by David Brenneman
"The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves." Mark 6:30-32.
How often do you honestly practice this in your life? Intentionally getting away from the world to be with Jesus in resting before Him?
I am not referring to turning to hobbies or anything of worldly interests. Not a game or any such thing.
Intentionally resting at the feet of Jesus. Intentionally taking I
intentional time to pray, to listen, to read your Bible. No ear buds no earpieces no headphones.
It's for us to read that the very practice of Jesus was to often get away from the world to be with His Father in prayer.
"Well I don't know how to pray!" Yes you do if you've been taught how to have a conversation. You aren't required to speak out loud concerning prayer. If you can read these words then you know how to read your Bible. You have a mind so you know how to listen.
Jesus paid the price for your sins...doesn't He at least deserve to hear from you?
Anxiety is everywhere. We read in our Bible to be anxious for nothing but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Yes God always already knows but He still wants to hear you speak your heart.
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me." John 14:1.
Stress permeates out culture. Everyone's culture. On every continent in every single nation, every single city on every given day.
Jesus is the cure for that.
The well known story of Mary and Martha is the go to example of stressed vs no stress in dealing with life. One chose to sit at the feet of Jesus the other was intent on being busy n wearing themselves out.
The Great Commission wasn't strictly for the Disciples who were now commissioned as Apostles. They were the foundation of the Church of God in Christ Jesus. The beginning of what has spanned centuries.
The Spirit that came to live in the hearts of those who believe isn't just there waiting for Jesus to come back so that He can go home to Heaven again.
Read that again.
Jesus called Him the Helper. He would teach us all things. He is the Teacher. The word for Him is the Paraclete. Another of the same kind as Jesus Christ.
Yesterday was the first day since my emergency room visit that I struggled to get my blood pressure back down. Prayer was very instrumental in that.
This week prayer is going to be very instrumental in the outcome of everything from home life to work life. From financial decisions to employment decisions. Staying versus going.
My commitment is to Jesus. To be in His Word daily. To get away from the world and be with Him. In this moment I have read my morning Bible reading. I write whatever He is telling me to write. On my way to work, sometimes out loud or to myself, I pray the whole way there. Things happen during the day. Pray along the way. Tonight after dinner, I have my commitment to Bible study. Those 4 Study Bibles to read, a chapter in Dr. Charles Stanley's book on Adversity and the day's reading in Dr. David Jeremiah's Daily Devotional book.
I look forward to that "class time".
There is still time for my interests. Still time for other things and people.
The Spirit has been changing my priorities and my interests to align with the Will of God for me.
That's His job. Teaching us all that Jesus commanded.
"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22.
Truly truly do I say to you...these Scriptures find their way into these posts as the Spirit directs me. I have not the strong ability to memorize the Bible. I struggle with that and have all my Spiritual life since 1974. When a passage comes to me while writing or even enough of a portion to search my Bible app then I bring that here. God didn't leave me helpless, He has provided for people like me.
In no way, shape or form, have I at any time regretted spending time with Jesus. I have missed out on nothing.
For a Believer, growing in Christ begins the day we receive our salvation in Christ. We are to come spend time with Jesus to grow into His character. To honor Him be becoming like Him.
There's no end of stories of people who's lives were saved by someone and they feel such a life debt that they honor them every single day to that end. People who were unruly as a child, were shown the compassion of God in Christ, growing up to be Doctors. In one such case the unruly child became the Doctor who performed the life saving surgery on the Teacher who did that for him. A pediatrician who had performed a series of difficult surgeries on a newborn baby and 20 years later that boy was the Paramedic who saved the life of that very same Doctor after a car accident.
If we can have such examples of humanity being that way towards others...for those in Christ...what manner of children of God ought we to be for all that Jesus did for us?
Don't we want to willingly be all we can be in Christ for all that Jesus did on the cross to save us?
In His writings to the Corinthians Paul urged them to examine themselves. We really ought to do this too. Asking Jesus if there's any wicked ways in us that we've never acknowledged as being that.
We certainly are lying to ourselves when we say that the idolatry of the world isn't a part of our lives. The Bible says it's there. We need to be on guard against every form of evil. We are told to flee youthful lusts and the sins that easily entangle us.
Oh we are easily deceived. Easily entangled by sins and the cares of this world. We even convince ourselves that we enjoy such things! We will because we are more prone to listening to our sin nature than we are the Spirit of God within us.
You learn the right from wrong by spending time with Jesus. From listening to the Lord Jesus in prayer. From being intentional in getting away from the world to be with Him.
"As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Ephesians 4:14-24.
Are you interested in being intentional with Jesus?
If you aren't...my Dear Reader...examine yourself to find out why you aren't. Ask Jesus why you aren't. Jesus said that if we wish to follow Him that we must take up our own cross and follow Him. You cannot have anything plus Jesus to live this life. It's Jesus plus nothing that gets you everything to live life in Christ to the fullest measure.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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