The Forgotten Commandment

1509799548052_image.jpgWe Protestants are often pointing out the second commandment but are quite short on remembering the fourth. The phrase “Protestant work ethic” has come down through the years for a reason. We are big on work but sadly short on rest.

When a visitor appears in our church we often show them all the ministries they can be involved with almost like inviting them to apply for a job. It is easy for us as we rush through our busy lives to forget that the first twelve apostles left their work to follow Jesus. Jesus never said, “Come follow me because I have a job for you!” What we need to do is to offer rest to those around us wearied by the task master of this world. God Himself rested on the Sabbath day and He made it Holy. He has given it to us as a gift not a demand. Which of us will pause long enough between all the things we are persuaded we have to do in order to open His gift to us this weekend. Be blessed. and rest for a while with Jesus!

Reflecting on the Sabbath

Keeping Sabbath is a step of faith with our time in the same way that giving our tithe is a step of faith with our finances.  We give our financial resources trusting that God will multiply what remains, so also our committing to a day of rest will give God the opportunity to multiply our other days with unlimited peace.

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It is amazing how Jesus accomplished more when he was resting than the disciples did when they were busy working.

And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Matthew 8:24-26

Jesus wasn’t being lazy when He was sleeping. Jesus simply knew that the Father would help Him to do just the right work at just the right time if He rested!

As we rest we depend more fully on Jesus. As we come to a stop even for a few quiet hours our racing thoughts calm to a hush. In that quietness we can begin to hear the whisper of God’s still small voice. That quietness is like the great calm which Jesus brought to the sea by His word. When was the last time that a great calm ruled over the storm of anxious thoughts and struggles in your life?

As believers in Jesus Christ we know that one day we will finish the work of this life. On that day we will enter into the greatest experience of our Sabbath rest in Him and our works will remain behind!

‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Revelation 14:13

 

8th Christmas Gift

Eighth Gift of Christmas – Rest

In all the hurry towards Christmas, it is easy for us to forget to rest for a moment at the manger. But He patiently lingered the unhurried nine months in the waiting room of Mary’s womb. Shepherds were the first to know as they rested with their flocks. Then Jesus was born and quietly grew up in the tiny village of Nazareth. He didn’t burst forth with proclamations of greatness but rather in the back of Joseph’s carpenter shop. He had brothers and sisters with whom He had to share a straw mattress on the floor and what simple meals were put before them. Never do we hear of a complaint, or detect an attitude of frustration. Jesus simply waited for the day when His work would begin and rested in the place where God had placed Him. It was there in Nazareth that He learned to give thanks for bread and fish. In the ordinary circumstances of His quiet life He learned how to wash feet, celebrate weddings and how to handle wood and nails. The same God who in Christ rested in the boat in the storm has also invited us to come and rest our souls in Him!  p1010967

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 Matthew 11:29