Imitating God by doing this one thing...

 

There are many books published on how we should imitate the ways of God. These can include things like, obeying the Commandments; or knowing the Beatitudes, or something similar. 

However, I came across this thought from the author Peter Scazzero recently - it is a brilliant take on following God's example.

"We imitate God by stopping our work and resting."

In light of the lectionary reading from 1 Kings 19 (last week), these words challenge us all, especially as we try to live in a fast-paced world. Elijah was forced to imitate God because of the state of his mind and heart. We shouldn't wait until we are forced into this habit!

Thought: How else can we imitate God's ways?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

There is a remedy, but we don't think we need it

Life is busy! Actually, a better way to describe it is this: Life is relentless. 

We never seem to get a break or catch our breath. We are rushing from one thing to the next, giving ourselves little time to even process our emotions along the way. And the result of all of this is that more and more of us are feeling exhausted and ready to scream. We constantly ask the question: Is it ever going to stop!? And in truth, if we don't do something about it, then this same cycle will continue, perpetually! It won't stop if we don't so something about it.

Ecclesiastes 7:39 – “God made man simple: man’s complex problems are of his own devising.” (Jerusalem Bible)

At the core of our culture of busyness, is our reluctance to take a Sabbath rest. Perhaps it is because we are afraid to fall behind the racing pack, or we argue that we can't afford the time to recreate ourselves. However, in truth, we are harming ourselves in the long run. We are not able to perform at our peak, because our bodies and minds are exhausted. Our mental health has taken a hit and we are left fending off all kinds of demons in our minds. 

But God has already given us a remedy, but we don't think we need God's advice. We think we know better. We think that taking some time to rest is seen as a failure. However, the irony is that when we do take some time out or even a short holiday, we usually come back stronger, more focussed and more energised to do our work and to be present with our loved ones.

So, perhaps God knows best after all. It may be wise for us to listen to his advice. Our health depends on it. 

Mark 2:27 - Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

We need time to recharge the motors!

With all of the latest load-shedding (in South Africa) I have noticed that our gate motors don't have the necessary time to recharge their batteries. Previously, it would have been fine, but now that we are on level 6 load-shedding, there is no time for them to get back to full power.

The obvious connection with our emotion and spiritual batteries is there for us to note. If we don't take the time to recharge our batteries, we will eventually come to a stand still. Jesus reminds us all of this important principal when he takes time to rest and recharge.

Matthew 14:23 - After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone...

Living in Grace

D3LM3

P.S. I will be taking a few days to 'practise what I preach', so I won't be sharing blogs for a few days :) 

Sabbath - Lenten reflection

Sometimes it is all about timing or as we like to call it "God-incidence."
I happen to be re-reading an incredible book called An Altar in the World (Barbara Brown Taylor) and on Day 1 of our Lockdown I started at the chapter entitled 'The practise of saying No.'

I am probably not going to do justice to her incredible wisdom, but I just love the way that Barbara shares her thoughts on Sabbath and entering into a time of Rest. Here are a few of her words:

"Sabbath is not only God's gift to those who have voices to say how tired they are; Sabbath is also God's gift to the tired fields, the tired vines, the tired land..."

"Sabbath is the great equalizer, the great reminder that we do not live on the earth but in it, and that everything we do under the warming tent of this planet's atmosphere affects all who are woven into this web with us."

"On this day we shall not do, but be.
We are to walk the path of our humanity, no longer ride unseeing through a world we do not touch and only vaguely sense.
No longer can we tear the world apart to make our fire..."

And then she shares the familiar words from Jesus in Matthew 6:

^"Look at the birds! They don’t worry about what to eat—they don’t need to sow or reap or store up food—for your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. ²⁷ Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?"

Enjoy your rest during this time of Lockdown and pray for those who still have to work in order to keep us safe. 

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Be still ... rest... Shalom

In his wonderful work Prayer, Richard Foster shares a lovely story of how God spoke to him during a Retreat he went on. He had gone away expecting to be busy preparing and working, but he felt the Spirit giving him a different agenda. He sensed that God wanted to teach him a new Sabbath Prayer.

As he drew closer to the Lord, he heard these words:
"Be still...
Rest...
Shalom."

And so he embraced these 3 thoughts and they were LIFE-GIVING. It is may prayer that they would offer you and I the same gift today. In the stress of your life, pray these words:

"Be still... Rest....Shalom."

Hebrews 4:9 - "A sabbath rest still remains for the people of God."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Non-performance in a Performance Driven World

Our world is mostly a DRIVEN world. We are driven to perform, to earn, to love, to produce, to keep up, to change, to invent, to DO. This has consumed us in such a radical way, that we don't know how to slow down any more. What is worse is that we now believe that God measures us according to this same standard. Yet, if we make a careful examination of the scriptures we will note that this is indeed NOT true. As Richard Rohr so rightly points out:
 
"Sabbath might be saying that at least one seventh of life must be about non-performance and non-egocentric pursuit, or we forget our life’s purpose." - Richard Rohr

What do you think of this?
How are you doing on this front?

Exodus 20:19-20 -  I myself am God, your God: Keep my statutes and live by my laws. Keep my Sabbaths as holy rest days, signposts between me and you, signalling that I am God, your God.”

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Leviticus - a word on rest!

You can't work the whole time! 
You need to rest!
You will burn yourself out!

Do any of these statements sound familiar to you? It is often the concern of a loved one who speaks these words to us, especially if we are at the end of a long, busy run at work. Each one of these statements speaks a truth into our lives and reminds us of the words of God from Leviticus 23:

"You may work for six days each week, but on the seventh day all work must come to a complete stop. It is the Lord's Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day to assemble for worship. It must be observed wherever you live." - v.3

So, when are you going to listen to this advice from Leviticus? What will it take for you to have a rest and to observe the sabbath? Please don't let yourself reach burnout before you take some time out.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Need a recharge?

How long does your cell phone battery last? A day? Two days? 5 hours?
I suppose it all depends on what you use your phone for and what make of phone you have.

Regardless of the age of your phone or how much you use it, there is one thing common amongst all of us phone users..... Our phones ALL NEED a recharge.

So, take a look at your life at the moment. Does the same principle not apply to your life? Regardless or how busy you are, how old you are, or whatever else we may add to the mix - the principle is still the same. WE ALL need a time to recharge.

God called it a SABBATH. Phone companies call it a recharge. It's the same thing. We can't work effectively and honour God with our lives if we have no 'power' in our souls. The gift of the Sabbath is that it offers us a chance to rest and to reconnect with God and ourselves.

Perhaps there are a few of us who are needing to be recharged at the moment! What you are doing about it? Remember a phone that has no power is useless. Likewise a human spirit with no power can also be rendered useless.
#justsaying

Exodus 16:23 - “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord."

Exodus 16:29 - "They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you."

Luke 23:56 - "But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested..."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Does the devil make work for idle hands? - Lent #22

Does the devil make work for idle hands? That is the big question for today..... Please answer the question before you carry on reading the blog.

Is it YES or is it NO?!

I always believed the answer was "YES." If you are lazy and idle, then the devil will put some kind of temptation in your way and then you will cave into that desire, because you have nothing better to do. It c
ertainly makes sense and in many ways, it has some biblical support, even though it is not a direct quote from the Scriptures. Take for example the words of Paul and Solomon....

1 Timothy 5:13 - "Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to." 

Ecclesiastes 10:18 - "Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house."

The trouble is that we have blurred the definitions of 'idleness' and 'Sabbath rest' to such a point that when we get an opportunity to 'put down our tools' we are wracked with guilt and we wrongly assume we are being idle. Our good old 'Protesant work ethic' kicks in and we push against the notion of being 'idle.'

So, in the end, what usually happens is that we disobey the commandment of God, in favour of the lie of the world. The world urges us to be busy and we fall into the trap. I would go so far as to suggest that the devil is operating on both ends of the spectrum. He loves it when we are 'idle' because he will make work for us, but the devil delights in our busyness too. When we are so consumed by our work and get caught up in the rush of things, we have less time for Jesus. Either way the devil makes it hard for us.

I urge us all to be aware of his cunning plan. This Easter period, why don't you wrestle with finding the balance in life. Productivity and Sabbath rest. God honours both of these!

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Personal Space

With the start of the new school term life has become hectic in our home (I am sure you can relate to this or remember those days). In truth, things can easily spin out of control unless we are proactive and carve out time for ourselves. One can call it 'personal space' or 'time for yourself' - the name we place on this precious commodity is a matter of semantics.

I would like to encourage us all to find time to refocus our lives, to get back to an intentional time with Christ and to be refreshed. In my personal experience no one will help you to do this - it has to be initiated by ourselves. If we have the power to fill our diaries with other appointments, then we must add some 'alone time with Christ.' If Jesus found it important to spend time with his Dad, then so do you and I.

Mark 1:35 - "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

Think about it.
Put it into your diary now.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

P.S. - If you have just finished shaking your head, wondering where you will ever get time for yourself, then please find 30 minutes for yourself in the next 5 days. Go on, I dare you. Read this site for some handy tips on how to make it happen.

What a difference!

A day can make a big difference!
Life can change in an instant - for better or for worse - we all know this. However, life can also take on a new look if we make an intentional change ourselves. It may not be a radical change, but it can still produce something dynamic.

This is what I had to do this week. I needed to get away somewhere quiet, just to let my 'soul catch up with my body!' So for just over a day (and night) I read, prayed, slept, ate, walked, read, wrote, prayed and slept.

I am beginning to understand even more clearly now why God planned the Sabbath at the end of the 6 days of work. It was in order for us to rest, to recuperate, to reflect and to recapture the desire for the next 6 days. The 7th Day is crucial for our survival.

Exodus 20:11 - For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Hebrews 4:9 - There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God

If you get a chance, why don't you see what difference 24 hours can make in your life? If you need some help getting started drop me a line.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Photo from here

Technology Sabbath

I did it! I managed to go 8 whole days without the internet, emails and a cell-phone. I know it sounds crazy that I would be chuffed about something as silly as this, but in our new world of technological dependence I wanted to prove to myself that I am not addicted to Facebook, Twitter, SMS's and Blogging. The first few days were the hardest, but eventually I got used to it. In the end, it was a worthwhile discipline and I feel better for having taken a 'technology Sabbath.'

Mark 2:27 - Then Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

These words of Jesus are so true - we needed to be taught to rest, that's why God rested on the 7th day. When we think that we can work perpetually we border on blasphemy - we begin to think that we can 'out-create' God.

How about you? Is there something that perhaps you need to take a 'Sabbath' from? Is your Spirit craving some alone time with Christ? We need to make it happen...

Dependent on Grace,
D3LM3