Peace and Quiet--The gift of quiet and stillness

For my VCC friends, here are the extended notes from my November 13 message.

1.     “I just need some peace and quiet!” Yes, you do…probably more than you know. 

2.     Think how noisy our world is. Is this a good thing??? 

3.     People in Bible times had at least two important things we don’t have anymore: a quiet environment and a slower pace of life. Think about the implications of that!

4.     Some compelling statistics. 

·       Research now shows us that noise can affect our sleep, our hearts, and even our children's ability to learn. Our bodies were not designed to live under a constant assault of noise.

·       Research also shows that our brains need time to process information. A constant stream of information without time to process it is the norm today, but we were not created to live that way! This means that we can listen to sermons, read Scripture, attend Bible studies, and consume endless amounts of Christian teaching. But if we never stop to reflect, ponder, pray, and respond, how can it shape us? Think about how many times the Bible talks about meditation. 

·       Bottom line is noise is bad, quiet is good.  But I wonder if there's an even greater cost to noise that science cannot measure. What happens to our capacity to build a relationship with God and hear His voice when we have forgotten how to be quiet? 

5.     How important is it to have “peace and quiet” (outside and inside of us)? Do you want to live in peace and quiet? Living with inner stillness is a key. Here are a few thoughts on how to reach inner stillness and maintain peace and quiet within, despite the noisy world outside.

 

Note: these are practices, not 8 easy steps! They are disciplines that take time to fully take root in our lives!

Believe that it's possible to learn to quiet your soul. My pursuit of inner stillness grew out of an increasing desire for intimacy with Papa. I couldn't hear God’s voice due to all the internal noise in me due to my driven nature. But the persistent pursuit of stillness made it a reality even for me. If a driven person like me can attain consistent inner stillness, then so can you. 

Begin with humility and come like a child like David does in Psalm 131. "My heart is not proud, O Yahweh. My eyes aren't prideful. I don't concern myself with lofty matters or try to figure out things that are too complicated for me. Instead, I have stilled and quieted my soul. Like a young and trusting child is my soul within me. Yes, my soul is like a young and trusting child." (Psalm 131:1-2, TW paraphrase). And remember to come as a son or daughter! Seek to enter God’s Presence as Abba’s child, not like an orphan! Can you sense Him ready to welcome you? 

Make a plan: establish time, place, and practices: Jesus had a plan. Luke 5:16 — "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Want to be like Jesus? Jesus didn’t merely find moments of quiet when his schedule permitted. Withdrawal was part of his way of life. So set apart some special time to learn to get quiet inside and protect that time. You may have to put some other things aside to do that. One lady I knew had her quiet time in her bathtub! 

Rest and surrender your way into stillness. "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him." Psalm 62:5 (NIV) Quieting our souls is about relaxing rather than fighting our way into stillness. You may be tempted to try to make or force yourself be still but that does just the opposite! David says, "I have stilled my soul," and then shows us he did so by relaxing his way into an awareness of God as his Father, picturing himself as a little child. Stilling one's soul is about surrender, not effort. It involves a decision to relax and re-surrender things into Papa’s loving hands. 

Let Scripture to lead you into stillness. Scripture gives language and power to our desire to enter God's embrace where stillness is found. Psalm 25:1 often finds its way onto my lips as I quiet my soul: "To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. In you I trust, O my God." The picture of lifting up my soul, my life, to Papa tenderly invites me to stillness in a way that draws me in. You will find your own verses draw you in, of course, but feel free to borrow some of mine. 

Live the Bible! Filling ourselves with God’s Word and living it out by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit helps to quiet the loud voices of sin and shame! It’s hard to get still when voices of accusation are shouting at us. But if we live our lives set on obeying God because of our love for Him, those voices can be silenced. 

Trust your way into stillness. Inner stillness is about relationship, not mind control or new age meditation. I quiet my soul because of my relationship with my totally trustworthy Abba. I quiet my soul to hear my Abba's voice, experience his embrace and honor him with my focused attention. And it's my trust in him that assures me that he is waiting there in the stillness. 

Finally, remember that it's a journey, not a project. Learning how to quiet your inner world doesn't happen overnight. You don't learn to still your soul in seven easy, five-minute lessons. 
It requires time, lots of it at first. When you first start out, it takes lots of time each time to get your mind to stop whirling. It used to take me over an hour to quiet my mind, but persistence has enabled me to do now that in a few seconds. You can learn that too. 
But when you do learn it, “when stillness comes, we become remarkably aware of him and are wrapped in indescribable peace. And our hearing and seeing and worshipping rise to new levels.” (from my book, 30 More Days with Papa, p. 105.)

One more thought: Consider giving others the gift of quiet—a novel thought for Pentecostals. Have you ever been quietly ministering to someone only to be interrupted by loud laughter, shouts, etc.? Sometimes stillness and quiet are a huge gift to others.

Response:

1.     Take a moment to create a plan for learning to “quiet your world, quiet your soul” if you don’t already have one. 

2.     Consider taking a moment to quiet your souls right now. Research shows that even two minutes of genuine quiet has benefits. Try it. You will like it!

 

How to Live the Bible

 How to Live the Bible

For my VCC friends, here are the notes from my message on August 9, 2026 

1.    Live as if the Bible is true and absolutely trustworthy.

2.    Check your current experience against God’s Word (frequently!) 
The Kingdom of God is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.... The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...” If that’s not your experience, don’t feel condemned; feel invited! 

From Treasure That Transforms

3.    Approach the Bible with the Right Heart (attitude)

The Four Keys of Transformative Bible Reading: Read (or listen to) Scripture Slowly, Strategically Seeking God with a Surrendered Heart.

·       Slowly = Slow down enough to pause, reflect, and interact with God as you read. Illustrations:
Psalm 119:15 says, “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.” 
John 10:27 (NIV) My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Be sure to view the context, too

·       Strategically (wisely!)

o   Study in a way that fits you. 

o   Read in a version that makes sense to you (New Living Translation is a good, safe choice).

o   Read where you need to read. The Bible is a library, not a single book. What do you need from the library? Where is the Librarian (Holy Spirit) leading you to read?

·       Seeking God. 
“The Bible isn’t simply a collection of ideas to analyze but a way to encounter God himself. Think of your study as time with him, not just about him.”

·       Surrendered heart—Scripture only changes us if we respond to it. Come ready to obey and not just understand and/or agree.

4.    Get it right.

Learn how to properly interpret and understand the Bible.

The Four C’s:

1.     Care (careful observation)

2.     Curiosity (our secret weapon)

3.     Context (extremely important)

4.     Comparison (check other translations)

The Four Questions

1.     What does it really say?

2.     What did it mean to the original hearers? You can’t know what it means to you if you don’t understand what it meant to them.

3.     What does it mean to me/us? 

4.     How should I/we respond?

Here are some examples of how powerful this is.

·       John 10:14-16, 27 (Comparing the NKJV and NIV)

o   (NKJV) John 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

o   John 10:14-16 (NIV) “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

·       God’s Anxiety “cure” (The importance of context) 
Philippians 4:4-9 (My paraphrase) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Live rejoicing! Let your gentleness be what everyone around you experiences. The Lord is near. When you find yourself worrying, stop and pray, start with thanksgiving then present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—be intentionally thinking about such things. And whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 

·       A really important example: Translating believe and/or faith as “trust.” The CJB helps with this.

o   John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed.

o   Ephesians 2:8 For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment but God’s gift.

o   Galatians 3:6-7 It was the same with Avraham: “He trusted in God and was faithful to him, and that was credited to his account as righteousness.” Be assured, then, that it is those who live by trusting and being faithful who are really children of Avraham.

o   Faith is trust that grows out of your growing experience of God’s love and trustworthiness (faithfulness). It grows by direct experience of His love, provision and daily encounters with Him. 

5.    Get it in you

·       Psalm 119:11. “I have hidden (hidden away like treasure) your word in my heart so that I won’t sin against you.” 

·       Jesus’ example in the temptation story: He answered with Scripture because Scripture was in Him.

·       The Bible only speaks to you if you know what it says. 

·       Meditating and memorizing go together. Memorizing Scripture gives the Holy Spirit a vocabulary.

6.    Live it Out

·       Scripture only works if we respond to it. 

·       But be sure to read and respond to it from the place of a beloved son or daughter. “If you love me, you will obey me.” John 14:15 (CJB) “If you love me, you will keep my commands.”

·       Discovery Bible Study Apps can be wonderfully helpful. See my favorite DBS at https://waha.app/ and check out this amazing website if you haven’t already. https://bibleproject.com/

 

Churches of 2 or 3

 I promised VCC folks that I would post notes on how to do a C23 group (church of 2 or 3) on my blog. The notes are self-explanatory, I think. C23 groups give all believers a way to disciple others while also being discipled. I have borrowed considerably from Neil Cole, John White, and others in creating these groups, but this model is distinctly my own rendition and is deliberately very simple and easy to use. See what you think. 

C23 Groups (Church of 2 or 3)

What is a C23 Group?

It’s a group of 2-3 believers of the same gender who meet regularly and check in regularly with one another to strengthen and encourage one another. It’s the church at its smallest (Matthew 18:20) and discipleship at its simplest (Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:2).

How Does It Work?

It’s easy! You find one or two other people who commit to meeting weekly (preferred) or bi-weekly for just an hour. You meet to encourage one another and ask one another a few simple growth questions. We also recommend that you consider doing “heart checks” at least once per day via texting, email or other means. A heart check involves asking “How’s your heart?” and “How can I pray for you today?”

When You Meet…

Option 1: Select a book of the Bible to work through together (or a portion of a longer book in the Bible). For example, you could spend a month (or longer) in Philippians or Ephesians or take several months to work through Romans or Genesis or other longer books.

Then, when you meet, in addition sharing insights from your Scripture reading, ask one another the following questions, making sure that you listen carefully to one another.

·       “How’s your heart?”

·       “What’s God been saying to you (in His Word and by His Spirit to your spirit)?”

·       “What are you believing?” 

·       “How has God been growing you lately? What evidence of this are you and others seeing?”

·       “How can we pray for you?”

·       “How can we give this away?”

That’s it! Try it, and you will grow to trust one another deeply and care for one another as well as grow as a disciple of Jesus.

Option 2: Use one of the Discovery Bible Study apps like the Discover App or the Waha App. They contain their own set of helpful and similar questions. See https://discoverybiblestudy.org or https://waha.app

The daily check in …

The daily check-in is an essential part of these groups. Texting usually works best, but a quick call can work as well. The one who initiates the check-in asks or texts a quick report about how their heart is doing and then asks the other person the same plus prayer requests, etc. Examples: “I am joyful today because my son came home.” “I am sad because…please pray for…” “How’s your heart today?” etc.

When a fourth person wants to join you…

Congratulations! It’s time to multiply! You can do this either by splitting your current group (which you may not want to do) or by one or more of you agreeing to add a second meeting with the newcomer (this is better because it leaves the original relationships intact). Note that no one should try to do, nor have to do, more than two of these groups if they multiply correctly. 

Disciple-making? What is a disciple? 

A disciple is simply a “learner,” but in the Bible, “learning” always involves learning by experience in relationship with others in a way that results in a changing life, not just the acquisition of knowledge. In the Bible, a disciple of Jesus is one who is learning a lifestyle that makes him/her more a mature and healthy follower of Jesus in relationship with others. 

Who can start one of these groups? 

Just about anyone! There are few leadership requirements. The “leader” needs only to be a facilitator who helps the group select the book of the Bible and ensures that the questions are asked. The role of facilitator can be rotated. If you are interested in becoming part of one of these groups, all you need to do is approach one or two others who share your interest and match up your schedules.

What are the requirements to be part of a group?

Three things: a very strong desire to become the person God wants you to become, a firm commitment to the weekly or bi-weekly meetings and a willingness to keep confidential what the others share. 

Some of the One Another Passages in the New Testament

John 13:14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 15:12-13 My command is this: Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Romans 12:5 we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. NKJ 

Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 

Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 

Romans 14:13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 

Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 

Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 

Galatians 6:2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 

Eph. 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 

Eph. 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

Eph. 5:19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 

Eph. 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

Phil. 2:3-4 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Col. 3:9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 

Col. 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 

Col. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 

1 Th. 4:9 Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another

1 Th. 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. 

1 Th. 5:11 Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing. 

1 Th. 5:13b  Live in peace with one another. 

1 Th. 5:15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men. 

Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 

Hebrews 13:1 Keep on loving each other as brothers. 

James 4:11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. 

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 

1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. 

1 Peter 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 

1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 

1 Peter 5:5 All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.