This week’s devotional is from one of my favorite Christian women speakers, Priscilla Shirer.  It’s about rest. A topic we many of us feel guilty that we do too much of or get way too little of.  I seem to go from one extreme to the other. I run full tilt till I burn out and lay low out of frustration and despair.  

   That’s one reason I’m really into utilizing a planner these past few years. I’m seeking balance. I’m trying to schedule what needs done and where I need to be and find a healthy balance. I’ve improved but I still have a ways to.  

    I’m way too, “all or nothing”, and I want to find a happy middle ground.  I need to remember the passage from Priscilla’s devotional below, that Jesus commands rest. It’s not just a good idea. He knows best!

— Day 3 —

Come and Rest

He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” Mark 6:31

Rest is becoming a lost art in our modern culture. We’ve exchanged its old-fashioned value for a hectic, fast-paced, breakneck speed of life, which has slowly disintegrated our fervor and passion while simultaneously elevating our blood pressure. Packed within each twenty-four-hour time span is an unsustainable number of tasks we’ve placed upon ourselves, as well as demands we’ve allowed others to deem urgent enough to place upon us as well.

And based on our fatigue and frustration, we’d give anything to offload the burden.

But rest doesn’t seem like a viable option anymore. Have we forever passed up any kind of reality that dares to include rest as part of a typical day? Or week? Or . . . month? (Or . . . year?)

When Jesus sent His disciples off on a specific ministry assignment in Mark 6:7–11, He didn’t shield them from the fact that their journey would not be particularly easy. People would refuse to listen to them, much less give them hospitality. Any cause for excitement would be counterbalanced by any number of legitimate reasons for quitting and discouragement. They would be empowered to preach, heal, and spread the news of the kingdom, yes, but would also be exhausted on every front— physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And even after finally coming back home from their tiring journey, people would still be “coming and going,” enough that the disciples “did not even have time to eat” (v. 31).

So as their first order of business upon returning, Jesus greeted them with clear instructions: “Come . . . rest a while.”

It wasn’t a request. It wasn’t a friendly suggestion. It was Jesus’ command. Here’s what you’re going to do, guys. They’d been through a lot. And much more remained to be done. But for now . . . rest . . . come and rest. At least for a little while.

Do you ever feel guilty for taking time away to regroup and recharge? Are you saddled with a sense of wasted opportunity if every space on your calendar is not filled? Are you afraid your world would stop turning if you disengaged for even a few moments? Are you concerned about losing your competitive advantage if you’re not converting every moment into maximum achievement and efficiency?

Then hear the voice of your Savior welcoming you into a place where grace flows, where the Spirit refuels, and where mercy fixes what’s been strained and stressed by the accumulation of life’s pressures. This is the space where priorities and relationships that have been pushed out of alignment and are in need of repair get patched up and recalibrated.

Quiet time is not an excuse for the lazy but a wise investment for the diligent. It is for those who are committed to being active servants and followers of Jesus Christ instead of slaves to the tyranny of urgent busyness and activity. By prioritizing rest for ourselves and those we love, we may just rediscover the joy we thought had been lost forever.

From “Awaken'”, by Priscilla Shirer. Check it out! —>

Awaken: 90 Days with the God who Speaks

This week is a topic I know has touched the heart of each one of us in one way or another.  Where is God when bad things happen?  Be honest. We all have wondered that from time to time, even if we’ve never voiced it out loud.  Perhaps we’ve not even admitted it to ourselves; but perhaps in the smallest recesses of our hearts and minds the reflection of our curiosity has hinted for a moment. Why?  Where?

Carol McLeod leads us in a devotional about this very thing in a devotional from her book, “Refined:  Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire”:

God audibly prophesied the future of Moses, the future of the children of Israel, and the future of Egypt to Moses in these significant and familiar verses. As believers who are knowledgeable of this Sunday school story, we are tempted to read these verses with a bit of disinterest, because we know all that Moses has to go through. We all know about the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and being lost in the wilderness.

But may I just remind you that Moses had not watched The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston, and he had not taken his boys to see the cinematic version of The Prince of Egypt! Moses did not know what his future held, just like you, my friend, are not aware of what your future holds.

But you serve the God of Moses who has been to your future—and it is good! God sees in advance, and He is able to make a way where there seems to be no way. We know that the God of Moses is a good God and that He exists to constantly work good in all of our life situations. Therefore, He has indeed been to the future and has enthusiastically stamped your future with the word, Good!

The story of this fugitive, Moses, who was on the run and who then hid in the wilderness, serves as an exciting reminder that whenever one encounters a fire, “I Am” will be there, because He never takes His caring eyes off His children for one instant of time.

If you are running away from life and from the consequences of sin, God is there. If you have found yourself in the wilderness with no direction, God is there. We know that if we listen, we will hear His loving voice speaking above the roar of the fire. We also know that the fires encountered by a child of God this side of Heaven have no power of destruction or decimation.

A fire is the wonderful place where God reveals Himself to weary wilderness dwellers and where He speaks purpose and destiny. A fire was fashioned by God to be the most sacred moment in the life of a believer.

This week’s devotion can be found among other’s in Carol’s book below:

I decided to share a Mindful Monday post I shared almost five years ago.  There are so many Christians backbiting one another over the September 12th sign and my feeling right now is, “Lord, your people are making me so very weary….” so I felt called to share this again.  I hope you glean much from it!

The Bible has a few things to say about how Christians should treat one another:

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” -Galatians 6:10

In John 13:35, our Lord Himself says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The writer of Hebrews tells us: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing….” (Hebrews 10: 24-25)

In 1 Corinthians chapter 12: 12-27, Paul teaches us, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.  Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

And in in Romans 12:15 & 18:

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another…. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

This is on my mind a lot lately as it seems like every where I turn Christians are being unloving to each other, not showing compassion to each other, and in some cases being downright cruel…I could keep going, but you get the idea.  If Christians being loving towards one another is how the rest of the world will know that we are Christ’s disciples, it’s no wonder people watching them interact don’t believe.  I think this is a lesson every one of us who claim the name of Jesus in our hearts and lives needs to learn.

I know of a Christian group and a woman (a friend of mine) who had been part of the ministry for years. There was an incident after which she left hurt and heartbroken.  She was in genuine sorrow and felt abandoned, unloved, unwanted and unappreciated. Zero compassion. She entered into a conversation with a member of the group afterwards and through her broken heart was sharing what happened and how she felt.  In return the other party (defensive of the group itself) replied, “I think you’re using a little too much drama here.” Then she would make little remarks to hurt the already hurting woman whenever she had opportunity…snide remarks thrown out during “sharing”.

Was that helpful?  Was it compassionate?  Was it edifying? Was it the way one member of the body would treat another member of the same body who was genuinely in pain and hurting?  If you smash your hand in a car door, doesn’t the other hand immediately reach out for it? That’s just an automatic thing…we don’t even think about it. It’s just instinct to reach for the body part that’s been hurt.  Shouldn’t it be that way with Christians since Jesus says we are all members of the same body??

Whether the person commenting believed my friend had been wronged or not, how loving was it to react that way?  It was very risky for my friend who was hurt to let her feelings out and be vulnerable on top of already being heartbroken and when she got the return reply of “I think you’re using a little too much drama here”, by a sister in Christ who then went on to make snide remarks…

What would Jesus do? Is this how He would have reacted? Definitely not, but in the eyes of an unbelieving world, if they see Christians treating each other this way, they’ll think that’s how Jesus teaches them to be.  SHAME on us! Our lives are the only Bible some people may ever read!

So my hurting friend sought counsel from an outside friend. The outsider was kind to her and showed her compassion and later said, “That kind of thing is why I don’t go to church or Bible studies. Too many hypocrites.”  The hurt woman wanted to share her love of Jesus to the unbeliever, and say something like “I have to answer to God when I die and not them, so I go to church for the Lord. They have to answer to Him for themselves.”  But after hearing the hurting woman’s story, how can the unbeliever be talked into giving Jesus another try?  It’s so sad that Christians can be so unloving and derogatory towards one another and it. just. should. not. be. so. First for the members of the body, and then for those watching in from the outside!

Most people would tell my friend to seek counsel from her pastor. She had already sought counsel from him and was told in reply “It would be a waste of time.” Was that helpful?  Was it loving? Was it Christ-like? Now what’s the woman to do?

In both instances, the enemy is trying to get the hurting woman to believe she can get treated like that from the world, she doesn’t need to get it from people who are fellow Christians, so why bother with them at all? He knows she loves the Lord enough to not leave Him willfully, but if he can put a wedge between her and her point of ministry and fellowship, he thinks there’s a way he can silence her and destroy her testimony.

There was a time she would have succumbed to that kind of thinking, but since she knows her Bible and the fact that Ephesians 6:12 reminds her, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”, she is spending time getting closer to Jesus and praying He gives her direction and that He softens her heart and those of her former group members. That He opens the door to a new fellowship if that is His plan. But she is not turning her back on her first love:  the author of life and love Himself.  If only we as a church…as His body… would learn to care for each other the way He cares for us individually.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” -Colossians 1:24

There is nothing we can do in human strength to mend our differences. We selfishly believe our preferences are better than others’ opinions. So what can we do when divisions arise? Just as Jesus said each time He was tempted in the wilderness: “It is Written”. Go to the Bible.  If you can find a scripture to back up how to treat someone (especially a fellow believer), it’s a fact backed up by the Word of God.  If you don’t have a scripture…it’s ONLY AN OPINION and not a fact and you should think twice before you act or react.  That’s the basis you can stand on. The Word of God.

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” -Galatians 6:10