Weekend Words

 From Be Still and Know...

"And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat." - Mark 6:31

What a busy schedule! You are probably saying, "It sounds like mine."  When they were too busy to eat, it was time for a "rest break".

After a busy time of serving others, Jesus knew His disciples needed rest.  He invited them to spend time alone with Him to refresh themselves.

God knows that we, too, need rest for our inner being, so He provides "Resting Places" along our way.  In Isaiah 40:31 we learn the source of our rest.  "They that wait upon the Lord."  It is in His presence we are refreshed from the weariness of life's journey.

There is a PLACE of rest, it is "in the Lord" (Psalm 37:7).  He gives us a personal invitation to "Come unto ME."  He doesn't say, "Go," but "Come."  Resting is always IN HIM.

Rest is a GIFT.  Jesus said, "I will GIVE you rest" (Matthew 11:28).  How often we are pressured and frustrated when He is inviting us to come and receive His rest.

Rest comes through our RELATIONSHIP with him.  "For only we who believe God can enter into His place of rest" (Hebrews 4:3, LB).  Our access to God is through the person of Jesus Christ.

He may move us occasionally to new resting places.  He may move us to a place where we are alone, away from family and friends.  But He can make it a resting place for us.

One year my resting place was upon a sick bed.  Many days I could not lift my arms even an inch from the bed.  It was a difficult year, but a good one, for the Lord and I had wonderful times together.

Jesus said, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet (His special resting place for us), and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and they Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:6).

His personal invitation to you is, "Come apart and rest with me."  What is your answer?

The Bible Promise Book devotional...

Peace in the Midst of Fear

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

If you let it, the world can seem scarier day after day.  Alarming news is thrown at you from every angle and every media source - everything from natural disasters to terrorist attacks.  Sin and evil are running rampant and, worse, are often widely celebrated.

From a natural perspective, it certainly seems that you have reason to fear.  But despite all this, you can have tremendous hope!  You have a God who is bigger and stronger than the worst kind of evil, and who shelters you under His wings (Psalm 91:4).  This same God will one day eradicate all evil.

Until that day, He's called you to accomplish good things which He prepared for you to do despite everything that's happening around you.  And He hasn't left you alone.  He's given you His Holy Spirit, not a spirit of fear, but His own spirit "of power and of love and of a sound mind."

You never have to fear any kind of evil.  You can have abiding peace in the midst of a scary world, because "if God is for us, who can ever be against us?" (Romans 8:31 NLT).