Tag: rest

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Even Beavers Find Rest

by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Sleep Is Not Overrated!

These beavers worked so hard that someone needed to transported them to another stream. The rodents worked hard and fast. One day the stream flowed freely through Sondermann Park and the next there was this pond. They couldn’t stop what they were doing. They even took on trees that were above their pay grade.

They did what their Creator appointed them to do.

Though we reflect on their labor, do we think about their rest? The sun-drenched beaver hut is a reminder that even the most industrious of us need rest.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Revelation 14:13 English Standard Version

These words speak to me not only of my rest as I enter the presence of the Lamb, but of my daily rest.

I thank God for sleep. Sleep is not overrated.

God calls us to the labor of each day with each day’s tasks zapping us of energy whether that be emotional, physical, or mental energy. Fatigue might be the norm for our evening hours. We fall out of bed, put on our clothes, down a pot of coffee and head off to work, sometimes taking on a task that is larger than we are. Then we return home hoping that our nights rest in our tiny little hut will restore us for the next day’s journey into the wilds of work.

But what about this death thing that John mentions? In Jesus’ death, we die daily to the old ways of doing things and this death is precious in the sight of God. Even as we work, we die only to find that God brings us to rest from that day’s labor.

This daily routine ought to remind us of our final rest in the presence of the Lamb. Yes, the focus of this passage is on heaven, and I hope that your sleep tonight and the rest that it brings will remind you of your final rest with Christ.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Kicking Up Your Feet

by Pastor Douglas Brauner

An Invitation to Rest

There’s a small child inside all of us, a child who can’t sit still.

In my last congregation, my staff gave me a tough time for having squirrel moments. If my body wasn’t moving, my mind was. There is much to think about and much to do.

We wrap our minds around what we did, what we’re doing, and what is to come. There is always a project that needs to be completed, a mission which occupies both our minds and our actions.

Like a small child, we are in perpetual motion. The child in this picture looks relaxed and calm. I’m grateful that my phone camera has a fast shutter speed. Even when I took this picture, he was in motion.

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.”
Genesis 2:2 English Standard Version

The God of perpetual motion rested on the seventh day. His rest doesn’t mean he was inactive, it means he enjoyed what he had made, already having declared creation “very good.” In our understanding of time, God stopped, kicked up his feet, and was actively enjoying the work of his hands.

Through Jesus, God invites us into HIS rest. In fact, God has declared our rest holy. He invites us not only to enjoy his work of creation, but our redemption. Like his Father, Jesus had completed his work, not of creating, but of redeeming his fallen creation.

Now the Spirit whisper into your ear, “Kick up your feet and rest with the Father who created you and with the Son who redeemed you. Through Jesus you are very good! Rest, laugh, and enjoy what you truly are; a child of God!”

This might be a time of perpetual motion for you as you face challenges, whether positive or negative. It might seem counter intuitive to hear the Spirits voice to kick up your feet. However, the invitation is there for you today.

Don’t be alarmed that if you kick up your feet, God surprises you.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Come to Me

By Pastor Don Schatz

Rest

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28  New Revised Standard Version

I don’t know about you, but I can feel overburdened on occasion, like a dock with too many sea lions.  Docks float.  They are not supposed to be under water.  Do you ever feel like its difficult to keep your head above water?  Are you feeling like that now?  If not, what kinds of things can make you feel that way?

Jesus knew, Jesus knows that we can feel that way.  He did not shake a finger and say, ‘Tsk, tsk.’  He still does not.  The Lord does not expect us to be anything but human.  Good thing, right?  Because human is what we are.  No, Jesus said to the burdened, to those feeling underwater, “Come to me.”  This is first.  Do not rush to the end of the sentence.  Jesus first teaches us to listen, to remember his invitation.  “Come.”  Come to Jesus.  Hearing these words, attending to the lesson, we can put Jesus’ words into practice.  Remember these three words today: “Come to me.”  This is first.  Do not shoulder your burdens by yourself.  Do not accept the image of your life as you thrashing wildly, with  your nose barely breaking the surface of life’s waters.  Come to Jesus.

Now you are ready for the end of the sentence.  “I will give you rest.”  Go to Jesus.  Pray.  Ask for his help.  He will give you rest.  True to form, the Lord does not ask anything of us, accept to come to him.  He is training us to deal with our burdens and weariness of soul by coming to him.  Then, he gives rest.  He loves us.  He gives us rest.  No charge, no conditions, no small print.  Just rest.  He still breathes peace upon us.  The Spirit of Peace is still at home in hearts.  Tenderly, tenderly, Jesus is calling.  You.  Calling you home to his heart to rest.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado