Our theme for this month: “Sabbath Rest”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Stop working so hard at playing.”

Gordan Dahl was a professor of economics at the University of San Diego. He once published an article in the magazine “The Christian Century” which reported his findings about the work and vacation habits of the average American worker. He wrote:

“In truth, for millions of Americans … leisure has come to mean little more than an ever more furious orgy of consumption. Whatever energies are left after working, are spent in pursuing pleasure with the help of an endless array of goods and service. This is “virtuous materialism” par excellence. It offers men the choice of either working themselves to death or consuming themselves to death – or both.”

What Dahl was referring to is the habit many of us have developed of being as busy in our leisure as we are in our work. Rather than really resting and renewing, we instead fill our leisure time with endless activities that leave us exhausted. We essentially work at our play. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone complain that they needed a rest after their vacation.

The great Christian writer A.W. Tozer once observed that we modern Christians have lost the ability to simply “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). We’re entirely too busy to be still.

As we’ve learned, there’s a lot to be said for playing and having fun and engaging in activities we enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s even good. But true Sabbath-rest also needs to include quiet times of inactivity. It needs to include what the Psalmist was writing about in Psalm 23:1-3, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.”

In order for Sabbath-rest to renew and restore – in order for it to be spiritually nurturing, it needs to include times of quiet inactivity. There needs to be time for reflection and just being still before the Lord.

I encourage you to stop working so hard at your play. Take some time to really rest.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

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Our theme for this month: “Sabbath Rest”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Rest and leisure are good for you.”

The Pharisees were confused about the true purpose of Sabbath-keeping. They thought God had commanded them to observe Sabbath for His sake, but in truth God established it for our sake. All of God’s commands are for our own good, and that includes the observance of Sabbath-worship and Sabbath-rest. God didn’t institute the practice of Sabbath-keeping because He needs it, but because we do.

A few weeks ago, as I was preparing to begin writing this series about “Sabbath-rest”, I was browsing through my library looking for source material and I came across a little book I read years ago called “Leisure: The Basis of Culture” by the German philosopher Josef Pieper.

Although Pieper himself was a Christian, and although his book is laced with Biblical themes and principles, it’s not exclusively a Christian book. Instead it’s a study about leisure and culture and the positive impact a good philosophy of leisure has on any society. In his research Pieper went all the way back to ancient times – even as far back as the times of Plato and Aristotle, comparing a society’s practice of leisure to the overall health of that society. What he discovered was that those societies that maintained a healthy balance between work and rest consistently fared better than those that overvalued the sphere of work.

In our culture today we tend to overvalue the world of work and we undervalue the need for real rest. As was noted in a previous devotional in this series, even when we do finally stop working and take time to “rest”, we don’t really rest. Instead we end of working at our play and we come back from our vacation exhausted and in need of rest.

The lesson Jesus was teaching in Mark 2:27 is that God instituted the practices of Sabbath-worship and Sabbath-rest for our benefit. Sabbath is a gift to us from God. In other words, you have God’s permission to rest. No, that’s really not quite right either. God has actually commanded you to rest – and He did so because rest and leisure are good for you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Sabbath Rest”

Our Bible verse for today: “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your strength.” “Nehemiah 8:10 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Take time to celebrate.”

Celebration is a spiritual discipline. It’s true. In Richard’s Foster’s classic work “The Celebration of Discipline” Foster lists “celebration” as one of the basic disciplines of the Christian faith. Along with things like prayer, Bible study, fellowship, worship, acts of service, etc, frequent times of celebration are an important part of practicing the Christian faith. Celebration is good for you and it should be part of your Sabbath-rest.

God’s people have a long history of engaging in fun times of celebration. For the Old Testament Jews their entire calendar revolved around a series of pre-planned annual festivals and celebrations. King David danced in the streets of Jerusalem as he led a parade. Jesus attended a wedding in the village of Cana and He even turned water into wine to assist with the celebration. The Christians in the early church in the book of Acts spent a lot of time in each others homes sharing meals and enjoying each others company.

As was noted in a previous devotional message in this series, the Bible refers to feasting, celebrating, and dancing more than 150 times.  That’s because celebration is an important part of life as a child of God. After all, who has more to celebrate than those who are blessed by God and who have the promise of eternity in heaven?

As Richard Foster teaches in his book, celebration is actually a discipline that we are to practice for the sake of our spiritual growth. That being the case, we have to be intentional about it. We need to plan for it and fully embrace it. I hesitate to use the phrase “party hearty”, simply because it carries with it a negative connotation from secular culture. But the phrase does seem to capture the essence of David dancing with reckless abandon in the streets of Jerusalem, or of Jesus letting loose a belly laugh as He enjoyed the festivities of the wedding celebration.

Sabbath-rest can and should include times of wholesome celebrations with family and friends. It should be fun and joyous. I encourage you to celebrate. Go ahead and party hearty!

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Sabbath Rest”

Our Bible verse for today: “The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them.” Zechariah 8:5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s okay to play”

One of the books I’m currently reading is called “The Circle” by Ted Dekker. It’s actually a series of fiction novels similar to “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis. However it’s also similar to the “This Present Darkness” series by Frank Peritti because the story unfolds in two dimensions simultaneously – one dimension is the world as we know it and the other world is similar to that of Lewis’s Narnia – and events in each world are directly tied to and influence events in the other world.

In Dekker’s Narnia-type world God is known as “Elyon”, and one of the things Elyon loves to do is He loves to come out and play with His people (similar to how God walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve in the early chapters of Genesis). In the story, when Elyon calls His people to come out and play, all sorts of wonderful and amazing things happen. For instance, for the length of their playtime the people discover that they can fly like birds. Elyon also makes waterfalls flow upside down, He turns the grass purple, He makes the water taste like cherry cool-aid, and much more. So of course the people eagerly look forward to the times when Elyon calls them out to play.

Now, is the notion of God playing like that nothing more than a creative part of a silly fantasy story? I don’t think so. I think there’s some truth to it. I think God has a great sense of humor and I think He loves to play. It was God’s idea for a puppy to chase its tail. God was the one who created a baby’s smile and the cute little giggle that goes with it. Ice cream is a gift straight from heaven. God is playful and fun-loving and I also think He loves for us to play. The Bible refers to feasts and feasting, to dancing and celebrating more than 150 times.

In his book, “The Christian at Play” author Robert Johnston makes the case that “The person at play is expressing his or her God-given nature.” In other words, God created us with a playful nature like His own and He intends for us to express it as a means of enjoyment and leisure.

Sometimes we adult Christians get too serious for our own good. We equate holiness with seriousness and we become a bunch of dull old fuddy-duddies. We need to lighten-up. It would do most of good to spend an hour sitting in a mud puddle splashing and playing with a three year old.

God created you with the ability to enjoy life and to have fun. It’s okay to play.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Sabbath Rest”

Our Bible verse for today: “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:8-11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “There’s more to Sabbath-rest than just physical rest.”

In Hebrews 4:8-11 the writer actually used the term “Sabbath rest”, which is serving as our theme for this month. Although the practice of Sabbath is either taught directly or referred to more than 170 times in the Bible, and although resting as part of Sabbath is clearly taught, this is the only place in the Bible where the actual term “Sabbath rest” is used.

In this passage the writer reminds his readers of how it was that Joshua had led the nation of Israel into the Promised Land as they conquered their enemies and eventually had rest from their travels and from their battles. But it wasn’t enough. There was another deeper kind of rest which they needed. Being settled in permanent homes was nice; having time off from their labors was needed; and it was certainly a relief to finally be free from the constant conflict with their enemies; but God had something more in mind for their time of resting. There needed to be a spiritual dimension to it. In addition to being a time for physical rest, Sabbath-rest is a time of spiritual nurture and renewal.

There’s a deep and direct connection inside of you between the physical and the spiritual. The physical and the spiritual impact each other. As we learned from our friend, the Old Testament prophet Elijah, in a previous devotional message, if you are physically exhausted and emotionally drained you will also be spiritually weak. Likewise, if you are spiritually dry that will have a direct impact on every other part of your life. Therefore you need to take care of yourself physically but also mentally, emotionally, and especially spiritually as well. “Sabbath rest”, as opposed to just “rest”, is rest with a spiritual objective.

In the days to come we will consider some ways that we can achieve both physical rest and spiritual nurture at the same time. I’m not talking about weeks of seclusion in a monastery chanting ancient hymns with cloistered monks either. You may be surprised to learn how much fun Sabbath-rest can be. There are many ways to relax, have fun, and get spiritually recharged all at the same time. We’ll talk more about that tomorrow.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Sabbath Rest”

Our Bible verse for today: “I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus. Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas and I stayed with him fifteen days.” Galatians 1:17-18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Consider taking a Sabbatical”

Saul the Pharisee became Paul the Apostle – so he had a significant mid-life change of careers. Between those two major seasons in his life he took an extended Sabbatical. After he came to faith in Christ, but before he started the new work that he would do for the rest of his life, he took a three year sabbatical in Arabia.

“Sabbatical” is a term many people are unfamiliar with, but the practice of sabbatical is more common than you might realize. A sabbatical is simply an extended period of time-off from normal activities to rest, reflect, decompress, and renew. Sometimes it is also a time to prepare for the next season of life. That’s what Paul was doing in Arabia.

Sabbaticals are most commonly used as a long break in professions that are intellectually demanding. Most school teachers get a two month sabbatical every summer as they recover from the school year that has just ended and prepare for the one that is coming up. College professors normally get an entire sabbatical year every seventh year. It’s a time when they don’t have to teach classes or counsel students. Instead they spend the year traveling, doing research, and writing. Pastors are often given short sabbaticals at milestone markers in their tenure at a church, such as at the 10, 15, 20 year point.

However sabbaticals are also commonly taken during periods of major transitions in life. It’s becoming more and more common these days for young people to take a sabbatical year between high school and college – just to take a break from the grind of endless studies. I have a son who went to Romania for a year after high school, living with a Romanian Pastor’s family and serving as an intern in the church. Recently I met a young man who is taking a year to serve as an Americore volunteer building homes for poor people in Appalachia before he resumes his college work next year.

Recently I read a great book by author Jeff Haanen called “An Uncommon Guide to Retirement”. Haanen encourages Christians to take a sabbatical year after retiring from their career to rest, travel, do your home improvement projects, and just decompress from a lifetime of work. But once the sabbatical is over, it’s time to apply yourself in some meaningful and productive way so that you don’t waste that season of your life. Go to work for a charitable non-profit agency; start a small business doing something you love; get involved in lots of volunteer work; do something to help others and make the world a better place. Take your sabbatical, but then go back to making a meaningful difference in the world.

Are you in a profession that is exceedingly draining physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually? You might need a sabbatical. Have you reached some significant milestone in your life or career? If so, then perhaps it’s time to enjoy a short sabbatical. Are you transitioning from one season of life to another? Feel free to take a sabbatical in-between the seasons.

Time off is not wrong. You don’t have to constantly go, go, go. Maybe it’s time for an extended break.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Sabbath Rest”

Our Bible verse for today: “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my fathers. Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.” 1 Kings 19:4-5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Come apart and rest – or you might just come apart.”

Elijah was a mighty man of God who was often used by God in great ways. In 1 Kings 18:20-46 he confronted and defeated 450 prophets of Baal in a single spectacular contest on Mount Carmel. But then in 1 Kings 19:1 we find him running away in fear from the evil woman Jezebel, and then in verses 4-5 he just gives-up entirely and tells God that he wants to die.

What happened to Elijah? How did he go so quickly from being a bold, confident, mighty man of God confronting and defeating an army of pagan priests, to this whimpering and somewhat pathetic man who was ready to quit? Simple, he was spent. He was wiped-out. His emotional gas tank was empty. He was physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. He needed time to rest and renew.

You may remember in a previous devotional in this series I made the statement that sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to take a nap. Such was the case with Elijah in this scene. The old adage that you need to come apart and rest – or you might just come apart, is very true and it applies to all of us.

Many of us push too hard for too long. We make excuses for not taking a break. We talk about all the work that has to be done, all the chores that must be completed, the people who depend on us, etc, etc, on and on … But the fact is that if you don’t take a break sooner or later you will end up like Elijah, out of gas and giving-up. If you don’t take care of yourself you won’t be able to take care of other people.

Also, sometimes we allow other people or certain situations to suck the life out of us. Sometimes we become co-dependant on those people or situations. In other words they become so much a part of our life that even though they’re killing us we can’t seem to break ourselves loose from them, not even for a short while.

If you don’t take care of yourself you won’t be able to continue taking care of the people and situations that need your care and attention. You have got to come apart and rest – or eventually you will simply come apart.

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to take a nap (or a vacation).

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Sabbath Rest”

Our Bible verse for today: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Slow down and relax”

Jesus was in the house! He was sitting right there in the living room talking with Mary and waiting for supper (or so Martha thought). As Mary relaxed and enjoyed being with Jesus Martha hustled around the kitchen, banging pots and pans and pushing hard to prepare a meal for them all. The harder she worked the more anxious she got – and the more irritated with Mary she became. Martha was busting her buns in the kitchen while Mary was sitting on her buns in the living room! Grrr!

Soon she had had enough. Into the living room she stomps ready to give Mary a piece of her mind (and wondering why Jesus didn’t tell that lazy sister of hers to get in the kitchen and help her). But instead of correcting Mary, Jesus corrects Martha. It turns out that Jesus was more interested in company than food, and what he really wanted Martha to do was to sit down, rest and relax, and just enjoy being with Him.

Unfortunately I tend to be more like Martha than Mary. I spend a lot of time banging pots and pans when I should be enjoying time with Jesus. I have a list of things to do, I have places to go, people to see, things to accomplish. Day after day, chore after chore, it never seems to end. Grrr! Sometimes I long for retirement so I can enjoy long luxurious days of peace and quiet, resting and relaxing! (All my retired friends are laughing right now. Most of them tell me that somehow they ended up being busier in retirement than they were when they were working).

No, it’s not a matter of being retired or not – it’s a matter of having right priorities. It’s a matter of putting first things first. Jesus didn’t tell Martha that it was wrong to work hard to prepare a nice meal – He only said that she was doing it at the wrong time. There would be time later for cooking and cleaning, but in that moment she needed to rest, relax, and enjoy.

Sabbath-rest is an attitude. As Mark Buchanan explains in his book “The Rest of God”, Sabbath-keeping isn’t just a day, it’s an orientation, it’s a way of thinking that governs life and establishes our priorities. We’re all pretty good at doing things – we fill up our days with work and chores and endless activities, but seldom do we make enough time for rest and renewal. What we need is a change of attitude. We need to reorient our thinking.

I encourage you (me) to slow down and relax. Bang the pots and pans later. For now it’s time to sit with Jesus.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Sabbath Rest”

Our Bible verse for today: “Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10

Our thought for today: “Quite times with God can be transformative”

Forest Home Christian Camp is located in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California. At over 8000 feet in elevation it is a beautiful setting of magnificent forests, pristine lakes, and spectacular views.

Forest Home is where Billy Graham, as a young evangelist just starting his ministry, settled an important issue with God. It was 1948 and Billy was wrestling with doubts about the Bible. A close friend had challenged him with questions about it that he couldn’t answer. Those questions raised doubts in his mind and he was deeply troubled. So Billy took a weekend to go off into the seclusion of Forest Home to rest and spend time with God. One afternoon, sitting quietly deep in the forest, Billy came to the conclusion that he trusted God implicitly and even if there were some aspects of the Bible he didn’t fully understand, he would take it all on faith as the inerrant Word of God.

Billy left Forest Home with the question settled in his mind and heart. Three weeks later he began his famous “Los Angeles Crusade” which drew 100s of thousands of people over the course of many weeks and which launched Billy’s amazing career as the most successful evangelist in the history of the Christian faith. Today there’s a beautiful little chapel in the woods at Forest Home marking the exact spot that Billy Graham settled that issue with God.

More than twenty-five years ago, as I was beginning my ministry years as a pastor, I spent a few days at Forest Home on a personal retreat and I spent some hours alone in that very chapel. It was a beautiful, peaceful, and profoundly moving experience. I just sat there in the deep quiet, with the sun shining through the windows, and I soaked-in the presence of God. I was so full and so at peace that I can vividly recall the experience more than two decades later.

In his great book, “The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath” author Mark Buchanan writes about the importance of Sabbath-rest: “From it, you can rise up and go – stronger, lighter, ready to work again with vigor and a clear mind.” Let me also add, that just as was the case with Billy Graham, those quiet times of rest and renewal also often bring clarity and peace as God helps us to resolve difficult issues we’ve been wrestling with.

Quiet times of Sabbath-rest can be transformative experiences. It is almost always a time of renewal and spiritual nurture, but it can also transform. I encourage you to make time for Sabbath-rest.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is: