September 13, 2016 – Words of Wisdom
Xenocrates (Greek philosopher)

“I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.” (Xenocrates of Chalcedon was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and leader of the Platonic Academy from 339/8 to 314/3 BC.)
“As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” Luke 19:37-40
There is a constant struggle in the church, as I have come to realize in the last eleven years. The struggle is not with music, between contemporary or traditional; nor with liturgy, the old one everyone knows verses the new unsingable one. No, the real struggle with church is “How much silence?” Some people believe there should be more silence in church because our world is so noisy, church should be a respite. Others think if there is too much silence, people will become bored quickly.

Well, there is one place that we all become too silent, and that is when it comes time to share our faith with others. When the opportunity presents itself for you to share your knowledge and experience with Jesus, do you clam up, or do you share your faith? Of course, all of us can speak volumes about our faith just in how we live our lives, make our choices, and treat others. There is no need to always be standing on a soap box and preaching on the corner, but there is always the need to be aware of the opportunities that present themselves to become a voice for Jesus.

There will be enough time for me to be silent when they plant my body in the ground. Until then, I will try to take every opportunity I can to share with others what Jesus means to me – and you should do the same.

Pastor Dave