Tag: rest
Day 3–Bone-breaker!
Scripture reading for April 1: Proverbs 25:15 “With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft (gentle) tongue will break a bone.”
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
In our culture, it is often thought that the loudest and meanest person gets his way and is heard. We often hear voices raised and demanding what is wanted from those in authority. Some people think that this might be the best way to approach God, our supreme authority, but Jesus modeled and taught a different approach. Jesus knew that patience and gentleness were powerful weapons to break through hearts hardened by labor and loads.
Jesus called out to those who were hurting in His culture with an invitation to come to Him with their heavy burdens and deep wounds and worries. Jesus offered to teach them His way of life. He lived a life of rest. Although He came from the throne of God, He came with gentleness and compassion, reflecting the heart of His Father. He humbly invited all to willingly come under His ‘yoke’. This may sound like a real burden if you view ‘yoke’ as the wooden beam thrown over an oxen’s shoulders to pull the load. But Jesus was talking about them becoming His disciples and the ‘yoke’ was His simple teaching and instruction. As a rabbi in the Jewish culture had disciples, so Jesus called disciples who would willingly ‘yoke’ with Him.
As we look at how important our words are in helping others, this simple teaching on gentleness can make a world of difference. When we see from God’s perspective, we understand that humility and gentleness are powerful influencers. God doesn’t force anyone to come under His ‘yoke’ but sends out a loving invitation. Being loud and demanding may appear to be cool, but is not Jesus’ ‘yoke’!
Prayer: Father God, thank You for modeling for us the gentleness and compassion of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to humbly listen to Your Words and Your Son’s example and respond to His call every day. Living in rest for our souls will draw others to our gentle Savior. Amen.
God’s Surgery Scalpel
Scripture reading for October 17: Hebrews 4
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:9-13
God knows all things and sees all things. God’s Word was used to create all things and now sustains all things. God’s people are called to trust God’s eternal Word and rest in the Truth He has declared. We cannot add to God’s Word or His work. We cannot work to earn our place in His family, we can only rest in His works on our behalf. Faith chooses to rest and say “amen” to what God’s Word declares.
God knows each of us as if we stood naked before Him. His Word is active and alive in each person’s life. That is why we should humbly listen to what God has said. His Word is alive with His life and can bring us His life in the form of new birth and adoption into His eternal family. His Word can pierce deeply inside of us and do the surgery that is necessary. It can cut out the old heart that is dead in trespasses and sins and install a new heart that enables us to do His will. It can discern the thoughts and intentions of our hearts when the true intentions may be hidden by us or from us. By faith we invite God’s Word to do surgery on our thoughts, motives, and actions of our body. As we rest in His eternal Word, we can have assurance of His seeing our heart of faith and being pleased when we are called to give an account.
Have you ever had God do a deep probe into your heart and expose hidden thoughts or motives? Have you ever tried to hide something from God or yourself? Are you ready right now to give an account before Jesus should He come?
Prayer: Father God, thank you for expanding my world view to better allow God’s Word to do surgery on me. Although I think I am open before You and transparent, bring any hidden thing needing attention to light. Help me to live each day in the Sabbath rest that Your people are called to enjoy daily. Amen.
Lowly in heart
Scripture reading for January 15: Matthew 11
“At that time Jesus declared, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will. All things have been given Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. “ Matthew 11:25-29
In our current culture, we revere those who have degrees from prestigious universities. We hold in high esteem the scientists, engineers, politicians and technology gurus who are famous in our land. It was no different in Jesus’ day and culture. There politicians, emperors, religious leaders, and military strategists took center stage. Children were looked down on as were the women and slaves of the society. But Jesus came with a different view of life that He said was hidden from these prominent and proud members of the culture but was revealed to children and those lowly in heart.
The hidden truth concerned the identity of Jesus Christ. First, He was the Son of God the Father. No one could figure this out on their own, God must reveal it to them. All things in heaven and on earth belonged to Him because of His Father’s will. Those who considered themselves ‘wise’ and ‘learned’ would not find these essential truths. But Jesus called out to those who were humble enough to listen. If they would come to Him, they could learn this powerful truth that would bring them rest and joy. Jesus would give them a ‘lowly’ heart, like His own, and gentleness instead of harshness and violence.
Are you weighed down with a pursuit of worldly knowledge, woke acceptance, or religious duty? Are you seeking acclaim and accolades for your accomplishments? Have you responded to Jesus’ call to come to Him for rest and true understanding?
Prayer: Lord Jesus forgive me for seeking my satisfaction and praise from the ‘wise’ and ‘woke’ in our culture. I come to Jesus afresh today to learn from Him and become like Him in my heart and attitudes. I want to learn gentleness and live a life of rest and peace. Amen.
Sunday rest and reflection: Rest!
Dear Friends,
On this last Sunday of 2024, after reading and writing through the Bible, I can rest because we can finish on time! As I reflect on this journey, I have learned to see Jesus in a fresh way. I feel that I know Him better and have an understanding of His mercy for us. He longs to have fellowship with each of us and desires that none perish or suffer the wrath of God against sin.
We are secure in Christ and can rest today in our salvation and our future. Every promise of Scripture is given that we might escape the corruption in this world and enter the abundance provided by Christ. His power and wisdom exceed anything that we even remotely understand. He is working out His plans to bring everything in heaven and earth and under the earth into harmony with God the Father. He is confident and victorious and we can be too.
Government powers and world rulers are no match for Jesus either. All the armies, nuclear weapons, and political decrees can’t stop Him. Neither can religious deception and humanistic idolatry stop Jesus from destroying all sin and rebellion and ruling with absolute truth and justice. Both the Beast and False Prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire, where they are tormented for ever and ever! The wicked are judged and get their just desserts!
The end of Revelation is a new beginning! A new heaven and new earth come into being and the righteous bask in the presence of the Lord and dwell with Him for ever and ever! These words are trustworthy and the One who spoke them is Truth Himself! We are so blessed to know these promises and by faith live in them today and for ever! Have a great day of rest!
In His Love, Pastor John
Anchoring our thought life
Scripture reading for December 11: Hebrews 3-5
“Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the One Who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor that Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.” Hebrews 3:1-3
How we need to fix our thoughts today! There is so much confusion from this world bombarding us with it’s worries, demands, and fears. The Bible is clear about where to anchor our thoughts–on Jesus Christ! By focusing on Jesus we can have rest from worry, fear, and religious works that try to gain God’s favor. We can rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ to bring us into God’s glorious rest!
Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest that we confess. Jesus is the One sent by God to this earth to bring Good News. He is the Good News from the Father! He rose from the dead and became a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:8-10) His perfect obedience enabled Him to be made perfect through suffering death on a cross for our sins. He is a great High Priest who knows what we are going through and how to come to our aid! (Hebrews 4:14-16) He lives forever and never sleeps. His priestly ministry is always available and we have been given access to His throne by His own blood!
Jesus is greater than Moses, who led the people out of Egypt and gave them the law of God. Moses was supposed to lead the people into the promised land, but the people rebelled. Because they refused to believe and obey, their unbelief kept them from their inheritance! (Hebrews 3:19)
Jesus is greater than Joshua who also failed to lead God’s people to the full conquest of the promised land. Jesus ushers each of us into a new day–today! (Hebrews 4:6-7) We can enter the rest by faith in Him! As we hear His voice and respond in faithful obedience to His Word, we rest from our religious works and place our full trust on God’s provision through Jesus Christ!
This theme of rest is one of my favorites! I have been programmed to work for everything all my life. I must be diligent to enter this rest by placing my faith in Christ’s work for me. It takes humility and respect for God’s sovereign plan to enter in. Today is the day to enter and share this rest with someone close to you!
Sunday and Sabbath reflection
Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
As we ponder the past week and our reading through Exodus, we are reminded in Exodus 20:8-11 of one of the reasons for keeping the Sabbath–a seventh day of rest. God wants us to remember his pattern of creation. He Himself set the pattern of working six days and resting on the seventh day. No work was to be done! It was a day holy to the Lord because He blessed it and made it holy. In New Testament times, the first day of the week was used for worship and rest in celebration of the resurrection. The main thing was to take one day out of seven, not necessarily Saturday or Sunday. In fact New Testament truth teaches that each day is the Sabbath day–a day to rest in Jesus! (Hebrews 4:6-11)
I was in a prayer group with some pastors and one was telling how when we older ones grew up, Sunday was really a day of rest. Stores weren’t open and restaurants were closed. There were no movie theaters open and no TV. The current generations have no reference for the command of the Lord to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy! We would be happier and healthier if we heeded this simple plan of the Lord. May you rest in Jesus Christ and his finished work each and every day!
“Come unto me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Rest or no rest? Eternally!
Scripture reading for December 20th: Job 15-17, Revelation 14
Revelation 14:9-11 “And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of His anger, and He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” Here is the call for endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”
As God prepares the earth for His final judgments, an Angel preaches the eternal gospel to those on earth, calling them to fear God and give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come. The call is one of repentance for those worshiping the beast and Satan instead of their Creator. A second angel announces the fall of Babylon the great, who had seduced all nations in sexual immorality. And the third angel warned of eternal torment for those worshiping the beast, its image, or receiving its mark. God does nothing in judgment except He warns people. They will make the choice of eternal consequences in the lake of fire or eternal rest in the presence of Jesus Christ. The call is for patient endurance and faith in Jesus Christ even unto death. The best is yet to come for those who believe!
Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.: Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors for their deeds follow them!””
Prayer: Holy Father, this coming time of judgment and wrath on the earth is a sobering reminder that all made in Your image are eternal beings. I have chosen faith in Jesus and am prepared to endure, even to death of my earthly body. I trust Jesus Christ, as my Witness in heaven, to give me eternal rest with Him in Your presence and give You glory and holy respect now and forever!
Job 16:18-19 “”O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place. Even now, behold my Witness is in heaven and He Who testifies for me is on high.””
Today is the day of Rest!
Scripture reading for August 11th: Hebrews 4
Key Scriptures: Hebrews 4:6-10 “Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again He appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.”
Rest and peace are marks of those who have entered Christ’s kingdom by faith. God invited His people to enter into the promised land but they failed to enter because of unbelief and disobedience that resulted. They hardened their hearts and resisted hearing His voice, insisting that Moses would hear for them. The rest that was promised was acted out by the Jews each week as a celebration of the Sabbath where no work was done but time was taken to listen to God’s Word and rest in His great love and provision. This Sabbath was from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday evening. But the writer of Hebrews declared that God had appointed another day, “today,” to give His people rest under the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. Every day as it arrived was called “today” and was a day of rest in the finished work of Christ for our salvation, healing and provision. We must be diligent to enter into it on a daily basis!
Hebrews 4:11-12 “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Faith confession and prayer: Father, thank You for the ‘rest’ that we have today in Jesus Christ. I have ceased from my ‘work’ of trying to be good and keeping law and I now rest today in the finished obedience of Jesus Christ in the power of Your Holy Spirit. Reveal to me anything You see through Your Word that would disrupt my rest in Christ.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
Our Father’s gracious will!
Scripture reading for July 13th: Matthew 11
Key Scriptures: Matthew 11:25-28 “At that time Jesus declared, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
John the Baptist had been Jesus’ forerunner, proclaiming repentance and baptismal cleansing in preparation for the One to come, the Christ. John was imprisoned and heard of Jesus’ ministry and sent disciples to ask concerning Jesus, if He were truly the Christ. This is curious, because John proclaimed Jesus the Christ and heard the proclamation of the Father after Jesus’ baptism. But many had seen Jesus’ signs and miracles and had failed to respond with repentance just as many rejected John’s message. Jesus prayed to His Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thanking Him for hiding the truth from the hard of heart and revealing truth to humble and repentant believer, whom Jesus likened to ‘little children.’ He declared that only He, God’s Son, truly knew the Father and it was His mission to reveal the Father to those He chose through divine foreknowledge. He then issued an invitation to those under heavy loads and burdens to come to Him and find rest. This rest would involve a deep knowledge of Christ Himself and the Father’s heart to save the repentant and humble! Amen! Let it be so for me and my household!
Matthew 11:29-30 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Faith confession and prayer: Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank You for Your gracious will of revealing Who You are through Your Son Jesus. I have responded to Your call to come to Him and learn of Him. I have found rest for my soul from my own efforts to be successful and now delight in sharing the rest in Jesus the Christ. Open doors today to share this “Good News!”
Isaiah 66:1-3 “Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool; what is the house that you would build for Me, and what is the place of My rest? All these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be,” declares the Lord. “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word.”
Taking up Christ’s Yoke
Scripture reading for January 15th: Matthew 11, Psalm 11, Prov. 11
Key Scriptures: Matthew 11:27-30 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
Jesus revealed His great authority, given to Him by His Father. He had known the Father and the Father knew His Son. Jesus was able to reveal the Father to whoever He chose. He then called all mankind to come to Him to receive the revelation of the Father’s love and His great authority. All were invited to take the yoke of a disciple and learn from Jesus. His way was gentle and brought people to find rest from the loads of life. All anyone had to do was come to Jesus to learn His way.
Faith’s Confession: Jesus, I come to You humbly, to learn more of My Father. I find rest in Your yoke of discipleship and trust you for fruitfulness in winning souls.
Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.”