Rest

A friend of mine has a dairy farm and along with the hundreds of cows that they have, their lives are filled with four adorable children.  Their youngest daughter is a sweet redheaded little girl. This amazing child enjoys getting up early to milk the cows with her daddy. When I say early I’m talking about 3:45 AM!

Recently she went out to milk the cows with her dad and found herself tired, needing some rest. She put on her dads flannel shirt, crawled into a large round bin of towels in the barn, curled up and fell asleep.

This is such a perfect picture to me of what it means to rest in the Lord.

We cover up ourselves with his love and his grace. We try to get as close to Him as we can.  We are so much like this little girl wearing her father’s flannel.

Wouldn’t it be nice to curl up and get comfortable, letting all our pretenses go, where there is no fear of what we look like, just pure abandonment at His feet?

What we find there is blissful. Contentment is found because we know we are home, loved, embraced and we are safe. “Come to me He whispers”.

How long has it been since

You’ve been there?

You’ve curled up and rested in the presence of the king?

You have felt accepted, loved, forgiven, chosen and adored?

Rest, rest and rest

The word rest in Greek is anapauo

Anapauo means

to rest

relax

to calm

to refresh

Anapauo has the root word pauo in it. Pauo is where we get the word pause. So in essence the word rest in Matthew 11 means to pause, to stop, cease.  Jesus is asking us to come to Him and stop, pause, rest!

I need to crawl up and lay at His feet today! How about you?

The Wrong Shoes

This morning I was in a hurry. I wanted to get to some pesky weeds that had been leering at me. Throwing on shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes, hat and bug spray, I was going to tackle those bothersome weeds once and for all! Fortunately, I was in the flower bed just in the nick of time! There were weeds on top of weeds! Some were hiding inside of plants and others had no shame at all, they were right there for all the world to see!

An hour later the weeds had been sufficiently plucked from the soil and then I got out the big gun!  Weed spray! Hopefully in my zealousness to permanently remove the weeds no flowers were hurt in the process. 

When I returned inside, I removed my shoes and then it became clear to me! I was wearing two very different tennis shoes!

Honestly, I never even looked at the shoes. I was blinded by my urgency to get the job done! I thought that one felt different from the other one, but never stopped to look at it.

I’d like to say that this is the first time that I wasn’t paying attention, but that would not be the truth!   Sometimes I need to slow down so that I don’t miss the important stuff. This is a sign to me that I need a rest.  Not just sleep, but some soul keeping, tending to the hidden places of my heart and mind.

Like the weeds that have sprung up in my garden I have weeds that need to be tended in my life. I must return to the important stuff not just the urgent ones!

Jesus showed us what the important stuff is.

Children

Relationships

Celebrations

Grace

Forgiveness

Sacrifice

Time with the Father

Restoration

Heaven

Slowing down for this go, go girl is difficult! Only Jesus can adequately cause me to stop and listen. The urgencies of this world are definitely the wrong shoes for me!

It reminds me of this song 

Slow me down oh Lord slow me down
Help my heart to hear Your sound
Speak into my life Lord speak now
Slow me down oh Lord slow me down

Clear my mind oh Lord clear my mind
Bring me peace that I cannot find
Take my worldly thoughts break my pride
Clear my mind oh Lord clear my mind

Wake my soul oh Lord wake my soul
With this mess I’ve made make me whole
Of this life called mine take control
Wake my soul oh Lord wake my soul

Slow me down oh Lord slow me down
Help my heart to hear Your sound
Speak into my life Lord speak now
Slow me down oh Lord slow me down
Slow me down oh Lord slow me down
Slow me down oh Lord slow me down

Robbie Seay Band

Often God speaks to me in the moments of my daily life.  Today I hear Him asking me to slow down, meet with Him and rest. These shoes feel like the right ones!

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place Mark 6:30-32 

 My prayer is that as you and I encounter the urgent, the challenges and the crazy that we find a holy place. Where we can Go with Jesus and rest.

Turn your heart to praise Him

How in the world did I end up here? I am the happy person. The one people want to know where my joy comes from. The one that doesn’t seem to have any problems. Yet, I find myself in this place.

This is the ebb and flow of life.  Living in the joy of knowing that I am loved and redeemed and in the despair that I can never measure up to who He has designed me to be.

Perhaps it has to do with heart issues that affect the way we feel? We’ve been talking about loving God with all her heart and turning our hearts back to him, but the question remains how do we really do that? How do we turn our hearts back to God when they’ve chosen other things and other people. How do we become face-to-face again with God?

In Psalm 42:5 the Psalmist asks, “Why so downcast O my soul” and then he goes on to say, “put your trust in God.”

Interestingly all of Psalm 42 gives us a picture of someone who once had an intimate relationship with God but now feels the distance. He writes,

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Have you been here; Totally set free to love Jesus, desiring to be in His presence?

So what happens to us that we find ourselves like the Psalmist crying out in verse 5

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? 

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Downcast- Bowed down, crouching, sinking

Disturbed means literally,

• to growl as a bear;
• to sound, or make a noise, as a harp, rain, waves;
• to be agitated, troubled, or anxious in mind: to moan internally.  (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible )

Here is my version of the verse, 

Why soul are you bowed down, sinking under the weight that you are feeling? Why are you so agitated and growling like a bear?

Life is full of struggles. Each of us face little ones and big ones on a daily basis.

Struggles of

Faith

Finances

Feelings of insecurity, anxiety, anger, resentment, jealousy….

Friendships

Frustrations

Family

Fear

When we turn our heart toward God and see who He is, our hearts can once again rejoice even in the midst of struggles. This is the reason that we can rejoice in the Lord always. Struggles come and go, but His character stays the same!

It is then that we can begin to understand what the psalmist was talking about at the end of Psalm 42:5-6

Why, my soul, are you downcast? 

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, 

for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God.

My soul is downcast within me;therefore I will remember you

Let’s focus today on turning our hearts to praising God.

The act of praise flows out of our reverence and gratitude for God. When we praise God for who He is we are invited into a deeper relationship with Him. Praise turns our heart focus from our struggles to the unchanging character of God.

 He is 

• Full of glory  Psalm 138:5
• Great Psalm  145:3
• Wise and powerful  Daniel 2:20
• Good Psalm  107:8
• Merciful and faithful  Psalm 89:1
• The One who saves us  Psalm 18:46
• Keeps His promises  1 Kings 8:56
• Forgives sin  Psalm 103:1-3

Praising God turns our hearts back to Him and when we do, we find peace.

Isaiah 26:3  We will have perfect peace when we trust him

May you today turn your heart to Praise Him.

Turn your heart towards Jesus

Remember when you were so in love with Jesus that nothing else mattered? When your heart burned with love and devotion for your savior? When you first became a Christ follower and your heart was completely His?

Somewhere along the way of our lives with Him have begun to slightly turn from our first love to other things.

"Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.…Joel 2:12-13

The word "return" in this verse in Hebrew is shub. 

         

 shub means-to turn back, return

In the Jewish faith the time period of Elul usually occurs in late August–September. Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

“Elul,” in Hebrew when the letters are read as an acronym, reminds us of the verse, "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine"  Or in my translation, God has my heart!

Often when speaking of the time period of Elul it is said that we enter achor el achor, meaning “back to back,” and by the end of Elul we are panim el panim, “face to face.”

Sometimes our hearts turn toward other things and we don't realize that we have turned away from God. If we stay turned for too long we can feel distant and disconnected from Him.  Sometimes we even convince ourselves that God has moved from us. 

If I am honest, I have been in this turned away position. I am not mad at God, I didn't mean to  become back to back. Somehow as I was focused on work, taking care of my mom, doing ministry and living I began to slowly turn away from my first love. This post is so for me! Today is the beginning of my time of Elul. I am choosing to seek God and turn towards Him.

Where is your heart today?  Is it turned away from God? (back to back)

James tells us that God will be close to us if we come to Him.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. James 4:8

Are you willing to turn around, to become face to face with God again? (panim el panim)

If you want that closeness and an intimacy with God again you must be willing to turn around and look at Him. When you look into His eyes you will feel both the embrace of your savior and the reassurance of His love for you.

 

The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.         Exodus 33:10 

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Psalm 27:8

May you be blessed as you seek His face once again.

Love Him with all of your Heart

The command is clear, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart".  Sometimes I am a little confused as to what it means. How do I love God with my heart? Lets look a little closer the heart and the significance it has.

The heart is seen everywhere, necklaces, emoji's, stationary, T-shirts,  cards and just about everywhere you look a heart can be found. Around the world the heart represents one thing, love.

In the bible the Hebrew word used in Deuteronomy 6:5 for heart is "lebab" and in the new testament the Greek word for heart is "kardia". Luke 10:27

Lebab and kardia combine thoughts and emotions. It is the seat of the emotional and intellectual life.

When commanded to love God with all of our heart it means to love Him with our thoughts and emotions.

God deserves to be loved with pure heart. The writer of Psalms seems to express it so well.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

The"bara" is the same word used when speaking about God creating the universe in Genesis. This verse is asking God to create/re-create your heart to be a pure sanctified heart.

Try praying this,  Lord "bara" my heart so I may love you more!

In Proverbs 4:23 we are told to guard our heart

Above all else, guard your heart,for everything you do flows from it.
Our relationship with God begins with our hearts and so we should protect it from anything that could contaminate it.

What comes to mind that needs to be removed in order for your heart to be protected?

Moses challenges the people of Israel to have a deep understanding of who God is in Deuteronomy 4:39

Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.

How does this thought of God's authority strengthen your heart?

God wants us to be connected to Him and His word.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah 31:33.

God has already written His word on your heart! This is why His word penetrates our hearts so well!

How do we love God with all of our hearts?

Love Him with our thoughts and emotions

Love Him with a heart that has been "bara" recreated and pure.

Love Him with a protected heart

Love Him by having a deep understanding of who He is. Names of Jesus

Love Him by knowing His word that is written on our hearts.

Next in this series, Turning our hearts back to God

Love God

Loving Jesus is more than following rules. It's more than doing all the right things. It's more than loving the unlovely. It's more than following the 10 Commandments, being a good Christian, going to church or even reading your Bible.

I've been struggling with this concept this week while reading Mark Batterson's book All in.

To be ALL IN he suggests, "We don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God.

I'd like to go slightly different route here. Being All In means that my heart is completely His because Jesus is my one true love. This affects everything in my life.

How do I love Jesus with everything I am?

It's no surprise that Jesus addressed this as did the old testament. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31

It is pretty straightforward, but not easy! Maybe that's why it's called the greatest commandment!

Love God

With all of your heart

With all of your mind

With all of your soul

With all of your strength

Looking at this list I am slightly terrified.

How do you Love God with everything you are?

How do you love someone who you cannot see?

How do you love someone who is not tangible?

There is hope when we love God.

Romans tells us that when we love God He works for our good.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose Romans 8:28

This helps me want to love Him more! He is working for me as I grow in my love for Him.

I was watching the series A.D. this week. Where Saul and Peter are discussing Saul's conversion to Christianity. Peter says to Saul, "I was with Jesus, he was my friend, my Lord. I love him.  Saul then turns to Peter and tells him, "I have seen him and now I feel him, here as he touches his heart.

I was moved by that little gesture because that's how I feel. I may not have ever seen Jesus visibly, but I know He is with me because I feel him with me. He has made His presence known by giving me peace and joy.

You may not feel Him or His presence. If that is so I want to encourage you today to ask Him to make His presence known to you. The bible promises that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. James 4:8

Join me on the next post to look at what the bible says about loving God with all of our hearts.

Running From........

At some point in our lives we will find ourselves running from or running towards something. It all depends on the day or hour for me.  The following posts may be helpful to you as you Reflect on this area.

1. The Hiding

2. Running from Him

3. Running from His Call

4. Running from Forgiveness

5. Running from Forgiveness pt 2

6. Running from the Pain

7. Running from Discipline

8. No More Running

Join us on the Reflect link Running from.

No More Running

This theme of running has been going on for quite a while in my life. I have been running from past mistakes, hurts, fears, disappointments, and the unknown.

Recently, everything I have been reading and experiencing shouts to me the same thing, "Surrender, stop running, give in and let go"!

As a strong-willed woman this is no easy task! For years I would pride myself with the, " I can do it by myself, I got it" attitude. Just the typical outwardly self-assured and confident superwoman complex. But inside when the façade is down there's insecurity and doubt.

The truth is God did not make us so that we could be self-sufficient. He created us to be in relationship with Him.

He is the creator, we are the created.

He is the vine, we are the branches.

He is the potter, we are the clay.

He alone gives life eternal!

Are you ready to stop running? 

I have been bombarded with this theme of surrender and what I've been reading has shook me up! I love how God connects the dots for us.

All In by Mark Batterson. One of his phrases that stuck with me is " Are you following Jesus or are you asking Jesus to follow you? "

Undaunted by Christine Cane  She's challenging me to trust God, to let go and let him lead.

Several months ago we hosted the IF Gathering at our church. You can read more about IF here.   The premise behind IF is simple. "If God is real, then we want to live like it

Notice a theme?

God wants us to live a surrendered life, to stop running from ...............and let Him lead, guide, redefine us redirect us, restore us and reinvigorate us!

I am so glad that God has given us scripture that tells us how we can surrender daily to Him.

Surrender your Emotions

Luke 10:38-42  Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” 

Martha wanted Jesus to be just as upset as she was!

Question: How can I surrender my emotions to Jesus?

Surrender your Plans

Luke 22:41-42  He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.

Jesus could have run from this call, instead He prayed and gave His life for us.

Question: How can you daily surrender your plans to the Lord?

Surrender your Pride

John 13:12-17 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.  “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus gave us an example that he wants us to follow.

Question: What area of pride needs to be surrendered to Him today?

Surrender your Selfishness

Phil. 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Question: How can you show the love of Jesus by putting someone else before yourself?

Surrender your Anger

1 Peter 3:8-9 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Question: Who can you bless instead of harboring anger towards?

Honestly I could go on and on! Please don't be overwhelmed. If you will just pick one of these areas to surrender and offer it before the Lord I believe you will see change. Let's stop running together and live our lives surrendered to Him.