Simplicity in Rest

"Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is, rest." Skip Gray --Navigators

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." Genesis 2:2-3

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. " Exodus 20:8

"Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Luke 5:15-16

Rest. There is a commandment to follow about rest. Remember to leave space for holiness --that means stop what you are doing and rest. Rest in the Lord by meditating on His Word, worshipping coporately, with another believer, or just by yourself in a quiet place. Jesus had to take a break from the healing and the crowds. He had to "fill up his love tank" by spending time with the Father. Jesus' humanity, remember, required that he do human things like eating and sleeping. He needed rest. His rest was more perfect, I believe. He rested completely in the Father. He received his mission and purpose directly from the Father. After time with the Father, Jesus had the energy to teach and heal. His power came directly from the Father.

There is a simplicity in rest. Swenson says: "A biblically authentic and balanced life will include time to be still, to remember, to meditate, to delight in who He is and what He has made. But a large obstacle stands in our way: There is no glory in rest. No social acclaim. We are never a hero because we rest. We can only be still and better wait upon the Lord. We can only meditate upon the Word more. We can only have more margin with which to serve our neighbor. These things, however, are not socially reimbursable."

The only requirement to rest is that you do it. It will help to find a quiet place away from the phone, the computer, the family, the pets, the beeper, the cell phone, the tv, the radio and whatever else is occupying your attention.

Over the years, I have learned to limit my time in front of the tv, the computer and I really dislike talking on the phone for very long. I really like it when the house is quiet and I can just sit and relax with a book or my baby on my lap. I think my daughter is teaching me the value of just sitting and reading a book to her, playing on the floor with her and making that time really about her. There is a simplicity to just being in the moment with her.

Next week my husband and daughter and I are resting. We are borrowing a friend's cabin and sitting by a lake for a week. We try to take a break every quarter of the year to rest and recharge. We do this for our health, our marriage and our sanity.

In what areas of your schedule do you need to simplify to have time to rest? Do you need to cancel a non-essential activity and just rest? Are you leading a balanced life? Do you have margin in your life to rest, pray, meditate on the Word?

I'll be back to blog with you in about 12 days! Until then, keep on keeping on....

A quick comment about making a comment on this blog. If you are reading the blog and want to make a comment on a post, click on "comments" at the end of each post. You can then create a Google account by clicking on the link in the comment box. Looks like this:

No Google Account? Sign up here.
You can also use your Blogger account.

You do not need to have a Blogger account or a google email address. Just use your current email address (you would be called a New Blogger Account on the sign in page) and choose a screen name. The link above will direct you.

If you would like to post on the blog (and we welcome this!!) just let me know by phone call or stop me after service.

Focused on Simplicity

What simplicity is: Focused.
"Understanding the significance of spiritual authenticity, we focus on it. We lock in on what is good and true. We bind ourselves to that which has eternal value. This does not mean that we do not wash our car or take out the garbage. But it does mean that we understand who God is and what His priorities for our lives are --and then follow them. It does mean that we focus intensely on seeking the Kingdom first, and on loving God and man. Without such focus, we drift."

What simplicity is not: Ascetic. (big word and not many of us could live this way)
"Asceticism rejects all possessions and argues that "things" are spiritually handicapping. While it is true that things can become spiritually inauthentic, they are not [inherently] evil. God is a good Creator, and He has created a whole world full of good things. It is not wrong to use them --they were made to be used. But our material appetites must be controlled."

(Margin, Richard Swenson)

Matthew chapter 6 facinates me as Jesus instructs me on simplicity in the Christian life. Prayer, clothing, relationships, money, and focus: He says, (22-23) "Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!"

What you choose to look at can determine your focus in life.

One of the steps I have taken in simplicity starts at the mailbox. When I collect the mail I sort it into three categories: important (bills, letters), magazine subscriptions and junk (advertisements, catalogs, credit card offers, etc.). The junk never makes it into the house as it goes into the recycle bin. The important stuff gets sorted again into a box for me and one for my husband.

About the magazine subscriptions. I realized a couple of years ago that the magazines I was subscribing to were actually creating an unrealistic need for "things" in my life. Does my house need to look like a photo shoot for Better Homes and Gardens? Do I need to cook with exotic ingredients like Cooking Light suggests? And then there was Martha Stewart: Living. Talk about unrealistic expectations.

Popular Mechanics, PC World, Field and Stream, NASCAR Today (I made that up), Sports Illustrated, etc. I am quite sure men are guilty of eye-candy as well ----eye candy is anything that looks really good and temps us to want.

My solution was to subscribe to one magazine and rotate them each year. If you subscribe long enough, you see articles repeated --just how many ways can you really arrange pillows on your bed? And what child needs to sleep in a $500 crib? Will that radar really help you find the best fishing spot(or is that cheating?)?

We do subscribe to magazines and publications that have a Christian world-view and keep us in tune with what is going on in the real world. What is really cool are the conversations that come up around the articles we read. Much more stimulating than the latest trends in baby gear or home electronics.

Think about what you look at. What television shows do you watch? What kind of movies do watch? What kind of music do you listen to? What magazines and books are you reading?

Are you seeing with Kingdom eyes? Are your eyes discerning the difference between Kingdom Come and the material world?

What are you focused on?

Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (NIV)

"The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." (MSG)

Keep on keeping on....