Okay, so you know that I have not taken much time to rest lately, right? I have been working pretty much all the time doing things (in ministry, in home school, in our home and mostly in that order!). God is so good and merciful to me – we just finished a week of teaching in the DTS. The class was Get The Word Out and it was taught by Mary Jean Powers. On Thursday evening, she spoke to the staff of our base and any students who wanted to attend as well as the staff of a visiting YWAM team from Quebec, Canada, and any of their students who wanted to attend. Well, she talked about REST as God intended for it to be. We all know the verses in Matthew where Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are tired and burdened and I will give you rest…” This always makes me think of softness or when I just can’t handle something. I have the tendency to work until I drop, or until my sciatic nerve acts up and I have to go to bed for a couple of days. But, I never tied this verse into what God says in Exodus 20:9 – Remember the Sabbath (or day of rest) and keep it holy! This is a command from the Lord. We have to do this. We must follow His example by working 6 days and resting 1 day each and every week. Mary Jean challenged us to look at all Jesus did during His 3 years of ministry. Do you know that the Bible never says that Jesus ran or that He overextended Himself or that He worked nonstop during those 3 years. I am going to study to see how many times the Bible says that “Jesus walked”. What a good word for me this was! I say all of this to encourage you to also look at your life and see if you are resting one day each week. I can honestly say that I am not doing that. I confess that I need to return to God’s way and plan for my life before I wear myself out “working” for Him. I need to stop seeing God as my employer and return to seeing Him as my Savior, Redeemer, Prince of Peace, and Friend.
Here is a photo of our Discipleship Training School students with Mary Jean Powers (far left) near the Valley of the Monks (which is located close to Creel). It is a great place to climb on the rocks and to rappel, if you have the gear for it.
I hope you all have a great week – remember to set aside 1 day for rest! And, please, if you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know either by leaving a comment below or by sending me an e-mail. I really would really appreciate your input!
2 comments:
It is hard to rest sometimes, but when you do, you feel recharged. James and I try to make Sunday a day of rest with fun things for Siam. It is amazing the simple things such as going to the park with her can make the rest of the week go smoothly.
When I first started to observe a day of rest, it was a command, but as I practiced it, it became a celebration. Now, though I still have to choose to ignore tasks that clearly need done, I often delight in the day and what opportunities it brings for rest, time with the Lord, and fellowship. Mike from Juarez
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