Being Shushed: Un-muddling Truth

The Shushed Life Part 3: Un-muddling Truth

Sunrises and sunsets are two of my favorite things. From the time I was a small child, I have loved watching them. I remember getting up early Easter morning . . . while it was still dark . . . and watching the sky turn from purple-blue to red to orange to pink at our little church’s outdoor Sunrise Service. And I remember sitting with my dad on the the field bleachers, after playing second base on our community softball team, and simply being with him as the summer sun slipped behind the green tree-line of the park.

The best part about sunrises and sunsets is that you don’t have to be in any special place to see them. I thoroughly enjoy watching the sun come up through my bedroom window. And I stand outside on my front porch to watch it set over the tree-tops at the edge of our western meadow.

You don’t have to live anywhere special . . . or travel anywhere exotic . . . or earn any special credentials to enjoy sunrises and sunsets. They are always there . . . every day . . . for everyone . . . everywhere. You just have to be up early enough or stop hurrying long enough to watch them.

I think Truth is like that. It is there for everyone. All the time. As dependable as the sunrise and the sunset. And even more beautiful. But we can miss it.

I started reading my Bible the other day and turned to the book of 2 Timothy. It is one of my favorites because it is the last letter the apostle Paul wrote before he was martyred. In this book are the last words, last encouragements, and last counsel of a very great man . . . communicated to his beloved son-in-the-Lord.

So I started reading verses 1 and 2:

Paul,

an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my beloved son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Tim 1:1-2 (NASB)

Then I looked at a commentary to see what Matthew Henry had to say about the first few verses. I was riveted by two simple sentences in his essay:

True believers have in every age the same religion as to substance. Their faith is unfeigned; it will stand the trial, and it dwells in them as a living principle.

I started thinking about all the things believers in Jesus cannot seem to agree upon. All the nuances of doctrine. All the interpretations of scripture. All the “special revelations” that I hear from preachers and see on Christian Bookstore bookshelves. It seems that we have done such a thorough job of muddling Truth that the clarity of Christian living has become lost in all of our cacophony and posturing.

Matthew Henry’s statement is so simple.
And clear.
And elegant.
And I think he is right.
All true believers . . . in any age . . . are of the same substance.
And there must be no muddling of what that really is.

First, our faith is unfeigned. It is genuine, sincere, real, not counterfeit, not hypocritical.

Second, our faith will withstand any trial. Steadfast. Sure.

Third, our faith is alive in everything we think and feel and believe and do. It is the breath and the heartbeat of who we are. It is not a dead assent. It is not a mysterious revelation. It is not an unattainable hope. It is a living principle.

There is quiet strength in a faith like that.
Real Christians.
Never giving up.
Living as honest testimonies of Jesus.
I have met people like that and am humbled by their living, active faith in God.

I think that is what Paul had on his heart as he began to pen his words to Timothy.

And I think Isaac Watts believed that too when he wrote the words to this hymn in the late 1600’s. The third verse is sung as a doxology in many churches . . . of various denominations . . . even now .

True believers in every age . . .

From all that dwell below the skies

Let the Creator's praise arise!

Let the Redeemer's grace be sung

In every land, by every tongue!

Eternal are thy mercies, Lord!

Eternal truth attends thy word!

Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,

Till sun shall rise and set no more.

Praise GOD, from whom all blessings flow!

Praise Him, all creatures here below!

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host!

Praise FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST!

Amen and Amen.

- Isaac Watts, born in 1674

With every morning sunrise,
‘till He comes again . . .
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord
be unto
us
all.

Psalms 46:10-11
Lesa K. Reid

Being Shushed: To Be Changed

The melody of the Gospel is simple and poignant. It is a song of love and sacrifice and transcendence that has the power to change the human heart.

But sometimes we don’t want to be changed. We want to be moved. We want to be inspired. We want to be entertained. But we do not want to be changed. We prefer to harmonize with a different music . . . sing lyrics that are popular and comfortable . . . rather than submit to the Eternal Voice that calls us into harmony with God.

My last blog was about being still.
This one is about being changed.
And change cannot happen without stillness.

Generosity.
Wisdom.
Patience.
Moral uprightness
Peace.
Steadfastness.
Hope.

These are things that come from the broken, quiet, still place where God changes a heart.
They are not earned through the school of hard knocks.
They cannot be bought in the marketplace of busy schedules and success.
They will not seek approval from applauding, admiring audiences.
They do not engender the kind of public popularity that brings notoriety and fame.
They are vulnerable.
They are quiet.
They are dependent upon God’s Word because they have no influence or power of their own.
Their posture is bent.
Their demeanor is prudent.
They are usually hidden.
And they are utterly harmonious with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is a different melody playing in the world today, however, that is in discord with God’s Gospel.
It is boastful and craves fame.
It publicly accuses others of the very things it does in secret.
It requires unwavering allegiance.
It is harmless as a dove when basking in adulation, but it is a raging bull when uncovered by Truth.
It continually conducts warfare, but never personally shows up on the battlefield – preferring to leave the casualties to its foot soldiers.
It hates the 10 Commandments because it feeds upon moral relativism.
It fogs spiritual Truth with re-definitions of meekness, goodness, grace, and love.
It seeks to benefit where it has not worked, yet proclaims nobility for its commonness.
It calls for an end to judgmentalism, yet exalts itself by denigrating others.
It promises mysteries for those who seek, but its revelations leave you lost and confused.
It values wit or charisma or beauty or anything else with which it can buy influence and power.
It comes from a place of loud, busy, deceptive clamor that hates God’s quietness.

I don’t usually lean toward negative things in my blog. But I hear an attack on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is brokered by satan’s kingdom and sometimes bought by the church. I believe that we are seeing spiritual days like the prophet Elijah saw. He saw the rule of King Ahaz. He understood the power of Jezebel. He was even afraid. Here is part of Elijah’s story as recorded in 1 Kings 19:9-13:

And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him,

"What are you doing here, Elijah?" 

So he said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." 

Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord."

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind;

and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;

and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire;

and after the fire a still small voice. 

So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said,

"What are you doing here, Elijah?"

So I am speaking.
And I am pleading to believers . . . followers . . . disciples of Jesus the Messiah.

Be still.
Be quiet.
Listen.
To the music of our lives, our relationships, our beliefs, our testimonies . . .
To the call of God to be different . . .

It isn’t enough to only be inspired by God.
We must be changed by Him.
And change only happens in the place of holy stillness

. . . where the only sound we hear is the melody of God’s Gospel

. . . and the only sound we make is the deep groaning of repentance.

That is where harmony is born.
Harmony that is pure.
Harmony that is True.
Harmony that finds its fame in the cross of Christ and its hope in the Gospel it brings.
The real Gospel.
Not necessarily the popular one.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
He was in the beginning with God. 
All things came into being through Him, 
and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 
The Light shines in the darkness, 
and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:1-5 (NASB)

Be still before the LORD

and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil.

For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

Psalms 37:7-9

Are we being still?
Are we hearing His voice?
Are we being changed?
With whom are we harmonizing?
What are we doing here?

Psalms 46:10-11
Lesa K. Reid