Invitation to Rest
Exodus 31:12-18
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me...."
(Matthew 11:28-29)
The phone rings. It's not a solicitor, business call or emergency. Instead it's the familiar voice of a friend asking if I have time for a visit. It's an invitation to step away from the demands around me and rest in the comfort of a trusted friendship for just a little while.
Rest comes to us in through sleep, relaxation, distraction, comfort. It refreshes our bodies, minds and souls, as rain brings refreshing to the desert. When we are experiencing exhaustion, an invitation to rest can be life-giving.
Jesus has gently spoken an invitation for us to rest with Him. "Come to me," He says, "and I will give you rest." There's no time limit on His invitation, no cost to us, no hidden agendas or misunderstood motives. Just an honest invitation, right in the middle of our messy lives, to experience deep rest. Even if this life holds little relief for you, He will not withhold His promised rest forever. Listen to His invitation, rejoicing that His rest is not just for a little while, but for all eternity.
INSIGHT
God provided restoration for all creation through the gift of rest. The earth experiences it through the seasons. Mankind knows it through keeping the Sabbath.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Deuteronomy 9-10
Psalm 84
Acts 7
Exodus 31:12-18
Exodus 31:12-18
New International Version (NIV)
The Sabbath
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, 13 "Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. 14 "‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. 15 For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’"
18 When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
HONOR THE SACRIFICE
God promises those who honor Him, He will honor. But how does God want us to honor Him?
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