Tag: God

How much pressure should we put on ourselves to save our lost friends and family? – John 6:65

Published on by DaveLeave a comment

Everybody knows people who are unsaved. That is; people who don’t have a relationship with God and therefore are condemned to spend eternity in hell, in separation from God.

That’s pretty heavy if you can fathom even a glimpse of how wonderful it will be to be in God’s presence for eternity. So the question comes; how much pressure should we put on ourselves to ensure that our family and friends are there to join us in everlasting joy and peace?

John 6:65

He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

Ultimately, it is God that does the final conversion. He is the one who sets the relationship between himself and an unsaved person. There is nothing we can say or do for someone else that gets them into a relationship with God; it can only be done through that person putting his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. But what is the role we play? Paul says:

Romans 10:14-15

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things?”

It is certainly said many times through the Bible it is our role to display God’s love to others through our words and actions, and ultimately spread the gospel of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. If we are a true believer, displaying God’s love should come naturally to us, whereas telling the literal gospel to a family member or colleague may require a fair amount more courage. We should not, however, put so much pressure on ourselves that it causes us to worry when those dearest to us are not recognizing the need for God in their lives. As long as we are doing what God calls us to do, in the end it comes back to their choices about being in a relationship with God. It’s sad and even devastating when we see our loved ones so lost, but ultimately it’s God and that person that needs to do the toughest parts.

In our sadness and brokenness about the state of the world around us, it’s important to surround ourselves with loving brothers and sisters in Christ, but more importantly we have God to comfort us even in the hardest, most confusing times.

Efficient Rest – Deuteronomy 5:12-14

Published on by Dave1 Comment

Deuteronomy 5:12-14

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.

Rest is great. God tells us to rest. How much more permission does one need to put away the work and just rest? After he finished creating the universe, God rested, and he’s God. Although he did not need to rest, being the God of the universe, he was so satisfied with his creation that on the seventh day, he rested.

It raises the question in my mind why I always feel tired after a long day of work, and by the time I get to the end of the working week, I’m exhausted. And I can assure you I’m not doing any back breaking labors like so many hard-working people do.

I think the answer to this question, in a simple sense, is we get tired because we are human. In another sense it is because we are human that we don’t know how to efficiently rest. There are hundreds, if not thousands of books being written as we speak on how to work more effectively; how to squeeze every ounce of efficiency out of the 1440-minute day. I don’t see many books written on how to rest.

Partly cultural, I’m sure; the pressure to perform and not look lazy. There’s always a million things to do at work; then a thousand things to do with the family and socially; then a hundred things to do with the church. I know I am constantly caught justifying family and social and ministering at church as ‘rest’ time, when in reality they are just as much work as the business place. Everyone is different; what is refreshing and revitalizing to one individual will be different from the next.

In Deuteronomy, Moses is giving a long list of commands and instructions to the nation of Israel of what they need to do to stay right with God. Thanks to the gospel of Jesus Christ dying on the cross in our place, we don’t need to follow the letter of the commands and instructions to stay right with God, but that doesn’t mean they make some mighty good suggestions, seeing as they are from the all mighty God.

For me, ultimate rest is having nothing scheduled on my to-do list, and subsequently sitting down with a book, a movie or lying down and having a rest. But is this the best kind of rest I can have? Am I just seeking a replacement for the rest that can be found in bible reading and prayer?

Where do you find rest? And where is your life so busy that you don’t have time for God?