Jesus Wants You To Know...

"I am teaching you the secret of being content in any and every situation. This secret is all about Me - who I am and what I offer you. I am your Creator and King, your Savior and Shepherd. I offer you Myself in all My Power and Glory. I am the only One who can empower you to find contentment in all circumstances. I have promised to supply all your need according to My riches in Glory. The greater your need, the more I invite you into the mysterious depths of My Being. Intimacy with Me gives you strength; it also fills you with transcendent Joy." "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:12–13 - "Jesus Lives" by Sarah Young

Jesus Will Give You Rest

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

I love staying in an Airbnb. The best part? Someone else has made all the decisions for me.

The decor might not be what I’d choose, but I didn’t have to choose it. That means I automatically like it. Where should the dishes go? What is the best spot to store extra pillows? Who cares? Wherever the owner puts the coffee cups or bowls is fine with me. I usually don’t even mind the required cleanup procedures because they’re listed out, and I just need to check them off. No decision-making needed.

Decision fatigue is a thing. Emotional exhaustion is real. Sometimes I think to myself, I’m tired! only to realize I feel physically fine. It’s my brain that’s desperate for rest - spiritual rest. Relief from the weights upon my mind and soul.

I used to think of rest as stopping. As a state of zero responsibility and zero effort expended.

But those moments are rare and unpredictable. I can’t schedule a work emergency to happen at a “good time.” When my kids were little, I couldn’t know when a stomach virus would hit. And now that they’re in college, I can’t predict when a “Mom, can you talk?” text will come. I thought I’d planned out my year, only to find out my parents want to downsize their home. It’s important to me to help them.

Still, rest is possible because Jesus promises it. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Thankfully, He explained how: “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” (Matthew 11:29).

Jesus promises rest for our souls. Rest for the emotionally exhausted and stressed.

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, a “yoke” is “a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull.”

Jesus isn’t saying He’ll help us nap. He’s saying to get under His yoke with Him. He eases the emotional exhaustion from so many of life’s hard things. He removes the angst of constant decision-making because we can walk alongside Him on the path He makes clear. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” .

Walking with Jesus, living life alongside Him, is rest. He gives rest to your soul in the midst of all the responsibilities of your life.

God, thank You for Your understanding of my heart and mind and the way You uniquely designed them. Help me rest under Your yoke in the knowledge that the way You lead me is the only way I want to go. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

- Dana K. White
Provided by “Proverbs 31 Ministries”

Meme: Focus On Jesus...

 

Proverbs 16:9

 

Changed Through Meditation

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:2

Meditation means “to think deeply and continuously about something.” For a Christian, this means remaining in the presence of God and pondering each truth He reveals about Himself until it becomes real and personal in your life. This takes time. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus accused certain would-be followers of calling Him “Lord” and yet never doing what He told them (Luke 6:46). They had the correct truth in their heads, but it had never translated into obedience. When you meditate on Scriptures, the truth moves from your head to your heart and results in obedience. As the psalmist said: “Your word have I hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11).

When you know God's Word in your mind but not in your heart, it means that you have learned the principles and concepts and doctrines of God, but you have not come to know Jesus personally. You can reject a doctrine, or ignore a concept, or challenge a principle, but it is much more difficult to ignore a Person. You can have Scripture in your mind and still sin against God. There are those who can recite long passages of Scripture and yet live ungodly lives. However, you cannot have Scripture fill your heart and continue to sin against God. When God's truth is allowed to touch the deepest corner of your soul, the Holy Spirit will transform you into the image of Jesus Christ. Don't just read your Bible; meditate on God's Word and ask Him to change your heart.

Ask yourself how you should change so you're living as God wants. Knowing and thinking about God's Word is the first step towards applying it to your everyday life. If you want to follow God more closely, you must know what he says.

- Excerpt from “Experiencing God Day-By-Day” by Henry and Richard Blackaby