God Rest Ye

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Ezekiel 34:13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God

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Jesus IS the Good Shepherd and He said it well…

Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 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.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light

I posted the following quote from A.W. Tozer on Facebook a few days ago – “Christ came to bring peace and we celebrate his coming by making peace impossible for six weeks of each year…”

One of my heroes of the faith used to say that you have to contend for simplicity; that life will convolute on its own very easily. As a pastor, I’m regularly surrounded by the pain and difficulties of people who very much need to find rest in Jesus. And I find that offering rest to others must come from a heart that is, itself, rested. And, as the quote reflects, this issue of peace and rest is stretched and strained to its limits during the time that we celebrate the coming of that very peace.

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While I and others need peace in our lives, the answer isn’t found in peace itself. It’s only found in Jesus because He IS peace. Just talking and singing about it during this season doesn’t result in experiencing it. Jesus said that I have to come TO Him. I have to make that decision to say no and to stop the madness at intervals; and then to go to Him in quietness. And then the most amazing thing happens; I find “rest for my soul.” It’s His promise to me. So why don’t I take Him up on it more often?

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Lord, thank you for peace and for rest in my soul. Remind me often that You wait for me to come to You so that You can minister deeply to my heart and completely refresh my soul.

Everlasting!

Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you

Interesting that He specifically uses the term “everlasting.” He didn’t say, “I’ll love them once they learn their lesson” or “I’ll love them after they get rid of their idols.” He says that He loved them the whole time; always and ever. And that His love would never end.

The everlasting love of the Lord is amazing! I’ll never understand it. Because it wasn’t when I was broken and humble that He loved me. It was while I was a sinner that Jesus died for me (Romans 5:8). Paul prayed that we would be able to know the breadth, length, depth, and height of God’s love. But I think that, even as he was writing that, he knew that his prayer could never be answered. God’s love is too incredible and everlasting for me to ever understand (Ephesians 3:18,19).

Lord, give me a little more understanding, though I’ll never truly fathom the depth of you love. And let that understanding motivate me to live more and better for You!

Just Speak The Word!

1 John 2:14 I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one

Because the Word of God abides or lives inside of me, I can actually overcome the influence of the enemy in my life.

Jesus quoted the Word three times when He was tempted in the wilderness –

• Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “ It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. ’” What He’s saying is, “I’m not going to turn stone into bread but I am going to live by God’s Word.”

• Matthew 4:7 Jesus said to him, “ It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” He’s saying, “I’m not gonna jump from way up here and tempt my Father to save me.”

• Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “ Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.;” The implication is, “so I won’t bow down to you, but I will worship my Father and worship Him only.”

There are those who believe that there is power found in simply quoting Bible verses. That’s mistaken thinking. The power isn’t in the quoting of the verse but, rather, it’s in my submitting to the Father. That’s how the enemy is overcome. He runs when he hears me say, “I don’t care what my flesh is telling me! This is what God’s Word says! And with His help and by His grace, I’m choosing to follow His Word instead of my flesh.”

Jesus, You are my life – not ministry, not theology, not success as a family, or anything else. Just You! Being with You! Talking with You! Just loving You!

A New Song

Psalm 96:1 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day

This is one of what are known as the coronation psalms. They exalt God as King and use descriptive terms that are royal in nature. In this psalm the people are encouraged to sing to the Lord. Because we are a part of “all the earth,” we’re encouraged to sing as well.

I’ve always enjoyed working to background music. I can’t remember a time when that wasn’t the case. As I read this, I think that God is kind of the same way; that He enjoys working to background music. Job 38:4-7 tells me…

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy

Seems like God had some music going when He created all of this.

May the words of my song and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You Oh Lord.

The Water’s Rising

Psalm 107:23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters,
24 They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep.
25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
26 They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses.
29 He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven

It’s the picture of seasoned sailors. Experienced. Not taken by surprise that there are storms at sea. And yet even they run into the kind of storm for which they can’t possibly be prepared. Their soul even melts because of the trouble. But these particular sailors are wise enough to know that they need to cry out to the Lord. That He will bring them out of their distresses. And, in time, He calms the seas and stills the waves. And that makes them really glad.

So why do we and others go through storms? Sometimes, the Lord allows them because it’s only in the storm that we come to our wits’ end and cry out to Him. And, because of that, it’s important that we don’t try to always calm the storms the Lord has commanded either in our own lives or in the lives of others. Rather, we should say, “Lord, fulfill Your purpose in this storm so that, in our desperation, we would cry to You.”

But there’s actually a better way. Because most of the storms we go through are unnecessary. If we learn our lessons from the Scriptures, we wouldn’t have to learn them in the storm. If we learn in the sanctuary, we won’t have to learn in the storm. I have learned both in the sanctuary and in the storm—and I highly recommend learning in the sanctuary.

Lord, I’m thankful that you are always near in the time of trouble. And that I can completely trust you with every detail of every situation. But, Lord, please give me the wisdom and the foresight to avoid the avoidable; those things that I might not have to face because I know and trust the Word. Thank you for Your ongoing, faithful presence.

Lights On

John 1:7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe

I’m not called to be some kind of attorney. I’m not called to debate, argue, convince. I’m not even called to witness. I’m called to BE a witness; to share the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth regarding what the Lord is doing in my life.

Things have gotten too confrontational and argumentative. It doesn’t need to be that ever or at all. I’ve found the most freedom in simply sharing with people what the Lord is showing me. There’s no pressure to convert or convince anyone. Instead, I’m finding great pleasure in simply sharing what the Lord has done, is doing, and will continue to do in my life.

Lord, thank you for being the Light. Thank you that I have much to share with others because of the Light in my life. Please give me opportunities to simply share your life and love.

Pain And The Eternal Perspective

1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers

Peter is addressing suffering in this life. And he actually gives a number of benefits that suffering can provide for us. One of them is the idea that suffering can keep me focused on eternity.

It’s when I’m going through tough times and difficult days and seasons of suffering. When I experience pressure, I find a longing in my soul for heaven. All of the good times and the nice things and the easier days tend to take my focus from eternity. But when tough times come; when my body hurts or my heart breaks or my wallet is empty; I can say, “But I don’t really belong here! I have a deep longing for heaven.” Giving the here and now too much credit can rob me of the hope that I have for eternity.

Lord, I know that the more heavenly minded I am, the more earthy good I am. Increase my focus on the eternal so that the things of earth grow strangely dim.

May I Take Your Order?

Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint

They were impressed with God. That wasn’t the issue. He knows the stars by name. Amazing! He spans the universe in His hand. Wow! He sits on the circle of the earth. Great! Those weren’t issues. The question was, “Could a God who is that big and powerful be interested in me? Does He really care that I’m having a really hard time with my bills? Does He care that my child is really sick? They didn’t dispute God’s greatness as much as they questioned His care for them. And here He let’s them know how very much He cares and how very much He is at hand.

In these verses I’m told not to wait for God but to wait on Him. It’s like a waiter in a restaurant. I take an active part in serving and pleasing Him. To honor Him with worship in the morning. To talk with Him in the evening. I’m to be looking for ways to serve Him by loving people throughout the day. And as I wait on the Lord, I find more strength to wait on Him even more in a really great, never-ending, cycle of worship and serving.

Lord, cause my eyes to see beyond what’s in front of me. To see what You see and to be available to You in each moment of my day.

Following After Emptiness

2 Kings 17:15 And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters…

(KJV) …and they followed vanity, and became vain..

That word “idol” or “vanity” in the Old Testament means “empty.” The people of Israel followed after empty things. The inevitable result was that they became empty themselves.

It’s still true today. When I feel empty, it’s inevitably because I’m following after vanity or empty things. When I think I’m hungry and I really need a hot fudge sundae; after I have one I realize that I’m still empty inside. So I think I need to watch TV. But after watching a two-hour movie, I’m still empty. Then I take just twenty minutes, get on my knees, and cry out to the Lord, open the Word – and I find that I’m deeply satisfied.

Lord, there is nothing of substance in this world that will truly satisfy the deepest part of my soul. It’s only when I fill it with You and Your Word that I find genuine satisfaction.

Better Than Burger King’s

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him

We talk a lot about how trials in our lives bring about spiritual maturity and strength. That’s important and true. But beyond even that, the result of trials in my life will actually be crowns in eternity.

But I have to admit that, right now, crowns just aren’t that big of a deal. But I’m realizing that I’ll change my mind in heaven. Because my crown will actually determine whether I’ll rule over ten cities, five cities, or no cities (Luke 19:11-27). So when I face trials and temptations, if I stay really close to the Lord, one day I’ll hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21). Plus I’ll receive the crown of life specifically reserved for those who don’t walk away from Him during trials and temptations.

Lord, give me eternal perspective that transcends what I know here and now. So that I’ll make the kinds of choices that result in Your eternal approval.