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In this era of chronic exhaustion, emotional turbulence, and spiritual stagnation, the ancient practice of Sabbath provides a life-giving rhythm of rest and restoration. Sabbath is more than a weekly practice - it’s a way of life. As a church community we are learning what sabbath is, why it matters, and how we can practice it in the context of our current relationships and schedules.
“The sermon on the mount series we’ve been in as a Church has challenged some of my “final answers”. Some of the answers that I have never taken the time to investigate further. There has been a clash of my two worlds. I still desire to know more, but also must let go of that need for a resolve that is comfortable.”
“It struck me that God makes space for joy and grief. He is with us, in every moment. He is with us in our joy. He delights in us. And He is with us in our grief and anguish. I felt Him there with me. I pictured him sitting beside me, weeping too. His heart broken for me, and His heart delighting in me. We are not alone, ever. There is nothing that can stop God from being Emmanuel: God with us.”
A man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.
This isn’t a particularly attractive descriptor of a person, and yet I can’t help but find such comfort in these words spoken about Jesus in Isaiah 53:3. They make me feel safe, like I could almost climb into the person of Jesus, wrap myself in his robe, and know that he understands the indescribable ache of grief my heart sometimes holds.
“Joy is what carries us through. It is not what we are meant to feel instead. It is something that we find as we journey, as we are refined through the fire. Joy is the knowledge that no matter what we go through, God is there.”
“Our mission as a church is to live as ‘God’s growing family practicing kingdom life for the renewal of our city.’ To live as family is complicated and costly, disappointing and messy. To practice the ways of Jesus, the things that keep us close to him and deeply rooted in community, is to sacrifice things we like for things we value more.”
“What do we do, when every corner we turn is another symptom, challenge, or annoyance that feels too helpless to overcome? We turn to the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of us and sit with Jesus. The answer to our pain isn’t something of this world but a continual communion with someone who gives us an eternal life to look forward to. The answer may not always be getting rid of the pain, but sitting with the one who loves us the most; face to face, and lather in that moment.”
“If you walk with Jesus, if He is your peace and comfort; your strength and shield, then you live in tension. The One who has no rival, has made his home in your heart, and yet your everyday is challenged and crushed by the enemy. You live with the promise and hope of Heaven, in a dying and broken world. You live in-between. And what a hard place to be.”
“I believe a rich and beautiful life will never be measured what we have accumulated, but by what we have sown and invested into the lives of people. Everything that leaves our hands and lives will enter our future. I believe there is no greater place to invest our lives than into relationships with a God-centered purpose attached to them.”
“Just as God led the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years in order to prepare them for the Promised Land, He is working in our lives in order to prepare us for the fulfillment of His promises.
God is not withholding you from the promise, He’s preparing you to receive it.”
“Shalom ushered in because God became bigger than my circumstances. He became bigger than every emotion I was previously feeling. He became bigger than it all. Yet, he also became small because I remembered that he made his home in me. This has to be the most stunning paradox.
There is no explaining how healing this moment was. One moment my pain felt too big to hold, and the next I was overwhelmed because my soul recognized that I was communing with my holy, perfect God who wants a real and intimate relationship with me.”
It’s February when we often celebrate all things related to love and relationships. Card shops, flower markets, restaurants and chocolatiers are anticipating records sales as people spend copious amounts of money to express their affection for each other. I am a huge fan of showing our expressions of our love but not so much a fan of the pressure to do so just on certain days.