Fast and slow
“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” is a sentence that contains every letter of the alphabet. It has been used to practice writing and typing and to display the characters of computer fonts. The hare and the tortoise is a story where the slow tortoise wins a race with a fast hare. This sentence and this story both contrast something that is fast with something that is slow. James also contrasts the fast and the slow when he writes in the Bible,
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (Jas. 1:19-20NIV).
The context of this passage is that the book of James describes how the Christian life is to be lived. After addressing external trials and internal temptations, he turns to obeying God’s word.
Are we “quick to listen” to what God tells us in the Bible? Are we ready to listen to godly advice? This is the first step to accepting God’s word and obeying it (Jas. 1:21-22).
Are we “slow to speak”? Do we keep a tight rein on the words we say (Jas. 1:26). Or do our words give us away? Are we hypocrites who both praise God and denigrate other people (Jas. 3:9-12)?
Are we “slow to become angry”? Do we lose our temper?
Are we “quick to listen” to other people or are we long-winded (Job 16:3)? If we listen attentively to what people say, then we will come to know what life is like for them. Who speaks the most during our conversations? Is it more about us or more about them? If it’s us then we are probably not listening enough. Let’s be ready to listen so we can reflect the person’s feelings and summarize what they are telling us. Then listen again to their response and see if we were right. Don’t assume we know what life is like for them. It we haven’t understood properly, they can correct us. Such listening is a vital skill in caring for each other.
As Jesus said a tree is recognized by its fruit (Mt. 7:20), the state of our spiritual life is evident from our attitudes and behavior. Do we show the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)?
So there’s a time to be fast and a time to be slow. As followers of Christ, let’s be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”.
Written, July 2015
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Are You Ready For God’s New Year Messages?
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars … and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” Revelation 1:19-20
Chapters two and three of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, contain a set of letters written in geographical sequence to churches in seven cities which were located in what is now western Turkey.
The first letter is to the church in Ephesus, the most important city in the province. The other six letters are ordered according to the location of each city, progressing in a counter-clockwise direction.
Each letter contains messages from Jesus Christ, the one who said, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!” (Rev. 1:18 NIV). Let’s look at some of the common features at the beginning and the end of these messages.
God Knows All About Us
Near the beginning of each letter, the Lord says either, “I know your deeds” (Rev. 2:2,19; 3:1,8,15); or “I know your afflictions and your poverty” (Rev. 2:9); or “I know where you live” (Rev. 2:13).
Our God is omniscient: “He knows everything” (1 Jn. 3:20). He knew their surroundings. He knew their problems. He knew everything these churches had done. So, God knew all the circumstances of life for each of them.
This is not surprising, as Jesus is described as being “among” the churches (Rev. 1:13). He also knows all our circumstances as individuals: “He knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man” (Jn. 2:24-25).
As God knew all about life in the churches of the first century, He also knows all about life in all the churches of today. We need to realize this. Whatever our corporate or individual situation may be, it is known by the Head of the Church (Col. 1:18-19). This should be reassuring in a world where trouble is inevitable (Jn. 16:33).
Listen To His Messages
After the main message has been delivered by the Lord to each church, He then challenges them: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22).
In the letter to each church, this command – to listen to the Spirit’s voice and hear what He has to say – is closely associated with a promise to the overcomer. An overcomer – according to John, the writer of Revelation – is one “who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 Jn. 5:4-5).
God responds to each of these church situations through the Holy Spirit, who indwells each believer (Rom. 8:11). Likewise today, He responds to our collective and individual situations through the Holy Spirit. God sends us messages like He did to each of the seven churches.
These messages may come to us in various ways. But the Bible is God’s clearest message to us, with statements that are appropriate for our various circumstances. You may also receive messages through prayer, from another believer or through peace of mind regarding a certain course of action.
It would be a good New Year’s resolution to always be ready to listen to God’s messages – and to act on them.
George's Journal 
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