restoring rest

After a two-week hiatus, we have another devotion.  Building off the message from Sunday about the Sabbath, I have included some verses and some notes that you might have missed.  I pray that God will continually teach you how to rest in Him. 

Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.” 

Jesus is here to give us rest.  We are all busy and God knows that.  I was reminded of a quote last night from a friend that said, “the devil is not as much concerned about making us evil as he is about making us busy.”  Dang, if that is true then we have all tapped into the devil’s plan. 

Concerning the Sabbath, Jesus once said, “The Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  And along those same lines, Mark Buchanan once said, “more than Israel ever keep the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept Israel.” 

Busyness kills the heart.  But rest restores.  Check out some of these passages:
Psalm 46:10 – when was the last time you were still?  Meditate on God. 
Luke 10:38-42 – are you distracted from God?  or are you sitting at His feet?  are you so concerned with working for God that you are missing God?
Isaiah 40:28-31 – wait on God and you will be renewed? 
Psalm 23 – are you trusting in the Shepherd?  are you lying down gaining restoration?  is your soul restored?  are you being guided by God? do you see Him with you or are you having to search through the clouds for Him?  are you overflowing with Him?  are you desiring to live in His house?  desiring to be in His presence? 

 So my prayer for each of you is take a break today and find a place that only you and God will be.  It is my prayer that you can also find a day that is marked as the Lord’s.  Not a day to be caught in busyness, which if the quote is true, is of the devil.  But a day of rest.  Restoration.  Strength.  A day to remember where He has brought you from.  A day to trust Him to bring more to mind.  A day to experience.  A day to stop.  A day that is truly a day given over to live.  A day to come alive. 

communion

Matthew 26:26-30

Understanding things in their context helps me to see the overall picture. 

So let me paint this for you:   Jesus has gotten all of his disciples together (the twelve) for a meal.  He knows it is His last night before He gets crucified.  The meal is a traditional meal in celebration of the Passover (where God passed over the Israelites in the plagues that took place in Egypt).  Everyone in town was celebrating this but Jesus was doing it different. 

On this night, Jesus tells Judas to go do quickly what he is to do.  Judas stomps out, with the disciples confused, and goes to sell Jesus to the Sanhedrin.  Jesus knows that this is it, yet He goes on.  He tells them to “take, eat [the bread]; this is My body.”  Then He takes the wine and gives it to them and says, “drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”  Before He gives both the bread and the cup to the disciples, He blesses it or thanks God for it. 

Many people throughout history have debated whether or not, the bread and the wine are actually Jesus’ body and blood.  To me, this is not the point.  For me, I see that this act of communion, or as some call it – the Eucharist, is a testimony of what God has done for us.  Just as the Passover meal was a celebration of God passing over their sin, Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper to remind us of where He has brought us from. 

Let’s keep going:  Oh, by the way, for every worship leader out there, notice that in Matthew 26:30, they sing a hymn.  Yep, even then, rocking it out in worship.

Ok, check out 1 Corinthians 11:23-33. 

This is Paul’s message about the Lord’s Supper.  After going over what the Gospels say Jesus did that fateful night, read what Paul says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” We proclaim it.  We remind ourselves of it.  We preach it.  We declare it to be true.  The Lord died for us, as He said, it is His “blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” 

But Paul goes on to say that “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.”  Wow, that is a statement needing to be understood.  Paul is saying that we should drink it in a manner worthy of it so that we don’t become the reason it was given.  He is saying that we should honor our Lord by preparing our hearts for receiving His body and blood into our lives.  He goes on to say that we should “examine [ourselves]… for he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”  Paul is telling the Corinthians to eat with a view to where our sin is.  Thinking about how we can live out rightly and where we have lived wrongly. 

So in preparation of taking communion this Sunday, examine yourself to see where you stand with God.  Look deep into your heart and get out the stuff that is holding you back from seeking God. 

“Search me, o God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” – Psalm 139:23-24

There is a song by one of my favorite worship leaders, Charlie Hall, that really hits me about communion, here are the lyrics:

Let my life shine
come and let my heart shine
Gonna walk the world
We lift the bread and wine

Like the stars shine
Come and let our hearts shine
In a dark world,
We lift the bread and wine

Broken but singing
Our hearts keep shining

we’re just as near as He.

Near, so very near to God,
Nearer, I could not be;
For in the person of His Son,
I’m just as near as He. 

Dang, let that truth reach down and grab you and transform you.  Over the past few years, this is something that I have been contemplating in my Spirit. 

How come we are just as righteous as Jesus?  How dare we say that we are close to God as His Son is? 

Well let me tell you:  Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 

Christ was sent so that we could be the righteousness of God.  Righteousness has the image of being able to stand in the process of God, or being right before someone.  It is the image of being free from debt of someone.  If you are right before a creditor, you don’t have any thing that is owed them.  This is the glorious picture that God has given us. 

This moment right now, I just want to convey to you that God has redeemed you to Himself.  He has given you freedom and life so that you may live out of the abundance of His nature.  He wants you to grow in Him.  He wants you to do “greater things than He did.”  He wants everything for you.  But ultimately He wants it for His glory.  He wants you, his child, to point others to Him.  So right now, read these verses and meditate on the freedom that He has given you.  It is so easy to forget that we are God’s children because we get stuck by being concerned with all the work we need to do but it is my prayer that we will let us remember God in all those moments.   

“It was freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1 

“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”  – Romans 6:17-18

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore.  Amen.” – Galatians 1:3-5

“He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”  – Colossians 1:13-14

“Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself [Christ] likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”  – Hebrews 2:14-15

“In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons [and daughters] through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.  In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches in His grace, which He lavished on us.”  – Ephesians 1:5-8

whatevs.

I have been captivated by many verses in the Scriptures in my day, but there are none that hit me as hard as Colossians 3:17 does every single time I read it. 

It reads as such:  “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  Wow!  Jam packed with truth, straight to the core. 

A little background before we continue.  Paul, in Colossians 3, is showing how we must be willing to think about heavenly things.  We shouldn’t dwell on our circumstances here, because these moments are fading away quickly.  We should put all our thought on the spiritual things, which last forever.  This is not saying that there is a difference between sacred and secular.  Everything is spiritual in Paul’s mind because he was a Jew and there was no distinction between the physical and the spiritual in the Hebrew language.  One word for that which is spiritual and that which is physical.  All things are spiritual.  Paul is telling us to focus on everything as if it were what it is, spiritual.  He wants us to have a heavenly mindset on all things.  He doesn’t want us to get bogged down in the details, but rather, remember that God is in the midst of all the details. 

But here is where we are, Paul is telling us to not get caught up in the earthly things, the things that will destroy us if we let them, but he wants us to focus on the things that matter the most.  Mainly, faith, hope and love.  We are being renewed in knowledge of the image of our Creator.  We are being reshaped more and more everyday to look like God.  In Romans 12:2, Paul tells us to be “transformed by the renewing of our mind and to not conform to the pattern of this world.”  We should conform ourselves more and more after God everyday.  We should look to God in all circumstances. 

So having these thoughts about being spiritual in all moments, Paul tells us in Colossians 3:16 to encourage each other in the body, 1) by letting God’s word dwell in us richly, 2) by teaching and admonishing each other, and 3) by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  And all of this with thanksgiving.  Being thankful to God.  Being utterly devoted to Him because of all that He has done for us. 

Then it gets to the crucial moment of truth, Paul tells that in whatever we do, we should do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). 

A few things we should notice about this:

1) Paul does not tell us to do certain things.   He doesn’t give us any particular things to look for and do. 
2) Notice the scope of whatever.  It is all things.  It is not, as stated above, something specific.  It is whatever.  Huge implications that Paul makes right here.
3) We should not do it for ourselves, as is often the case.  Paul tells us to do everything for God.  He tells us to do it in the name of our Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through Him.  We should do it all for God. 
4) Giving thanks to God is the way in which things should be conducted.  We shouldn’t just go around doing everything as if we are the reasons for us being able to do it.  We should constantly remember that God is the One who gives us the opportunity to do those things that we love. 
5) Jesus is the center of this whole verse.  He is the reason that we can do all things and He is the reason that we are able to give thanks.  His sacrifice brings us to the point where we are friends of God.  And His sacrifice brings us into adoptions as sons and daughters of God.  He is the restoration of all creation.  We should do, “whatever we do,” remembering His gift.

But all in all, Paul gives us a huge jewel to take with us.  He simply says, without holding back, that we can do whatever we feel right about, as long as we do it for God.  This is amazing.  This is something that needs to be seriously considered and prayed over throughout our whole lives.  We can do whatever, as long as we 1) do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, 2) do it by giving thanks to God the Father through His Son.  Nothing is left out of the scope of this verse.  Amazing!!

Whatever you do, this could be:
serving the homeless
washing the neighbors’ car
mowing someone’s lawn
having coffee with a friend
paying your taxes
playing basketball at the gym
tutoring a kid in need
playing Halo 3
giving a gift
eating
sleeping
blushing over a girl you like
singing in the car to some Jackson 5
dancing (like David the King or like William Hung)
everything else you can dream or imagine

You can do all things as long as you do it for God.  There is nothing you can’t do.  But whenever you are doing something, just ask yourself, how can I do this for God?  What do I have to think about when I am doing _____, in order to do it for God, and give thanks to Him and think of His Son’s sacrifice throughout the process?

My advice is go ahead, do whatever.  But remember, do it for God. 

5 temptations of bad circumstances

Philippians 1:12-14
Finances.  Relationships.  Emotional struggles.  Doubt.  Being chased by a R.O.U.S.   We all find ourselves in bad circumstances.  Paul was having just such an experience when he wrote the letter to the Phillipians encouraging them as they were enduring hardships of their own.  As you read his letter you can begin to identify several poor responses to difficult situations that the Philippians may have been working through.  They hold true today.  

1.  Complain about the situation to every person who will listen.  Nobody likes a pessimist.  We tolerate it for as long as you are talking about something we don’t like (like the church down the street), but when you begin to complain about more personal things we glaze over like a Krispy Kreme donut.  Paul was locked up.  OK, it wasn’t exactly “punch the toughest guy you see in the face to show your tough or don’t drop the soap” prison, but it was bad.  Yet through the book of Philippians he says rejoice so much you would think he was happier than the prisoners in Shawshank Redemption when they were drinking beer on the roof. 

2.  Spend all your time focusing on your needs.  It makes sense.  You have a lot of needs.  I spend a lot more emotional energy on my fantasy football team when they are losing then when they are winning.  Don’t even ask me to do something for you if Westbook is out this week.  Paul is counter-intuitive with his advice: regard one another as more important than yourselves.  Of course we know that verse, but ask yourself, “Who do you spend more time dwelling on?  Yourself or others?  That’s who is more important to you.

3.  Do whatever it takes to eliminate community from your life.  Sometimes we do this b/c it’s just hard for us to be open and honest about how hard life is.  Pretending is pretty exhausting and it’s just easier to avoid people.  Other times we avoid community b/c we are liable to punch someone in the Adam’s apple if they come in talking about how great their day was.  Either way, we miss out on Paul’s admonition to be of one spirit as we struggle in our faith/life (2:2).  Tackling big problems with little support is just stupid…ask this guy.

4.  Spend all your emotional energy thinking about something you can’t change and completely ignore all the good going on around you.  If there is anything worthy of praise, and there always is, think about that.  Just the other day a friend of mine was sharing a really tough situation she was in.  My advice, “It’s too nice of a day to be depressed”.  Ok, that wasn’t all my advice (That would really cut down the number of people asking my thoughts on stuff!), but I seriously meant it.  God is doing some amazing things around all of us (and with us), but for some reason the human condition is to focus in on the one difficult thing.

5.  Sing “Gimme More” by Britney Spears.  One of my favorite parts of Philippians is when Paul goes on and on about how he has learned to be content in all circumstances.  In abundance or in need he is all good. 

Paul’s approach to his circumstances led to the encouragement of his Christian brothers everywhere, and to a powerful testimony among the palace guard that brought many in Caesar’s household to follow Christ (4:22). 

17

Its easy to get so caught up in the “Tyranny of the Urgent” that you forget what you are all about in the first place.  Since we responded to God’s calling to start The Patio we were committed to staying focused on relationships instead of our ever-growing “To Do” lists.  

“Where are we going to meet?” and “How are we going to pay our staff?” are important questions.  They, however, are secondary to, “Who are we growing in relationship with?”  It’s very important to us that our To Do lists reflect our priorities. 

Our priorities center 100% around connecting people with God. 

Last week our leadership team had a great dialogue about this priority.  We decided that we should have some clear goals between now and 3-02-08, but our main one needed to reflect our PRIORITY.  The result: 17

17 households that we are in engaged in authentic relationship with.
17 households that we are sharing life with.

17 households beginning to Come Alive!