Devotional
Sitting Still or Still Sitting
Why do we sit still? Jeremiah 8:14
Solomon said that God ‘made every thing beautiful in his time’ (Eccles. 3:11). There are times when it is a beautiful thing to sit still. ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psa. 46:10). There is nothing more beautiful or blessed than resting in our God and His full provision in Christ. Perhaps today you need to be reminded to sit still, to give up the frenzied care and worry that distract you. It is difficult to await the Lord’s time to reveal His purpose in our sufferings and through our service, but wait we must. We dare not rush ahead of the Lord. Remember, ‘they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength’ (Isa. 40:31). Why do we sit still? The reason is simple yet profound: our God is worthy of being trusted. He keeps in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on Him (Isa. 26:3).
There are other times when to sit still is shameful. This is what Jeremiah had in mind. Are you unsaved? Why do you sit still in your sins, under the wrath of God? ‘Escape for thy life’ (Gen. 19:17). Sit no longer in your lost state, but flee to Christ without delay. Are you a Christian who seems to be making no progress in spiritual things? Are you sitting still in your knowledge of Scripture and in your experience of prayer and fellowship with God? Are you one of those Christians who seem unmoved at the need of a lost world? Do you sit still while people all around you are perishing? Have you any real personal involvement in spreading the gospel? The Scripture admonishes us to redeem the opportunity (Eph. 5:16). So Jeremiah’s question demands an answer: ‘Why do we sit still?’ Why are you idle when there is work to do in the Lord’s vineyard (Matt. 20:6)?
Whether the reason is coldness of heart, or being too busy with other things, or timidity, we need to confess it and forsake it today. This is not a time to do nothing for God (John 9:4). Let us be up and doing.
Quote: “Men think not of living holier, till they can live no longer.” – William Secker
Daily devotions are from the book “Eagle’s Wings” published by the Free Presbyterian Church. © Free Presbyterian Church 1991- All Rights Reserved.
This Week
Gym Fellowship
Everyone in our church family is invited to a Gym Fellowship over the March Break on March 15 and 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
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SAINT PATRICK’S DAY
March 17th. is the traditional date of St. Patrick’s death in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland (460AD). He has been honoured as the patron saint of Ireland. North Americans, in particular, make a great fuss over St. Patrick’s Day with parties, parades, the wearing of green, even to the extent of colouring waterways, and their beer, green.
Strangely, if you go to Northern Ireland, where Patrick shepherded sheep on Mount Slemish, you will not find much activity on St. Patrick’s Day, except among the Roman Catholics. Why is this? Mainly because the Patrick they present bears little resemblance to the real Irish evangelist. Rome claims to have sent him to Ireland, but Patrick’s writings show him to have been a Biblical Christian with none of the trappings of Romanism.
Patrick’s testimony, kept in Dublin, reads like that of any evangelical believer today. Here is a small sample. “Christ with me, before me, behind me, in me, beneath me, above me, on my right, on my left.” [Christianity Daily]. The reader will note his emphasis on Christ, and not on the church or its rites. Thank God for the real Saint Patrick!
– Dr. Frank McClelland (Bits and Pieces – Edition #158)
