Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
The invitation has gone out. It is at our doorstep. Pick it up and read it, for Jesus says, "Come."
You are welcome to walk in. "Come." You are accepted. "Come." You are wanted. "Come to me." Jesus is calling your name and desires to know you.
My pastor's wife read that Scripture aloud, and as soon as I heard, "Come" I got choked up. I heard His invitation. I felt His love. I knew His acceptance and was overcome. My Lord has invited me.
I cannot remember, nor am I able to count, the amount of times where I have had the realization that I was not invited. Talking with friends, laughing, enjoying each other, and then the 'party' came up. Friends would say, "Oh, I thought you just couldn't make it." or "Oh, you weren't invited?" Then came the pit in my stomach in realizing that for some reason or another I wasn't invited. I wasn't wanted. Sadness would ensue for days. Rejection, my steady friend and companion for years, would show up alongside me, BUT Jesus, God, Lord of the Universe, says, "Come to me" to us.
And what is His invitation? To come into rest. If you are tired and burdened, (raise your hand if you are tired and weary) and come and rest. He desires for you to come in, drop your bags at the front door, slop over to the couch and lay down. He actually wants us to stop 'doing' and rest.
I remember, about ten years ago when I had four children under four years old, my grandmother-in-law invited me and the kids over to her house for lunch. I came in with two babies in infant car seats, baby bags, blankies, and all the paraphernalia that goes with having little ones. She met me at the door and began to 'unwrap' me from my heavy load. She took one baby, than another. She set up a play area for the kids. Then welcomed me in. As I entered her home I saw the dining room table was set, for me. Beautiful dishes were laid out and more enticing food than I could have asked for. We talked for awhile and then we sat at the table for lunch. She served me. As I took my first bite I began to cry. I felt ridiculous, but the tears flowed without my permission. She put her arm around me and said, "Rest." I didn't have to explain. She knew how very tired I was. How difficult my life was. She understood and offered me to rest. She then got down on the floor and played with my infant twins while I sat and ate lunch in peace. The tears did not stop once while I ate.
Jesus is offering to us, to come in rest, and "learn from me." Rest your mind, surrender your worries, and "learn from me." The invitation is here, how will we respond? I say, "Yes." I want to learn from God. I want to hear what He has for me. I want His advice. I want to stop striving, stop trying to achieve in making everything right and perfect. I want His plan-His perfect plan. "for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." He is gentle, not harsh. We are safe in Him. We can trust Him.
I have known Jesus in a deeper way since 1988. In all these years of 'coming' to Him, I have learned that He not only calls us into rest, but into much more.
Jesus calls us to come into repentance.
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17) Jesus offers forgiveness for our sins. Forgiveness from shame. Forgiveness from guilt. He removes it from us, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:13) and washes us from our sin "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18). With the forgiveness of sins, that only Jesus can give, we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and receive the fruit of the Spirit which, "is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)
He calls us to come and trust Him.
"Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:25-31)
Jesus calls us to come into a deeper trust, a deeper faith in Him.
Jesus calls us to come and follow Him.
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." (Matthew 4:19) We can follow Jesus and tell others about Him.
If you have never asked Jesus into your heart and asked Him to be your Lord and Savior and would like to, read the prayer below and believe that when you ask Him to come to you, He will.
Dear God,
I know that I am a sinner. I believe that you sent Jesus to be my Savior, and that He died on the cross to take away my sins. I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and is coming back someday. Please forgive me of all my sins, come into my heart and change me. Please help me to follow you for the rest of my life. Thank you for saving me and taking me to heaven one day.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
If you have prayed the above prayer, and would like to talk to someone about your commitment to Jesus Christ, please feel free to contact me.
The invitation has gone out. It is at our doorstep. Pick it up and read it, for Jesus says, "Come."
You are welcome to walk in. "Come." You are accepted. "Come." You are wanted. "Come to me." Jesus is calling your name and desires to know you.
My pastor's wife read that Scripture aloud, and as soon as I heard, "Come" I got choked up. I heard His invitation. I felt His love. I knew His acceptance and was overcome. My Lord has invited me.
I cannot remember, nor am I able to count, the amount of times where I have had the realization that I was not invited. Talking with friends, laughing, enjoying each other, and then the 'party' came up. Friends would say, "Oh, I thought you just couldn't make it." or "Oh, you weren't invited?" Then came the pit in my stomach in realizing that for some reason or another I wasn't invited. I wasn't wanted. Sadness would ensue for days. Rejection, my steady friend and companion for years, would show up alongside me, BUT Jesus, God, Lord of the Universe, says, "Come to me" to us.
And what is His invitation? To come into rest. If you are tired and burdened, (raise your hand if you are tired and weary) and come and rest. He desires for you to come in, drop your bags at the front door, slop over to the couch and lay down. He actually wants us to stop 'doing' and rest.
I remember, about ten years ago when I had four children under four years old, my grandmother-in-law invited me and the kids over to her house for lunch. I came in with two babies in infant car seats, baby bags, blankies, and all the paraphernalia that goes with having little ones. She met me at the door and began to 'unwrap' me from my heavy load. She took one baby, than another. She set up a play area for the kids. Then welcomed me in. As I entered her home I saw the dining room table was set, for me. Beautiful dishes were laid out and more enticing food than I could have asked for. We talked for awhile and then we sat at the table for lunch. She served me. As I took my first bite I began to cry. I felt ridiculous, but the tears flowed without my permission. She put her arm around me and said, "Rest." I didn't have to explain. She knew how very tired I was. How difficult my life was. She understood and offered me to rest. She then got down on the floor and played with my infant twins while I sat and ate lunch in peace. The tears did not stop once while I ate.
Jesus is offering to us, to come in rest, and "learn from me." Rest your mind, surrender your worries, and "learn from me." The invitation is here, how will we respond? I say, "Yes." I want to learn from God. I want to hear what He has for me. I want His advice. I want to stop striving, stop trying to achieve in making everything right and perfect. I want His plan-His perfect plan. "for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." He is gentle, not harsh. We are safe in Him. We can trust Him.
I have known Jesus in a deeper way since 1988. In all these years of 'coming' to Him, I have learned that He not only calls us into rest, but into much more.
Jesus calls us to come into repentance.
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17) Jesus offers forgiveness for our sins. Forgiveness from shame. Forgiveness from guilt. He removes it from us, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:13) and washes us from our sin "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18). With the forgiveness of sins, that only Jesus can give, we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and receive the fruit of the Spirit which, "is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)
He calls us to come and trust Him.
"Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:25-31)
Jesus calls us to come into a deeper trust, a deeper faith in Him.
Jesus calls us to come and follow Him.
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." (Matthew 4:19) We can follow Jesus and tell others about Him.
If you have never asked Jesus into your heart and asked Him to be your Lord and Savior and would like to, read the prayer below and believe that when you ask Him to come to you, He will.
Dear God,
I know that I am a sinner. I believe that you sent Jesus to be my Savior, and that He died on the cross to take away my sins. I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and is coming back someday. Please forgive me of all my sins, come into my heart and change me. Please help me to follow you for the rest of my life. Thank you for saving me and taking me to heaven one day.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
If you have prayed the above prayer, and would like to talk to someone about your commitment to Jesus Christ, please feel free to contact me.
No comments:
Post a Comment