Tag Archive for Matthew 11:28

Rest

2015-04-12 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28, NIV)

Father, I’ve turned everywhere else.
I’ve sought relaxation instead of rest.
I’ve substituted comfort for peace.
The shell of security I’ve tried to build
only weighs me down with anxiety.

I hear Your words of love:

In quietness and trust is your strength. (Isaiah 30:15, NIV)

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29, NIV)

And God of fervent love,
passionately jealous for my best good,
I turn to You now.

What if I could truly know You—
not just know about You,
but know You?

What if by simple trust I could realize
Your personal presence with me,
moment by moment?

If in that presence I could know
Your gentleness,
Your power,
Your faithfulness,
Your love?

If trust could become
a personal relationship between us,
not an abstract concept?

What if I could simply know You,
and know You always with me?

Would Your rest then reign in me?
Would it fill my mind, my emotions,
and the desires of my heart?

Would it put me at peace with the past,
at peace with the present,
and eagerly anticipating a glorious future in You?

Would it reconcile me to myself,
to each person in my life, and
to You?

Could I go to bed in it,
get up in it,
work, have fun, and face adversity in it
without getting it wrinkled?

Would I then share Your deep peace—
that wholeness and harmony
You enjoy within Yourself,
that is found in You alone?

Come to me…and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28, NIV)

Father, I want to know You.
I want to rest in Your presence.
I come to You now.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Psalm of Trust
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Living Without Guilt

2014-06-15 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Jesus said,

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28, NASB) 

1 John 1:9 promises this:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (NIV)

I know about guilt. I know about the shadow deep inside, the heaviness, the darkness. I know about being deeply, unforgettably aware of the wrong I’ve done.

I’ve tried to deal with that guilt in a variety of ways.

I’ve tried to deny it: “It’s just a state of mind…an emotion…it’ll pass.”

I’ve tried to rationalize it: “Everybody does wrong once in a while…I’m no worse than most people.”

I’ve tried to blame it on others and escape it: “It’s just the way my parents raised me…society’s false standards…If I ignore their rules, I’ll eventually get past this feeling.”

I’ve tried to make up for it somehow: “I will be nice to people…do good deeds…give money…That will make up for the wrong I’ve done…My good deeds will outweigh the bad.”

But none of that lifts the blackness. None of it makes me clean. None of it changes the person I know I am. My wrongness is not a feeling, or a fiction, or a passing phenomenon. It’s a fact.

But thank the Lord, I also know what forgiveness feels like. Years ago friends told me about Jesus. At first, hearing about Him only made the guilt worse. I felt painted in a corner. My wrongness, my sin, was bigger than ever. It loomed over me. It stared me in the face.

Finally, in desperation, and in feeble hope, I turned to Jesus. I just opened myself to Him. I admitted how wrong I was, and I asked Him to help me.

And you know what happened? He didn’t scold me. He didn’t punish me. He just forgave me. Forgave me! Freely, completely, unconditionally forgave me! I was a brand-new person! I felt bathed in His love inside and out.

I can’t describe the freedom. I can’t describe the cleanness, the joy, the rightness of life.

I’m not talking about a feeling. It was a fact. I was a different person, and everyone who knew me knew I was different.

No, I wasn’t perfect. I’m still not perfect–not by a long shot. But I’m learning to trust Him, and He’s helping me to live a clean life, a loving life, above the wrong that once dragged me down.

And when I fail, I just ask Him to forgive me, and He does, as freely and completely as ever.

If you’re living with guilt, let me tell you: you don’t have to. You don’t need to deny it. You don’t need to rationalize it. You don’t have to make up for it. Jesus forgives sin. Jesus takes away guilt completely. Jesus makes new people. Jesus can make you a new person.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Come, My Friends!
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics