QUIETNESS DISPLAYS THE GOSPEL

The Waffle House was buzzing. The grill was sizzling. The coffee was brewing. Cars were coming and going. Waitresses were turning tables as fast as people could eat. It was the haze and daze of a busy dawn of Friday. Waffle House seemed to mirror and mimic the pace of our non-stop culture.

Two good friends were meeting me for breakfast. We each confessed the many things going on in our lives as we choked down scrambled eggs and mediocre coffee. There were even a couple guy jokes to remind me why guys get together with guys. Poking each other like bears was the game that fell just shy of “your momma” jokes. Good times.

But then it happened… we were honest enough to confess our limits within the seemingly unlimited things that were happening in our lives. We talked about how, as my counselor, Scott Brittin, suggests, “Our brokenness is not meant to make us miserable, but rather to bring healing.”

In the middle of swirling, chaotic, difficult life—we found peace in a frantic Waffle House.

And this is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says to us: In repentance (turning from our activities) and rest (coming to the family dinner table) is our salvation (freedom, abundance, victory, saved from ruin). In QUIETNESS (peace in the middle of swirling life) and trust (remembering God’s past faithfulness) is our strength (achievement, prevailing, power like a young warrior). But… we would have none of it.

But… we trust more in ourselves. Consequently, we keep working for approval, worrying about acceptance, striving for importance, and getting anxious about events we cannot control.

QUIETNESS in Jesus finds security in the middle of our Waffle House lives.

This Sunday we’re taking a close look at Biblical quietness. Our text is John 1:6-13. We’ll discover a radical revolutionary who seemed to have this quietness thing down. His rest was a powerful, counter-cultural witness to the very Gospel of Jesus. Quietness, perhaps better than activity, displays the Gospel. What does your rest (or lack thereof) communicate to those around you?

Ready to be a radical revolutionary? See you on Sunday! Bring a friend who might be stuck in the Waffle House pace of life.

Blessings,

Alan

p.s. – If you’re considering baptism on Easter, I’ll be teaching a 45-minute baptism class after the 11 a.m. service THIS SUNDAY on the back porch. Please let me know if you’d like to attend.

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