Newsweek article

http://www.newsweek.com/id/219010

Cultivating the quiet: simplicity

For that is the cause why there are so few contemplative persons to be found, for that few can wholly withdraw themselves from things created and perishing. – Thomas A Kempis

The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room. – Blaise Pascal

To practice the presence of God, the heart must be empty of all else, because God wils to possess the heart alone; and as He cannot posses it alone unless it be empty of all besides, so He cannot work in it what He would, unless it be left vacant to Him. – Brother Lawrence

time alone

It has been a while since I have written. Honestly my alone time has been scarce and some of it is my fault. We have been extremely busy in the past few weeks. We have been hanging out with friends a lot, travelling, and just relaxing. However, I have not made time to be alone with God.

There have been several issues in my life and in the life of my youth that have come up lately. Therefore, I chose one day last week to fast and also during the lunch hour to hike up a small mountain overlooking Lake Mead and just spend that hour reading scripture and praying.

It was hot (approximately 105 degrees and I started to get eaten by ants), but I weathered the elements and prayed for my relationship with God, my family, and the problems of my youth. I am happy to say that all of the prayers that day were answered. I just took a little time to sacrifice the normality and pleasures of my daily life and spend it with God. He honored that time of worship.

Mark 8:34 says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” I chose one hour of one day to do this and look how God worked.

What if we were disciplined enough or motivated enough to do this daily? It is what jesus says to do. Make it your joyful desire to deny yourself (pride is bad), take up your cross, and follow Him.

Repose

I have begun to re-read The Confessions of St. Augustine. In book one, in the first paragraph he says, “Thou awakest us to delight in Thy praise; for Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee. Grant me, Lord, to know and understand which is first, to call on Thee or to praise Thee? and, again, to know Thee or to call on Thee? for who can call on Thee, not knowing Thee?”

Powerful words spoken by a man whose life, thoughts, and speech changed history.

This is a great reminder for each of us pursuing intimacy with God. Augustine reminds us that we should wake up to the delight, to the joy, to the sweetness of the Lord. Our connectedness to the Father should be so “tight” that when we open our eyes in the morning (which is a blessing) our first thought is the joy of the Lord.

He also reminds us that “Thou madest us for Thyself.” God created us for Him. God created us to worship Him and He created us with a purpose. To worship Him in Spirit and in Truth and to fulfill that purpose we must be seeking those “desolate” places to pray. We must be seeking that time of silence before our God, so that we can sufficiently complete what we are called to do.

He tells us that “our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee.” This hits the point of The Silent Project. We live our lives to the fullest. We get preoccupied to the fullest. We get busy to the fullest. We get restless to the fullest. Our heart, our soul, our mind will continue to be restless, until it “repose” in Him. Repose has similar meanings to “heschazo.”

Here are the three definitions of repose as given from Answers.com: 1)the act of resting or the state of being at rest, 2)freedom from worry; peace of mind, 3)calmness, tranquility.

In agreement with the saint, we must rest in Him; we must not worry, but find peace in Him; we must seek calmness and pursue tranquility in Him. Unless we take the time to be alone with the Father and ask Him to fill us up with Himself and remove us from ourselves, then we will fail at these aforementioned truths.

Another definition of repose is to lay down. Are we ready to lay all of us (fears, selfishness, pride, worry, doubt, etc.) down at the feet of Jesus? When we get intimate with the Father through times of silence and we fully rely on Him our lives will be changed.

As it says in the book of Luke, “Hear and be healed.” Listen to what He has to say and be healed of whatever it is that you need to be healed of.

For the joy…

The latter part of Nehemiah 8:10 states, “And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.” Where do we get that joy? In this Old Testament book the people rejoiced in God and delighted in His presence. Do you re”joy”ce in God? Are you delighted in His presence?

One of the recent discussion posts (which you can find on the Facebook group, The Silent Project) made a reference to an author, Frank Laubach and his book “Game With Minutes.” The author said that he began to desire God every minute. He longed for God. He rejoiced in Him and was delighted to be in His presence.

Seeking intimancy, silence, stillness before God should be our desire. We should rejoice when we find those times. We should be delighted and joyous to be in His presence. Are we seeking these things just so we can be a “good” Christian? Are we seeking these things just so we can say, “I spend quiet time with God every morning?” Are we seeking these things just so we can check it off our “to do” list? Are we seeking these things just because…?

My hope for you is that you are seeking this precious, priceless time with the Father because you desire Him. My prayer is that this time spent with Him will fill you up with so much joy that it begins to spill over into the lives of others. Let the times you spend alone with God bring you joy, because the joy of the Lord is your strength.

I’ve been flashed

In the words of Ray Stevens, “they call him the streak.” How many of you know about Ray Stevens? I bet that is the type of flashing that came to your mind when you read the title. Did you picture a naked man wearing a trench coat? If you didn’t before, you did now.

In the book of Acts (smooth transition, eh?) there is a story about a man who threatened to murder and arrest followers of the Way (greek, hodos, “road, highway, way of life”). His desire was to arrest these followers and bring them bound to Jerusalem. An amazing thing happened, the Glory of Heaven flashed him.

Saul fell to the ground and could not see. He had been flashed. For three days he was without sight and he did not eat or drink. This blindness and fasting, however, should not seem as a punishment. This should reveal to us the intensity of his encounter with Jesus Christ. This was designed to produce a time of reflection. After Saul (name did not change until Acts 13:9) received his sight, received spiritual insight, and reflected, his entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ.  He never allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ.

We must keep our eyes, mind, and life focused on Jesus Christ. Does He consume your every thought? Do you need to be flashed? Do you need to shut off everything that is not of Jesus Christ? Do you need to stop looking around, except for Jesus Christ?

Go blind today. Get QUIET or SILENT today. Then open your eyes and take a new look and receive new insight about the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus, I have lost sight of all beside, so enchained my spirits vision, gazing on the crucified.

God Is Our Fortress

Read Psalm 46:1-11.

As I was spending my silent time with God this morning, I was reading these verses. I had just walked outside and put verse 10 on our church sign. I stood back on reflected on the words for a moment, then I came inside and read the whole chapter slowly.

The very first verse reminds us that God is our refuge and our strength and a very present help in trouble. Think about those words that describe God: refuge, strength and present help.

The next few verses give us a picture of upheavel, but we are not to worry because the writer just told us that God is our refuge, strength, and help.

A very important reminder/command occurs again in verse 10. It says, “be still, and know that I am God.” When we are too consumed with ourselves, moving from place to place, worrying about how to get to the next item on our to do list, it is impossible to be still and know.

The Psalmist offers us great encouraging words. The Psalmist offers us a great reminder. God is our refuge and strength and help. When life seems to be at its worst or even at its best always remember to take a moment to “be still, and know that He is God.”

Be still and and cast all your cares upon Him. Be still and praise His name. Be still and offer thanksgiving for all you are blessed with. Be still and offer thanksgiving for all that you go through.

Today is the day the Lord has made. Be still and remember that. I encourage you today to take some time to be still and examine your heart. Be still and contemplate your relationship with Jesus Christ. Be still and read His word. Be still and talk to Him. Be still and LISTEN to Him. Be still and pray for others.

Be still and know that HE IS GOD!

In the Secret of His presence

In the secret of His presence how my soul delights to hide! Oh, how precious are the lessons which I learn at Jesus’ side! Earthly cares can never vex me, neither trials lay me low; For when Satan comes to tempt me, to the secret place I go, To the secret place I go.

When my soul is faint and thirsty, ’neath the shadow of His wing There is cool and pleasant shelter, and a fresh and crystal spring; And my Savior rests beside me, as we hold communion sweet: If I tried, I could not utter what He says when thus we meet, What He says when thus we meet.

Only this I know: I tell Him all my doubts, my griefs and fears;
Oh, how patiently He listens! and my drooping soul He cheers:
Do you think He ne’er reproves me? What a false Friend He would be,
If He never, never told me of the sins which He must see,
Of the sins which He must see.

Would you like to know the sweetness of the secret of the Lord?
Go and hide beneath His shadow: this shall then be your reward;
And whene’er you leave the silence of that happy meeting place,
You must mind and bear the image of the Master in your face,
Of the Master in your face.

Appreciation

Thanks to all who have joined the group. Thanks to all the encouraging words, posts, and thoughts that you have shared. People are finding the group and requesting to join. At last look there were 99 members to the group. Please continue to share this idea, this vision with your friends. If your friends do not have facebook, myspace, or twitter, please have them call me @ 702-332-7845. You can also email me at holmes814@gmail.com.

This group is designed to help YOU grow closer to go by practicing silence. Our lives are so noisy with our jobs, phones, sports, kids, and everything that we have to practice turning off that noise and letting Jesus Christ consume our hearts and our every thought.

A good thought

Silent before God!

Rev. John Terhorst

We read in the book of Revelation, chapter eight and verse 1, “When He [read: Jesus] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” There can be something very unnerving about silence. For example, imagine yourself in an elevator. You are on your way down from the fifth floor, with the elevator music playing to stop you becoming too claustrophobic. Then the elevator and the music suddenly stop. There is silence, and it is more than a little unnerving. Nervously you wonder if there is something you should do. In the silence of the four walls that closely surround you, even piped music would calm the troubled mind.

In the midst of heavenly choirs singing the praises of Jesus, there is silence for about half an hour. The Lamb, who was slain, is opening the seven seals with some frightening, and earth shattering consequences. Then He comes to the last seal and there is silence in heaven. The choir of angels, the four living creatures, the Elders, the multitude of the redeemed, all are silent for about half an hour. I wonder if that half of one hour seemed more like a couple of hours?

What do you suppose happened in that half hour? The answer of course would be pure speculation. But one thing may well be true. All eyes would have been focussed on the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. Jesus stands, scroll in hand, and everyone waits with bated breath. The centre of attention is the Son of God. A speaker standing quietly on a podium is quickly noticed, simply because she is silent.

It is difficult for many of us to imagine what total silence sounds like. Our world is far too noisy. The noise of piped music drowns our silence in public venues. Not to mention the shuffling of feet and continuous chatter. Then we hear the noise of vehicles and factories, planes and lawn mowers. At times I feel others are assaulting my right to silence, but I have no recourse, no way out. Even my home does not prevent me from being interrupted by noise. Sadly though, we create most of the noise that surrounds us daily. Some lonely people leave the radio or television switched on, only for company.

Noise may distract us from the worship of God. We read in the prophecy of Habakkuk, “But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.” [2:20]. I guess that is the scene being played out in Revelation 8:1. Noise may distract us from the worship of God. Yes, even religious noise. If your church services still begin with a time of silent and personal prayer, it can provide an oasis of tranquillity. However, how would your congregation survive five minutes of silence during next Sunday morning’s service of worship? Would it prove conducive to worship, or simply unsettling? “But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.”

Silence has the ability to inspire our sense of awe for the God of this universe. Perhaps that is what the psalmist wants us to understand when he writes, “Be still, and know that I am God;” In times of personal devotion, silence can be an aid to worship. Silence brings about a sense of rest and trust. Silence allows us to listen. Silence means God does not have to fight for the right to be heard. In silence, God is not competing with us for ‘talk time’. The prophet Isaiah stated, “In quietness and trust is your strength.” [30:15]. Are you ever silent before God? I know we have a lot to tell Him, countless things to ask Him, many more to thank Him for. But how does that compare with time spent listening?

It is not easy to be silent before God. Not for me anyway. Even at those times when I manage to shut out all the noise from without, my mind still operates at full speed ahead. At those times I need to remind myself of God’s words, “Be still, and know that I am God;”

A Prayer:
Dear Father, help me to still my heart in your presence. And in the stillness may I stand in awe of you. Amen.