"Resting Much?"

As many of you know, my family just got back off of vacation.  Vacation at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina is always a great time of rest, relaxation and fun.  This was our sixth year going down in July to the Sand’s Villas.  

Now to be honest with you, I did do some church work while there.  I won’t tell you how much, but it was less than my wife did for her job (had to get that in).  But we all do that right?  We go away for vacation, time away where we are supposed to forget about work, the day to day routines, the grind of daily schedules, etc, for the fun in the sun. Yet we can’t leave the cell phone in the condo, not check emails, or think about the next deadline.  I was at the pool one day last week and this guy was on the phone with work while standing in 5 feet of water.  He was trying to tell someone on the other end of the phone where to find something in the shop.  He finely said, “If I were there I’d find it for you, BUT I’M ON VACATION (the caps are here because he yelled that phase into the phone).

So you know I’m going somewhere with all of this, right?  

Why is it so hard to leave work behind for many of us for just a week or even a day?  I often think of the verses that speak of rest.

Exodus 20:9

“Six days you shall labor and do all your work,”

Exodus 20:11

“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”

Exodus 23:12

“Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.”

Did God need to rest after working on creation for six days?  I think not!!!  He showed us the proper work ethic.  He set the example that we should follow.  And folks, it is for our own good.  REST!!!

What do we do on that day of rest?  Well, for most of us we see what we can fill it up with.  You know I”m right.  I’ve heard people say, that day is my day to do what I want.  Really?  All about you?  

Don’t get me wrong here, I like to have fun on my seventh day too, but it has to be more than about me.  When we make it about Him you will find that the “me time” is less important to us, yet there.  It’s funny how that works.

As Sandra Pierce mentioned in her sermon last Sunday, Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”  When we set our minds (not just one day a week, but daily) on things above, the things on earth seem to go more smoothly, seem to be less hectic.  It seems to me that things go better with God’s plan.

You know I’m going to end in a question.  How’s our “Rest?”  Yes, our!  I have to include me.  Remember, I worked on my vacation, taking some of that “rest time.”  So let us all consider “a rest” from our labors to focus on Him more and get refreshed through Him for the next step head of us.

Food for thought folks.  Just saying!!!!

Blessings,                                                                 

Pastor Marty

Worship, Grow, & Serve