Dave’s Monday Blast – July 31, 2023
It is so very encouraging to examine the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. INTENTIONAL men of God know that Jesus was fully human and as such experienced every emotion typical of humanity, but His response to the circumstances that confronted Him always perfectly reflected His other nature, i.e. the God of the Universe, perfect in all His ways. I find it instructive to observe how He navigated the days in which He lived. What can we learn from His example?
Summit Ministries speaks into this idea with the following five actions: (Jesus was a man of action)
1. Jesus had a HAND CHOSEN community, a band of brothers and sisters who were more than followers or coworkers, He loved them and called them His friends (John 15:15). He even had an inner circle of friends; Peter, James, and John (Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:33). Jesus was God in the flesh, but He still depended on His disciples for their support in His most difficult time (Matthew 26:36 – 38). We were designed to flourish within a community. From the very beginning, God said that it is not good to be alone (Genesis 2:18), indeed we are commanded not to neglect meeting together, but to encourage each other (Hebrews 10:24 – 25). Our Christian community has life sustaining spiritual, emotional and physical benefits.
2. Jesus SOUGHT SOLITUDE and REST. As important as it is to be surrounded with friends and family, it is also important to seek solitude. The first chapter of Mark affirms this necessity: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Jesus needed to rest away from the crowds so he could recover and recharge as noted in Luke 5:15 & 16 by spending time with His Father. From the beginning, (Genesis creation account) God commanded humankind to rest (Sabbath) and of course modeled this by resting on the seventh day.
3. Jesus was not a non-stop workaholic; even He needed REST. He commanded His disciples to rest (Mark 6:30 – 32) and of course He modeled it. Constant work (even Kingdom work), is detrimental to our health, both physical and emotional. In our fast-paced age of constant messages and notifications, we need time to block out the noise and focus upon our relationships. We may need a break from the non-stop thoughts in our own minds that cause fear and anxiety. We need solitude and rest.
4. Jesus TAUGHT contentment. When Jesus was asked to arbitrate an inheritance dispute, He responded: “Watch out! Be on guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15). Later in the same chapter, Jesus told His disciples: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes” (12:22 – 23). In the parable of the sower, Jesus warns: “The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). Chasing the new and exciting only leads to stress and anxiety. It saps our time and resources, which could be spent on more fruitful things. But contentment delivers peace. If you wish to be happier, follow Jesus’s commands and practice contentment.
5. Jesus OFFERS FORGIVENESS. Integral to Jesus’s mission was to save us and offer forgiveness for our sins (Luke 1:77). In the famous Lord’s Prayer, Jesus prayed to the Father for the forgiveness of our debts (Matthew 6:12), and then He taught His disciples that they must forgive others in the same manner (6:14 – 15). Forgiveness is central to Christianity, as God’s forgiveness restores our relationship with Him, and forgiveness of others restores our relationship with our friends and family. Forgiveness also releases us from anger, resentment, and anxiety, all of which can eat away at our mental health. Forgiveness brings us peace. Unforgiveness…well it yields the opposite of the above.
Finish today by reading Philippians 4:6 – 7.
