopefully seeking that same time themselves. When and if you create this place, spend some time in silence before you do anything. Let God’s peace come over you. Open your Bible and allow the words to open, break, and reshape your heart.
Silence and Solitude with the Father is slowly but surely becoming a reality for us. We are in this together on our journey, let’s keep each other in our prayers and help each other out to find that peaceful time with God. Happy Being!
Jason
I know that many of you can feel my pain. I kept saying to myself, if I only have an organized space, I can sit and relax and be with God. I just can’t focus when things are not in order. Some of you may think I am insane, but that is how I get sometimes when I am tired and worn out from the wonderful life that we all live. I am reminded of someone else who had this same problem.
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed, Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
I know that our world doesn’t always slow down for us to sit and be in God’s presence, but that is when we need to make ourselves slow down. We may feel we need everything perfect in our universe, but that’s not going to happen. Spending time with God is important, so if you need your world ordered for that time, spend some time preparing.
Find yourself a quiet place in your house. Pick a corner of a room that no one seems to come in very often. Find yourself a comfy chair, speak with your spouse and those around you and let them know that there is a time that you will be taking as your quiet “Being” time with God. They should understand, they are hopefully seeking that same time themselves. When and if you create this place, spend some time in silence before you do anything. Let God’s peace come over you. Open your Bible and allow the words to open, break, and reshape your heart.
Silence and Solitude with the Father is slowly but surely becoming a reality for us. We are in this together on our journey, let’s keep each other in our prayers and help each other out to find that peaceful time with God. Happy Being!
Jason
Monday, February 23, 2009
Silence, solitude, and meditation ...
For the next several weeks, Jason Roark will be bringing the daily devotionals to us based on the fruit of our focus on the spiritual disciplines during our weekly devotional time. We will see how these disciplines can form us into godly people within a godly community.
“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17
After meditating on this passage of scripture last Thursday, I have come to realize a little more about God’s love for me. God is standing with me, sitting with me, walking with me, and yes he is even there while I sleep. He is right there while you struggle with daily life. He is right there listening to your worries, and knows them before you say a word. He desires you to just turn them over to Him.
He is mighty to save. So often we worry, cry, and hurt all because we do not have the power or strength to deal with some of the situations we get into everyday. When you feel like you just can’t make it, remember this. Remember that the God who created the universe, who parted the Red Sea, sent a burning tornado of fire to guide the Israelites, made a donkey talk, raised the dead, calmed the seas, and sacrificed his own Son, is with YOU and mighty to save YOU! He takes great delight in YOU! He is ready to quiet YOU with his love, and yes he is even at this moment singing over YOU, the great love song that a Father sings to his children.
When you read this passage remember these things. When you meditate on scripture, make it personal. Make sure you put yourself in the passage. God is longing for us to take his Word to heart. As we meditated on this passage this last Thursday in our Disciplines class, many of you had epiphanies. Let me read some of them to you.
“Why do I keep myself from his presence, his rescue, his delight, his quiet love, and his rejoicing over me? It is me that denies myself these things, these great gifts. WHY? Because of my list in my head, because I’m not worthy, because of my laziness, BECAUSE I DON’T STOP AND SEEK IT OFTEN ENOUGH! Being bare before the Lord is how he always sees me. Why can’t I come to his presence alone?”
“O Lord, still the thousand distractions that surround my soul so that I can hear your voice, and the voice of those around me more clearly. May I hear you well so as to please you well!”
“I don’t think I have much been quieted with love before, or rejoiced over with singing!? That’s just too much to hope for. Increase my faith!”
“Sometimes I don’t feel like I am a delight to you Lord. My sins take me away from your presence and I don’t feel like a delight to you. But you’re ever there, reaching out to me, calling me back to Your presence, Your family, and Your community.”
Can you see yourself in some of these quotes from brothers and sisters in our midst? Can you feel their pain, their hope, their frustrations, and their longings? We minister to people everyday who do not understand hope. They do not understand the point of sitting at the feet of the Father, because if they sit too long, they are forced to see what some of these brothers and sisters saw. They are forced to see a person who needs someone. A person who needs a God.
Silence, Solitude, and Meditation are just three of the disciplines we practiced this past Thursday in our disciplines class. Some of us walked away unchanged, and some of us walked away like a broken tool, longing for the master blacksmith to take us and reshape us and sharpen us. This is just the beginning. I am glad we are on this journey together.
Jason
“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17
After meditating on this passage of scripture last Thursday, I have come to realize a little more about God’s love for me. God is standing with me, sitting with me, walking with me, and yes he is even there while I sleep. He is right there while you struggle with daily life. He is right there listening to your worries, and knows them before you say a word. He desires you to just turn them over to Him.
He is mighty to save. So often we worry, cry, and hurt all because we do not have the power or strength to deal with some of the situations we get into everyday. When you feel like you just can’t make it, remember this. Remember that the God who created the universe, who parted the Red Sea, sent a burning tornado of fire to guide the Israelites, made a donkey talk, raised the dead, calmed the seas, and sacrificed his own Son, is with YOU and mighty to save YOU! He takes great delight in YOU! He is ready to quiet YOU with his love, and yes he is even at this moment singing over YOU, the great love song that a Father sings to his children.
When you read this passage remember these things. When you meditate on scripture, make it personal. Make sure you put yourself in the passage. God is longing for us to take his Word to heart. As we meditated on this passage this last Thursday in our Disciplines class, many of you had epiphanies. Let me read some of them to you.
“Why do I keep myself from his presence, his rescue, his delight, his quiet love, and his rejoicing over me? It is me that denies myself these things, these great gifts. WHY? Because of my list in my head, because I’m not worthy, because of my laziness, BECAUSE I DON’T STOP AND SEEK IT OFTEN ENOUGH! Being bare before the Lord is how he always sees me. Why can’t I come to his presence alone?”
“O Lord, still the thousand distractions that surround my soul so that I can hear your voice, and the voice of those around me more clearly. May I hear you well so as to please you well!”
“I don’t think I have much been quieted with love before, or rejoiced over with singing!? That’s just too much to hope for. Increase my faith!”
“Sometimes I don’t feel like I am a delight to you Lord. My sins take me away from your presence and I don’t feel like a delight to you. But you’re ever there, reaching out to me, calling me back to Your presence, Your family, and Your community.”
Can you see yourself in some of these quotes from brothers and sisters in our midst? Can you feel their pain, their hope, their frustrations, and their longings? We minister to people everyday who do not understand hope. They do not understand the point of sitting at the feet of the Father, because if they sit too long, they are forced to see what some of these brothers and sisters saw. They are forced to see a person who needs someone. A person who needs a God.
Silence, Solitude, and Meditation are just three of the disciplines we practiced this past Thursday in our disciplines class. Some of us walked away unchanged, and some of us walked away like a broken tool, longing for the master blacksmith to take us and reshape us and sharpen us. This is just the beginning. I am glad we are on this journey together.
Jason
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