This is going to be really simple and not too profound, but definitely quenching water for my soul in this season of life...
Matt 11:28-30
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest. 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Even as I began typing the passage above, I took a long, deep sigh of relief. I love that this is SO counter-cultural for us. We are so ridiculously busy and heavy-laden and rest-deprived that we don't know what this begins to look like. When was the last time your soul was at rest?
In my commentary, it reads that those Jesus is referring to as "heavy laden" are the Jews who are suffering under the weight of religious responsibilities put on them by the scribes and pharisees- the religious leaders of that day. Our "religion" does that. It places weights and burdens on us that the One whom we really are desiring to please doesn't require. He desires mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). He desires intimate knowledge of who He is, not mere head knowledge and a list of duties carried out to check off a list. To know Him, we must know His Son. Knowing His Son means that we have confessed He is Lord, that He has taken every single sin from us and nailed it to the cross. HE took our heavy burden and in return, invites us to take His..."My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
A beautiful exchange.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Days 12-14: The Harvest
Here are some things that I've learned in the past few days as I've taken a little "think break" from blogging...
#1- I can't come close to completing this challenge adequately in 28 days. There is so much meat, so much to ponder in these verses that I feel as though I'm short-changing myself by breezing through chapters for the sake of a schedule. So the name of this whole endeavor will be changed to "The 28 day, or however long it needs to take, Jesus challenge."
#2- I'm truly a narcissist. It feels super good to look at the blog stats and see who's been checking out the blog and how many page views I have per day. During my little break, I was reminded about how this is not about me.
#3- I'm not a super-mom. This "all-day" morning sickness has kicked my heinie. I haven't cleaned well since we moved in, used my oven to cook for my family, or really exercised in a couple of weeks. It's extremely humbling to have a weakness that you can't snap out of or just suck up and barrel through. I'm learning to accept gifts of service that others offer me (like my mom preparing loads of meals for us to thaw and cook over the next month).
Now onto the good stuff. Matt Chapter 9:37,38
"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"
This verse gives me butterflies of excitement and makes my heart quicken like it never has before when I've read it. In this season of our lives, we have the incredible opportunity to be on the ground-floor of a church plant. This has been 2+ years in the making and we just had our official launch today! I am moved to tears as I write these words thinking of the prayers, plans, and work that has gone into preparing for the harvest here in Boulder. There were 45 people there today. Numbers don't matter one bit, but what does matter are the people who have expressed interest in being the "laborers." The Lord of the harvest HAS SENT LABORERS!! They are people that we are only beginning to get to know, but we love them and are so thankful they have been called into His kingdom and are obedient to do His work. I love the truth that is in what Jesus says:
The harvest is PLENTIFUL
The laborers are FEW
It's the LORD'S harvest
Ask Him to send laborers
It's like standing before a vast field of- I'm gonna go ahead and pick my favorite crop- Strawberries. They are plentiful. They are ripe. They are ready for picking. The owner and master of the field has people at His disposal that can come alongside and help to harvest this crop, we need only ask.
Jesus has done the hard work. The Father has already chosen those who will believe. The Holy Spirit gives us boldness and authority through His Word. We just need to get out there and begin harvesting.
Father, thank you for rescuing me out of my dead, rotting state and for breathing life into me. Thank you for killing your only Son and my sins with Him so that I, the most unworthy of sinners, could have a place with you in eternity. Thank you for the harvest ahead of us. Please send laborers into Your harvest.
#1- I can't come close to completing this challenge adequately in 28 days. There is so much meat, so much to ponder in these verses that I feel as though I'm short-changing myself by breezing through chapters for the sake of a schedule. So the name of this whole endeavor will be changed to "The 28 day, or however long it needs to take, Jesus challenge."
#2- I'm truly a narcissist. It feels super good to look at the blog stats and see who's been checking out the blog and how many page views I have per day. During my little break, I was reminded about how this is not about me.
#3- I'm not a super-mom. This "all-day" morning sickness has kicked my heinie. I haven't cleaned well since we moved in, used my oven to cook for my family, or really exercised in a couple of weeks. It's extremely humbling to have a weakness that you can't snap out of or just suck up and barrel through. I'm learning to accept gifts of service that others offer me (like my mom preparing loads of meals for us to thaw and cook over the next month).
Now onto the good stuff. Matt Chapter 9:37,38
"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"
This verse gives me butterflies of excitement and makes my heart quicken like it never has before when I've read it. In this season of our lives, we have the incredible opportunity to be on the ground-floor of a church plant. This has been 2+ years in the making and we just had our official launch today! I am moved to tears as I write these words thinking of the prayers, plans, and work that has gone into preparing for the harvest here in Boulder. There were 45 people there today. Numbers don't matter one bit, but what does matter are the people who have expressed interest in being the "laborers." The Lord of the harvest HAS SENT LABORERS!! They are people that we are only beginning to get to know, but we love them and are so thankful they have been called into His kingdom and are obedient to do His work. I love the truth that is in what Jesus says:
The harvest is PLENTIFUL
The laborers are FEW
It's the LORD'S harvest
Ask Him to send laborers
It's like standing before a vast field of- I'm gonna go ahead and pick my favorite crop- Strawberries. They are plentiful. They are ripe. They are ready for picking. The owner and master of the field has people at His disposal that can come alongside and help to harvest this crop, we need only ask.
Jesus has done the hard work. The Father has already chosen those who will believe. The Holy Spirit gives us boldness and authority through His Word. We just need to get out there and begin harvesting.
Father, thank you for rescuing me out of my dead, rotting state and for breathing life into me. Thank you for killing your only Son and my sins with Him so that I, the most unworthy of sinners, could have a place with you in eternity. Thank you for the harvest ahead of us. Please send laborers into Your harvest.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Day 11: A day in the life of Jesus
Matt Chapter 8
I'm being spoiled today. My folks are in town and my mom is hanging with Stella while I sit on my back porch and spend some sweet time in the Word. What a treat!
Due to my extra helping of time today, I was able to read through this chapter a few times and ponder the context. I noticed that under each new heading the paragraph began with a transition "When He had come down from the mountain" (v1) "When Jesus had entered Capernaum" (v5) "When Jesus had come into Peter's house..." (v14). From the way the chapter flows this looks as if it is all in one day. (Please don't quote me on that, I'm not by any means a Biblical or historical scholar, I'm just noting how the context reads.)
If this truly is one day, this is what Jesus' consisted of:
-He came down from teaching two chapter's worth on a mountain and healed a leper
-He walked to Capernaum and was immediately greeted by a centurion whose daughter was sick
-He finally got to Peter's house (I imagine that is where he was hoping for dinner and a good night's sleep) and Peter's Mother-in-law was sick so He healed her and she got up and served them
-"When evening had come" (v16) he cast out several demons
-"When Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side." Then a few guys started recruiting themselves for His inner circle
-When He finally got to the boat a huge "tempest" arose on the sea and His disciples started freaking out. He got up and told the sea to be calm.
-When Jesus arrived at His destination two "exceedingly fierce" demon-possessed men met Him there. He said one word in this whole exchange "Go" and the demons relocated to a herd of swine.
-The city was in such an uproar about this that they begged Him to leave.
-He got back into the boat (I'm sure this is the morning of the next day) and He begin all over again
This is extraordinary to me! I've never read the gospels like this before, in the context of time. Jesus was fully man and fully God, so He needed food and rest. No wonder He was a bit irritated with the guys when they frantically woke Him from sweet sleep during the storm. He said "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" They just saw him perform a days worth of incredible miracles and healings and they immediately lose faith. He's just trying recoup from a hectic day when they wake Him.
I love that by the time He meets the fierce demon-possessed guys, He says one word.
Oh! I just LOVE my Savior! I've never ever experienced a day even close to this caliber of busyness or importance and I get overwhlemed.
I'm so encouraged by our High Priest's example as I remember these commands in Paul's letters:
Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
2 Thessalonians 3:13 "But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good."
Hebrew 12:3 "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."
What a joy it is to know that we are bearers of His torch. Our Savior and Creator. The One who did the will of His Father at the cost of His comfort, food, rest, and His life. Thank you, Jesus for going before us.
I'm being spoiled today. My folks are in town and my mom is hanging with Stella while I sit on my back porch and spend some sweet time in the Word. What a treat!
Due to my extra helping of time today, I was able to read through this chapter a few times and ponder the context. I noticed that under each new heading the paragraph began with a transition "When He had come down from the mountain" (v1) "When Jesus had entered Capernaum" (v5) "When Jesus had come into Peter's house..." (v14). From the way the chapter flows this looks as if it is all in one day. (Please don't quote me on that, I'm not by any means a Biblical or historical scholar, I'm just noting how the context reads.)
If this truly is one day, this is what Jesus' consisted of:
-He came down from teaching two chapter's worth on a mountain and healed a leper
-He walked to Capernaum and was immediately greeted by a centurion whose daughter was sick
-He finally got to Peter's house (I imagine that is where he was hoping for dinner and a good night's sleep) and Peter's Mother-in-law was sick so He healed her and she got up and served them
-"When evening had come" (v16) he cast out several demons
-"When Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side." Then a few guys started recruiting themselves for His inner circle
-When He finally got to the boat a huge "tempest" arose on the sea and His disciples started freaking out. He got up and told the sea to be calm.
-When Jesus arrived at His destination two "exceedingly fierce" demon-possessed men met Him there. He said one word in this whole exchange "Go" and the demons relocated to a herd of swine.
-The city was in such an uproar about this that they begged Him to leave.
-He got back into the boat (I'm sure this is the morning of the next day) and He begin all over again
This is extraordinary to me! I've never read the gospels like this before, in the context of time. Jesus was fully man and fully God, so He needed food and rest. No wonder He was a bit irritated with the guys when they frantically woke Him from sweet sleep during the storm. He said "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" They just saw him perform a days worth of incredible miracles and healings and they immediately lose faith. He's just trying recoup from a hectic day when they wake Him.
I love that by the time He meets the fierce demon-possessed guys, He says one word.
Oh! I just LOVE my Savior! I've never ever experienced a day even close to this caliber of busyness or importance and I get overwhlemed.
I'm so encouraged by our High Priest's example as I remember these commands in Paul's letters:
Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
2 Thessalonians 3:13 "But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good."
Hebrew 12:3 "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."
What a joy it is to know that we are bearers of His torch. Our Savior and Creator. The One who did the will of His Father at the cost of His comfort, food, rest, and His life. Thank you, Jesus for going before us.
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