Do You Know Who You Are?

John Calvin, one of the great theologians of the Protestant Reformation, said, ““Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God.”

Do you know who you are?

This is a vital for all of us, no matter where we’re at in our spiritual journey.  This is a question I’ve been pondering lately in my time with God.  Despite the appearance that I may sometimes give that I’m very confident and self-assured, I wrestle and struggle with thoughts of self-loathing from time to time; feelings of worthlessness and disappointment with myself; and questions about what God could possibly see in me that would cause Him to love me. 

I bet that many of you struggle with the same thoughts and feelings as well.  Sadly, for many of us, thinking about who we really are can be a dark and depressing place.

When we get to these kinds of dark places in our hearts and minds, the bigger and better question to ask is this: Do you know who God is?  Calvin went on to say, “Without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self.”  Our understanding of who God is – in his holiness and righteousness; in his love and mercy – really helps us to understand who we are.  As we struggle with and against these thoughts of worthlessness, disappointment and un-loveable-ness (I just made that word up) knowing who God is can really lift the dark veils that cast shadows over our hearts and minds. 

One of today’s readings from For the Love of God Biblereading plan comes from the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark.  I think that Mark 2:13-17 really helps us to see who we are to God and who God is to us.

This section of Scripture begins with Jesus calling Levi, who is commonly believed to be another name for the disciple Matthew, to come and be his disciple.  What really gets my attention here is that Levi is a tax collector.

You and I don’t necessarily like tax collectors, whether they’re at the local, state or federal level.  As a pastor, I’m considered self-employed for tax purposes.  And my wife Jessie is also employed as a contractor in her physical therapy job.  So every 3 months, we’ve got to write three checks for local, state and federal taxes.  Many of you probably just get your taxes withheld, and once in awhile, you’ll look at your pay stub and curse under your breath, as we do every three months.  Most of us loathe the idea of paying taxes.

In Jesus’ day, tax collectors were even more despised, especially by the Jews.  Tax collectors were notorious for their harshness, greed and deception.  Some tax collectors, like Levi, were Jews themselves and were considered among the worst people in the culture.  Those of the Jewish faith had a great disdain for and mistrust of the Roman government to begin with, so a fellow Jew that went to work for Rome and extorted money from his own people was just total and complete scumbag. 

So imagine what it must have been like for a Jew to witness Jesus inviting Levi to be his disciple.  Not only did Jesus invite Levi to be his disciple, he went to Levi’s house for dinner “. . . along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.”  And not only that, we’re told “There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.”  (v.15)

Are you beginning to see who God is?  Jesus, who is God in human flesh, chooses not only to be in the presence of tax collectors and disreputable sinners, but he invites them to be his disciples and to follow him.  Of course this drove the religious folks nuts.  In v.16 they ask incredulously, “Why does he eat with such scum?” 

Jesus eats with scum because he loves scum.  Jesus eats with scum because he wants the scum to experience the transformation of heart and mind that come from following Him and being his disciple.  Jesus eats with scum because he wants scum to know that in His sight, we’re not scum.  We’re precious and valuable and loved dearly by Him! 

Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees in v.17 is incredible!  “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.  I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

What does a doctor do?  He or she tries to heal people of disease right?  At least that’s what they’re supposed to do.  When we consider who we are, it’s good to know that our hearts and minds are sick because of our sin and disobedience to God.  The danger to us comes when we allow the guilt of our sin to morph into shame.  Guilt is the realization that what we are doing is sinful, bad and harmful.  It’s the realization that we have things in our lives that separate us from God.  Shame is the wrong belief that because of our sin, we’re worthless and hopeless.  Jesus shows us that we’re not!

Who are you?  Do you know that your heart and mind are sick?  Do you know that you need to be forgiven?  Do you know that you need to change and be transformed?  You see Jesus didn’t just invite these sick, sinful people to come and hang out with him. He invited them on a journey of transformation in becoming like Him.  When we think about who we are and we don’t really like the answer, this is great hope and encouragement for us to hold onto.  Even though we don’t like ourselves and our sin and our brokenness, Jesus loves us in the mess and invites us on this journey of transformation.  When we understand who God is, and begin to see ourselves as He sees us, everything changes.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us this very important truth that is so vital for our hearts and minds: "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

Do you see that?  We are God's masterpiece!  We're not just another thing he made.  We're the very best of what He's ever made!  Although we may feel like scum as we look in the mirror, or believe that we're scum because the world tells us we are, in God's sight we're not.  We're precious and valuable and our worth has been bought with the precious blood of Jesus. 

Realizing our heart sickness and our need for Jesus is where it all begins.  When we see things in ourselves that we loathe and despise, we've got to lay those things at the foot of the cross where the blood of Jesus was shed for the forgiveness of our sins.  We've got to believe that although our lives may be filled with worthless and even terrible things, that we're not worthless to God.  God has great plans for your life!  He wants to do great things in our lives and through our lives!  Things that we can't even begin to ask or imagine yet (Ephesians 3:20)!  

 

Impact Begins With Availability

Last night was a restless night of sleep for me.  I’ve had a head cold for about 5 days that’s on the verge of becoming a sinus infection.  Been eating healthy and exercising this week.  Got a great chiropractic adjustment to help my body’s immune system fight this off on Friday.   And as a last resort the last couple days, I’ve had to take some over the counter decongestants and expectorants.  Yummy.  I took a dose yesterday evening that kept me restless for a good portion of the night, and when I eat healthy and exercise, I don’t sleep as deeply or as soundly as I usually do because my body’s burning fat all night.  It was a bad combination.  Insomnia and restlessness are really rare things for me, thankfully. 

As I was tossing and turning last night, the fact that I’ll turn 40 this year hit me like it never has before.  It will happen on October 24 (gifts are welcome – cash preferred). I know it’s a big deal for some people – especially many women.  For some men, it’s often the beginning of a mid-life crisis.  I always say that I had my mid-life crisis at 35 and started a church instead of buying a sports car and getting a trophy girlfriend.  Never needed the trophy girlfriend because I’ve got a trophy wife, and I’d much prefer a new truck to a sports car because I fancy myself a redneck.

I really began to think about where I’m at in life and what I’ve accomplished for the Kingdom of God. Most times I’m pretty satisfied with my life – my relationship with Jesus; my marriage; my kids; my friendships; the opportunities I’ve had in ministry to build the Kingdom throughout my life.  But last night I wasn’t so satisfied.  I really began to think about all of the things I want to see happen in my life that haven’t happened yet.  

I spent some time praying though that as I was awake last night and considering what I’d like my life to be from this point forward.  What would it look like to have a deeper relationship with Jesus that I long for?  What would it look like to have the kind of marriage that’s reflected in Ephesians 5:21-33?  What would it look like to know that I’ve done my job as a dad before my kids become adults?  What would it look like to have better and deeper friendships?  What do I want to accomplish in ministry and how would I like to see the Kingdom of God grow?

And as I was reading though one of today’s readings in Matthew 28 from the For The Love of God reading plan that I’ve been following, it hit me.  Accomplishing great things for God and having all of those things I long for begins with making myself available to Jesus first and foremost.  And out of that availability to Jesus, my availability to all of those other things will flow.

Matthew 28 begins with the account of the resurrection of Jesus and about how the news of the resurrection began to spread.  It concludes with what we call The Great Commission, where Jesus sends his disciples out into the world for mission and ministry.  And really, all of the things I’m longing to see happen in my life will happen in obedience to what Jesus tells us to do in v.v. 18-20. 

But before the disciples went out and changed the world and turned the world upside down, we see something important, and something we often overlook in this amazing story.  It’s such a simple thing, but yet it’s so profound.  In v.16&17, they made themselves available to Jesus: “Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshipped him – but some of them doubted!”

The disciples and followers of Jesus – some of whom had spent 3 years with him – had a choice to make when they heard the news of his resurrection.  Would they return to their relationship with Jesus, which would be made new because of the resurrection?  Or would they walk away and do their own thing?  Really, this is the heart of the matter for us as we think through and consider whether or not our lives will have a lasting and eternal impact on the world around us.  Will we make ourselves totally available to Jesus and his will, or will we walk away and do our own thing?

When the disciples came to Jesus and made themselves available, some of them worshipped and some of them doubted.  This is encouraging to me, because it shows us that even the eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus had their doubts.  Jesus was the only perfect one in this story.  And yet Jesus didn’t say to the ones who doubted, “Get out of here.”  He invited them to be a part of changing the world.  He invited them to live lives that were marked by lasting and eternal impact on the world around them.

Consider the impact of your life right now.  Are you living in such a way that you’re have a lasting and eternal impact on the world around you?  Are you having some impact, but realizing there’s more that you can and should be doing for the kingdom of God?  If that’s you – like it is me – are you making yourself available to Jesus above and beyond all other things in your life?

What a struggle that is.  There are so many demands on our time and attention.  A friend of mine on Facebook shared something great today that is helping me think through this.  He shared a picture that said:

What if we began to treat our Bibles the way we treat our cell phones?

What if . . .

            . . . we carried it with us everywhere

            . . . turned back to get it if we forgot it

            . . . checked it for messages throughout the day

            . . . used it in case of an emergency

Wow.  What a powerful thought.  What if we made ourselves more available to Jesus than we do to anything else?  Imagine the impact that our lives would have in the world.  Imagine how our lives would change.  Impact begins with availability. 

Hope is a Great Starting Point, But a Bad Strategy

Hope is a great starting point but a bad strategy.

Wish I could take credit for that thought, but I can’t.  It was Tweeted by Michael Lukaszewski,the CEO of the Rocket Company, last week.  It’s a thought that really resonated with me as a leader.  But it’s not just for leaders, it’s a thought for all of us.  And it’s a thought that we see fleshed out in Scripture from today’s reading in Nehemiah4. 

 

Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerexes, the Persian King who ruled most of the known world at that time.  Through a desperate prayer in Nehemiah 1 and continuing with a bargain made with the King in Nehemiah 2, Nehemiah was appointed as the governor of Judah and was given the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.  For a more comprehensive look at the history and setting of Nehemiah, check out thisexcellent resource by John MacArthur. 

 

As we often see in Scripture, men and women who are being faithfully obedient to God face significant opposition and challenges in their efforts.  The Jews under Nehemiah were no different.  In Nehemiah 3, the rebuilding is going well.  But in Nehemiah 4, Sanballat, an influential leader in the Persian empire “ . . . flew into a rage and mocked the Jews.” (v.v. 1&2).  Eventually Sanballat and some of his cronies made plans to come and fight against the Jews and their rebuilding efforts. 

 

In v.9, Nehemiah declares, “But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.”  Nehemiah is a man who believes in the promises and plans of God.  He has great and unwavering hope in God and His promises.  This was the starting point for his leadership and service in God’s Kingdom.

 

But we also see that Nehemiah understands that he needs to do more than hope.  He needs to work a plan according to that hope, and according to the promises of God.  And we do too.

 

Despite the fact that in v.15 God had frustrated the plans of the Persians who were trying to come against God’s people, Nehemiah and the people returned to their work on the wall.  Some worked and some stood guard.  Some served to encourage others.  The laborers took up weapons as they carried out their work. 

 

Nehemiah 4 really speaks to my heart, and it probably speaks to your heart as well.  I’m a dreamer.  I like to think of big things and cast vision for how things could be.  But one of my greatest struggles in life – not just in ministry – is the ability to follow through and do the work required to see those dreams, born out of hope in God’s promises, come to fruition. 

 

I know that many people struggle with this as well.  I’ve seen it time and time again.  Church provides a great example of this.  We go to worship on a Sunday morning.  The music and worship time really break down walls in our hearts and minds.  God’s at work taking us apart.  We hear a message where we walk away and say, “Wow, I think the preacher was talking to me today.”  We fall under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and realize that we need to repent of sin at the foot of the cross and that things need to change.  We make vows and promises to God that “things are going to be different from now on,” because we’re filled with great hope. 

 

The hope of God has given us a great starting point. 

 

And then we walk out of the worship experience and life happens.  The Sanballats in our lives come against us.  We know what God promises to us in Jesus.  But we tire of the work.  We tire of the battle.  And so we kind of give up.  I know what that’s like!  I’ve been there so many times, and I absolutely hate it.  It’s so discouraging and frustrating.  I wish I was steadier and more faithful in my obedience to Jesus.  I have great hope in God and His promises, but I’m not so good at developing and working a strategy to make those things happen. 

 

In Nehemiah 4, we see 3 significant themes.  We see that Nehemiah and the people were rooted and established in hopeful prayer.  We need to be as well.  We see that Nehemiah and the people were rooted and established in community and shared responsibility.  In v.20, Nehemiah said to the workers who were spread thin and vulnerable on their own, “When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to where it is sounding.  Then our God will fight for us.”  Nehemiah knew that he couldn’t rebuild the wall on his own, and that no individual in Israel could either.  We need to be rooted and established in community and shared responsibility with people that will come to fight with us and for us.

 

And we see that Nehemiah and the people were committed to hard work.  We need to realize that there comes a point in time where sometimes we’ve just got to grit our teeth and get to work.  Nehemiah said in v. 21 & 23, “We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset . . . During this time, none of us – not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me – ever took off our clothes.  We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water.” 

 

Working a plan in accordance with our hope and God is very rarely easy, but it’s worth it!  When you find yourself in a place where things need to change and transformation needs to happen, make sure that you’re rooted in prayer and community, but also check yourself.  Are you doing what you can?  Are you being faithful to God according to his promises?  Faithfulness, as defined in Scripture, isn’t merely a mental assent to the belief of God.  Faithfulness is rooted in action.  Allow God’s promises to give you hope, but realize your responsibility in walking and living according to that hope.  You may have to work early and late; you may have to sacrifice some luxury in your life; but the fight never ends.  Carry your weapons with you and get to work on living out the promises of God in your life. 

What Are You Desperate For?

Part of the daily reading in For The Love of God is from Ezra 9 today.  Ezra is a prophet of God who is ministering after the return from Babylonia exile.  For a great summary that provides some historical background on what’s happening with Israel before and during Ezra’s ministry, check out this great resource from John MacArthur at Grace to You.

In v.v. 6-13, we find a desperate prayer from the prophet Ezra.  Ezra has been absolutely devastated by the news that some of Israel – including some of the priests and Levites – have chosen once again to defy God and break their covenant with Him by inter-marrying with people outside of Israel.  It was a small fraction of the existing Israelites at this time, and for those of us reading today, might seem like a small or unimportant matter. 

In the devotional that accompanies the reading plan, D.A. Carson helps us understand why Ezra’s heart has been rent and has cried out to God in such a desperate way.  Says Carson, “. . . he understands what brought about the exile, the formal destruction of the nation, the scattering of the people. It was nothing other than the sins of the people—and terribly often these sins had been fostered by links, not least marital links, between the people of the covenant and the surrounding tribes. “Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.”

Ezra is a man who is desperate for the mercy and grace of God.  Ezra is a man who is desperate to see righteousness and holiness flourish in his own life and in the lives of other people.  He is absolutely wrecked by the disobedience of His people.  The desperation of Ezra’s prayer is an incredible model for us in our prayers to God.

Ezra begins his desperate prayer by confessing sin and expressing shame at the sin of his people.  Look at some of the things he says:

I am utterly ashamed . . .

I blush to lift up my face to you . . .

Our guilt has reached to the heavens . . .

In our culture today, and in much of our church culture, such grief and repentance is a foreign concept.  So many of our ideas about God and who we are in relation to Him are so far from what the people of God in Scripture knew to be true about God.  If we talked like this, with this kind of grief and anguish and shame over our sin, we’d be sent to counseling and patted on the head while we hear somebody say, “Cheer up, it’s not that bad.” 

But Ezra, and the men and women of faith in Scripture, were different.  They knew that sin grieves God’s heart and because they were so desperate for the things of God, sin grieved their hearts as well.  Are we this desperate for holiness and righteousness in our own lives?

Next, Ezra expresses his great wonder and thankfulness for the grace and mercy of God.

We have been given a brief moment of grace . . .

The Lord our God has allowed a few of us to survive . . .

He has given us security . . .

Our God has brightened our eyes and granted us relief . . .

In his unfailing love our God did not abandon us . . .

He revived us . . .

He has given us a protective wall . . .

When we come to grips with the depths of how our sin breaks us, destroys us and is an affront to our holy and righteous God, we become all the more desperate for His grace and mercy.  And his grace and mercy are magnified in our lives.

Ezra continues in his prayer of desperation in the same manner.  More repentance and confession, followed by more amazement at the mercy and grace and justice of God. 

I had a fascinating conversation with a friend this week about this.  He was sharing his story with me about how God had delivered him from addiction and a life of utter brokenness and hopelessness.  I shared with him that I so admired his appreciation and love for God’s mercy and grace, and how desperate He was to honor God with his life.  As somebody with a pretty boring testimony, I thank God that he spared me from many of these same things, but I also long to appreciate and be humbled by his grace and mercy in the way that my friend is.  I long to be as desperate to please God and to honor God as my friend, and as Ezra was in his prayer. 

Asking myself what I’m desperate for is something I try to do pretty often.  And it’s something that I encourage others to think about as well.  The truth of the matter is this: when we’re desperate for God, God does great work in our lives.  I should rephrase that.  When we’re desperate for ALL of God, God does great work in our lives. 

And what I mean by ALL of God is this.  God’s holiness.  God’s righteousness.  God’s justice.  God’s mercy.  God’s grace.  God’s love.  God’s Son Jesus Christ.  And God’s presence with us, The Holy Spirit.

So let’s ask ourselves this question: What am I desperate for today?  Am I desperate for ALL of God, or just the parts of God that don’t disrupt and disturb me?  Am I desperate for ALL of God, or just the parts of God that make me feel good and comfortable? 

Jesus Didn't Promise Sunshine and Lollipops and Rainbows

In our current sermon series at ALIVE!Community Church, Cliché, we’re talking about some of the things that Christians often say without truly thinking about the implications of their words.  Gotta admit, it was tough to whittle down the finalists with so much of what’s out there today.  I wanted to take some time to go deep in this series though, so I had to focus on those things which I thought would give us the opportunity to do that. 

One of the ideas out there in Christian-land that drives me nuts that we won’t get to in this series is this idea that when we love Jesus, life is just sunshine and lollipops and rainbows all the time.  Smiley, shiny TV preachers who live in mansions and fly on private jets and write motivational books don’t really help much for those of us who know too well the struggles of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.  

I get it, I really do.  They want to encourage people.  They want to lift people up.  They want to focus on the goodness and blessings of God.  Those are all good things.  I want to do those things too. 

But I also know many people who love Jesus that live paycheck to paycheck and probably always will.  I know many people who love Jesus wake up almost every day with debilitating depression. I know many people who love Jesus that are wracked by physical pain from illnesses and injury that will deal with pain for the rest of their lives.  Is it because they don’t believe the promises of God?  Is it because they lack faith?  Let’s check out what Jesus said in one of the readings from For The Love of God today.

This is what Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-29 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.  But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.  When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”  When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.”

In these verses, Jesus is talking about what it means to build our lives on Him.  Something I’ve really been focused on in the past several months and trying to live out in my life. 

Jesus tells us in v.24 that wisdom comes from not just knowing and hearing his teaching, but from obeying it.  When we do that, Jesus said, it’s like building a house upon a solid rock.  I’m an idiot when it comes to building and carpentry, but one thing I do know is that it’s just sheer stupidity to build anything on a shaky foundation.  Especially a foundation as shaky as sand, which Jesus says is our foundation when we neglect our obedience to Him. 

Here’s the really eye opening thing for me in his words here.  Whether we build on Him or on something else, there will be rain and torrents and floodwaters and winds that beat against our lives.  Those that build on him aren’t immune to this stuff. 

Here’s how we’ve been duped, and I’m talking largely about Christians here.  We’ve been duped by “preachers” and authors and speakers that tell us that if we just believe God’s promises, we’ll see those promises come true.  If we just speak the blessings of God over our lives, we’ll see the blessings come to pass.  Life is all about seeing our hopes and dreams come true, and nothing at all about surrender to the Lordship of Jesus; transformation of our hearts and minds; and the refinement of our character and faith through the trials and hardships of life.  We’re led to believe that our trials and hardships are just a matter of not enough faith.  If Disneyworld was a church, the “preachers” that spew this nonsense would be the pastors. 

In 1 Corinthians 1:18 the Apostle Paul said, “I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God.”  Through the cross, we see that pain and suffering are sometimes a direct result of our obedience to God and are a part of God’s plan in our redemption and transformation.  Paul’s life and ministry are an example of this.  The greatest evangelist of all time wasn’t immune to pain and hardship.  In fact pain and hardship came to Paul, and the other apostles, directly as a result of their obedience to Jesus. 

Jesus’ words here are really a test of our willingness to be obedient and faithful to him throughout every circumstance of life.  It’s easy to say that we love God and that He’s good when everything is going right for us.  It’s easy to say that God has blessed us when we have plenty of material and financial blessings in our lives.  But it’s another thing altogether to say that we love God and that He’s good when we’re enduring a flood.  It’s another thing altogether to say that God has blessed us when we have little in the way of material and financial blessings in our lives. 

My life isn’t sunshine and lollipops and rainbows, and I bet yours isn’t either.  Let’s be honest – some of what we endure in life is a direct result of our own sin and disobedience, or a direct result of the sin and disobedience of somebody else in our lives.  But let’s also be honest in admitting what we all know to be true: sometimes life is hard.  No matter how much we love Jesus.  No matter how faithful and obedient we are.  Sometimes that hardship is even compounded, like it was for the early believers, because our love and faithfulness are taking us deeper.   

Be encouraged by the cross and the resurrection of Jesus today in the midst of your storm.  Don’t fall for the empty promises.  But believe the great promise of God’s Word for those who love Him in Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

What Makes You Think You're Stronger Than Jesus?

Many folks I know, including myself, tend to wear busyness on our sleeves as some kind of badge of honor. We live in a culture that values accomplishment and productivity.  Think about how we generally greet people we haven’t seen in awhile.  “What’s new?”  “What have you been up to?”  “How’s work?”  “How are the kids’ sports/music lessons/dance classes/other endless activities going?”

Don’t get me wrong.  Those can be good things; even Godly things.  It’s good to work, especially when our work blesses and benefits others.  It’s good to do fun things and have adventures with your family and loved ones.  It’s good to see our kids have fun playing sports and learning new things. 

But it’s also good to rest.  To unplug from all of our wireless and wired devices.  To shut off the TV and radio.  To cease from all of our running around for a time.  To take time where we don’t work.  Sadly, when I hear from many people, they’re almost apologetic for resting.  As if somehow not working and unplugging makes them feel guilty and less than human in some way. 

In one of today’s readings from Genesis 2 (following the For theLove of God daily reading plan by The Gospel Coalition) we see how important rest is.  We see that it’s important because it’s something that God Himself did after the work of creation.  When the work of creation was finished, v.v. 2&3 tell us “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.”

If God rested from his work, what makes us think that we shouldn’t do the same?  Really now, do we think we’re stronger than God?  Do we really believe that rest is a curse and a guilty pleasure?  If we do, we’ve neglected to believe an important part of God’s Word.  A part of God’s Word that is life-giving; life-restoring and a blessing for us.

There’s something you should know about me.  I loathe New Year's Eve.  I don’t mind staying up late if there’s something I have to do, but I’ve never liked staying up late just for the sake of staying up late.  January 1 is just another day to me.  I was different than most kids in that I didn’t look forward to staying up late on New Year's Eve.  I’ve always been the type that is happy to go to bed early, when I’m tired. 

For many years, some very good and dear friends of ours have hosted a New Year's Eve party.  So I was thrilled when I received an e mail from those friends early this week saying that they wouldn’t be hosting their annual party.  I replied with a heart felt, “Woo Hoo!”  But our friends were very apologetic.  Their family has battled a lot of illness in the past several weeks and hadn’t had much time to rest.  They just wanted some time to spend together, quietly relaxing and having conversation with their kids.

I understood why they apologized.  Despite my disdain for New Year’s Eve I’ve grown to really enjoy their parties.  I’ll admit that I even began to look forward to their New Year’s Eve party.  As had many other people.  When I read their e mail, I understood their apology to their friends.  They love their friends and didn’t want to disappoint them.  But in my heart, I let out another hearty “Woo Hoo,” because my friends were choosing rest over busyness and activity because they needed to rest and relax.

In Mark 2 Jesus was in one of his many confrontations with the Pharisees.  This time, it was in regards to Sabbath keeping.  Jesus’ disciples were walking through some grain fields on the Sabbath and were breaking off heads of grain, which was a big affront to the Pharisees who were bent on making sure that people followed the letter of the law.  They complained in v.24 saying, "They shouldn't be doing that! It's against the law to work by harvesting grain on the Sabbath."  Jesus answered their complaint in v.27 by saying, "The Sabbath was made to benefit people, and not people to benefit the Sabbath.”

Just as God made us to work and enjoy life, He has also made us with a need to rest.  Jesus modeled this for us in his life as we find it recorded in the Gospels.  Jesus worked hard.  From the time he was a young boy until he began his public ministry at around age 30, he most likely worked as a carpenter with his dad Joseph.  That’s hard work!  No power tools and cordless drills.  Just raw strength and lots of sweat. 

Even after Jesus began his ministry, he was busy and worked hard.  He walked from town to town to announce that the Kingdom of God had come.  He preached to crowds of thousands.  He performed miracles.  He loved people and spent time with them.  And he also rested.  Luke 5:16 tells us that “Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.”

God invites us into Sabbath rest for our own benefit.  You’ve heard the cliché before: There aren’t any dying people that say, “I wish I would have worked more.”  Work is good and beneficial, and so is Sabbath rest. 

I’m not going to get into the semantics of debating when Sabbath rest should happen, because as a practical matter picking one specific day a week for the whole world to rest doesn’t work, and Sabbath rest was made for our benefit and blessing, not to be a burden.   But I do want to encourage you to consider the rhythm of your life as you begin a new year.  Is Sabbath rest a regular part of your life?  I’m not talking about sitting in front of the TV or spending hours on Facebook, Twitter or surfing the internet. 

I’m talking about intentional time in your life that is set aside to unplug from work; unplug from distractions; and to unplug from the demands of your life where your focus is on spending time with God and the important people in your life.  I know it’s a challenge for many of you, because it’s a challenge for me and my family to do this.  But when we are intentional about it, it’s a huge source of blessing for us.  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re stronger than Jesus.  You’re not.  Don’t fall into the trap of feeling guilty for resting.  That’s from the world, not from Jesus.  Make resting and recharging a priority in your life in 2014 and see what God does through that time in your life.