“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.”
TO PONDER
Do you ever fall into the trap of thinking that rest is simply about doing nothing? I know I have. The problem is that after a day or two of doing nothing I feel guilty that I have wasted time. There is certainly a time where sleep and rest (the doing nothing kind) is called for, but I have found the greater joy is found in learning to do only what God has prepared for you to do. On days when I remember to start off with prayer and devotion, putting my day and my plans in God's hands, I usually find that whatever the day might have entailed, I am never exhausted or depleted.
It's only when I try to tackle a day in my own strength or my own power that I end up feeling exhausted and like I need the next two days to 'do nothing'.
So take up God's yoke, his plan for your day. You might just find it more restful than you could ever imagine.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the Lord and giver of life. Please help me to live and to rest according to your schedule and your plans. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it."
TO PONDER
We know rest is good for us. We know that getting enough sleep is necessary for our bodies to function properly. Yet for me, I often find myself staying up late to watch the end of a movie, or chat to a friend, or scroll through social media videos. I know a should stop and go to bed, and yet I don’t.
In a similar way, I know that it is in quiet and rest that I find my strength. It is in being still that I know God. Yet, I find myself working busily day after day. Instead of making still and quiet a priority it is often a luxury I don’t find time for.
As we once again begin another year and activities and work once again cranks into gear, let’s make still and quiet and rest in the Lord a must in each day.
PRAYER:Jesus, thank you for the example you set of stepping away from the busy-ness of life and spending quiet time with your Father. Help me to find my salvation in rest in you and my strength in quietness and trust in who you are and what you have done for me. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Elise von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
TO PONDER
At my children’s school they are in the midst of building a large new building for the students. It is going to be a multi-storey space and so for most of last year there was no building, but rather a very large hole. There was much time taken to set deep foundations. Strong foundations are needed so the tall building can safely stand, no matter the weather or how many people use it.
In life we experience many troubles, and just like the building, a strong foundation is needed. However, as this Psalm reminds us, it is not up to us to work hard to build a strong foundation for our lives. Instead, we are to rest in God and the salvation He freely gives us, so build your life on that because He is what we need to withstand the trials and storms of this life.
PRAYER:Jesus, thank you again for your gift of salvation to me. Help me to rest in you, not strive to work to build a foundation for my life. Thank you that when the storms do come I can be assured that I will not be shaken, because you are with me, my rock and fortress. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Elise von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
TO PONDER
Where do you like to rest? Do you have a favourite chair, or perhaps a special place in your house or somewhere else you like to go and sit to rest? Do you simply sit, or is there an activity, like reading, or crafting or puzzles you like to do there to re-energise?
In this reading in Exodus, God is promising to go with His people and give them rest. This is a lovely promise from God, but the context of this promise is very important. God’s people have fled Egypt, where they had been slaves for many years, and they had recently been ‘abandoned’ by their leader Moses, who had ascended up a mountain to meet with God. Their situation is not restful or calm, they had just been told they would receive their inheritance of a promised land, but they would need to defeat many nations before that would happen. The people were scared, frustrated and unsure of what was happening. It was in the midst of this situation that God promises his presence and His rest. Did you notice God says he ‘will’ give them rest, not he ‘can.’ This is true for us today also. God sees you in your trouble and turmoil today. Know that He is with you and he will give you rest!
PRAYER:Jesus, thank you that you see me today, in the place where I find myself. Thank you that you are not watching for a distance, but your presence is here with me today. Help me to know your rest today. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Elise von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.
TO PONDER
The days after Christmas are strange aren’t they. I don’t know about you, but in my house, everything slows right down. We find it hard to remember what day of the week it is, and we spend a lot more time resting. The busy-ness of Christmas suddenly ceases and then it is time to slow down and rest. I love this week of the year! No alarms, no appointments, no deadlines, just rest.
This is the life our Saviour offers us. Of course the world will still spin and life will carry on, but we don’t need to get caught up in it; working and striving to achieve or be strong enough. The Lord is our strength and he makes our feet like deer, where we can lightly bound over the craziness of this world.
PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for this time of Christmas, where we gather together to sing songs about your birth and celebrate with parties and share joy through gift giving. Thank you also for the quietness of the days after Christmas. Thank you for the peace and rest I enjoy. Help me carry the joy and the rest into this year. Thank you that I do not need to strive or work for your gift of grace, it is a free gift you give me. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Elise von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
TO PONDER
Well, the New Year is a few days old already. How are those New Year's resolutions going? Still feeling confident? I hope so.
The reality is though that even if your resolutions for 2025 are still on track, this year will inevitably throw unexpected things your way. Things that might derail those resolutions, things that might demand that your year take a turn in an unexpected direction. The question is, will you still trust God when those things come?
It is in trusting God in those difficult and often unforeseen circumstances that we really begin to experience joy and peace because we trust that we have someone in our corner who will see us through whatever we are facing. Like Gideon facing the Midianites overwhelmingly outnumbered, or David starring down Goliath, we can know that our God is for us and that no matter what happens, he will bring everything to its right conclusion if we wait on and trust in Him.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I do not know what this New Year is going to bring, but I know that you will be with me. Please help me to step confidently into all of the challenges and opportunities that they year presents, knowing that you are with me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels.
TO PONDER
They say diamonds are a girl's best friend and this verse seems to suggest there is something to that saying. There is something about getting dressed up, putting on your best clothes and going out into the world.
This verse specifically talks about dressing for a wedding. I remember the day I married my lovely wife. I had a casual job at Myer at the time, as we were both just finishing our teaching degrees. I worked in the menswear department and had helped to size and fit a number of wedding parties who had hired their suits from the formal hire company that leased a space on the Myer menswear floor. I remember the buzz of excitement as the group of mates would come in, point out which one of them was getting married and then, as Australians tend to do, start making all sorts of jokes at his expense to communicate their affection for him. I remember even more specifically when it was me turning up with my mates.
I had never felt so proud, happy, excited or terrified to be standing in the church that Saturday afternoon in the fancy suit that had been given to me for that special day. (I imagine it is the same for brides in their wedding dresses).
That feeling (for those of you who have experienced it) is something like what I think we should feel when we remember that we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. The only difference being that it is not just for a special occasion. Jesus wants us to be clothed in his righteousness, every day. Jesus wants to send us out as the best dressed people in all the Land because he wants people to see how much he loves us, to know how much he has done for us, and to see what a difference he makes in our lives.
We should be dressed like that every day, full of the same kind of joy and pride a bride or groom takes on their wedding day,' dressed to the nines'. That's the kind of joy Jesus wants us to have everyday.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, sometimes it is hard not to feel like I am wearing anything but dirty rags. Please help me to be aware of your righteousness and salvation which you give me to wear each day. Help me not to leave the house without being conscious of the fact that you have clothed me in everything I need to face the day with Joy and confidence. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.
You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.
TO PONDER
I will always remember the adage that was shared with me by almost every lecturer I had as I studied my education degree; you probably know it yourself, "those who can't do, teach". It always bothered me that I might be expected to ask students to do something that I myself may not be able to do. It probably didn't happen so often as a teacher but it happens all the time now that I am a pastor.
This verse from Psalm 16 is a challenge to all of us. It say's, "God will show us the way of life and grant us the joy of his presence and the pleasures of living with him forever."
He has shown us all of that in Jesus. Yet how often do we want to try and find those things for ourselves. We try to decide and plan how our lives will play out and usually only get ourselves stressed out and anxious when our plans go off the rails. We look for joy in so many other things that are not God, our relationships with others, parties, travel, shopping, the list is endless. We try to earn our way into God's presence by our good behaviour or good works and yet don't want to live with him in every moment, especially those moments when our sinful and selfish desires get the better of us.
I can show you where the Bible says that all this comes from God. I can tell you that there is nothing any of us can do to earn or deserve any of this. I can tell you (and already have) that all these things come from Christ who was born to us at Christmas; but just like the adage says, 'Those who can't do, teach'. I would not want anyone to think for a second that I find this easy to do. I know I am encouraging and asking you to do something that I myself often fail at. But the real joy comes at times like this when we can be reminded that it does not rely on us, but that all we need is found in Jesus, the Son of God, born to us At Christmas.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Please help me to start living with you forever now. Help me not to wait until I die to begin my eternal life with you. Please help me to be aware of your presence with me in every season and to live in the joy of knowing your presence with me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”
TO PONDER
Sometimes keeping the joy alive from a special event can be a challenge. We take photos and videos and maybe take the time to look back at them and it reminds us of the joy we experienced but it doesn't really bring the joy back.
The Israelites, particularly in the Old Testament, had a kind of different thinking about participating in these kinds of festivals and commemorations. The Passover meal for example, is a meal of remembering what God did to rescue the people from slavery in Egypt, but it is also a kind of active participation in the events of that first passover. That in participating in this meal, God's judgement will passover their houses also.
This is something like what Holy Communion should be for Christians today. It's a way of keeping the joy alive in our lives every week when we once again receive and participate in Christ's sacrifice for us as we receive his body and blood in the bred and wine of Holy Communion. We remember, but we also participate and are joined with him in his death so that we might also be joined to him in his resurrection life. That's a life of joy for every day, so let's get living.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, Thank you that you have given yourself for me and also given a meal to commemorate and participate in your death and resurrection. Help me to live each day in the joy and hope of your resurrection live and to always know that you are with me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle