Take time to rest

Many people, including ministers, take great pride in working. The phrase, "I don't have time, I'm working," is a common expression. It seems we feel like we are slackers if we aren't working non-stop. For some it's to make others look bad and having a sense they're better because they work more than others. This mindset is not biblical and has sent too many people to the grave too soon.

I've been as guilty as everyone else. There were times in my newspaper career that I relished in the long hours. It was a sense of accomplishment. A source of pride. I've used the word "pride" twice so far. That's a major issue. We are not to be prideful people. God tells us in Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling."

It's easy to go the same route in ministry as well. We get so busy we don't have time to rest, which is something God makes clear in His Word that we need. From the beginning of creation God showed us resting was important as He instituted the Sabbath during creation.

"By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." - Genesis 2:2-3

Jesus saw the need for rest as well. After an intense time of ministry, Jesus told His disciples in Mark 6:31, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while. (for there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)"

So let me ask you, what's your badge of honor? Is it working non-stop? If it is, you need to change your badge. Yes, we are to work hard to provide for our family, but work shouldn't consistently take us away from our family.

Non-stop work is a health hazard. If we are going and going and never resting, we will soon wear ourselves out. Not resting and stress is a bad combination. Your family needs you, so don't enter an early grave by wearing the badge of too much work.

As I mentioned above, I've been guilty of non-stop working. I've gotten better at it over the years, but I still need to keep an eye on myself. I need rest. Martha and I need away time. We work hard and we love it, because the work we do touches thousands of lives locally and around the world. But what good would we be to all of those people if we worked ourselves into serious health issues and an early grave?

Keep working hard at whatever your career is, but be sure to take time to rest and to rest with your family. It doesn't mean you are slacking. It doesn't mean you are less of a family provider. It means you care that you are around for your family and others who love you.

When is the last time you've taken a long weekend or a week-long vacation? It doesn't mean you have to go somewhere. You can take the time off from work and stay home. Pull up your calendar and be intentional to rest. Your family will thank you, and so will your body and mind.

Ways to become a disciple of Jesus

In my previous blog entry, I wrote about how there are no excuses for not living for Jesus. We are all good at making excuses, but they all stink. It’s like the old saying, excuses are like armpits. Everyone has them and they all stink.

The question now is, how can we grow in the Lord and totally commit our lives to Jesus. In other words, truly become disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let’s start with the Great Commission. Anyone who knows me, knows this is among my favorite verses in the Bible. It is the lifestyle Jesus calls us to. More than that, it’s a lifestyle He expects and commands us to live. And from nearly 35 years of experience, I can attest it is the greatest life ever.

We read in 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” The Apostle John, who wrote this verse, lived 93 years and he never regretted living for Jesus. I’m 57 and I’ve lived nearly 35 of my years for Jesus. I’ll never go back to how I lived before I surrendered my life to Jesus. I have tasted and seen the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), so there’s no turning back.

Our Lord’s Great Commission is Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

That’s the Great Commission. It’s a command from Jesus to His believers. It’s not the Great Suggestion. It’s the Great Commission.

There are three participles of the Great Commission - going, baptizing, and teaching - and one main verb - make disciples. The one point is to make disciples by “going,” “baptizing,” and “teaching.” Reading it in the Greek it would be more like, “As you are going, make disciples. As you are baptizing, make disciples. As you are teaching, make disciples.”

Where do we start? First by surrendering our lives to Jesus and putting our faith in Jesus alone for salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. Then we start learning more about Him, which is a never-ending process. Remember, God is eternal. We will keep on learning about Him, and the more we do, the closer we come to Him and the more we love Him.

So what’s next. There’s being baptized, prayer, Bible reading and studying, worship, fellowship with other believers, serving the Lord by serving others, etc. That may seem overwhelming, but it’s not. Here’s how I’ve broken it down over the years.

My high school JV basketball coach, Coach Coleman, used to tell us to “take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.” He meant that we needed to box out our man for the rebound, put a hand in the face of the shooter, make accurate passes, follow through on your shot, etc. Those were the little things. The big thing was winning. If we did the little things, we would win more than we lost. I’ve used Coach Coleman’s philosophy in my life as a Great Commission Christian.

Here are some of the “little things,” which actually aren’t so little. They’re all big things, but remember, the big thing is growing closer to Jesus and becoming more like Him by becoming His disciple and making more disciples.

Do the following:

• Read the Bible daily – find a “Read the Bible Through the Year” schedule at your church, the Bible app, in some Bibles. Ask me and I’ll send you one.
• Read daily devotionals, but don’t let that be your Bible reading. Use it as a jumpstart to your daily reading.
  
  
• Study the Bible. Always ask the Holy Spirit to teach you every time you read the Bible. Use commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and other available resources. A good study Bible like the ESV Study Bible and the NASB MacArthur Study Bibles are invaluable resources.
  
  
• Go to a house of worship … being an active member.
  
  
• Taking discipleship and Bible study classes.
  
  
• Church small groups … hanging out with other believers.
• Don’t go back to the same crowd. I understand this can be hard. If you can’t avoid them, just say no to the temptations. Jesus always gives us the strength to say no and a way out. “No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13
  It's not that you're better than them or don't care about them. You just don't need to surround yourself with the sins of your past. Keep praying for them and when you are strong in your faith, you will be able to better witness to them. Let them know you still care, but you just don't live that way any longer. Some will see your example and want to follow Jesus as well. You can still witness to them, but just don't hang out with them like you used to.
  
  
• Tell others about Jesus. Share your testimony.
  
  
• Serve others through acts of mercy. We are not saved by good works, but good works are an outflow of being saved. Serve at your church and out in your community either through your church and/or here with Love In Action or a ministry like Love In Action.

These are steps we all need to take. Again, it’s a lifestyle. Once we come to Christ, we need to change our lifestyles. As we experience His love and goodness we will see why and realize it’s more than worth it.

What's keeping you from living for Jesus?

I’ll cut to the chase. If we are believers in Jesus Christ, we have no excuses for not living all out for Him. Are you living for Jesus? If not, what are your excuses.

Is it your current situation? That doesn’t fly. The Apostle Paul was in prison as he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. It doesn’t get much worse than a first century Roman prison. That didn’t stop Paul. He kept living for Jesus to the point that his life still greatly impacts us today.

Is it your past? That’s not an excuse either. Paul persecuted the church. He approved Stephen being stoned to death. How about the Apostle Peter? He denied Jesus three times in our Lord’s most dire situation.

These guys had plenty of opportunities to make excuses, but they didn’t. They lived for Jesus until their deaths.

How about Mary Magdalene? Jesus cast seven demons out of her. Some believe she was a prostitute. There’s plenty of room for shame and excuses there. That’s also a lifestyle that would be easy to slip back into, but she didn’t. She lived for Jesus. In fact, she was the first person to see our resurrected Lord and Savior.

All three of these examples didn’t make excuses and went on to live full lives for Jesus. Why? Because they truly had an experience with Jesus Christ. They encountered the resurrected Christ, and their lives were never the same. They wanted more of Jesus in their lives. They were disciples of Jesus and made other disciples. That was their lifestyle.

You may say, well, two were apostles and the other was an early disciple of Jesus when He was physically on the earth. That makes no difference. Jesus says in John 20:29, “Because you have seen Me, have you now believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

That’s you and me. We haven’t seen Jesus, yet we believe. We are no different than Paul, Peter, and Mary except we were born in different centuries. If we are true believers in Jesus, we are all called to live this life for Him. No excuses.

So, what’s holding you back? Don't let anything keep you from living a full life for Jesus. Don’t let family, friends, work, school, government … whatever and whoever, keep you from the life Jesus has for you.

Think about our Brothers and Sisters who live in areas of the world where they are persecuted for their faith in Jesus, some unto death. They won’t let death keep them from serving Jesus. Let their lives inspire you as you pray for the persecuted church around the world.

In my next blog entry, I’ll write about how we can grow and commit our lives to Jesus. One thing to remember until then, if you are a believer in Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit in you. He empowers you to live for Jesus, even in the toughest situations (Acts 1:8). So live for Jesus. Don’t delay. Start living for Him today.

Let's be Great Commission Christians in 2024

To make this year a truly successful one, then our plan for spiritual growth needs to be followed. In my previous two blogs I wrote about the importance of a spiritual growh plan; how devotionals are good to kickstart your days but aren't real Bible studies; how following a Bible reading plan that takes you through the Bible in one year is key; and how study Bibles and commentaries are beneficial; reading and praying through the Book of Psalms, the "Little Bible," is a powerful way to grow in God's Word; and how taking 30 minutes a day and working up to one hour or longer to spend time reading the Bible and praying is vitally important. Here are links to those two blogs in case you missed them:

- https://liaministries.blogspot.com/2023/12/study-gods-word-in-2024.html
- https://liaministries.blogspot.com/2023/12/plan-to-grow-in-gods-word-in-2024.html

As we implement these disciplines of devotionals, Bible reading and studying, and prayer, we are becoming disciples and stronger disciples of Jesus Christ. That's being obedient to starting the process our Lord's command to make disciples. We first have to become disciples and then make disciples. Let's look at that command, which we call the Great Commission:
Matthew 28:18-20: "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'”

Jesus calls us to be Great Commission Christians. We do that by being obedient to His commands and truly following Him. As we learn and grow we are to teach others to do the same. We can do it. It's in the authority of Jesus Christ we go and proclaim the Gospel (Mark 16:15). As believers, we are filled with the Holy Spirit who empowers us to be witnesses of Jesus (Acts 1:8). We have no excuses. We have experienced His salvation. We are filled with His Spirit. We are under His authority. Let's go and make disciples!

If you are not engaged with a local house of worship, then you need to be. Jesus established the church and we are to be part of it (Matthew 16:18). If your church offers classes for Bible study and discipleship, then attend and learn. If you are interested in the Love In Action School of Discipleship, check out our web page, https://loveinactionministries.com/school-of-discipleship

The key is not keeping all of the knowledge you gain from the Bible to yourself. We must go and share it with others.

Another key aspect of growing spiritually is what John Wesley called "Acts of Mercy." That's taking care of those in need. It may be like we do at Love In Action when we serve hot meals to the homeless, take groceries to the poor, provide showers for the homeless and wash their laundry, help the sick, etc. Love in Action was founded on Matthew 25:35-40. These are the acts of mercy we do.

Other acts of mercy could be taking care of elderly neighbors, visiting nursing homes, helping disadvantaged youth with school work, mentoring children who don't have a father or mother, fostering children, counseling women who have had an abortion or are weighing that option, reaching those who enslaved in human trafficking, etc. Acts of mercy come in different forms. If you don't know what act of mercy God wants you to do, pray and ask Him. He will show you, and then do it.

We need to combine all of this - Bible study, engaging in church, making disciples, and doing acts of mercy. You may be saying at this point, "Ken, this is all very time consuming. I'm too busy." It's all about priorities. I've had to change my priorities, and I'm so thankful I did. I've learned over the years, my walk with Christ isn't just about saying prayer of repentance, though that was the start. It's not about just going to church once or twice a week. It's a lifestyle. Either I'm living completely for Jesus or I'm not. I choose to live completely for Jesus. What about you?

I'm not perfect at it, but each year I can track my growth and like the Apostle Paul, I keep pressing on for the prize of the upward call of God to be more like Jesus.

"Not that I have already grasped it all or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14

Let's determine to be Great Commission Christians in 2024. Let's put in the time and be intentional in growing in God's Word. Let's grow closer to God through studying His Word, praying, engaging in a local house of worship, making disciples, and serving our Lord through acts of mercy.

Our Lord's Great Commission is not a suggestion, it's a command. Let's be obedient and love, serve, and obey our Lord well.

If you have any questions, please email me at ken.tck@loveinactionministries.com

Study God's Word in 2024

Planning to grow in God's Word and putting that plan to use in 2024 is of utmost importance. Yesterday I wrote about doing that and then mentioned some devotionals I found helpful in 2023 and a couple I will be reading in 2024. If you missed that blog post you can check it out at this link, https://liaministries.blogspot.com/2023/12/plan-to-grow-in-gods-word-in-2024.html

As I warned in yesterday's post, don't let daily devotionals be the only Bible study you do. That's not Bible study. You can't grow in the knowledge of God's Word through devotionals. That would be like trying to maintain a healthy diet on only eating candy. It's tastes good, but it won't sustain you.

We have to be people who read God's Word daily. One way to accomplish that is by reading through the Bible in a year. When picking up a Bible it can be intimidating and you start thinking, I can't read that entire book. Yes you can, and taking it one day at a time is a great way to accomplish it. Pick the translation of the Bible you enjoy and follow a reading plan. You can find them on the Bible app, inside some Bibles, or your church may have a year-long Bible schedule to follow. Determine right now that starting tomorrow, New Year's Day, you are going to start reading the Bible daily. If you miss a day, make it up the next day. This is too important not to do.

I've read through the Bible a number of times using different reading schedules and Bible translations. If you have already read through the Bible, do it again. Try reading it chronologically. I enjoyed that. I think it's important to read through the Bible using different translations. I've never read through the entire Bible using the NASB translation. Martha bought me the NASB MacArthur Study Bible for my birthday, so I'm going to read through it in 2024 using the reading schedule it provides.

If you don't have a study Bible, I encourage you to buy one. It's more than worth the investment. I look forward to digging into my new NASB study Bible. I really enjoy the ESV Study Bible. I love the ESV translation, and it has copious study notes, articles, and resources. I highly suggest that one. When you open God's Word, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you. He is our Teacher.

With a study Bible, I encourage you to take time and slow down and study the Bible. Pick a topic like grace, mercy, forgiveness, the Messiah, Holy Spirit, covenants, etc., and start looking up what scriptures say about each topic. Get a Bible commentary if you don't have one. There are many good ones out there such as the MacArthur Bible Commentary, Believer's Bible Commentary, Matthew Henry Bible Commentary, and more.

A great study to do is the Book of Psalms, and a great way to read and study it is reading five chapters a day corresponding with the day's date. For example, on Jan. 1, read Psalms 1 then skip 30 books to Psalms 31, then skip 30 more and read Psalms 61, then Psalms 91, and then Psalms 121. The next day start with chapter 2, then 32, 62, 92, 122, and so on throughout the month. On Jan. 31, you could spend more time in Psalms 119, which is the longest chapter in the Bible.

Taking time to read and study the Psalter is a great way to learn the heart of God and better understand the Old and New Testaments in one book. Martin Luther once said, "The Psalms are a Little Bible, wherein everything contained in the entire Bible is beautifully and briefly comprehended." John Wesley said, "The Psalms is a summary of both testaments."

To strengthen your prayer life, as you read Psalms, pray them. You will be praying many of the prayers Jesus prayed and you will be learning how to pray the Word.

Dietrick Bonhoeffer said, "The Psalter is the prayer book of Jesus Christ in the truest sense of the word. He prayed the Psalter and now it has become his prayer for all all time ... we understand how the Psalter can be prayer to God and yet God's own Word, precisely because here we encounter the praying Christ ... because those who pray the Psalms are joining in with the prayer of Jesus Christ, their prayer reaches the ears of God. Christ has become their intercessor."

Take 30 minutes a day to read God's Word and pray and work your way to one hour. I can hear some of you now, "Ken, I don't have that much time." Really? You have time to watch TV. What's more important? A TV show or God's Word and your relationship with your Creator?

Find a time each day that works best for you. Mine is early in the morning before my day starts. I begin with devotionals and then prayer and reading God's Word. At other times of the week I will take time to study the Bible to see what God is saying about different topics and issues.

We aren't done. Be sure to check out tomorrow's blog for more tips and advice for growing in God's Word in 2024. If you have questions, please email me at ken.tuck@loveinactionministries.com.