This is such a great illustration and it's so true! There are also
multiple applications within this...Check it out...then let's pray for
one another!
"The Fiery Sermon"
by Greg Bradon
A member
of the church, who previously had been attending services regularly,
stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.
It
was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting
before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the
man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and
waited.
The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the
grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the
burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs,
carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side
of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.
The
host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's
flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its
fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.
Not a word had been
spoken since the initial greeting.The pastor glanced at his watch and
realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold,
dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it
began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals
around it.
As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said
with a tear running down his cheek, 'Thank you so much for your visit
and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back in church next
Sunday.'
We live in a world today, which tries to say too much
with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons
are the ones left unspoken.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Whom will you serve?!
Whom will you serve today? Pray and then check out this Powerful song/video:
Joshua 24:15
Be Blessed and a blessing!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Be Still...and Know!
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(Sunset over Tillamook Bay (Photo By Randolph Koch 2014) |
...“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
-Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Be…Still…
I’ve been
thinking a lot about this passage and I’ve come to realize these are two simple
but very profound words that communicate volumes!
With the
activities of life and hurried fast paced lives we often live, we don’t do the “Be
Still” principle very well.
Think about
it, when was the last time you and I just allowed ourselves to even physically…BE
STILL?
I bet if you’re
ever able to get yourself to a place in your schedule where you could be still,
it felt very foreign to you for a bit or you felt like you should be doing
something because by all means it’s all about “our strength” or “pulling
ourselves up by the boot straps”?! We we’re supposed to be self-reliant and not
need anyone’s help, right?
Well, that
may be what the world around us tells us but that way of operating doesn’t hold
water to what God tells us we need to do.
Being still
requires faith. Being still requires trust. Being still requires hope.
…A Faith that…
God has you covered no matter what.
…A Trust that…
He is God and He already has a plan in the works to meet you where you are according to His
perfect will.
…A Hope that…
His plan will be fulfilled in His perfect timing.
Ultimately
being still is more than just being physically still as it involved our mind,
soul, spirit and body.
When we take
time to be still, we allow ourselves a few moment of time to collect ourselves
and realign our focus back on God who will be exalted – especially when we
operate how He instructs us to because His ways are higher than our ways and
life typically works out better for us (not necessarily easier) in the long run
if we do things His way.
Other
translations use the words “Cease Striving” and it is the same idea that we
need to stop and be still. Cease trying to work to make things happen on our
own strength. Cease trying to figure everything out on our own. Cease trying to
be master and commander or our lives when we can’t do it all alone. No, we need
to Be Still and know that He is God and…well…we are not!
The “Knowing”
is the second and more important part because, if we can first off get ourselves
to regularly “Be Still”, then we can rest in the “and know” part knowing wholeheartedly that He is
God…He has everything under control. We need to again, know He is God and we are
not.
It’s not that
we are to shirk our responsibilities and be completely idle siting somewhere singing the proverbial “Kumbaya” or think we should “let
go and let God" (because this statement tends to not take into account some of our personal responsibility but we are to cast/give all of our anxieties to Him and leave them there. See 1 Peter 5:7) because there are real things we need to do and own but it’s
the reality that we need to completely rest in, be still in... Him. At the same
time, we think sometimes that we’ve got it together and in the waiting we try
to force God’s hand with pushing our agenda with the absence of His blessing…and
in the process we will not get anywhere.
Being still
is also a time seeking Him so in this sense, that is an action we can and
should take in the process as we can pray, study and seek Him with everything
that is within us.
We cannot
clearly hear from Him amidst the chaos that sometimes surrounds us (or that we
allow to surround us)…we need to sometimes physically escape just to be still
before Him.
Once you and
I get into the regular habit of being still, it will become more like breathing…it
will become more natural and a part of our day-to-day walk and journey.
So…
Are you going
through a hard time… Be Still…and know…
Are you
facing a financial crisis… Be Still…and know…
Are you going
through a health crisis…Be Still…and know…
Are you
having an identity or self-worth crisis… Be Still…and know…
Are you
unclear on what direction you’re to head… Be Still…and know…
No matter
what you’re facing today, be still, cease striving to do it on your own and
seek Him because you know He is God. He will be exalted through your life as
you are a part of the nations and He will be exalted throughout the earth.
A prayer for
you and I:
Heavenly Father,
Help us to be still…and know. Help us to hold every anxious thought captive.
Help us to be better at building “be still” time with you so that we may hear
your voice through our times with you through prayer and your Word and through
the proclamation of the Word through our local church gatherings. Help us to
fight back the chaos in our life that comes our way or that we allow to be a
part of it. Help us to live wholeheartedly for you walking in the truth that You
alone are our strength and have it all together! Let us be your ambassadors and
may we help exalt and make your name great among the nations. In Jesus Name I
Pray, Amen.
Be blessed
friends…by being still...and knowing He is God...
In His Love
and for His Glory,
rlk