Pastor’s Desk for

January 2006

Greetings,

There’s a scripture in Isaiah that states there is no “rest” for the wicked. [Isaiah 57:20-21] Considering how busy our lives are, this may give us pause to consider how we are doing in our Christian walk. Certainly none of us is as free from sin as we desire to be. As we continue to put sin out of our lives, we must be careful to fill the place where sin once dwelled. In other words, we must fill our lives with the righteous works that God leads us to accomplish in order to give sin no place in our hearts to abide.

Israel, as a nation, was given opportunity to live in the “rest” that God offered them, but as the book of Hebrews tells us, they never came fully into that rest. “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” [Hebrews 4:8-11]

As this scripture states, they never received God’s rest because of their disobedience. We also find here a clue as to how to keep from falling into disobedience. It says that if we are to enter God’s rest, we must cease from our own work. In other words, we must be actively pursuing the work that God has given us to do, not the work we would choose for ourselves. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean ceasing from that activity that pays our bills (although for some it might mean this). It does mean that we approach our daily “chores” with a different perspective.

You see, this is not a once-a-week rest that God offers; this is a way of life. This is a shifting of priorities from our will to His will. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus shows that, as we receive His rest, we also take His burden as our own. We choose to live according to the Spirit. (See Romans 8.)

There are specific scriptures that give us insight as to the burdens our Lord asks us to take upon our shoulders. They speak of reaching out to those less fortunate, of sharing what God has blessed us with and of developing and nurturing a pureness of heart that reflects the Lord whom we serve. These things go hand in hand as we keep in mind whose work we are doing.

James 1:27 – “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Isaiah 58:6-7 – “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

As we strike forth into a new year, let us dedicate ourselves more fully to the work our Lord is doing in our communities. For those who have already been involved, keep up the good work! For all the rest, there’s so much to do. Please lend a hand. Let’s make this New Year a time of reaching out!

Have a blessed year,

Pastor Thom

Click on a month to see a previous edition of "The Pastor's Desk."

August 2005
July 2005