Unfortunately, the answer may be closer than we think. (more…)
Our kids were a little younger at the time, probably around 3, 5 and 7 years old. And like a lot of parents, we had at least one (all) of our kids who was pretty strong-willed. We were increasingly having to deal with actions and attitudes that required discipline, and some days it seemed like we were running our own little detention center.
“I think that missional community life probably works great where you live, but you don’t understand my context. People are different here… they’ll never have you into their homes, or come over to your place. Folks are just too busy or not open to relationship like this in our city.” (more…)
Many conversations about our churches becoming more missional (discipleship-focused) assume there is nothing but objections and arguments against living this way. But what about those churches where people are already convinced and just need direction?
This week on the Lifeschool Podcast, we lay out the very first steps to becoming a missional church. These are steps that you can ABSOLUTELY take today, and your folks will love it!
I once heard it said that we always want to work FOR love instead of work FROM love. I want to remind you that in the beginning of the Story, God created humans in his own image on the sixth day, to be like him. And then on the next day—the very first full twenty-four hours of life for Adam and Eve—was a day off. A day of rest.
In the book of Exodus found in the Old Testament of the Bible, these ancient Hebrew writings show us that when God gives the fourth of what we commonly call the Ten Commandments, he says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” He’s not talking about Ozzie Osbourne and his band… but he gives us a whole paragraph of instructions on this command while the other of the 10 Commandments are just mentioned briefly, such as, “You shall not steal or lie.”[clickToTweet tweet=”Why do we treat God’s command to keep sabbath as a suggestion? We wouldn’t do that with the other 9!” quote=”Why do we treat God’s command to keep sabbath as a suggestion? We wouldn’t do that with the other 9!”]
It seems that God knew that we were going to want to work hard at earning and providing for ourselves, and that we would need a rhythm of reminders to help us restore balance and trust in him each week.God created everything, including us, pronounced it awesome, and then took a break to enjoy it all. That is his desire for us too—to live in a rhythm of resting in his finished work. So why do we so often treat this command of God’s as a suggestion? “Oh, um, yeah…I really need to do that more.” Or… “In the New Year, I am going to rest and take some time off. At least I hope to.”
But we would never say that about any of the other commands: “Next month I am going to cut my stealing and telling lies in half. I really need to.” Or, “I should definitely stop murdering people. I really gotta cut back.”
What?!
Why is it when it comes to the command to rest and then work, we so easily blow this one off? Maybe we get so busy we forget. We lose track of God’s ongoing goodness and provision, and begin thinking that we’re our own source of talent, energy, skills, and…well, everything.[clickToTweet tweet=”God desires our lives to be a perpetual state of Sabbath, a non-stop resting in his completed work.” quote=”God desires our lives to be a perpetual state of Sabbath, a non-stop resting in his completed work on the cross.”]
God desires our lives to be a perpetual state of Sabbath, a non-stop resting in his completed work. On the cross, Jesus secured for us what we never could earn for ourselves, the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of our relationship with his Father. We can do nothing to add to this any more than we can cause plants to grow, control the weather, or cause God to love us any more than he already does.
Because of Jesus we can rest. Today. Every day. At a soul level.
So if you’ve been working hard and then resting… the next best time to start working from rest is now.
Let me know what keeps you from truly resting in a regular rhythm in the comments below.
Blessed to be a blessing sounds at once awesome… and a little daunting. Where do we start blessing people when there are SO MANY needs around us? That should make it easier, but honestly, it can kind of shut you down, not knowing WHO to bless or HOW.
This week on the Lifeschool Podcast, we talk about how to live fully enjoying the blessings in your life, but also how to live “blessed to be a blessing” to others as a family on mission.
