Resting in Jesus

“Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28 

This would have to be one of my favourite verses.  

I think all of us get tired from time to time.  Like everyone, I get physically, mentally and emotionally tired.   And it’s in those times; I try to remember Jesus’ promise to me, that if I go to him I will get rest.

What does rest mean? We might physically lie down but our minds can continue to churn with all the stresses and worries that life brings. This churning of problems over and over again is anything but restful!  

To me, rest means to focus on Jesus, to worship him and to remember my daddy God’s greatest passion was for me to know him. It is only when I do these things that I feel Jesus’ arms around me as he lifts me and carries me. 

While your family or friends may break their promises, Jesus will never break a promise, and when he promises to give me rest, I believe him.

What do you think?

Thinking about the Lord’s Prayer – Kingdom Come

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.

Amen

If we have been in church for more than a few years, we know the Lord’s Prayer by heart and often recite it by rote.  Lately I’ve been thinking about the different parts in the prayer and today I wanted to share my thoughts on the part in the prayer where we say “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.

I wonder if any of us ever really stop and think what it means for God’s will to done and his kingdom to come in our lives.   

I personally think God’s will is for us to come in agreement with him about our standing in his sight.    Over and over in the Bible, he says we are his beautiful children; truly blessed, deeply loved and highly favoured.  I honestly believe God loves each of us so much that he willingly stretched out his hands, allowed nails to be driven into his palms, and took our sins on his body because he would rather suffer a torturous death than for any one of us to spend another minute out of his presence. 

To me, living each day in God’s presence is bringing his kingdom to earth.   

What do you think?

Thoughts on The Lord's Prayer: Daily Bread

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.

Amen

If we have been in church for more than a few years, we know the Lord’s Prayer by heart and often recite it by rote.  Lately I’ve been thinking about the different parts in the prayer and I wanted to share my thoughts on the part in the prayer where we say “Give us this day our daily bread”.   

Most of us in Australia, have several days’ worth of food in our pantries or freezers so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to ask God to give us food for today, when we already have enough for today, tomorrow and into next week in the cupboard. 

I reckon asking God for ‘daily bread’ means asking God to spend time with us, to hang out and to share life with us.    And I also reckon that is what God wants too, or otherwise he wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble to put those lines in the Lord’s Prayer.  Right through the Bible God talks about his desire to spend time with us and to lavish his love upon us. 

When you spend time with God every day, it changes how you view church.  Church no longer means an hour or so a week focusing on God but instead, our gathering turns into a celebration of the past week with our God and encouragement for the week ahead, to keep on keeping on, to continue meeting with God and enjoying being in his presence.

What do you think?

Declarations

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has delivered from the hand of the adversary

Psalm 107:1, 2 (AMP)

I’ve been thinking a lot about declarations of late and how there is power in the words we speak.

To declare means:

• To make known formally or officially
• To state emphatically or authoritatively; affirm.
• To reveal or make manifest; show.

The words you speak are powerful; remember God spoke this whole world into existence by His Word.  Since we are created in His image, we have the power and authority to make declarations over our own lives.

Each week in church, we stand and repeat The Nicene Creed.  This Creed is a declaration of what we believe spiritually as a congregation.

On Sundays, when I take communion, I go back to my seat with the wafer in my hand and I make my own declaration to my Jesus.  This is a powerful reminder to keep my eyes on my saviour and all he has done for me.  It is also a reminder to me of where I stand in the sight of my Father God.

This is my own personal declaration:

“By your stripes I am healed,

By your blood, I am washed clean,

By your broken body, I am made whole,

By the crown of thorns you wore, I now wear a crown of salvation,

By your nakedness, I am clothed with a robe of righteousness,

And by your sacrifice and your substitutionary death on the cross, I can boldly stand before my Daddy God.  

Thank you Jesus for all you have done for me.”

What do you think of declarations?  Do you have your own? 

Harry the Asbestos Inspector

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  John 3:16,17

This week we had our church buildings inspected by a fellow named Harry, under instructions by the Newcastle Diocese.  Harry was looking for asbestos and other hazardous material, and in doing so, he spent a fair bit of time checking many places we normally don’t even bother to think about.  Harry has almost finished his work here in our parish and will soon write a report and tell us what needs fixing and if anything needs to be removed or replaced.  

This got me thinking.  We can be so used to the things around us that we don’t notice any flaws or deteriorations.   But it’s not just our physical surroundings that need the occasional inspection, we need to inspect our thought patterns from time to time and see if they line up with God’s truth.  

It’s easy to get obsessed with the idea that if we do better and try harder and obey all the “rules” we will get in good with God and he will like us a bit more than the times when we are not doing so well.  

There is nothing you can do today to make God love you more, and there’s nothing you can do to make Him love you any less… Beloved, it’s not enough that you know that God loves everyone. You need to know and believe that He loves you, and let that revelation burn in your heart, especially when you fail.  

God’s character is unchanging because he is unchanging.  We all have days where our emotions feel like they are on a roller coaster car but God thoughts towards us are always steady and always filled with love.

God loves you because his character is love.