Work, Work, Work And Then Rest

It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late,
    and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don’t you know he enjoys
    giving rest to those he loves?
Psalm 127:2 (NLT)

On first glance it looks like the Bible is saying we should all stay up late and sleep in, right? But that is not what the Bible says. The Bible actually talks about an honest man earning his keep and working diligently.

This text is talking about a problem I have. The problem is thinking that if I work hard enough I can make everything look like I want it to or better yet, look like what God wants it to be. In my willingness to work hard, I forget that I am not in charge. I forget that even though I can and will put in long hours, God is the one with all the answers, not me.

I forget that I need to rest and let God be God. God wants us to rest. That's why he gave us the Sabbath. A day to rest, a day to spend with him, a day to remember that He is in control.

The really awesome thing about resting is it often includes time with family and friends, laughter and fun. And then, when I get back to it, my mind is fresh and ready to tackle the work before me understanding completely who is in control.

It Really Isn't About The Talking Donkey

But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!” Numbers 22:12 (NLT)

As I've read the story of Balaam in the past, I always focused on the talking donkey. The morale of the story was how God could get a message across to us any way he chooses.  Recently, in reading this again, new questions popped up. 

One is that God told Balaam, "No, you cannot go curse them." Balaam sent the committee home only to have them return with more money and more prestige. Balaam, seeing all this, said "Let me check again." Did he think God was going to change his mind because there was more money at stake?  Did he think because there were more important people in the group God would say "Well, OK."? On the outside Balaam was saying the right things (sort of) but his heart wasn't where it should be.

How often do we do this? We go to God with something we want, he says no but we keep asking? And then, we try to justify what we want by making up reasons that God said it was OK.

In the end God allowed Balaam to go and along the way he had a fight with a donkey, encountered an angel who was going to kill him, spent days and days on a hot dusty road and his reputation was damaged because Balek was really angry that so much time was wasted for nothing. And guess what?  It ended up the way God wanted it anyway.

Maybe we should save ourselves and just listen when God says "I have something better for you."

Planning Ahead

At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen. Isaiah 60:22b (NLT)

I was talking to someone the other day who didn’t want to plan to far into the future because they “didn’t know where things would be then.” Made me think. I am a planner. Now, I know not everyone is like me and some people aren’t planners.  But this person is a planner so it was unusual.

So why do I think I should plan either for tomorrow or next year? My friend was right in that we don’t know what things will look like then. And then I giggle because I don’t have to know! I can plan to my heart's content and rest easy. Why?

First, God is a planner so he’s busy planning his own stuff. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬

And when God plans his stuff, nothing I plan will get in the way.

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.  Proverbs‬ ‭19:21‬ ‭
and ‬‬
Nothing I plan for your life can be stopped. Job 42:2 (paraphrased)

He will take whatever I plan and make it the very best for what he wants for my life.  I can dream and plan to my heart’s content knowing that God will work it all out for the best.

Should I stop planning because God might change my course? Definitely not! The Bible is very clear that we should plan and asses a course of action. Is it frustrating to make plans and have them not work out? Sometimes. I guess that is where the rubber meets the road and we have to ask ourselves the hard questions.

Do I believe that God has my best interest at heart and do I trust his plans more than mine? Something to think about.....

How To Share The Gospel

We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NLT)

What do you think the difference was between how Jesus shared the Gospel and how we sometimes do it?  1 Thessalonians 2:8 is an eye opener.  Here it is in different versions.

Because we loved you, we were happy to share not only God’s Good News with you, but even our own lives. You had become so dear to us!  NCV

Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. NIV

We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did. MSG

What stands out to you in those verses?  Of course, the love that was felt for people. But, then the text goes on to talk about sharing life, giving of yourself. So often we Christians look at sharing the Gospel as something we have to do to check the box instead of an act of love. And no offense but I think it's really hard to walk up to a stranger on the street and say let me tell you about the Gospel and share love. You might be talking about God's love but you are not actually loving someone.

If God is calling you to a drive-by, then do it but Jesus' example was living life with the people he was trying to reach. He got into the messiness and the politics and the pain of it all and stayed there. He lived the love he knew and by doing that showed us how to do the same. Get into the messiness with people. Stay. Support. Reflect the love you know.

A Minute In It - We Want What We Want

A minute in God's word will change your life. Take a minute to read the passage below. Then, ask yourself the questions at the bottom of the post.  

So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam’s donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all. 27 This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff.
28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.
29 “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”
30 “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?”
“No,” Balaam admitted.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.  Numbers 22:21-31 (NLT)

What did Balaam do when the donkey stopped his progress?
When the donkey started talking to Balaam, what was his response?
When did Balaam see the angel of the Lord?
Has God sent things to your life to stop you from doing what you want to do?
When did you realize God was trying to get a hold of you? Before or after it was too late?
What has been your response to God?
 

Home Is Where The Heart Is

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love." John 15:9 (MSG)

When folks come to our house we say to them, "Make yourselves at home."  What does it mean when you tell someone "Make yourselves at home"? For us it means "Take off your shoes. Relax a while. Rest. Enjoy the warmth, love and protection of this place."

What it doesn't mean is that you can destroy the house, hurt the people in it and disregard the guidelines we've put in place.

Interestingly, when Jesus said "Make yourselves at home in my love" maybe he was saying the same thing. The next line is "If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love."  In other words, "Come, rest, enjoy but please be careful to not harm or destroy the house my Father has built. Our love is for your enjoyment and protection. Please be careful with it. Sharing it with you is important to us."

Do you make yourself at home in God's love? If not, what's stopping you?

Embracing Inconvenience

The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Galatians 3:11 (MSG)

I was asked to consult on a project for six months. Honestly, I didn't want to go because it would throw my schedule all out of whack. The hours would be long and it was going to be a lot of work. But, I had asked God to put me where he wanted and even though I tried not to go, I ended up on the project.

A couple of months in, I was tired and things had gotten a little crazy because of events beyond my control in my personal life. I was telling God "It's OK, I only have four more months." That was my conversation with him one night as I feel asleep.

The next day at work I had two conversations with people about God and how great he is. When I laid down that night and was talking to God about my day I said, "God, we only have four more months to work here. What do you want to do?"

What had changed? What changed was my attitude. Instead of trying to get through this assignment from God, I began to embrace it and welcome it as His. What would happen if instead of seeing things from our 'inconvenience' perspective, we looked at our situations from God's perspective? How would our attitudes change? If we embraced where God put us and saw our situations as something he arranged, suddenly the way we saw life would be so very exciting. Maybe one of our New Year's goals should be to be less me-focused and more God-sighted.

At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen. Isaiah 60:22 (NLT)

What Is Your Response?

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”  John 13:35-35 (NLT)

We were discussing how to live this text in our daily lives.  What does it look like to love one another? There were lots of good answers in the group but one stood out in my mind. Someone said, "It's how you respond."

Think about that for a second. We spend our days "responding." When someone asks a question, we respond verbally. When we are driving in the car and someone beeps at you one milli-second after the light turns green, we respond. When you greet a person behind the counter, it's a response. As you walk, whether it be on the street or down the hall at work, and you lock eyes with a stranger or a co-worker, the look in your eyes is a response.

How are you responding? If you are in the middle of something and someone walks up and asks a question, do you respond with enthusiasm and a welcoming tone? When the beep happens, do you respond with a kind wave, using your entire hand? When you walk up to the counter and the person says "How are you?", do you stop, answer and ask them how they are in return? And that person you pass along the way, do you look at their eyes, notice them and say "Good Day!?"

Maybe, loving one another starts in our simple responses. It awakens what comes next....which is a conversation.