July 6, 2016
Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
CONSIDER THIS
It just keeps getting better. Jesus is pure, unadulterated, good news. He’s the kind of person you want to be around. His presence itself is an invitation. I want you to speak these words aloud very slowly for effect.
COME . . . .TO. . . .ME. . . . ALL. . . .YOU. . . . .WHO. . . .ARE. . . . .WEARY. . . .AND. . . . . BURDENED. . . . . . . AND. . . . .I . . . . . . WILL. . . . . . . GIVE. . . . . . YOU. . . . . . . REST.
As the Creator of life he knows precisely how life was meant to be lived. He designed us to live freely, easy, light and unburdened; restful even. It sounds too good to be true. But what if it is true? Are you living this way?
Let’s continue yesterday’s reading of this text from The Message version of the Bible.
“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.”
We need to be reminded with every step we take through the Gospel that this is how Jesus makes disciples. This is discipleship. He is leading us into the glorious grace of the rest of the Gospel.
Recovering our life. . . . . . a real rest. . . . . .unforced rhythms of grace. . . . nothing heavy or ill-fitting on us. . . . . living freely and lightly. . . . .
It’s all about keeping company with Jesus.
The best part is when we keep company with Jesus in this fashion, others can keep company with him by keeping company with us. His presence in us makes our presence like his presence. That’s how it works.
THE QUESTIONS
1. What if God really is that good? How would that change your relationship with him?
2. Are you weary? Burdened? Carrying a heavy load? Needing Rest? What would it mean for you to “Come to Jesus” right now?
3. Have you or others you have known been a victim of being burdened and worn down—even enslaved—by a religious system masquerading as the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
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J.D. Walt, is a Bond Slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. jd.walt@seedbed.com.
One Response
“Recovering our life. . . . . . a real rest. . . . . .unforced rhythms of grace. . . . nothing heavy or ill-fitting on us. . . . . living freely and lightly. . . . .”
Those words describe the faith of a pastor who changed my life. His faith sits on him easily like a comfortable cloak; it is just part and parcel of who he is and he is not even aware of the difference he exudes; for the most part he is an unforced rhythm of grace. By comparison my faith felt clunky, bulky and hard to manage.