Third Commandment--Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.
Matthew 11:28--Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Devotion--Jesus gives the promise that we can find rest in Him. One of the chief ways that we find this rest is through His perfect life, death, and resurrection, where He made us right with God. We don't have to go out of our way to make God happy with us. God has already taken care of that for us through Jesus.
And yet, we find a great number of other burdens that we deal with as we live life. Burdens of relationships, of possessions, of work. Burdens of the consequences of sin, of the consequences of our words, and of our actions. We suffer through many of these, and find them like a heavy weight that we carry around on our shoulders and in our minds.
So when Jesus makes the promise of rest, it sounds good. But we can also struggle with exactly how we find the rest He promised. Will He miraculously take it away from us? Where is that rest found?
As we think about the third commandment, it seems that one place we find that rest and relief is in the company of our fellow believers. We need to hear that we are forgiven, and we hear it from them. We need support and encouragement for the struggles of life, and we find it in their words and presence. We find it as we are reminded of God's grace toward us as we hear God's Word, and as that Word is proclaimed to us. We find that rest as we remember our gifts in Baptism, and as we receive the body and blood of Jesus Himself.
Prayer--Lord Jesus, You have promised to give rest to us when we are burdened. Help us to see that You give us that rest through our fellow believers, and through the means by which You give us Your grace. May we often be found meeting with one another, and finding Your rest at such times. Amen.
Matthew 11:28--Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Devotion--Jesus gives the promise that we can find rest in Him. One of the chief ways that we find this rest is through His perfect life, death, and resurrection, where He made us right with God. We don't have to go out of our way to make God happy with us. God has already taken care of that for us through Jesus.
And yet, we find a great number of other burdens that we deal with as we live life. Burdens of relationships, of possessions, of work. Burdens of the consequences of sin, of the consequences of our words, and of our actions. We suffer through many of these, and find them like a heavy weight that we carry around on our shoulders and in our minds.
So when Jesus makes the promise of rest, it sounds good. But we can also struggle with exactly how we find the rest He promised. Will He miraculously take it away from us? Where is that rest found?
As we think about the third commandment, it seems that one place we find that rest and relief is in the company of our fellow believers. We need to hear that we are forgiven, and we hear it from them. We need support and encouragement for the struggles of life, and we find it in their words and presence. We find it as we are reminded of God's grace toward us as we hear God's Word, and as that Word is proclaimed to us. We find that rest as we remember our gifts in Baptism, and as we receive the body and blood of Jesus Himself.
Prayer--Lord Jesus, You have promised to give rest to us when we are burdened. Help us to see that You give us that rest through our fellow believers, and through the means by which You give us Your grace. May we often be found meeting with one another, and finding Your rest at such times. Amen.
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