May 2020
Dear Church,
WE WILL BE STILL
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalms 46:10 NKJV
During the remaining time of the pandemic and “Sheltering in Place,” our church will "Be Still" as we seek to discover more about God and to learn to love one another.
Be Still: Spend time with God, with spouses, children, loved ones, and friends. Build relationships and strengthen marriages. Take part in fewer virtual meetings. Do not overcommit. Reduce the time you spend with devices of any kind. Do only what is essential, and understand that other than what we need to sustain our health, there is nothing more essential than our relationship with God.
Be Still: Practice solitude, silence, meditation, and contemplation.
What we all first need in our daily life is to be in the presence of God.
So we must practice the discipline of keeping God in our minds and in our hearts.
“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
Why Be Still?
The vision of Santa Clara First Baptist Church is: To model Itself and its members after the spiritual life of Jesus. To spend more time with God. To build our personal faith. To build the bond of love in our families and our inner circle of friends. To reduce the distractions and the "noise" in our lives.
Have We Done This Before?
Being Rather Than Doing.
Every January, the church focuses on “Being” rather than doing. We fast and pray each day to be in closer touch with God and His people. We do this at the beginning of every new year so that we can focus on caring for our souls and the souls of others.
When we are “Being” we can discover the presence of God in our everyday lives, grow closer to God, and become one with God. Only by growing closer to God can we “Do” what exalts and glorifies God.
Last year on March 30, we held an event called “Soul Care.” The purpose of the “Soul Care” event was to learn how to “Shepherd Our Soul.” We learned the spiritual essentials of solitude, silence, meditation, contemplation, fasting, and prayer. Now, as we look back, we see that the church was becoming prepared “For this difficult time that has come upon us.”
How Shall We Live Now?
- Practice the presence of God by keeping still. Spend less time browsing on the phone and electronic devices, and watch less TV.
Rest in the Lord.
- Be fully present in your relationships: With your wife, your kids, and the other significant people in your life. Long before this Pandemic, we knew the negative impact on our children when they spent too much screen time on their devices and computers, and sitting in front of a television. The same is true for those of us who are adults.
Now Is The Time To Consider A Healthier Way To Live:
- Use this time of “Social Distancing” to connect with your kids, your spouse, your family, and your friends. Remember that Social Distancing does not mean Relationship Distancing.
- Invest in the Soul of your family, rather than investing in what the body and mind urge us to do.
- The peace that we need is not based on any program or routine. Holiness is not an “event” that we sometimes attend. Instead, Holiness requires a personal, intimate spiritual relationship with God.
Now Is The Time To Connect With God.
At times like this, even pastors become overly stressed by “Doing”: Producing video messages, establishing virtual ministries, and other activities as they "zoom about" here and there from the moment they awake until the end of each day. During this time, we must all connect with one another before we do anything else.
- Use this time to connect with your family, and encourage your friends to do the same. Invest in the Soul of your family, and in the Soul of each member of your family.
- Take this opportunity to focus on building up your personal spiritual health. Sacrifice, rather than serving yourself. Focus on the needs of others.
What About Church Growth?
- The peace that we desperately need will not be found in any program.
- The healing that we wait upon will not come at any event.
- Forgiveness is not an activity, and holiness is not a kind of work.
- When we strengthen our personal relationship with God, we will grow in health and in Spirit.
- When a family builds deeper relationships with one another, and with God, all members of the family will grow in health and in Spirit.
- When believers in Jesus and the Gospel build relationships with their neighbors, we and our neighbors will grow in health and in Spirit.
- The answer is not in adding more virtual ministries, nor in planning more events, nor in developing more programs.
- If we show more love to God, toward our families and friends, and toward neighbors who we may not even know well, our church will grow.
Do Less. Be Still
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalms 46:10 NKJV