November 16, 2008

Be Still !   He is God.

Psalm 46

 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.

Let the oceans roar and foam.  Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Interlude  [Trust...receive him.]

A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.

God himself lives in that city; it cannot be destroyed.  God will protect it at the break of day.

The nations are in an uproar, and the kingdoms crumble!

God thunders, and the earth melts!

The LORD Almighty is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.

Interlude  [Believe....The river of life....God....dwells.]

Come, see the glorious works of the LORD:  See how he brings destruction upon the world and causes wars to end throughout the earth.  He breaks the bow and snaps the spear in two; he burns the shields with fire.

"Be silent, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the world."

The LORD Almighty is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.

Interlude  [Accept, obey, honor....See, I told you it would all be okay]

***

 Thoughts....

The emphasis is provided by me.  Read this without the emphasis and then read it with it.  It will bring new light to that which he wants us to know.  The reference, "Be still, and know that I am God."  ("Be silent" is how it reads in this reference) is often given to someone to help them find a peaceful moment in the midst of chaos.  But reading this within the text, we find it is a command with an exclamation point.  He thundered.  Let's look at each paragraph.

In paragraph one we see God is.  GOD IS.  God IS our refuge and our strength.  God is ALWAYS there to help us.  And then we get the first command...we will NOT fear.  No matter what....no matter how...'no matter anything'.  What isn't written is the pleading of him to accept him.  This is already understood.  This is written to those who already believe and have received him.  It is a reminder for those awkward moments in our lives or for those in the depth of a crises.  We are to trust that he IS there and will always be there.

In paragraph two, we are reminded further about the river of life...God in us.  WE, the people, are the city of God.  Individually we are his home.  Notice it said 'sacred'.  Let this not be another 'woops' moment.  Are you providing a sacred home for him?  Does he LIVE in your city?  Or is he merely a passing fancy or a falling leaf?  Do the storms in your life outweigh who you know, or can know, him to be?  If he LIVES in you, YOU cannot be destroyed.  Satan, like the wolf in 'The 3 Little Pigs', can huff and puff and try to blow your house down, but he will NOT prevail....succeed.  If you call upon God, HE will make the world and its pain and trouble go away.  Enter Puff the Magic Dragon....GOD.  God requires of us that he DOES dwell within us.  He IS here within us, he IS our fortress.  He will build a wall [of angels?] if necessary to protect us from the attacks of the world. 

The last paragraph is a wallapaloosa.  He COMMANDS us....Come...see...be....know.  Here we are instructed to call upon him and get out of his way.  Too often in life we THINK we are doing the right thing, but we are often doing the thing WE think is right by our knowing.  God know a whole lot more, folks.  Are you checking with him before you make a decision?  Every move we make...every breath we take....he is watching us.  And we cause a ripple effect by our every action.  Here we need to realize that he wants to do the work in our lives and all we have to do is take his hand or follow his leading.  He'll take care of us....if we let him.  AND then, HE will get the glory for how our life is and what is happening instead of us taking the glory for the good things and...I might add.....for the bad.  But what I think I am understanding and trying to convey to you now is that we don't have to have bad things happen to good people, if we keep our eyes fixed on him, trust him, obey him, follow his lead....after receiving him, and listening to him...do what HE says, not what we think is best.

How can the world know there is a God, let alone how awesome and life giving/saving he is, if we keep messing up and then call ourselves a Christian?  What is the world seeing through us??????  Ouch??????  I'm guessing many of us, even I, can say ouch.  And I can say it a lot.  Ouchie, ouchie, ouchie, ouchie, ouchie, ouchie, ouchie, ouchie.  

So, God does thunder, "Be still and know that I am God!"   He's angry in this scripture reference,  and, he's thundering because he is not happy with us...we are not listening, let alone obeying.  We are not seeing him when he is right in front of us.  And we are not believing, trusting him to do what he says he is going to do.  Are you doing what you say you are going to do for him?  Cluck, cluck, cluck.  Me either.  Let's all decide right now....today...to do better at honoring God by accepting him, believing in him, trusting him, obeying him and expect him to always be there...like we are to be there for him....always.  Will you do all this today, or atleast make every attempt to take steps, even tiny ones, if necessary, over the next week to be better at being there for him better...or completely...by next week?  I ask you to try.  He tells us to do.  'Do' is an action verb.  It requires action from us.  What will your actions be and what will the world see about God as a result?  I'll pray for you....will you pray for me?  We can do this together....WITH  God and FOR God.

 ***

Let Us Pray

 Dear God, Jesus and Holy Spirt, holy toledo do I feel like I'm in trouble some days.  The storms of life have been so severe, and tried so hard to knock down your door and my life, that some days have been nearly unbearable.  I am so tired, Lord.  PLEASE won't you help me know exactly what I am supposed to do for and with you?  Please won't you help me hear you better?  You've given me a quiet time, but sometimes they scare me because I feel like I am supposed to be doing something every minute of every day.  And yet, if I just gave you the first moments of my day, I would know that you would handle my day and I would just have to walk through it.  Oh, Lord, show me how to more fully receive you and accept you, believe you, trust you, obey you, HONOR you, LOVE YOU.  You, Lord.  You.  Let my wants and needs dimish and yours increase.  By loving you first and foremost and putting you first, my needs and wants will be met by you.  The same is true for any marriage.  The command is to "do for one another AS you would have them do unto you".  NOT 'I'm not going to do that, what did they do for me?'

Who are you?  I'll learn that more by going to the book written about you, Jesus, the New Testament.  God, you are throughout the whole Bible, as are you, Holy Spirit.  But Holy Spirit, your Baptism didn't occur until the New Testament.  Let me search your hearts and the memories of you from your people...of which I am now one.  Just like in a marriage, or friendship, we are to learn more about one another so that relationship can grow, we can learn and know what makes each other happy and how to give and the steps to grow.  Help me Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit.  I want to be all you want and need me to be.  I want to do for you.  I want to give to you.  And I want to be a better person for you, myself and others.  I want the storms of life to be less and you to be more.  Come Holy Spirit and fully enter into my life so that I can fully understand the words in the Bible and all that they mean.  More importantly, I can learn that you are, who you are, and how wonderful you are.  And I can learn who I am IN and WITH you and how to be a better person.  I will learn, too, that you will thunder and the storms will stop, while you whisper the same words in an embrace of love.  Amen

***

Definition of Christian:  Anyone who believes in God, Jesus and Holy Spirit and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Regardless of church name/religious affiliation.