Solitude, Silence & Stillness

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“Solitude, Silence & Stillness”

 

I just recently finished reading a book by a Christian author and he mentions multiple times how he has practiced times of solitude before God while also being silent and listening.  As I kept reading the book, I became convicted that this was something I haven’t done much in my own personal faith journey through the years.  I’ve tried being quiet off and on through the years, depending on what situation I’m going through, but never a consistent habit. 

 

This past week, it really hit me hard as I finished the book and I determined that I was going to begin each day with my usual quiet devotional time.  Right after I read in the morning, I’ve decided I will sit and do nothing for at least 5 minutes.  I kept thinking of writing this devotional and using the title “Solitude & Silence”, but then it hit me just the other day that I needed something more.  Not just solitude and silence, but I also needed stillness. 

 

I have ADHD, so it’s very hard for me to sit down and sit still for a long period of time. Within a few minutes, my mind is usually thinking of something I need to do or a variety of other thoughts suddenly flood my mind.  This drives my wife and youngest daughter nuts when I’m home at night and on the weekends.  I tend to “busy” myself with tasks that need done, but I don’t sit down and rest long enough to really quiet myself. 

 

I was convicted this past week to begin my day with solitude, silence and complete stillness by sitting there and trying to clear my mind.  No additional reading, no praying, no nothing.  Just being in the quiet and trying to clear my mind so I can listen.  I also want to increase the amount of time as I feel led.  I want to encourage all of us to make this a daily practice and habit.  It will take time.  I know it will for me definitely!  But I am excited to add this spiritual discipline to my life. 

 

My goal is to be a better listener to what God wants to show me in my life.  By being in complete silence, I hope to better quiet my mind, heart and soul and just be in God’s presence.  I want to listen and allow the Holy Spirit to move in and through me. 

 

This is a tough practice and habit to take on, but I truly believe it will help draw myself and all of us much closer to God. 

 

One last way I would encourage you to be in silence is to go take a walk somewhere in nature.  I have found that when I have the opportunity to go walk, away from the noise of the every day routine, it’s amazing how you can quiet your mind, heart and soul and just take in the very presence of God.

 

Solitude, Silence & Stillness—Start with at least 5 minutes a day and see what God does!

Keep Cool & Regulated

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“Keep Cool & Regulated”

Proverbs 29:11 NIV

Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.

 

Everyone in our household owns a stainless steel water bottle.  We used to have regular water bottles and I would always struggle with how to keep the water cold while also keeping the bottle from “sweating” as the ice melted.  After many years, I finally decided to buy a stainless steel water bottle.  After I did so, my wife and girls followed suit.  I was able to convince them that it was worth buying a stainless steel version in order to keep water cold a lot longer and not have it sweating all over you. 

 

Years later, we still use those kinds of bottles.  I don’t think I’ll ever go back to regular water bottles.  Just a personal preference!  As I’ve used this kind of water bottle through the years, I’m always amazed and refreshed when I pick it up, especially on hot days, and the water is still ice cold while the outside is very warm to the touch.

 

I was walking and running with my brother in law the other day and I suddenly thought of this as we both mentioned we were thirsty.  I thought about how it’s so refreshing going back home or to the car after a workout and taking a drink of cold water.  How refreshing!

 

I thought about how often in life it’s so important that we are like these water bottles in life when times get challenging.  People get mad at us or we suddenly encounter a dramatic situation where people need to be calmed down.  I think most about this when we watch cop shows.  It’s amazing to see cops keeping their cool while they work to calm upset people down.  The training these cops go through they learn a lot over time how to keep situations calm by keeping their voices as calm and steady as possible.

 

Let’s take this Proverb for instance.  How many of us want to be fools when it comes to challenging situations and conversations?  None of us.  We all would like to keep our cool and stay regulated, just like a stainless steel water bottle.  It might be getting flamed and hot outside, but inside the water is staying cool and refreshing.  Don’t we want to be people of refreshment when others are getting all uptight and wound up? 

 

This is how we really show the love of God.  When we can keep our cool and bring refreshment to others instead of letting our anger rage and boil our blood, we can stay cool and bring calmness to those around us.  It’s not easy by any means!  However, it is possible! 

 

The next time we are in a situation where the fire rages around us with people, let’s try to be like the water bottle and stay regulated inside so that refreshing and loving words come out. 

All In Sweet Harmony

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“All In Sweet Harmony”

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

 

Last weekend, we attended a race at a local fairgrounds for the afternoon.  It was fun watching cars race each other around a small track.  At one point, there was a bottleneck and multiple cars were stuck behind one another.  What happened next amazed me.  I watched almost every single one of them back up in unison and then they were all free to continue to drive on. 

 

I remember thinking, “Wow, they all did that at the same time and everyone was freed up to move on!”  As I pondered that moment, it reminded of Paul’s words of how he described the body of Christ and all the parts.  So often in churches these days, we “say” we are on the same team and claim we want to serve God together.  However, all to often, we tend to have ulterior motives when we do some things and do them only for our benefit.  This isn’t always true, but it happens more than we would like to admit.

 

When I watched the cars all back up at the same time, this devotional thought hit me immediately and I thought, “This is exactly how the body of Christ was meant to flow.”  It is truly a beautiful picture when the bride of Christ strives to work together in harmony.  It’s absolutely beautiful not only in how that works within the church, but also when non-believers witness this.  Word travels fast and it blows people’s minds when we are not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk.

 

I’ve been part of multiple churches through my years of paid and volunteer ministry.  It pains me to have witnessed so many places of worship get torn up to pieces because people don’t have the vision and desire to work together in harmony.  But then it also has brought me great joy to witness churches that do genuinely work together in harmony to love each other and those who are lost.

 

Every part of the body of Christ is unique and needed, whether you are in front serving or behind the scenes.  No one is more important than the other.  We all work together and it works wonderfully, just like the cars in that race that all backed up together and then drove off. 

 

It is my hope and prayer that we would all strive to do our part serving in the body of Christ.  It’s never about how we can benefit the most, it’s how we can serve and love others within the body. 

Back In The Day

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“Back In The Day”

James 1:17 NIV- Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows

 

Hebrews 13:8 NIV- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

 

Recently, as I got into one of our vehicles to drive somewhere, I had to readjust

the side mirrors to fit my view.  As I did this, I had flashbacks to when I was growing up as a kid.  I remember sitting in the passenger side with my mom, dad or other adults.  With the cars in my childhood days, we had manual mirrors.  Often times, my parents would ask me to roll down my passenger window and have me move the mirror left, right, up or down several times until their view was just right.  Then they adjusted their own driver’s side mirror as well. 

 

I also got to thinking about how we used to have manual crank windows to roll them up and down.  Then I thought about how we had manual tuning radios and cassette tape decks.  My thoughts continued with the old seat belts we used to have as well as being lucky if we even had A/C in the cars yet. 

 

My how times have changed with our vehicles!  For so many years, regarding cars and other items with modern day changes, I’ve heard people say, “Well, back in the day we had…..” or “Back in the day, we didn’t have……”  We often marvel today as how times have changed and what conveniences we have today compared to 20, 30 or 40 years ago.  Advances in technology and science have definitely brought us a long way! 

 

I have to admit that often times when adults would tell me, “Well, back in the day, we didn’t have……….”, I would roll my eyes or even mutter things under my breath and think, “Yeah, back in the stone ages!”  Sometimes, I got caught rolling my eyes or my very soft comments still being heard somehow!  The punishment was not fun! 

 

There are so many things that have changed through our years and continue to change each day.  With all the constant changes in life, I am so glad that God doesn’t change the way He is with us.  He is constant with His love, forgiveness, grace, mercy and patience.  He never says, “Well, back in the day I was more patient, but these days not so much.” 

 

It doesn’t matter how far back we look in Scripture, God is the same today as He was back in the day.  He never changes and He is constant and I love serving a living God like that!  I never have to worry that He can’t relate with me or comfort me.  He is with me today as he was when I was a kid and still loves me just as much as He did back then. 

 

There is no “Back in the day” with God.  He is, still is and will always be our God Who deeply loves us and will never change.  We can fully trust Him and know that His ways will never grow old or change. 

The Power Of Negative Thoughts

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“The Power Of Negative Thoughts”

1 Peter 5:8 NLT

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

 

For so many years of my life, I have heard podcasts, sermons, read books and heard stories of the power of positive thinking.  I want to be clear that this is vital and very important for us to consider, but what I have been feeling and thinking about is how we need to also realize the power of negative thoughts and where those can lead.  I’m NOT focusing on the idea of having negative thoughts, but I AM focusing on what negative thoughts can do to us.

 

For most of my life, I have struggled with a negative self-image.  I have struggled with having a low self-confidence and low self-esteem.  However, God has brought a lot of encouragement and resources into my life in the past several years to combat this way of thinking. 

 

I want to encourage all of us not only to focus on the power of positive thinking, but to also be very cautious and aware of what can happen when we focus on the power of our negative thoughts.  We need to be aware of both sides. 

 

If we are focusing on negative thoughts a lot in our lives, we need to be made aware of how those thoughts spiral out of control and do so much internal damage to the way we see ourselves.  Last week, I shared about how our old self is gone and we are now a new creation in Christ.  The enemy wants nothing more than to bring to our minds constantly all of the negative thoughts that surround that old self. 

 

I have found through much wisdom in therapy, through reading Christ-centered books, Scripture and talking to people who really love me, that I need God’s wisdom and strength to help me battle the negative thoughts train I often have.  I have learned that I need to be very proactive when I’m battling these thoughts and when they surface.  I have to learn better how to combat them with what God says in His Word about who I am. 

 

I want to encourage myself and you all that every single day, we need to be intentional about filling our minds with positive thoughts to push out the negative thoughts.  It’s very hard to do some days.  There are days when things are going great and it’s very easy to focus on the blessings of life.  There are also days when we feel like nothing is going right and our world is falling apart.  The blessings are STILL there, but they are being drowned out by the enemy filing us with negative thoughts. 

 

Every day, we need to be very intentional about focusing on the power of positive thoughts and be aware of the power of negative thoughts that are trying to drown out the positive ones.  We need to be on alert and ready for the enemy’s attacks. 

 

Are we ready?

We're Done With The Old Self

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“We’re Done With The Old Self”

Galatians 2:20 NLT

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

Just recently, I read this passage for the Air1 Radio verse of the day.  They always send these in the NLT.  The first part of the passage hit me hard.  “My old self has been crucified with Christ.”  I had to take some time and let that sink in for many days.  The impact of these words is so powerful.  Just take a few moments and let these words sink deep into your mind, heart and soul. 

 

Our old self is gone.  Do we fully understand this concept?  I don’t think we do.  Why do I say that?  Because the enemy haunts us at any chance he gets to remind us of our old self and how bad we were.  He wants us to think we can’t ever get way from who we used to be.  But….he is WRONG!  Might I remind us all that Jesus Christ went to the Cross to die and put death in the grave?  

 

Our old self is gone.  We live through the life Christ has given to us!  We are a New Creation each new day!  The old life of sin has no power over us.  We have victory through the Cross!  Let that also sink in for a few moments.  I think for so many of us, we let the enemy yell into our minds way too often reminding us of our past and all the bad things we did before we came to Jesus.

 

We need to be reminded each day that we are made new in Christ.  The enemy no longer has control over our lives and we are not slaves to sin.  The enemy wants nothing more than to constantly remind us of the messed up lives we had before coming to Jesus. 

 

While the enemy constantly reminds us of our messed up old self, Jesus constantly reminds us of the new life we have through Him!  It’s hard turning away from the constant reminders of our old self.  The reminders make us feel like we’ll never move past those old tendencies and sin we used to live in.  However, Jesus reminds us that He paid the price for all of those sins and His love will never change for us.

 

Let’s look at the phrase again, “My old self has been crucified with Christ”.  I want this passage and phrase to be on my mind each new day as a reminder that my old self is gone and I have new life in Christ!  I hope this passage becomes a favorite of ours that we remember every day to be reminded who we are now.  We are no longer slaves to our old self, we have been made new in Christ!

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Alive & Alive

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“Alive & Alive”

Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

 

There’s a song by Passion Conference that we often play at church called “Glorious Day”.  One of the verses says “I was breathing, but not alive” and that phrase always reminds me of how our lives were before we knew Jesus Christ.  We are all physically alive up until we give our lives to Christ, then we are both physically alive and spiritually alive.  It’s so great to see people’s energy after they made a decision to follow Jesus.  They are on fire and so excited to share with others.

 

As I look past on the past many years of my life, I see so often that I have lived my life without excitement of knowing Christ.  I gave my life to Him when I was young, but there have been so many times where I didn’t live “Alive & Alive”.  I was just breathing, as the song says.  I hate to say it, but many of us tend to fall to this problem.  We get so caught up in the day to day routines of life and we let things bog us down and so often our spiritual lives take a backseat.

 

If we have given our lives to Him, we should be living each day with excitement showing the lost world what they are missing.  However, sadly, many of us (myself included) spend many days in our own world doing our thing and living as though we are not spiritually alive.  We have so much to live for being born again in Christ! 

 

We need to be bold and share with the lost world that we are not only physically alive, but spiritually alive as well.  We sadly spend so many days pretending to be spiritually alive, but we are just basically breathing and on autopilot.  We have so much more to be living for!

 

I want to encourage all of us to live not only physically alive, but spiritually alive as well.  This passage says it all in that Jesus made us alive in Him!  We have a story to tell and a wonderful love to share!

 

Are we just alive or are we alive & alive?