Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....December 21, 2020
We continue this week with our teachings on the Love of the Lord for us. I want to touch this week on something, I know for a fact, that not many of us practice and that is the Commandment to keep the Sabbath Holy.
Physical rest and spiritual rest are essential for each and every one of us. God has given you the freedom to choose to rest, to be still, to know that God is God. We continue in our series on Hope Found Here and it’s apt that this month we are going to be thinking about resting and relaxing in God.
I want you to know up front that this is a longer than normal teaching...my reason for this is by the time you are through reading it, you will say..."man I need a rest!!!"
“Rest” is defined as “peace, ease or refreshment.” “Relax” means “to become loose or less firm, to have a milder manner, to be less stiff.”
What does the Bible say about rest?
Rest is an important theme that is spoken of throughout the Word of God. From the very beginning, the Bible speaks about the importance of rest starting with the creation week in Genesis: On the seventh day God had finished His work of creation, so He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when He rested from all His work of creation. (Genesis 2:2-3)
After six days of creation, God looks at what He has made, the work of His hands, and says it is very good. Then on the seventh day God calls something “holy”, the Sabbath, the day of rest which God places into the time and space of His creation.
Holy is a very small word that has a lot of meaning: dedicated, sacred, consecrated, hallowed, sanctified, venerated, revered, reverenced, divine, blessed, dedicated.
Holiness is at the very centre of God’s character, and God gives the day of rest the same attribution of holiness.
Do you see the importance God places on rest, on the Sabbath?
In the modern world, rest has lost it’s importance. In the modern world, rest is considered the opposite of productivity. Some people think of rest as something they have to do so that they can regain the energy to work. A day of rest has become just a functional necessity, to serve our working lives, instead of honouring the higher meaning and significance of the Sabbath.
In Genesis 2 God works and then rests. God is omnipotent, God is all powerful, God does not need to rest for reasons of physical tiredness or exhaustion. God does not need to rest so He can become more productive, after six days God has already created everything in the universe.
God chooses to rest, to pause, to stop and relax, to give us a perfect example of what we should do ourselves. At first God gives mankind an example to follow. But men and women often think they know better than God and people chose to ignore God’s example of rest. So in The Ten Commandments, God made resting on the Sabbath a requirement of the Law, listen to Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
The foundational truth of this, the fourth commandment, is based on God’s pattern of working six days and resting on the seventh, it is a truth that makes an explicit link between creation and observing the Sabbath, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested.”
Perhaps because people ignore the truth of how God created everything and then rested they think it is acceptable to ignore the Sabbath as well.
Notice God said, “Remember to observe” it wasn’t something new; since creation began, all of God’s people and their servants and the animals were to have one day in seven to rest. Maybe if more people believed the truth of creation then more people would understand the importance of a day of rest, a day set apart as Holy for the Lord.
The command to rest was not and is not an excuse to be lazy. You work for six days, get to the Sabbath and then rest. If God makes something a commandment for His people, then it must be a vital and important component of our lives.
Do you understand how serious God is about the importance of rest? Perhaps you need a little more encouragement, Exodus 31:16-17, “The people of God must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with my people. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He stopped working and was refreshed.’”
The Sabbath is a signpost which points to the “covenant” between God and His people the relationship we enjoy with God. Having a day of rest, keeping the Sabbath, is a way of living out the special relationship we as the people of God have with God.
When we meet together as His church on the sabbath we can experience renewal, spiritual refreshment and we can rest in God’s presence.
God has given us the Sabbath so that we can step aside from the pressures and demands of our working week and reconnect with Him.
God’s desire to be in an intimate relationship with you, God gives you the time for both work and rest to enable you to be the person He has saved you to be. The Sabbath gives you the opportunity to rest physically, but more importantly it gives you the opportunity to rest and draw near to God.
Will you choose to make time to pause, stop, relax and be refreshed in the presence of God?
Do you need to learn how to rest and relax?
Rest. Maybe you are like me. You see I understand the importance of rest. I can understand how important it is for people to rest. The problem is I often can’t work out how to find the time to rest myself. There always seems to be something I need to do.
My mind is always active with things I need to do, today, tomorrow, next week, I always have a full to-do list:
Yet, sometimes, I can’t escape the feeling I’m still not doing enough for Jesus. A good day for me is often defined by getting things done on my list. Not the people I’ve interacted with. Not the time I’ve spent with God. Not the things I’ve learned. Not if I have rested. Just what I’ve done. What am I really accomplishing by being busy all the time?
If we consider the life of Jesus and how the Gospels record He spent His days, Jesus never seemed hurried, though He was inundated by people with urgent needs. Most of the time Jesus was surrounded by crowds, it seems He barely had enough time to breathe.
Events happened quickly, one after the other. For example in Mark 1:21-34, Jesus went from preaching in a synagogue, to casting out a demon, to healing a sick friend, to ministering to the whole city gathered at His door at sundown. All of that in just one day!
After this packed and exhausting day in Mark 1:35, we read, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”
Jesus had ministered to others, poured Himself out, then Jesus left everyone to draw aside and spend quality time with Father God. This is a pattern Jesus repeats throughout the Gospels. In Mark 6:31-32, after the death of John the Baptist, Jesus said to the disciples, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.”
When the disciples were physically and mentally exhausted, too busy even to attend to their own physical needs, Jesus knew it was time to draw aside and rest. Jesus knew the importance of rest, do we? Do I?
Jesus understood the importance of balance, Jesus ensured there were times of rest into His life.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
The Message says it like this, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Do you need to learn how to rest and relax?
Jesus says I will show you how to take a real rest, watch how He does it, learn from Him. Jesus offers us rest and He shows us how to do it. Rest is a necessity not an optional extra! Rest is an act of worship, not a sign of laziness.
Jesus made time for spiritual rest, physical rest and emotional rest.
Spiritual rest - Jesus made time to be alone with God. Jesus knew He needed to hear God’s voice, understand God’s direction, and rest in God’s presence. Spiritual rest requires determination, we must ensure we spend time with God.
Early in the morning, during the day, or late at night, draw aside and come into the presence of God. Refreshment and renewal comes from spending time with God. God knows your deepest needs. God fills you when you are empty. God knows what is best for you. You need to be still so you can hear His voice.
Physical rest - the Bible tells us that even Jesus, the Son of God, slept. I don’t sleep for more than 6 or 7 hours, I never have an afternoon nap. Jesus fell asleep in a boat with the disciples in the midst of a raging storm. When others expected His help, Jesus took a nap. He knew when His body needed physical rest and was unapologetic about taking it. Jesus showed His disciples and He shows us the importance of physical rest.
Emotional rest - Jesus knew it was important to withdraw from the crowds for emotional rest. Jesus would move away and leave the crowds of people, even when they desperately wanted Him. In the midst of chaos, when people were demanding His attention, Jesus was clear about what God was calling Him to do and Jesus got into a boat with His disciples and went to the other side, to be away from the multitudes.
Do you struggle with finding rest?
Do you allow seemingly urgent needs to drive your activity? Do you let perceived demands and supposed needs determine what you do? Do you think, “If I don’t do it, it will not get done”?
The truth is nothing can hinder God’s work. If God wants something to happen it will happen. God does not want you to be spiritually, physically or emotionally exhausted. God does not need you to be spiritually, physically or emotionally exhausted to accomplish His purposes.
God invites you, God commands you to rest. Remember the Sabbath and rest. Slow your pace, enjoy spending time with God. Don’t worrying about what’s not done.
Matthew 6:31-34, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
God calls all of us to fully rest in Him. To enjoy spiritual, physical and emotional rest. Let me encourage you to make time for God and to take time to rest.
You can find rest in God.
Rest does not come naturally to some people, but God commands us to rest. When people lack rest they can suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. To really rest, we need to trust that God is in control. We have to trust God that if we take a rest, a day off, a Sabbath, the world will not end. God loves you so much that he was willing to leave the place of perfect rest in order to enter into the unrest of this world.
Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, described Himself in Matthew 8:20 as someone who had no place even to lay His head. Why? So that in Him, His followers, His disciples can find real rest.
For us, our ultimate rest is found in Jesus. He invites all who are “weary and burdened” to come to Him and cast their cares on Him.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29).
If rest feels elusive, come to Jesus. Jesus invites us into a rest that we can only find in Him, a rest rooted in faith and the assurance we are deeply and unconditionally loved. We can rest safely in the arms of our heavenly Father.
Rest comes when we fully trust God, not just saying we trust Him, actually trusting Him. Rest comes when we declare Jesus is our Lord and our Saviour. What does that mean? Jesus is not just someone we read about in the Bible, Jesus is someone who changes in us. God is at the centre of our thoughts and the centre of our lives.
When we think and live in complete faith and trust, then we fully experience the rest Father God offers us in Jesus. If you want to find rest fully trust in God. When we choose to trust God, fear has no grip on us. Anxiety and stress and worry all melt away and we can rest.
Jesus invites all of us who are restless, unrelaxed, anxious, worried, burdened, overwhelmed or exhausted to come to Him. Will you accept this invitation from Jesus? Will you choose to accept the rest your soul longs for?
It is only in Jesus that we can find complete rest, rest from the problems and cares of this world, rest from sorrow and hurt, rest from the busyness of the week, rest from our striving and labour, rest God has commanded us to take.
We all need a Sabbath, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can find rest in God every day not just once a week, every day. Every day, we can give Jesus our burdens and experience His perfect peace. Every day we can find rest by surrendering our minds, our hearts, our everything to God.
I will close with this: Resting as God rested, reminds we are created in God’s image. The Sabbath is God’s invitation to each of us to enjoy time with Him, to delight in Him, to worship Him.
Physical rest and spiritual rest are essential for each and every one of us. God has given you the freedom to choose to rest, to be still, to know that God is God.
Jesus is the “lord of the sabbath,” His life, death, and resurrection restores our relationship with God. Because of Jesus we are able to rest in the presence of God and by faith we can know a deep spiritual rest.
The final thought it this:
When Jesus offers to take your burdens, He means it. Jesus provides the way for you to rest securely in Him.
May I encourage each of us to follow Christ, draw on His strength to live and work; and to take the time to rest, spiritually, physically and emotionally in God.
Remember to observe the Sabbath because Hope is Found Here, when you choose to rest and relax in God.
PLEASE CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT SECTION AND READ THE RESPONSE I HAVE WRITTEN IN ANSWER TO A READERS REMARKS CONCERNING THE SHUT DOWN OF OUR STATE DURING THIS COVID19 MESS.
AFTER YOU READ, I WOULD ENJOY HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS...JUST EMAIL ME..
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
I received a response to my email of last week with regard to being patient and forgiving to others. Here is my statement to you all from last week...
I realize we all are going through a stressful time and it is not made any better by some actions people are taking to try to restrict us. They have the best intentions, believe me, but yes, it can be frustrating at times. So with that said, here is my thought for you to take with you today and for the foreseeable future...
Don't forget you are human. It's okay to have a meltdown. Just don't unpack and live there. Cry it out and then refocus on where you are headed.
Here is the response I received and believe me, I get frustrated too with the way things are going so I am in no way disagreeing with the writer:
Best intentions? What about the restrictions on religious freedom? How about when liquor stores and strip clubs are considered essential business and are allowed to remain open while churches are forced to close, not worship and limit audience capacity to a tiny fraction of what the facility can hold?
The church has remained silent and “politically correct” far too long. So long that government overreach is far to pervasive and will continue that way without boundaries that protect our religious freedoms. Those who founded this country knew this all too well. We are living off of their sacrifices.
With regard to the readers concerns, I, for the most part agree with the futility we are feeling being subjected to these restrictions. I did promise the reader not to use this persons’ name but I would like to address all of you in my response....
I’ll probably lose a few friends and several readers with this post, but I think we need to stop grumbling about how much we are suffering because of COVID-19 restrictions, the closing of certain businesses and the leaving open others, and especially the restrictions on public communal worship. At one level, we can argue that observing lockdown restrictions is merely a way in which we can put the common good before our own. That is what I call the functional approach.
At another, I think we have to consider where the Church’s true good lies and what is being asked of us both as individuals and as an institution. Increasingly, I have come to believe that lockdown represents a opportunity to recover a faith and holiness the Church currently lacks; but let’s take the COVID situation first.
The impact of COVID-19 on worship
Those who have or have had COVID, those who have lost people dear to them or their homes and livelihoods, those battling the pandemic right now, they have something to complain about; but do the rest of us? We can see that for those most at risk, the virus is scary; for those who are lonely or depressed or anxious, it is a daily struggle; but for the majority of us, it is more of an inconvenience than anything else. We have to take more care about hygiene, think before we go anywhere, keep our distance from family and friends for fear of spreading a disease we may not even know we have, abandon, at least for a while, much that is familiar or pleasurable, but our essential freedom to worship God has not altered. In saying that, I am aware that opinion is divided about the risk to public health that meeting together in church constitutes. However, if we concentrate too much on the negative, we may miss an opportunity — a moment of grace, if you like, that could potentially transform our lives and the lives of those with whom we come into contact.
Deepening our life of prayer
If the bedrock of our religious practice is daily or weekly services, lockdown provides us with opportunities to see how the church fits into a much wider context of scripture and ‘private’ prayer. We can forget that it is possible to become very individualistic, even selfish, in our approach to worship and the sacraments, allowing our routines to provide an assurance more apparent than real. I go to C4 Services, so I’m alright spiritually, am I not? If I can’t go to Church, for whatever reason, life suddenly becomes much more alarming, doesn’t it? I’m not so confident anymore. My faith doesn’t stretch that far. Once we recall that it is Christ who prays in us and that the words of scripture, the psalms especially, are his prayer, a temporary restriction on meeting together and celebrating the fellowship with others looks less like a loss and more like an encouragement to re-think some of our old ideas. How many of us have asked ourselves whether lockdown is an invitation to deepen our knowledge and love of scripture, grow in prayer, and become closer to Christ in a new way?
Being aware of God’s presence
Just to let you know I am not a fan of live-streamed worship. Many are, but I have never found it necessary or helpful. Terry and I have always looked forward to the in-person fellowship we experience at C4. That isn’t because I don’t value live stream or see the good in them but because I am aware of God’s presence, wherever I happen to be and whatever I happen to be doing.
What is normal?
Many pastors, and we at C4 are right in the middle of the changes, are doing our imaginative best to support those who feel bereft, but some talk only of ‘when things return to normal’ and, to be honest, I question whether that will ever come about. It is not just that, however successful vaccines prove to be in controlling the spread and severity of the virus, there are many other changes that will take much longer to work through. The shift in work patterns, the economic consequences of actions taken by government, the effects of delayed healthcare interventions, the disruption to education, to say nothing of climate change and political re-alignments, they are all going to have an effect on our future lives. I question whether anyone in the Church can honestly go on talking about a return to normality. What normality are we talking about? The tired, rather inward-looking normality that seems to have become characteristic of the Church in Europe and North America in recent years?
Worshiping together is only one aspect of what church-going means. Fellowship and service of others are also important. However, I’d like to stay with worship a little longer because I think it is there that we can identify a lack we need to address. Here in the West we are not accustomed to being unable to receive the sacraments such as the Lords Supper and Baptism. The fact that such has been the experience of the Church at many times in her history and still is her experience in many places outside Europe and North America is one of those uncomfortable truths we prefer not to acknowledge. Could it be that the Lord is allowing us to experience something of the same because we have become too complacent? Do we ever ask ourselves why spiritual riches are lavished upon us and whether we have responded to them as we ought? Do we thank God, many times a day, for the riches He has bestowed upon us?
Recovering faith and holiness
I think our most urgent need is to recover what I think we have sometimes lost: a sense of God’s transcendence. So much of our church activity, our thinking and planning, concentrates on being of service to others, perhaps to the point where it has all gone slightly out of balance. Faith and holiness are not just ‘nice extras’ for some: they are for all. Where faith is lacking, we find the most appalling sin and corruption. Where there is no striving for holiness, there is only emptiness and routine. The emptiness may look glorious, the routine may be attractive, but we have forgotten the jar of nard, the call into the desert, the being alone with the alone.
We are dealing with what, for most of us, is a new situation, for which there isn’t really any precedent. We can read about martyrs and those who kept the faith in times past; we can reflect on Israel’s forty years of wandering in the desert; but that was then and now is now.
There aren’t easy solutions to the challenges we face. The danger is that we may rush to decide how we should meet them before we have really formulated the questions or examined them in any detail — still less given God a chance to have his say.
Grumbling about not being able to go to church in the way we’re used to is understandable, but it would be a tragedy if our own noise blocked out the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. ‘Behold, I am doing a new thing,’ says the Lord in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 43.19). What is he doing now? Are we sure we know? To put it bluntly, should we be asking ourselves anew how we are to be the Church, how we are to cultivate faith and holiness ? Perhaps this Advent we shall begin to find out.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
This week we continue our look at the world religions....Mahayana Buddhism
Early in Buddhism’s development, disputes about the correct meaning of Gautama’s teaching divided his followers into various schools of thought. Within ten years of his death, there were sixteen different factions. Several councils, one convened by Emperor Asoka, attempted to bring unity but failed. Over the next several centuries, these groups organized themselves, elaborated on their doctrinal views, and deepened what became permanent divisions.
The Hinayana (“exclusive way”) groups were more conservative; today Theravada is the only remaining Hinayana branch. The Mahayana (“expansive way”) schools, largely because of their flexibility in accommodating other religions, were more successful in their missionary efforts and now are Buddhism’s largest branch. Various types of Mahayana Buddhism are found in China, Korea, Japan, and other parts of Asia.
Central to the Mahayana system is the belief that in addition to what he taught publicly, the Buddha gave a number of secret or hidden teachings to a select and qualified few. This idea gave authority to additions and changes as the movement spread and developed. One of the first was that Gautama was more than a man. This deification of Buddha as an eternal being who came to help humankind led to Buddhism’s decline in India, even while helping it spread elsewhere. Hindus simply adopted Gautama as one of Vishnu’s ten avatars, and by encouraging his worship, drew devotees back into Hinduism.
This deification also led to the teaching that Gautama was not the only Buddha. As Buddhist missionaries entered a new area and began to teach, they did not reject or condemn the region’s gods, but merely taught that these also were incarnations of Buddha, and the local religion could continue while Buddhist principles were added. This was especially effective in China. By the time Buddhist missionaries arrived, about ad 200, worship cults had grown up around Confucius and Lao-tzu (the founder of Taoism), so their god status was already accepted. Buddhism lent justification to the idea that these men were more than human, no matter their own teaching to the contrary.
Another key Mahayana addition concerns beings called Bodhisattvas. These are humans who become enlightened, but have taken a vow to delay entering Nirvana to use their excess merit for helping others find enlightenment. Some believe the Bodhisattvas will do this until everyone has reached Nirvana. Whatever the variations, Bodhisattvas have become objects of devotion to Mahayana adherents, as they are believed to answer the prayers of those who call on them for help.
As Buddhism spread throughout Asia, it developed a number of forms and variations in belief. As followers gathered around particular teachers, they gradually organized into sects, or denominations. Often these take on some characteristics of the culture in which they develop. In places like Tibet and Bhutan, geographic isolation has produced unique Buddhist forms. Some of these sects have become quite popular; several of the Chinese and Japanese ones have active missionary movements seeking converts both in the West and from other Buddhist sects.
One of the most popular is Pure Land, which has spread to the West and adopted some Christian practices, such as Sunday schools for the instruction of children. Mahayana says there are many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and in this pantheon, one Buddha is Amitabha, who presides over a beautiful, blissful place called the Pure Land. Here, without evil, one may acquire Buddha-like qualities and eventually attain Nirvana. His followers believe that to enter they must live a virtuous life and repeat his name many times each day. Pure Land monks may marry and have families, like the laity. Corporate worship is church-like, with sermons and prayers to Amitabha.
Of a number of intuitive Buddhist sects, the best known is Zen, the Japanese form. Looking to Gautama’s example of finding enlightenment while meditating under a tree, Zen and the other such sects place little or no emphasis on studying the Buddhist scriptures, but believe enlightenment will come through a sudden flash of insight during meditation. The beginnings of intuitive Buddhism are attributed to an Indian monk named Bodhidharma, who traveled to China as a missionary about ad 470. There are many legends about his life, one being that he cut off his own eyelids in order to stay awake longer in meditation. It is also claimed he introduced tea to China. Whether or not this is true, it is known that tea was brought from India to China around this time. Intuitive Buddhists often use highly caffeinated tea to stay awake.
Zen and most intuitive sects distrust reason and believe rational thought must be suspended for insight to occur. To aid in this, Zen has developed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of riddles called koans, which have no logical answer; perhaps best known in the West is “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Zen has had much influence on Japanese art and architecture.
In contrast to the intuitive sects, in the sixth century ad, a Chinese monk named Chih-I developed a rationalistic approach to the enlightenment search that emphasized study of the Buddhist scriptures and meditation focused on careful reflection. He taught that one must study the scriptures to know the one Buddhist truth from the many different things the Buddha taught. In Japan, this form is called Tendai.
A purely Japanese sect is Nichiren, which holds that of all the Buddha’s teachings, the Lotus Sutra is the only one necessary and is the true path to enlightenment. This sect is hostile to other forms of Buddhism and claims they are all heresies. As a result, Nichiren has faced persecution and remains relatively small. It is also very nationalistic and believes that once all of Japan has accepted its message, this form will then spread to the whole world.
Early Buddhism allowed women to become monks. This was connected to Gautama’s rejection of caste, since he believed anyone, male or female, from any caste had the potential to find enlightenment and achieve Nirvana. As Buddhism was carried to other countries and adapted to those cultures, becoming a monk became limited to men.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou