RELEASING THE NOISE

1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32; Romans 3:9-31; Psalm 12:1-8; Proverbs 19:13-14

“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.”

“Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth! Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.”

At the top of a mountain, there is remarkably little noise, especially if you are trying to sneak in a little after-season skiing in the Northeast before the final snow melt. The locals have had their fill, and the snow gets pretty slushy around about mid-afternoon. But morning skiing has been awesome, and alone on the mountain on a beautiful Sunday afternoon is not a bad place to be, either. The views alone are worth the trip. But it is the serenity and calm that are the most helpful in reorienting oneself to the real priorities of life.

These are the thoughts I was thinking at literally the moment when I received the following from a good friend today. Since it seemed to fit my mood as well, I thought others might benefit from his insights, too.

Dear Friends: with a friend's encouragement, I thought I'd share some thoughts that came my way today through my devotion time, hoping that it may help you. Today, Sunday, after returning from a few days' "vacation" with the family in San Diego (I was working all but Friday afternoon), I just felt spiritually "blah." So I tried praying. Nothing. "Blah." I needed to get "un-blahed."

I picked up my Lenten Devotional Book (www.asburyreader.com), and the lesson today was on Jesus' cleansing of the Temple, John 2:13-22 (www.biblegateway.com - pick your favorite version). Great story, but it was the opening prayer in the Devotional that caught my attention. In it, the author said, "Lord . . . I release my noise to you. . . ." That was it! I had too much "noise" going on in my life: worries about work; frustrations over this and that; little things that just take way too much time and energy to even mess with. Just like the money-changers in the Temple were detracting from true worship, this "noise" was detracting from my worship.

I prayerfully listed in my journal the things that are too "noisy" in my life. Then, I composed a prayer of release. Maybe you have too much "noise" in your life.  If so, perhaps you should identify and release it. Here's my prayer. Maybe it will help you.

Dear Jesus: I release my "noise" to you. Cleanse the Temple of my Soul, I pray. Free me for true worship. Free me from all worldly cares that bind me and hold me back from fully experiencing your presence. May you be the focus and object of my love and adoration. Free me from sinful thoughts and temptations that also hold me captive. Cleanse my Temple of this loud noise. Free me from the noise of foul moods - especially among my family members - that I may be free to express genuine love to them. Cleanse my Temple, Lord Jesus. Quiet the noise. May I be in constant prayer and adoration of you. Amen.

May you all have a "quiet" week focused on Jesus!

Noise is all around us. Even the soft whoosh of the wind can be a distraction. But on the mountain, it made me think. Maybe our problem is not so much the noise of everyday life as it is the attention we give it. It’s only human to attend to the loudest and the most outrageous. Seldom will the Lord be found there. On the other hand, there are certainly times for silence and meditation. But the most critical things are those we choose to hear. We can become so attuned to the world we cannot think. There will always be noise, if we choose to heed it. It’s not as much about silence, then, as it is letting go of the noise, and our captivity to it. Skip Oprah today. DVR that ballgame. The important thing is to release our noise to Christ. We will be far better able to discern the still small voice of the Spirit if we do.