Rest-Sabbath

There have been a handful of things over the last few weeks that God has been using to teach me a deeper understanding of rest. I was reading through the Gym Jones website (www.gymjones.com) and I came upon a quote that while a little crude caught my attention.  It said “if you don’t have the balls to rest don’t train”. They even developed a shirt with the equation: work + rest = training. At the same time my boss who worked as a fitness trainer told me that they days I get stronger are the days that I rest.

Alongside my fitness messages came some from the ministry here. As we all know Christmas and New Year’s were both on a Sunday. Normally we have two services on a Sunday but I felt lead and was encouraged to have only one service on each of those days. The idea was to reduce our work, rest, change the rhythm and give people a chance to rest. It worked great. We had reasonable attendance for both of those days and changing how we worship helped stretch us to think of who we worship and why.

In addition to my fitness and work life I took some time to be with my parents while they were here over the holidays and we had some fun and unique experiences that had I not slowed down, I would have missed out on. Again rest. To top it all off I reread the chapter on the semicircle in Mike Breen’s book Building a Discipleship Culture. The semicircle is all about working from rest and then moving back to a place of abiding in Christ and being renewed.

End result for me: learn to honor the Sabbath and work from rest. Great lesson and one that I am sure many of us can also learn and integrate into our lives. We are so programmed to work and never rest. We are lead to believe that rest is for the weak and therefore we feel guilty when we slow down, recreate and just be. The idea of the Sabbath is to rest in God, to trust that God is at work in our world and our lives. It is sometimes hidden work like when a muscle is rebuilding after being broken down during a workout. This “hidden” work of God is real work and the end result is that we are fruitful, exactly what we are called to be. If I was to make a workout shirt for Christ followers it would say “rest + work = fruitfulness”. Those two need to exist together and in that order.

In our culture of over work and self reliance taking the Sabbath seriously will be somewhat radical and will be met with resistance. The Christian life should be counter culture and the Christian community should be a place of witness to the world that the deeper value is being over doing.  Since God’s kingdom is here and now we are to live in the kingdom and to do that we must learn to rest, abide, prune and then work from the place of grounded living in Christ.

More meditations

Here is more of the retreat I have been working on, it is not finished but it is where it is now. I have had my parents in town for the last two weeks so blogging has slowed but there are some cool things to share and I hope to get to that soon. My daughter has a few pictures of children on Ebeye I would love to share and hope to do so soon.

I hope these meditations and your time in prayer brings you healing and peace.

Part Two

The sessions in part two are a sessions of meditations connecting with Christ’s suffering. Connecting with his passion helps us to be better understand our own suffering and to see it in light of Christ’s presence and redemption. These might be difficult sessions since the look at the wounds we have in our lives but ultimately they are designed to be times where the Great Physician can begin a healing work in us. Take your time with these sessions, be gentle with yourself and after the retreat share your experience with a trusted friend or mentor. Begin each session saying the Lord’s Prayer then simply be with God in each meditation.

Read Isaiah 53:3a

This is a precious verse for us to consider in our retreat.  We need to understand that Jesus suffered and was familiar with sorrow.  If he didn’t know suffering how can we connect our suffering with his?  If he didn’t know sorrow we might be lead to think that being a Christian means living without rejection, pain, sorrow and suffering.  We would be at such a profound loss because we would miss the compassion of Christ and feel the guilt of our own pain, somehow thinking we weren’t good enough.

Suffering and Christianity go together because suffering and life go together.  We are called to connect our suffering with the suffering of Christ.  This gives meaning and purpose to our pain and it gives it a direction; redemption.  It gives us healing and hope and ultimately the freedom of the saints in light.

The focal point for Jesus’ suffering is on the cross.  It is there we see him at his weakest and most vulnerable.  We will connect first in his rejection by humanity.

* Read Mark 15:1-15 à Journal about the rejection of Christ which is summed up in the words “Crucify him!”  When have you been rejected by people?  Who rejected you, how did it feel?  Are those feelings of rejection still driving you somehow?  Christ probably didn’t feel loved at that moment.  How did you feel in those moments?

As you see that both you and Jesus have been rejected let him minister to you in your pain and hurt.  Let him begin to heal you, know that he knows how it feels.  Spend prayerful time with this connection.

Take a break if needed or go right into the second session.

* Read Mark 15:21 à  Jesus wasn’t able to carry his cross by himself.  This is a profound insight for so many of us who want to do it alone.  We think that it somehow shows weakness or lack of faith to have help.

Notice again that Jesus needed help carrying his cross.  Each of us has a cross to carry, we have burdens we must live with.  We don’t have to do it alone, if Jesus needed help then it is okay for us to need help.  Allow God to help you through people.  For Jesus it was Simon of Cyrene.  Who is your Simon of Cyrene?  Who will help you carry your cross?  For some it is an AA group, for others a pastor, counselor, spiritual director.  Yet others find close friends and support groups.  The key is to connect with a Simon in your life, they are God’s gift to you.

This is a good time to break for a while…

Retreat on Grace Parts 2 and 3

Here are the second and third meditations on the retreat on grace. Again, take your time (slower is better), bring a journal and come with an openness to Christ's leading. These are sessions to come back to multiple times over a series of weeks.

The second session focuses on the deliverance God has done and is doing in your life. Center yourself by saying the Lord’s Prayer and then begin.

Read Exodus 13:3-10

Remember how the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of slavery.  See how they began to know God as deliverer.  In what way has the Lord acted as deliverer in your life?  Think about this, journal on it and afterwards write a prayer of thanksgiving.

How does seeing God’s deliverance in the lives of Israelites and your life teach you about God’s grace and your place in the heart of God?

The third session picks up again the theme of your belovedness and the power of God’s love for you. Again, enter the space with the Lord’s Prayer.

Read Jeremiah 31:3

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”

1.      Memorize this verse.

2.      Who is the lover?  Who is the beloved that is the one receiving love?  How long is the lover loving the beloved?

3.      What are the results of this love?

Meditate on your status as God’s beloved.  Think on that as your identity.  How long does God intend on loving you for?  Again, how does this shape your identity?  Let yourself receive the gift of belovedness.  Let it simply come to you as the gift that it is.  As you receive, if you are moved to confess, do so and then receive the forgiveness Jesus offers.  If you are not moved to confess, let it go and simply be with God as He sees fit.

What are the outcomes of God’s faithfulness in your life?  How has God been faithful and what does faithfulness look like in terms of eternity?

Notice God’s faithfulness is tied to His love and not us or our abilities.  How does this notion free us to simply be with God and to live for God out of freedom?  How do we live for God out of our identity as His beloved?