SILENCE!!

Ecclesiastes 3:7b - "...A time to be silent and a time to speak."
Revelation 8:1 - "...there was silence in heaven for about half an hour."
(both NASB)


Can we really "imagine" silence, the complete absence of sound? (Wikipedia Dictionary)


----
This morning, while in the gazebo, I thought, "I wonder what that would be like - the complete absence of sound - where absolute stillness rules!" So I "foolishly" thought I'd give it a try right there! "See" what it would be like!


I had no idea "God's creation" was so noisy!!


The droning, low-throaty rattle of a bi-plane as it circled, dipping and rising over its freshly dusted crops, scrutinized every blade and leaf that was dusted. Satisfied, the plane with its droning rattle faded off into the distance as another field was surveyed to receive its share of the bug-reducing spray!


I hear a whole sanctuary of birds nestled together in the throats of two mockingbirds trying to outdo each other with the number of chirps, chips, trills, and calls they've both learned!


The breeze rearranges my hair and creates a gentle but noisy wave as the leaves of nearby trees and bushes rustle and bump into each other, all moving in the same direction.


Then the sounds of the pump, filtering the pool; gentle drops of water lightly splashing back into the fish pond; the hum of tires (louder than its engine) of a passing SUV; arguing crows, happy robins, chipping sparrows, and the buzzing wings of a bee on a mission whose course is right past my head(!) all crowd out silence! 


And I began to wonder, "Is THIS why God says to enter into a closet to pray, where it's 'quiet' and 'still' ?? "
---
Matthew 6:6 - "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
(KJV) - I'm pretty sure the emphasis in this verse is about the "secret" part, but so-to-speak, wouldn't it be "ok" to just enter into your house? I wonder if it has to do with "getting the noise out and the quiet and stillness in" so that we may know God. (“Be still, and know that I am God” [Psalm 46:10]).
---
So, I realized that I really do not know what it is going to be like in heaven for that solemn and momentous half hour!! And I think we really do not know what that silence is going to be like at all! - - - - - I'm praying that as you read this, you will be on the heaven-side of this silence, rather than on the earth-side!!!
---
jfn - 6/30/2011

There Can Be NOTHING Better Than THIS!! - - - ?? - - - REALLY???

On Wednesday morning, I sat in the gazebo, enjoying a wonderful cup of Hazelnut coffee, surveying meticulously every detail of God's awesome creation that my little finite mind could define, and listening intently to all the amazing sounds that God has orchestrated for HIS pleasure. I was absolutely thrilled with the non-rhythmic symphony that the water delicately trickled out as it fell lazily back into the pond, punctuated only with periodic distortions created by the soft whisper of a gentle breeze. Birds sang to each other, and a robin and robinness were caught up in a "domestic dispute," I think, which settled quickly, and harmony returned. I watched breathlessly -literally!- as my hummingbird feeder saw its first guest arrive and settle onto the little bar, driving its long bill deeply into the simulated flower, and begin to drink unhurriedly.

I watched as my fish darted to the surface of the pond, snatched bits of their flaky food, and disappeared with a slight splash, leaving circles of rippling water, overlapping each other as every circle raced for the edges of the pond. Oh, I smiled at the wonderful thought that these things of creation which our Creator permits us to take in fleetingly, were CREATED FOR HIS PLEASURE!!!

"Ahh!" I mused, sipping my coffee, letting it settle on my tongue, and enjoying the wonderful taste before swallowing it, "What could be ANY better than this??!! - There is NOTHING better than..."

"...WITH CHRIST, WHICH IS FAR BETTER;" (Philippians 1:23)

Suddenly I realized, the things that are so good and so pleasant and so right and so just are only little teeny tiny examples of what it is going to be like WITH CHRIST!!!! (Yes, I know, I was redundant with my speech, but I really, really wanted to share that we can only imagine the littlest speck of what it is going to be like WITH our Lord!!) - - - And likewise, the absolute very worst thing that could ever possibly happen on this earth is only the littlest, tiniest speck that we can possibly imagine what it is going to be like for eternity WITHOUT CHRIST!

So, may the God of Creation, be the center of our focus and OUR PLEASURE, since the things that ARE created were created for HIS pleasure!!!!

The Four EASIEST / MOST DIFFICULT Things in This Life!!!

This morning I realized something that I've wondered for a long time but never put into words before:

I now know the two easiest and the two most difficult things in this life:


1. I know that it is the EASIEST thing in this life to know how another person should live, use their money, is messing up their life, slipping spiritually, etc.

2. I know that it is the MOST DIFFICULT thing in this life to know how I should live, use my money, am messing up my life, slipping spiritually, etc.

3. I know that it is the EASIEST thing in this life to have all the answers for everybody else.

4. I know that it is the MOST DIFFICULT thing in this life to have ANY answers for myself.

Matthew 5:16 - "Let your light so shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (NASB) --- I noticed that in almost every translation (if not all of them), it says, "...shine BEFORE men..." - not "...shine ON men..." ---- The light that we shine should glorify our Father who is in heaven, not shine ON another and either exalt them or point out their failures!!

---
jfn - 6/8/2011