Category: Bible

God wants us to rest plan

October 24, 2024

I am doing a Bible reading plan on the Bible app at the moment. It is titled, “God wants you to rest”. I found today’s reading really good. I have copied it below…

Rest Is Celebration and Community

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. -Exodus 20:9–10 

Anyone who works hard labor throughout the week needs a day of physical rest. Most of my work life is spent sitting in a chair. So, my best Sabbath rests include some physical exercise. That refreshes me. A Sabbath rest is a break from what we have been doing all week long. Therefore, some things about the day of rest may look differently for different people. 

The commandment calls us to stop doing what we have been doing all week. God wants us to dedicate this day to enjoying His community. He wants us to bring our family with us. This is resting in God. 

There are two different Hebrew words for work. One of the words is‘abad used in Genesis 2:15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it.” The Bible never prohibits this kind of work. In fact, this word also means “worship.” 

The other Hebrew word is mela’khah, which is creative work (see Exodus 20:10). The commandment prohibits this kind of work on the Sabbath. One day of the week, God wants His people to stop forging forward or building new enterprises and rest. 

Sabbath rest is a day to spend time with our family and with the family of God. I think God would prefer that we spend this day gathering with family around the pool rather than building a new pool. God wants us to include Him in this time. Sabbath rest is a time to find rest by enjoying God and His people. 

Greg Stone 

What hinders you from setting aside a day to rest each week? How can you make a plan to set aside one day every week to worship and rest?

Holy God, thank You for the gift of rest. Please help me to rest in You and enjoy all You’ve given me.

If you are interested, you can find it here.

What makes a good neighbour?

October 15, 2024

What makes a good neighbor?

What makes a good neighbour? It depends on your definition of neighbour. If you mean some who lives in your street, then some who is kind, considerate and quiet at night time.

But if you use the biblical definition, a neighbour is someone we share close proximity too. In my case it would be people in my small country town or people who pass through. If I am travelling it would be people on the road.

In Luke 10:30 NLT Jesus tells the parable of the good Samaritan…

Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

Jesus goes on to say that a number of people walked by. Some even crossed the road to walk around the man in need. Then comes along a good Samaritan…

[34] Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. [35] The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

The context of this story is found in Luke 10:25-29. A religious scholar asked Jesus a question about eternal life and then asks Jesus who is his neighbour. Jesus responded with this story.

From this we can see our neighbours are both those near us and those we come in to contact with. The Bible has a broader definition of neighbour than general society has and even calls us to love our neighbour as ourself (Mark 12:30-31).

So what is a good neighbour? Someone who looks out for those around them!

Principles to live by

October 13, 2024

What principles define how you live?

I do my best to live by the Kingdom principles found in the Bible. Three key Bible passages come to mind that help me do this…

Love God and love your neighbour

Mark 12:30-31 NLT – And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ [31] The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Make disciples of Christ

Matthew 28:18-20 NLT – Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. [19] Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. [20] Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Show the fruit of the Spirit in how you live

Galatians 5:22-23 NLT – But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

I changed my mind about Jesus

October 4, 2024
The tract and prayer I prayed to receive Jesus

What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?

As a teenager and in to my early twenties I did not believe in Jesus or the salvation He offers. I believed He was a historical person that some people believed in.

I can look back at times when people would talk to me about Jesus and I would reject them and their message. Some I even ridiculed and told them they were crazy.

At the age of 22 I came to believe in Jesus as more than a historical person. A friend gave me tract explaining that Jesus loved me and He died on the cross for my sin. This got my attention.

The more I read, the more I realised this was true. I realised I was a sinner, Jesus died on the cross for me, and I needed to repent and accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I realised what people told previously me was true.

Accepting Jesus as my Lord and Saviour was the best thing I have ever done. It truly turned my life around. Without Jesus I had no hope, no purpose or no meaning. With Jesus that all changed.

In the image above is a copy of the tract my friend gave me back in 1989. It contains the prayer I prayed to receive Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.

Reminders from Philippians

September 29, 2024

Today for my devotions I looked back over the things I had been reminded about from Philippians. There was a few things that were quickened to me again.

Paul wanted the Philippians to grow in Christ – In verse 1:9 Paul says, “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding”.

Paul’s life was all about Christ – In 1:21 explains Paul’s heart. “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better”.

We need to live as citizens of heaven – 1:27 says, “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.

We need to have the humble attitude of Christ – 2:7 says, “Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being”.

Knowing Christ is everything – 3:8 says “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ”.

We need to press on in Christ and His will – In verses 3:12 Paul says, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

We need to focus on what is good – In 4:8 it says, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise”

These are seven reminders I got from this reading and reflection of Philippians. There is a lot more than this in the Book, but these are the ones that spoke to me this time around.