Keep a Quiet Heart

We live in a NOISY world, don’t we? A car passed me a few days ago in the supermarket parking lot vibrating with sound. The sub-woofer was pumping bass that pounded my chest from 20 feet away!  The poor kid driving that car will be deaf by age 40, but he doesn’t know it yet. But that’s not the noise that concerns me most.  I am worried about people going deaf in spirit because of the ear-shattering, heart-breaking, mind-bending stream of information that amplifies every event. The internet and television turns what was once a city’s issue into a national one, causes us to believe that the Apocalypse is upon us by bringing war to our living rooms, and confuses us with information mixed liberally with the pounding beat of hype. Political candidates and talking heads shout at us, using ever more incendiary rhetoric to get our attention over the din! Even some pastors fall into the trap, sensing that their congregations are nearly deaf, they respond by shouting louder about less and less!

My appeal today is that we learn anew how to live with a quiet heart. When all the world is screaming, we need to know how to retreat to the place where the ‘still small voice’ of the Spirit of God can speak to us. When Chicken Little comes ripping through our neighborhood screaming that the sky is falling, we need the discipline to resist the urge to run with the crowd. Christian, our greatest strength is not found in our voice, but in our ears. Too often we speak before we have heard! Has listening, pondering, and deep thought become lost skills?  There is far too much reaction in this world and not nearly enough proactive leadership.  

Young Samuel heard a voice, but did not know the Source. An older, wiser Eli counseled the boy to pray: “Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.” (1 Samuel 3:9, The Message) That boy learned to hear the voice of the Lord and became a powerful leader in Israel.  Elijah knew great victory and then fell into a terrible depression. He retreated to an isolated place in the mountains and asked to die, but God renewed the man with a new word.  That word was not shouted to him. It did not arrive in a hurricane or an earthquake. God spoke a new commission to him in "a gentle whisper." (1 Kings 19:12, NIV)  Even Jesus knew that the noisy world in which He lived deafened Him so the Gospels report that "As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer. " (Luke 5:16, The Message)

Richard Foster, who taught me about a disciplined life in the Spirit, wrote these words that I bring often to mind. “Our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in "muchness" and "manyness," he will rest satisfied.”  What wisdom and truth!  The Devil applauds even our ‘Christian’ service if it is done in hurry, without inspiration, amped and hyped in the manner of 21^st century life. God’s processes are slow, the growth of a seed, the ebb and flow of history, the ripening of fruit. But, can we, will we, let Him work in us or will we shout louder, urging Him to hurry along on our schedule?

One of my most profound regrets is the pace that I maintained in the first half of my life. I confused activity with results. Oh yes, I prayed, but too often behind those prayers was a subtle implication that more important work was waiting so I hurried from the altar to the pulpit. When life overwhelmed me, so many times I increased the frantic efforts to control outcomes and, in the process, I usually made bigger messes, alienated people, and obscured the face of Jesus!

The appeal to today is not to apathy, nor is it for passive acceptance of turmoil. Rather, the appeal is that we become people who know their Master’s Voice. Let us retreat often to silence and wait. Instead of screaming at God for what we want, make Him truely Lord and wait- actively listening – for His direction and wisdom. I love this Psalm, the metaphor so rich in meaning for me. "A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven. We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal." (Psalm 123:1-2, NLT)   Attentive, waiting, ready – responsive – with a quiet heart.

Here is a word from the Word.  Meditate on it. Savor the Promise. Live in His strength. "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!" … "So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help." (Isaiah 30: 15-16, 18, NLT)

Keep a quiet heart.

Jerry D. Scott, Pastor

Faith Discovery Church

Washington, NJ  07882

http://www.FaithDiscovery.com

Wrestling With God

Marriage metaphors are frequent in Biblical descriptions of God’s relationship with His people. He was Israel’s husband. When they worshipped idol gods, the prophets called their sin, adultery. The Church is called the “bride of Christ.”  I read those words with both a sense of belonging and a wry smile.  Bev and I will be married 41 years in a month and the strength of our relationship has been tested again and again in those years.  There have been seasons of intense romance and times of alienation.  We delight and frustrate each other in equal measure. And, with each year, we realize that in spite of all the time we have spent together, there are still things we discover.  Even yesterday, in the haze of her confusion when it appears her life here on earth is coming to an end, she asked me what I was thinking, wanting to know me!

God can be a frustrating husband! Some days He delights, throwing up a sunset that shouts His glory or drawing me near during a time of worship that is more intimate than words can describe. He provides me great joy and then there are days when I cannot find Him, when my prayers seem to go unanswered, when my tears find no solace.  I would think my relationship with Him flawed were it not for the Psalms where I find complaints similar to mine.   Psalm 74 opens with this cry - “O God, why have you rejected us so long? Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture? … Why do you hold back your strong right hand? " (Psalm 74:1,11, NLT)  What are You doing, Husband?

Genesis tells us about Jacob, the lying, cheating man who fled from his brother after defrauding him of his birthright. Years later, as a man with a changed heart, he wanted to go home.  On the way, with his family and wealth, he had an experience that I can identify with, can you?  He went off from the camp alone and in the middle of night a man showed up that challenged him. "So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:24-28, NIV) Apparently this ‘man’ was a messenger of God, some say even a theophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the second Person of the Trinity.  Jacob knew he was struggling with someone greater than a mere man and asked for a blessing.  That blessing was a new name. Jacob become Israel, the word meaning – God wins!  But the line that captures my attention is this – “you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

To know Him in the deepest way, to discover the greatest intimacy with our Husband, we will have to press in, go through conflict; yes, wrestle with God!  So many married couples never really become ‘one’ other than sexually because they will not risk conflict, will not make their expectations known, will not press to know the inner-most thoughts of their spouse. Some choose to live only as friends, politely tiptoeing around the issues have the potential to pull them apart. Those couples try to continue to live in the artificial environment of dating. Real marriage has to progress past the dinners for two.  It becomes two lives blending to one, sharing children, dealing with all of life’s challenges – together!  

Christians, too, sometimes choose to live with a superficial spirituality.  They want to know the Lord only in the romance, the candlelit dinners of worship, dating Him. He wants to know us, to reveal ourselves to us and Himself to us, in every part of life. This means we will, like Jacob, find ourselves wrestling with God from time to time!  Oh that we would not give up, that He would say of us – that we have overcome.

Are you struggling with God today?
Are His ways beyond your understanding, His love apparently withheld?
Press in. Hold on. Wrestle! 

This is the word from the Word that declares His faithful Husband love, selfless and sacrificial, to us. "So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness…. No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church." (Ephesians 5:24-27,29-32, The Message)

___________

How He Loves

He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane,

I am a tree, bending beneath

The weight of His wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden, I am unaware of

These afflictions eclipsed by glory;

I realize just how beautiful You are

And how great Your affections are for me.

Oh, how He loves us so,

Oh how He loves us,

How He loves us so.

We are His portion and He is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.

If grace is an ocean we're all sinking.

So Heaven meets earth

Like an unforeseen kiss

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest.

I don't have time to maintain these regrets,

When I think about the way that-

He loves us,

Oh, how He loves us.

John Mark McMillan

© 2005 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (IMI))

CCLI License # 810055

Be an angel

If the events of the last few years of my life have taught me anything, it is that I can; yes, I must, choose joy. I do not choose to ignore the sadness nor do I attempt to ‘out laugh’ the pain! Living with sorrow has made the superficial ‘laugh tracks’ of life all but unbearable. The joy I desire can only be found in the pursuit of God, a joy that envelopes the grief and pain of life.  The Christmas story includes the promise of joy proclaimed by divine messengers.

Angels announced the possibility of joy; "for all the people!"   With this phrase, "I bring you good news of great joy," the angel reassured a group of frightened men. Some terrified shepherds, seeing the strangest sight ever there in the field outside of Bethlehem, heard the proclamation of a new grace made available to humanity. Shepherds of that day were not anywhere near the top of heap of society. They were a rough lot, earthy men.   They were likely illiterate, almost certainly not well versed in the prophetic texts, or even all that observant of the Law. I am full of wonder that God choose to make His announcement to them.  I am tempted to ask, “Did the angels get lost on their way to the home of the mayor of Bethlehem? Did they wander off course as they were headed to the elites of Jerusalem?”   No, of course not. God's love is for all people and we see it in the Gospel story of the Incarnation: shepherds from the field as well as wise men from the East. Opposite ends of the social spectrum, both called to worship the Savior. In that worship, they found joy.

My prayerful goals this Season are two-fold – to choose to live in joy and to bring the joy of Jesus to my world. I hope I can provide a little happiness this year, with some appropriate gifts.  Family traditions, greeting cards, and holiday music will bring some cheerful moments.  Even more, I want to be like the angels, announcing the possibility of lasting joy of the Lord made possible by the birth of the Baby.  

I invite you to join me in this mission!   "Hey, Jerry, we're no angels."   Right you are!  But, we are messengers with a great announcement. We have the awesome privilege of leading others to Him, sharing with them the Hope we have found.   Paul tells us that "All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.  God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. How? you say.  In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God." (2 Corinthians 5:18-21, The Message)

Pray for opportunities to be a bringer of joy, a messenger of hope. Be an angel!

Are you joyless? (Remember, joy is nothing like transient happiness.) The ancient announcement is for you, too! The angel said, “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!" (Luke 2:10-11, NLT) Jesus came to close the gap between the Father and ourselves that sin created. “Reconciled” is the word the Bible uses. You and I can find peace with God and the gift of eternal life in Him.  Those things create real joy which we own now, while we wait for the Second Advent of our King.   Tell Him your deepest need. Ask Him to help you.   His answer may not come in the way you expect, but He will come to you.   He promises! Joy is found in Jesus.

_____________________________

Angels we have heard on high,

Sweetly singing o'er the plains;

And the mountains in reply,

Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

Say what may the tidings be;

Which inspire your heav'nly song?

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Come to Bethlehem and see,

Him whose birth the angels sing;

Come adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Angels We Have Heard On High

Chadwick, James / Barnes, Edward Shippen

© Public Domain CCLI License No. 810055