Make it your goal to live a quiet life…. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (NLT)

…..let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 1pet 3:3-4

…that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 1 Timothy 2:2

 

I recently read a book titled The Sovereignty of Quiet where the author makes a compelling argument about the distinction between silence and quiet. The author notes that while silence may mean the absence of sound or noise, quiet is more encompassing. He explains that silence sometimes is characteristic of quiet but more than that, quiet is a quality of the soul – it is a way of being.

Having read scriptures like 1 Thessalonians 4:11, 1 Peter 3:3-4 and 1 Timothy 2:2, I cannot but agree more with this author. But unfortunately, we live in a time where people are given to all forms of noise ranging from the social media to anxieties and cacophonous entertainments. In fact, I heard somewhere that the anxiety level of American teenagers today is on the same measure with psychiatric patients in the mid-twentieth century. This is a frightening reality and, perhaps, what is even more frightening is that, as Christians, our quiet times are no longer quiet.

In this noisy age, we seem to be losing the spiritual virtue of quiet and what I have discovered is that many people actually dread being quiet – a kind of staying still.

Take it or leave it, quiet is a depth of being that we need in this (post)modern world of normalised shallowness. It is a behaviour (Psalms 131:2) that is needed in navigating the vicissitude of our neoliberalised lives.

Quiet is the kind of stillness that you embrace even when the world around you is tumbling down – a quiet stability.

Don’t get this twisted. There are many things that quiet, in this context, is not. It is not simply a stress-relieving, relaxation or yoga kind of thing. It is rather closer to gentleness ­– a fruit of the spirit.

It has a restful and a peaceful quality that differs from what the world gives (John 14:27)

David is one of the people who deeply felt the texture of quiet. In many of the Psalms he wrote, he invoked this sense and attitude of stillness – quietness– in the midst of life’s storms (Psalm 131:2, Psalm 37:7, Psalm 62:5). He established, for us, the importance of quiet in the Christian life when he invoked the imagery of “still waters” in the popular Psalm 23 – He leads me beside the still waters.

Quiet is not timidity, it is a pool of strength. We are reminded in Isaiah 30:15 that “in quietness shall be our strength”.

Quiet is not necessarily an introversion, it is a state of mind that goes with you to work and to the marketplace –  a quiet confidence (Psalm46:1-11).

Quiet is a practice of meditation ­–  a mediation on God and His words. For it is your way to be bountifully blessed (Psalm 1:2, Joshua 1:8) and be kept in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3) – a quiet that sharpens sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

Quiet is the mode that you are when you find yourself waiting on God (Psalm 37:7). For it is in the quietness of your spirit that you get to hear the still small voice of God (Habakkuk 2:20, I King 19:12).

Let us make it our goal to live a quiet life even when everything around us seeks our attention and when everything in us seeks attention.

PS: And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. Isaiah 32:17

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the father is not in him(1 John 2:15)

Last night.

I thought I had a very productive week and deserved a little entertainment. Something to wash off the stress – or was it boredom? Of course, Hollywood is always there calling. It is the go-to thing in times of boredom and even times of excitement. I still wonder how it became an ordinary part of my life. I’m still not sure if I could live without it. Even I want to, FOMO forces me not to.

Don’t get me wrong, there are good movies out there and I don’t think watching movies is a sin. But, let’s face it, the way Hollywood and 21^st century filmmaking is heading, a heaven-bound, daily Bible-consuming Christian cannot just be comfortable with it.

Last night.

I found myself running to the feet of Hollywood to escape boredom. I honestly enjoyed every minute of it. I laughed and giggled the way I haven’t in a long time. Of course, you know how these things work. I didn’t end on one movie – I watched two.

To cut the long story short, I slept really late. I didn’t even pray before I slept off. God was merciful enough to not let me have bad dreams.

This morning.

As I knelt to pray, I realized I wasn’t connecting. There was no network on the telephone to heaven.

Oh God… why aren’t you speaking to me?

Isn’t prayer supposed to be a two-way communication?

 Why am I not feeling you this morning, Lord?

Flashes of last night rushed into my thoughts.

Yes, I relished the four hours spent before my laptop last night but what does that have to do with this?

“Well, the movie you watched contained scenes of nudity, wild partying, same- sex marriage and profane language. One of the movies was particularly anti-Jesus”

“Yes, Lord, but those are not my beliefs. I was just having fun…relieving stress. God, you are not some killjoy, right?”

“The problem is not that you watched movies. It is that you didn’t feel any unease with those unwholesome scenes. They lightened up your face. A part of you wanted more. How could you sit comfortably with the world and still claim to have an undivided love for me?”

“You win, Lord. I’m sorry but what must I do?”

*********************************************************************

I have been thinking a lot about this conversation. God was not mad because I saw movies. He was mad because I let my guards down and agreed, in my spirit, with some of the heresies that the movies promoted. How did I get here? How have I become so deconscientised?

I don’t know.

But what I do know is that I have belittled the weight of the Spirit that I carry. I have allowed the spirits that control this world to make logical sense in those hours I spent watching those movies. I have exposed my mind to unpleasant ideologies and made myself vulnerable to the insidious toxicity of Hollywood.

 Again, don’t get me wrong. There are good movies out there and Hollywood movies are just a tiny fraction of the “world”. However, film, in and of itself, is part of the new media(avenues) through which worldly ideologies and philosophies get propagated. We have a generation of people whose sense of wrong and right are shaped by what these movies preach. Families have now turned there Sundays to cinema days.

We must be vigilant and guard our hearts, lest we find ourselves agreeing in spirit – even if not in principles– with some of the blasphemies that circulate through these worldly movies.

I guess it all boils down to one thing: friendship with the world, enmity with God (James 4:4). I’m not judging anyone, but I really wonder how an incessant consumption of worldly movies is not – and does not lead to – conformity with the world.

Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God…………Roman 12:2

Of course, we still live in this world, and even contribute to making it a better place, but we are not of it (John 17–15-16). We must always live with eternity in view. That is how we don’t get soiled with the filthiness that gets packaged in many of these movies. Movies are shaping the world’s culture and values; they seem to confirm God’s word that all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of love (I John 2:16). Thank God that we are seeing more Christian filmmakers who are producing faith-based movies. We no longer have an excuse. If we feel like watching movies, there are many Christian movies that can inspire us and even help us become better Christians. We must invest in these kinds of movies and help promote them because that is what the world really needs.

The Bible stands though the hills may tumble,
It will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble;
I will plant my feet on its firm foundation,
For the Bible stands……Haldor Lillenas 1917

It was on Wednesday night, after Bible Study that i immediately rushed down to a restaurant on my street to get chicken and chips for dinner. I had not realised that i had my Bible with me. If I did, I would probably have gone home to drop it before going to the restaurant. I arrived at the restaurant, placed my order and then sat on one of the chairs while waiting for the order. My hands were on the table with my Bible inbetween them. At first I found the unusual stares at my direction inscrutable but later i noticed that the stares were more directed at the Bible. People would look at me, look at the Bible and then look at the me again. I still cannot understand the meaning of those looks but they appeared uncomfortable both for me and for the lookers.

Sometimes the looks passed a message of disgust, at other times, i just felt judged and dismissed as a fundamentalist. Of course, i might be the hysterical one who was making a mountain out of a molehill but that experience made me realise a profoundly uncomfortable truth about myself– i was sorry for holding a Bible in a public(non-religious) space. Put differently, it felt shameful to be seen with a Bible in a public space.

Fast forward to one of the Sundays after my experience at the restaurant, the pastor asked people to raise their Bibles during the devotional service but only half of the church had print Bibles. I still do not know how to think through this, but i remember feeling inexplicably disturbed. I am not saying that people should not use Bible Apps in church but i do think that there are certain things that just stand as a symbol of Christianity and the print Bible is one of them. Maybe i am just being old-fashioned but, even if i am, it still does not take away the fact that the Bible stands– literally and metaphorically. It stands like a rock undaunted with its pages burning with eternal truths.

I am under no illusion that putting the Bible under your pillow at night will save you from demonic attacks or keeping it in your pocket will deliver you from accidents. Even the Bible itself tells us that letter kills; instead, it is the Word, through the ministering of the Holy Spirit, that delivers. But still, we know how people (even in America) are calling for the Bible to be banned and removed from public libraries. It is very rare to find it in school libraries these days. In fact, it is completely outlawed in a place like North Korea while it is not be easily obtained in places like China, Libya, Somalia and Morocco. In fact The Gideons International Bible is banned in countries like Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Algeria while Russia banned the import of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

Despite all these, the Bible stands. According to the March 2007 edition of Time, the Bible “has done more to shape literature, history, entertainment, and culture than any book ever written. Its influence on world history is unparalleled, and shows no signs of abating.” With estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, it is widely considered to be the most influential and best-selling book of all time. As of the 2000s, it sells approximately 100 million copies annually.

Whether in democratic countries where the public reading or sharing of the Bible is becoming increasingly discouraged or in autocratic countries where it is an illegal document, we live in a time when these subtle and less subtle rejection of the Bible symbolises a rejection of God himself. And God has not relented in showing us– if we care to listen– the sacredness of this book. A most recent example is in the devastating fire outbreak at the Freedom Ministries Church in Grandview, West Virginia. The fire burned down the whole church except for the Bibles inside. Dean Vandall, one of the firefighters at the scene commented on Facebook:

“Out of every structure fire I have responded to in the past 20 years, not one Bible has burned, they might have smoke damage or charred around the edges but you could still read every page. We gave the owners back a lot of Bibles over the years. It just goes to show that God’s word is more powerful than the devil’s fire and fury no matter how hot it gets. God was watching over all you guys last night, and every fire call y’all go on,”

Therefore, as i am deciding never to be ashamed of showing the Bible in public, i challenge you to do so too but even if we fail to do so, The Bible stands though the hills may tumble,It will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble.

                                  

We live in a time when a large percentage of millennials suffer from FOMO. Restlessness, boredom and different kinds of anxiety permeate our daily lives. I have heard friends complain about a 45- minute sermon as too long.  Several times I have caught myself on WhatsApp and Facebook during sermons in church. I have sat under bible study sessions where I did not pick a sentence from the whole teaching because I was lost in worries or vain imaginations while staring profusely on the teacher like the most attentive student. I have recently found out that I have two problems which are getting in the way of my devotion to God and fellowship with the Holy Spirit. I have finally come to terms with my ‘roaming eyes’ and ‘wandering mind’.   While I sought the help of the Holy Spirit on the matter, I was led to Isaiah 26 vs 3.

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you.

Meditating on that verse made me realise that there is a kind of peace that is imperfect. I also realized that keeping my mind stayed on God requires a conscious effort from me – of course with the help of the Holy Spirit. I also remembered Brother Lawrence’s words that we must ‘practise’ the presence of God. As an (aspiring)academic, I have been lured into believing that my research is the ultimate thing and that the art/act of thinking should be my only preoccupation. Somehow that took the place of the word of God and as a result, I lost my peace. I lost the peace that is only found in God, the one that passes all understanding. Now that I am retracing my step, I thought I should share with fellow Christians that no matter what the world throws at us, we can always be at peace when we keep our mind stayed on God. Of course, I understand that this scripture (Isaiah 25:6) applies to a much broader context but for those who have lost the perfect peace, keeping your mind stayed on God can help you find it .

What does it mean to keep your mind stayed on God? Well, I believe it means many things. It is to surrender or consecrate yourself to God. It is to practice God’s presence in the midst of the noise that saturate our modern life. It is to trust him completely. It is to stand on his promises even in the eye of the storm. And more importantly, for me, it is to meditate on God’s word day in day out (Psalm 1). There is tremendous power in dwelling on the word of God. There are so many forces driving our neoliberal life but we can always survive when we are fortified by the word.

Therefore, in this age of anxieties, irrational fears and peacelessness, let us keep our minds stayed on God and his word for therein lies perfect peace.

         

When I first heard the phrase, ‘holy anger’, I didn’t know what to make of it. It sounded oxymoronic to me. Could there be a feeling of anger in the practice of holiness or a trace of holiness in the outburst of anger? I did not dwell much on this question until, recently, when I was reading the book of Numbers, chapter 25. On their pilgrimage to Canaan, the children of Israel got to a place called Shittim and there they committed ‘whoredom’ with the daughters Moab and also joined in Baal worship. Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson, was angered by this development. He confronted the children of Israel and even went as far as killing the specific men who committed these sins. Of course, in this new dispensation killing wouldn’t be an option but we do need people like Phinehas who would call out sin for what it is. We are told, later in the chapter, that God was pleased with Phinehas because he displayed some sort of righteous indignation.  In fact, God made a covenant of peace with him and his lineage.

Phinehas is not the only one who has stood up against the virus of sin in the Bible. Jesus himself expressed anger at money changers who turned the temple of God into a ‘house of merchandise’(John 2:13-17).  I have now realized that there is an affect of anger that is not sinful. This kind of anger is rational and is targeted at the manifestation of sin and injustice. It does not translate as physical violence neither is it an uncontrolled rage. It is a righteous anger, the kind that ensures the flourishing of righteousness. It weakens sin and the temptation to sin. Christians must be angered by sin and that anger must inspire redemptive actions.

 It is worthy to reiterate that this ‘holy anger’ is not judgemental neither is it vengeful. It can be expressed in prayers and in loving-hearted reprimands. It stems from zealousness for God and his kingdom. It points to God, not the person expressing the anger. Jesus(in John 2) chased the money changers away because the zeal of the house of God consumed him. We are also told that Phinehas’ action was motivated by his zealousness for God. Therefore, righteous anger is not vindictive or spiteful, it is, instead, loving, meek, firm and uncompromising. It inspires grace and, in the long run, turns away God’s wrath from a person or congregation. Phinehas’ anger, we are told, prevented the judgement of God on the Israelites.

The church needs people full of holy anger because of the unimaginable virus of sin that is becoming the new normal. We should all be passionate enough the raise alarm on this ‘little leaven that leaveneth the whole lump’(Gal. 5:9). We need people who will not cower or be silently complicit in the pervasive idolatry that is sweeping through our world today. We must pray to God to stir up this kind of anger in and among us because the lack of it may be indicative of spiritual weakness or laxity. If we are truly becoming like Christ, we must be angered by sin. Max Lucado writes: ‘may we never be so religious that we see the footprints of Satan and stay calm’. To conclude, Martin Luther also writes: ‘ I never work better than when I am inspired by anger, for when I am angry I can write, pray and preach well, for then my whole temperament is quickened, my understanding sharpened and all mundane vexations and temptations depart’.

#nakedisstillsacred

Know ye not that your body is the temple of God? I Corinthians 6:19

Should it not be disturbing, perhaps unsettling, that expressions like ‘nude arts’, ‘nude beach’, ‘naked cycling’ and so on how become normalized in our millennial culture? Hollywood and its look alikes have desensitised and deconscientised the way view the sacrosanctity of naked bodies.  Today’s ‘bare it all’ culture is making us lose the sacredness of our bodies.

Almost all the times reference is made to nakedness in the Bible, it is accompanied with connotations of shame, sin and deadly consequences. Of course, this is not how it was meant to be. Nakedness didn’t carry the baggage of shame from the very beginning (Genesis 2:15). It became an issue after Adam and Eve disobeyed God. We are told they felt ashamed when they realized they were naked (Genesis 3:7). Not too long after that, we hear the story of Ham, the son of Noah who ‘looked at’ and ‘mocked’ his father’s nakedness and, as a result, received an everlasting curse (Genesis 9:21-25).  Also, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he found the Israelites naked and worshipping idols (Exodus 32:25).  This last example makes me wonder if there is link with nakedness (in public) and idolatry or even madness.

Remember David? His life took a tragic turn after he looked upon a naked woman having her bath (2 Sam 11:2). There are so many examples of people who abused the sacredness of nakedness and the catastrophe that followed. Nakedness is not inherently a bad thing. It is a gift of God but it must not be manipulated, abused or fetishised. You may be wondering how all these apply to you since you don’t ‘reveal yourself’ unnecessarily. But do you voyeuristically look upon another person’s nakedness in films, music videos, real life or even in porn? Do you derive sensual pleasure from viewing another person’s body? Remember, David did not expose his nakedness, he BEHELD another person’s. Spiritual and moral values deplete whenever and wherever people carelessly/recklessly reveal themselves (Lamentations 1:8). In fact, studies reveal that cultures that protect the sacredness of nakedness have a strong sense of morality and enduring marriages.

There is a way you can call unnecessary attention to yourself and your body by the choice of clothes you wear. Exposing sensitive parts of your body, male or female, counts as nakedness (half-nudity). There are dresses that can make people ‘see through’ and ‘look through’ your body even when you are not unclad. There is also spiritual nakedness, a nakedness of the soul which equally breeds humiliation and shame. But thanks to God who provides physical and spiritual clothing for us in this fallen world(Genesis 3:21). He provides spiritual covering for all our humiliation and shame. He clothes us in His righteousness. Therefore, let us not frustrate the grace of God by exposing our bodies and souls indiscriminately. For the Lord is coming – ‘behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, lest he walks naked and they see his shame’(Revelations 16:15).

#nakedisstillsacred

Know ye not that your body is the temple of God? I Corinthians 6:19

Should it not be disturbing, perhaps unsettling, that expressions like ‘nude arts’, ‘nude beach’, ‘naked cycling’ and so on how become normalized in our millennial culture? Hollywood and its look alikes have desensitised and deconscientised the way view the sacrosanctity of naked bodies.  Today’s ‘bare it all’ culture is making us lose the sacredness of our bodies.

Almost all the times reference is made to nakedness in the Bible, it is accompanied with connotations of shame, sin and deadly consequences. Of course, this is not how it was meant to be. Nakedness didn’t carry the baggage of shame from the very beginning (Genesis 2:15). It became an issue after Adam and Eve disobeyed God. We are told they felt ashamed when they realized they were naked (Genesis 3:7). Not too long after that, we hear the story of Ham, the son of Noah who ‘looked at’ and ‘mocked’ his father’s nakedness and, as a result, received an everlasting curse (Genesis 9:21-25).  Also, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he found the Israelites naked and worshipping idols (Exodus 32:25).  This last example makes me wonder if there is link with nakedness (in public) and idolatry or even social madness.

Remember David? His life took a tragic turn after he looked upon a naked woman having her bath (2 Sam 11:2). There are so many examples of people who abused the sacredness of nakedness and the catastrophes that followed. Nakedness is not inherently a bad thing. It is a gift of God but it must not be manipulated, abused or fetishised. You may be wondering how all these apply to you since you don’t ‘reveal yourself’ unnecessarily. But do you voyeuristically look upon another person’s nakedness in films, music videos, real life or even in porn? Do you derive sensual pleasure from viewing another person’s body? Remember, David did not expose his nakedness, he BEHELD another person’s. Spiritual and moral values deplete whenever and wherever people carelessly/recklessly reveal themselves (Lamentations 1:8). In fact, studies reveal that cultures that protect the sacredness of nakedness have a strong sense of morality and enduring marriages.

There is a way you can call unnecessary attention to yourself and your body by the choice of clothes you wear. Exposing sensitive parts of your body, male or female, counts as nakedness (half-nudity). There are dresses that can make people ‘see through’ and ‘look through’ your body even when you are not unclad. There is also spiritual nakedness, a nakedness of the soul which equally breeds humiliation and shame. But thanks to God who provides physical and spiritual clothing for us in this fallen world(Genesis 3:21). He provides spiritual covering for all our humiliation and shame. He clothes us in His righteousness. Therefore, let us not frustrate the grace of God by exposing our bodies and souls indiscriminately. For the Lord is coming – ‘behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, lest he walks naked and they see his shame’(Revelations 16:15).

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton