Thank you for your response to my summer request for financial help. About $500 came in last week, and I am grateful. There is much to do this summer and I ask for your assistance that will allow me to write, consult and minister in the U.S. and beyond. You can give using PayPal through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and now let's continue the discussion on rest that we started last week.
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Jesus was an authority on the Sabbath rest day concept, on that we all agree. It's just our interpretation of what He said that creates such a wide variety of practices. In Mark 2:27, Jesus is quoted as saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." This has profound implications, for the Jews acted like there was a special day called the Sabbath or Saturday that was holy in and of itself. They felt that God created man in part so that man could revere and serve this day and somehow that would please the Lord.
Jesus was saying, "No, no. You have it all wrong. The Sabbath exists as a benefit for mankind. Don't make people serve the day, allow the day to serve the needs of the people." Jesus said in another place when the Jews condemned His followers for plucking grain off a stalk on the Sabbath, "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). Jesus came to rule the day called the Sabbath, which meant He had the authority to establish it for what God intended it to be.
I would present that rest is a concept and not a day. I know people who keep a literal Sabbath, but they are sour, joyless and return to work as miserable as they left on Friday. Their Sabbath was of no value to them. I do believe that worship needs to be part of your rest practice, but beyond that I think you can find rest and refreshment in doing what you were created to do. Rest was not to be refuge from the tyranny of work, it was to help you refresh so you can enter back into the work that God has assigned. That very work is rest and refreshment.
When Jesus was tired and hungry as reported in John 4, He sent the disciples off to get lunch. The Samaritan woman then came to the well and Jesus conversed with her, leading to her going home to get her villagers to come and see Jesus. When the disciples returned, they were amazed to see Jesus so energized and thought someone had brought Him lunch. He responded, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about" (John 4:32). Jesus was refreshed by fulfilling His purpose of seeking and saving the lost (see Luke 19:10).
My main point in this series is that your rest is not to rescue you for one day or for two weeks while on vacation from work that drains you, that you loathe and dread. That is not rest. Your purpose can make you tired, but it never takes more than it gives back. Your recreation should not be flight from work, but a chance to replenish your energy so you can go back to work, which in itself will refresh you. In other words, your rest is an ongoing process not a day or a practice.
If you look forward to your weekend as a refuge from misery, then you are not in your purpose. You have bought into the concept of a career and a career apart from purpose is draining. A career with purpose or purpose outside your career is joy that brings rest, not as you cease activity, but as you meet God in the midst of the activity. As we continue this series, I ask that you honestly reflect on the role and need for rest in your life and consider if you are missing the mark where the concept of rest is concerned. Thank you for reading and having a blessed week.
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LIVING IN A RACIALIZED SOCIETY: This was the title of a forum for which I served as moderator last February. In light of current events in the U.S., I thought it was important to post the two-hour session for you to hear. You can listen to part one and part two on my blog radio channel.
YOUR PURPOSEQUEST TV: I have four television shows posted online. Each one features someone's purpose story. You can watch them on my Vimeo channel. I also have all my radio shows archived on my website for your listening enjoyment. That show is entitled "Wake Up to Purpose."
LATEST BOOK: I released my latest book a few weeks ago at a creativity workshop entitled Unlocking the Power of Your Creativity. You can purchase it now in paper or ebook format.
#STANKOISMS: My latest book, #stankoisms: Wisdom for the Twitter Age is now available in paper or ebook format.
ANOTHER BOOK: I released another book recently for which I served as the editor as well as being a contributing author. Leadership Essentials is now available in Kindle or paper format.
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