7-6-2018

Good Morning All,

           Matthew 11:28; “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

         It is interesting to study our life and culture by looking at our music.  One of the most common theme, one that goes from the earliest American music until today; is the idea of being tired.  We are tired of work; we are tired of war; we are tired of being excluded and marginalized.  It is easy to be tired.  We live in a culture and lifestyle that demands so much that most people are often tired.  We also live in a culture where “enough” never is.  We always want more.

    Our culture, our world and our sinful desire drive us to a point of exhaustion.  The issue is that because of our sinful nature; we are no longer content.  We are restless and demanding more.  This desire goes all the way back to Eve when she was content with living in God’s perfect paradise.  She wanted to be like God.  She was restless and seeking more.  Soon she was tired; tired from her desire which was not for God but for herself.  She, and Adam, soon became weary of the weight of their sinful desires.

   Abel lost his life because of sinful desire and selfish.   Abraham’s desire for a son led him to try and bypass God.  This led to family strife that, in many ways, still exists today.  David’s desire for another man’s wife led to his exhaustion as the prophet Nathan called him out on his sin.  The list in Scriptures is almost endless.  Sinful desire leads to striving for things that are either unattainable or of no value to our existence as God’s people.

    This is why we are always exhausted; the devil never lets us rest.  He is always telling us that we need more and more and that what we have is either old, worn out or out of date.  He says this of our relationships and our possessions.  He wants us chasing after nightmares that he disguises as dreams.  All we have is pain, suffering and that back breaking tiredness that leaves us exhausted.

    Yet God gives us hope.  He gives to us rest.  Rest in him that is completely unlike anything that the world offers.  When we rest in God’s grace we have contentment and we have true peace.  The restlessness of the world can be put away if we trust God’s grace to protect us.  The devil will always try and cause us to be restless but God desires that we live in peace and harmony with him.  Peace was the promise of the angel that heralded Jesus’ birth.  Peace is the gift we have when we live by faith in God’s promise to us.  We have peace with God and with peace we have rest.

Father of all mercy, we stand before you a tired and worn out people.  Because of our sin we have no rest.  Yet in your wonderful mercy you forgive us and give us rest.  Be with those who are still aching with the pain of no peace in their life.  Guard them with your Spirit and bring them to know your true peace which we find only in Jesus.  In His precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret