Quietness..... Streams in the Desert

 

Quietness 

Streams in the Desert

He giveth quietness (Job 34:29).

Quietness amid the dash of the storm. We sail the lake with Him still; and as we reach its middle waters, far from land, under midnight skies, suddenly a great storm sweeps down. Earth and hell seem arrayed against us, and each billow threatens to overwhelm. Then He arises from His sleep, and rebukes the winds and the waves; His hand waves benediction and repose over the rage of the tempestuous elements. His voice is heard above the scream of the wind in the cordage and the conflict of the billows, "Peace, be still!" Can you not hear it? And there is instantly a great calm. "He giveth quietness." Quietness amid the loss of inward consolations. He sometimes withdraws these, because we make too much of them. We are tempted to look at our joy, our ecstasies, our transports, or our visions, with too great complacency. Then love for love's sake, withdraws them. But, by His grace, He leads us to distinguish between them and Himself. He draws nigh, and whispers the assurance of His presence. Thus an infinite calm comes to keep our heart and mind. "He giveth quietness."

"He giveth quietness." O Elder Brother,
Whose homeless feet have pressed our path of pain,
Whose hands have borne the burden of our sorrow,
That in our losses we might find our gain.
Of all Thy gifts and infinite consolings,
I ask but this: in every troubled hour
To hear Thy voice through all the tumults stealing,
And rest serene beneath its tranquil power.
Cares cannot fret me if my soul be dwelling
In the still air of faith's untroubled day;
Grief cannot shake me if I walk beside thee,
My hand in Thine along the darkening way.
Content to know there comes a radiant morning
When from all shadows I shall find release,
Serene to wait the rapture of its dawning--
Who can make trouble when Thou sendest peace?

Become a Devoted Student of the Word..... By Joe McKeever

 Become a Devoted Student of the Word

By Joe McKeever

"What great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?" (Deuteronomy 4:8)

Late one afternoon, I rested for a couple of hours in the home of friends in McComb, Mississippi before attending a church banquet where I was to speak. I noticed in the living room, shelves contained all the writings of Jan Karon, the novels of John Grisham and David Baldacci, and others. Looks like we read the same stuff, I thought. And another thought occurred…

The reason you won’t find those books on shelves at my house is after we read them, we’re through with them. We pass them on to family members or donate them to Goodwill. But one thing we never do is pull one out which we’ve read before to read again, just to see if we missed anything the first time through. And yet…

We do this with the holy Scriptures all the time. Every time we pass through a familiar chapter or well-known story, we find something new, something we had not seen before. It’s an amazing thing.

This is precisely what the Lord promised would happen. Matthew 13:52 contains the only mention of this in Scripture and it’s a keeper…

“Therefore, every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

Imagine that. A homeowner who goes into his safe or a chest of valuables and counts out all the deeds, money, jewels, and other keepsakes he has owned through the years. But every time he does this, he finds new treasures. A pearl ring this time, a hundred dollar bill the next time, and so forth. He’d come often, wouldn’t he?

Jesus said a scribe–that is, someone considered an expert on the Scriptures–who gets saved now returns to the Scriptures that he loves and where he has found all these precious truths and insights. He finds them there, all the riches he has loved over the years. But lo and behold, every time he comes, he makes a new discovery. And so it is with opening the Word of the Lord.

There are so many reasons for God’s people studying and living in the Scriptures. Jesus called it our bread (Matthew 4:4). Job said it was more than his necessary food (Job 23:12). David called it a lamp unto his feet, a light unto his path (Psalm 119:105). Paul said it’s the source of faith (Romans 10:17).

If you call yourself a sincere disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no excuse for not becoming a devoted student of His Word.

Are You Scared of Loving Zacchaeus?..... By Laura MacCorkle

 Are You Scared of Loving Zacchaeus?

By Laura MacCorkle

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” Luke 19:5, NIV

I’m scared of some things—and some people—but I’m not too scared about spending time with those who don’t know Jesus. Never have been.

In fact, I enjoy people who are vastly different than me. I must say, though, that I am nowhere even close to the greatest friend-who-knew-no-stranger-of-all-time: Jesus. And so I admire his ability to walk toward those who might scare you and me … those who we might walk away from today.

Zacchaeus was one such character. He really was a despicable little man. As I’m sure you know, tax collectors in Bible times were not the sort of person you invited over for a potluck to your home on an early spring evening. No, they were viewed as the lowest of the low. The pond scum of society. The ones you wouldn’t even let in your front door.

Amazingly, though, Jesus didn’t adjust his course when he was walking through Jericho one fine day. With his eye on the tax collector, Jesus walked right to where Zacchaeus was perched in a sycamore tree. Because he was small in stature, Zacchaeus had climbed up this tree so that he could see who Jesus was when he passed by in the crowd of people. He had heard about him, and now he wanted to see for himself.

Had he heard how he’d performed miracles? How he’d attracted and fed large crowds of people? How he’d touched the untouchables and healed those with leprosy? How he’d stood up to the religious establishment and called them on their legalistic teachings?

Who knows for sure. But whatever he had heard, Zacchaeus wanted to see this man who defied everyone’s expectations of what the Messiah would be.

“Zacchaeus,” Jesus said as he addressed him by name. “Come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Can you imagine what Zacchaeus must have thought? He knows me! Wait, HOW does he know me? And why is he coming to spend time with me? Doesn’t he know that everyone despises me because I take all of their money? Why would he want to spend time with ME?

But whatever Zaccheus may have thought didn’t stop him from scrambling down the tree and welcoming Jesus “gladly.” He was smitten with the love of the Savior. And he knew that this was the Christ.

“Look, Lord!” Zacchaeus said to him. “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

How amazing is that? Jesus didn’t shy away from someone who the rest of society was shunning. He also didn’t get up in Zacchaeus’ face, make him feel like dirt and then strike him down with the Law in his initial effort to love him. No, he just said, “Hey, I see you and I’m going to spend some time with you. Come on, let’s go!”

It’s the “great commission” in action. “Go ye into all the world.” Even to the parts of town that you usually avoid. Even to the societal groups that offend you. Even to the family member who has chosen to live a different lifestyle. He, she, they … any of these people can represent Zacchaeus in your life.

But don’t walk away from them. Walk toward them. And extend an invitation for a better way of living and the hope of a glorious eternity. Just like Jesus did for you.

Intersecting Faith & Life: So maybe you think I missed that one part of the Zacchaeus story with the crowd. Well, I didn’t. I just saved it for last. When the crowd witnessed Jesus make his invitation to Zacchaeus, they muttered, ”He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’” How sad. But isn’t that also you and me? We all have a person or a people group who is hard for us to love. Don’t be scared of loving the Zacchaeuses in your life. The Lord will help you follow his example as you love others to him.

Further Reading:

Mark 16:15, NIV
John 13:34-35, NIV
1 Peter 4:8-11, NIV

A Prayer to Be More Grateful..... By: Victoria Riollano

 A Prayer to Be More Grateful

By: Victoria Riollano

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. - Psalm 9:1

As a parent, there have been many moments I felt “used.” With each child bringing their list of wants for their birthday or everyday life, I wonder if they really appreciate me or just love what I do. If I make them happy enough, I am usually greeted with a “thank you” from my older children. My younger ones, however, tend to grab their occasional gifts with a burst of excitement and forget to say “thank you,” unless they are prompted. There is a sense of “I deserve this” written all over their faces in these moments.

In Psalm 9:1, David writes of sincere gratefulness. He states that he will thank the Lord with all His heart. Half-hearted thankfulness or a simple acknowledgment is not enough. Not only does the psalmist thank the Lord with his whole heart, but he also commits to telling all of God’s wonderful deeds. In other words, he just can’t keep withholding sharing how much God has done for him. His heart explodes with the opportunity to share the good news that God’s goodness. Even more so, David recognizes that to receive from the Lord is an honor.

If I’m honest, I’ve been guilty of not being as grateful as I should be. Instead of coming to the Lord humbly, with a heart of thanks, I have come with an attitude of entitlement. In my mind, of course, I deserved a blessing! I went to church, gave my tithes, prayed, and have been good to people. My pride followed blessings, when I should have had a humble heart, in awe that God would grant me favor again.

Likewise, in many ways, I couldn’t wait to tell people of the “wonderful deeds” God had done. Unfortunately, my motivation for sharing God’s goodness was from a place of personal “horn-tooting,” versus a sincere honoring the Lord. In many ways, my thankfulness was only half-hearted as it was more about what I had accomplished and less about His goodness.

Although Psalm 9:1 should be a source of encouragement, for many, it is a wake-up call to ask ourselves, “Do we really appreciate our Father in heaven?” Would we be okay if He never did another thing for us? Is His presence and His promise of salvation enough? Could we say thank you endlessly, just for His love alone? Have we committed to sharing who He is and the good He’s done with a heart of humility?

These tough questions are convicting but reveal our true heart and perspective on who God is. For this reason, when we pray, we should not just bring our list of requests like a child on Christmas. Instead, we pray in awe of His goodness with humble thanksgiving.

My prayer today is that a heart of true gratitude will arise in our hearts. My prayer is that we would take each new day as a gift from the Lord and when He blesses us with more, we thank Him with our entire heart. May God grant us the opportunity to tell anyone who’s willing to listen of how good He is!

Let’s Pray -  

Lord God,

I thank you for what you’ve done in my life. I thank You for each day, for Your work on the cross, and for helping me overcome the toughest battles of my life. Father forgive me for the times I don’t operate from an attitude of sincere gratitude. Teach me to do so and to openly share your goodness with the world around me. 

Help me to never grow weary of praising you for all that you’ve done.

In Jesus Name, Amen.