The "shhhhhh" is FOR us to BE QUIET, NOT for Jesus!!!!(Note: click on the picture to go to an online Advent devotional site to help you give the gift of silence/solitutde to Jesus this December!)
I know it's hard to believe, but there have been a couple of embarrassing times in my life where I was "shushed" by a librarian. My most embarrassing time of "shushing" came when I was a teen-ager at the practice rounds of the Masters golf tournament. Being "shushed" so someone could putt was most humiliating! (You'd think I would have learn my lesson by now!!!)
Sunday I challenged my congregation to give Jesus TEN MINUTES A DAY of silence/solitude every day in December as we approach Christmas. For those who already practice the much-needed discipline of silence/solitude, ten minutes may seem like a joke. My hope is that out of this baby step of faith, my congregation can have a fuller, more meaningful, more Christ-honoring, Christ-serving, Christ-sharing kind of Christmas.
As I had my silence this morning, I turned off my TV, house phone, church phone, and cell phone. The simple act of doing that reminded me that I am WAY TOO CONNECTED...with each connection being another huge pipeline of distraction feeding right into my head!
I told the church that they can read the Bible and pray before or after the ten minutes, but to set aside ten minutes of silence, of being open to our Father as He speaks to each of us. Even if He doesn't; to give up time each day to focus on Him by removing yourself from distractions is, of itself, an act of faith.
Christ died so that we could "become" something, not simply so we could "do" a lot of somethings. It seems that in the rush of life (especially at Christmas), we get so busy "doing," that we forget the importance of "being."
I hope you'll consider giving Christ at least ten minutes a day of your full attention. Turn off the TV, cell phone, computer, etc. so you can "be still and know that He is God!" (Psalm 46:10)
You may be surprised at what ten minutes of silence a day can do for your celebration of Christmas!!!
To help you on your Advent journey, don't forget to check out the "Following the Star" online Advent devotions at http://www.d365.org/todaysdevotion/ For the rest of Advent you can even set your home page to this website so you'll be reminded daily to BE QUIET for JESUS!!
Additional links about Advent and solitude:
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I told the church that they can read the Bible and pray before or after the ten minutes, but to set aside ten minutes of silence, of being open to our Father as He speaks to each of us. Even if He doesn't; to give up time each day to focus on Him by removing yourself from distractions is, of itself, an act of faith.
Christ died so that we could "become" something, not simply so we could "do" a lot of somethings. It seems that in the rush of life (especially at Christmas), we get so busy "doing," that we forget the importance of "being."
I hope you'll consider giving Christ at least ten minutes a day of your full attention. Turn off the TV, cell phone, computer, etc. so you can "be still and know that He is God!" (Psalm 46:10)
You may be surprised at what ten minutes of silence a day can do for your celebration of Christmas!!!
To help you on your Advent journey, don't forget to check out the "Following the Star" online Advent devotions at http://www.d365.org/todaysdevotion/ For the rest of Advent you can even set your home page to this website so you'll be reminded daily to BE QUIET for JESUS!!
Additional links about Advent and solitude:
href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5COwner%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx">
http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=151778
http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=154144
http://www.teachingmom.com/features/advent.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/childrensministry/foryoursoul/pulltheplugonnoise.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2006/spring/12.20.html
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