Rest for your soul

Matthew 11:29   “…. for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

   We all need rest.  My understanding of my need for rest has increased with age.  Times in my past when I have gone too hard there has been a little crash, such as losing my cool with someone, or of getting a cold.  We all have limits, and rest enables us to successfully carry on.

   Yet Jesus goes a huge step further here speaking of rest for our “souls.”  In this world of daily challenges, and too much turmoil, we need rest for our soul to persevere in doing good.  In the first part of this statement, which I examined last week, Jesus said to learn from Him.  Thus learning from Him leads to rest for your soul.  Then you can carry on with loving people.

+ Holy Father, I pray for my Ukrainian and Russian brothers and sisters who worship together in a rented venue in the northwest Denver area.  They are lights for You Lord Christ, and faithful servants of You.  At this terrible time where a leader is going to war due to some wrong views, I pray for help for our world.  And I pray my brothers and sisters, and myself, would rest in Your love at this time.  Thank You for rest.

It is through the loving name of You Lord Jesus I pray.

Amen.

Hunter

Learning from Jesus

Matthew 11:29   “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…”

   There have been many opportunities for learning as I have been following Jesus for the past 31 years.  I have listened to many sermons.  I have read over one hundred Christian books.  I gained a great Christian education from Colorado Christian University.  I have had conversations about God with a number of brothers and sisters-in-Christ.  God has used many of those preachers, authors, professors, and saints to teach me more about Jesus.  Yet my foundational learning from Jesus has always been listening to Jesus by listening to Him as I read and ponder Scripture.  Scripture contains messages from Jesus which He has revealed to us.

   Here two thousand years after Jesus was in the world, we can still learn from Him by reading Scripture and by pondering Scripture!

+ Heavenly Father, I thank You for giving us Scripture so we can learn from You.  I pray for help so I would continue to listen to You Lord Jesus, and learn from You.  May I go by the guidance of You Holy Spirit.

It is through Your loving name Lord Jesus I pray.  Amen.

Hunter

The call to Love

   All these years later, I recall looking out of the subway window in Virginia and thinking to myself: “That’s impossible.  Nobody is perfect.”  Yet then I pondered the question: If perfection is impossible, why would Jesus command it?

   This was after reading the statement by Jesus: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).  That statement is the pinnacle there in the middle of what we call the Sermon on the Mount.

   Since that time, I have grown in my conviction that for people who follow Jesus, we are being “sanctified,” being made more like Jesus.  I have written in my journal many times: “The perfection process is a painful process, yet the perfection process leads to goodness.”  And when we are with God in full in heaven, we will be perfect.

   Perfection in American culture in this day and age is often thought of in terms of academics or athletics.  But all people have different passions and different gifts and different abilities and different limitations.  Academics or athletics is not what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5:48.  I think Christians should be having more fun within the realms of academics and athletics, because it is not the foundation of our dignity.  Our dignity should come from the condition of our heart.

   Yes the perfection Jesus is referring to involves the heart.  Jesus stated: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).

   Just as I thought on that subway many years ago, this sounds impossible.  Pondering this call, I realize one thing: The only way I can truly love is if I am completely dependent on God.  God is love (I John 4:16).  Truly loving God and truly loving all people is possible only by relying on Jesus, the One who has perfectly loved all of us all along.

   Indeed Jesus got to the core of the Mosaic Law as He quoted the statement in Deuteronomy 6:4-5.  A key purpose for all those laws and regulations in the Torah was so people would stop doing wrong, since doing wrong results in hurt for someone in some way.  Thus doing bad stuff is not loving people.  A parallel key purpose for the Mosaic Law was to lead people to recognize we need help from God in order to be saved from the sins we have done, and we need help from God to enable us to obey Him.  The teaching of Jesus, the Savior, in the Sermon on the Mount permanently solidified our absolute need to rely on Jesus in order to truly love all people.

Hunter Irvine

The work of God

   I enjoy writing, which I fully discovered within weeks after beginning a creative writing class with a special professor, Ed Falco, years ago when a student at Virginia Tech.  In his classes, my gift blossomed and my career goal even shifted due to his soft influence.

   One day in class, Professor Ed Falco announced that author Toni Morrison would be speaking on campus in the coming week and he strongly encouraged us all to attend.  Having read one of her books for another English class, I was interested.  So on the specific afternoon, I went to the elegant room in the alumni building and joined a group of about sixty students for her talk.  Sitting in a chair with a relaxed demeanor, Toni had a strong presence.  She naturally spoke with confidence.  Then there was a question and answer time.

   During an exchange with one student, she made a statement which I latched on to.  Toni Morrison stated: “Writing is hard work!”

   I remain grateful that Toni Morrison cautioned us, since from the start I understood, and accepted, the challenge.  I wanted to write.  And write I have, in a manner I never imagined at that time.  As a follower of Jesus, writing about Jesus has been a part of my ministry.  For a decade, I have poured my heart into Scripture Love Blog.  My motivation has always been to tell about Jesus.  I want you to know I have spent countless hours writing and re-writing.  It has been hard work.  The sacrifice has been immense.  Yet if you, whoever you may be, were the only person to read some of my writings, it has been worth it.

   Today, I want to express to those of you who have been reading my blog over the years: Thank you!!!

   We all have work to do daily.  Whatever your occupation, the work world seems more stressful in my opinion due to electronic overload.  And for those of us who pursue our dreams, there is always challenging work to carry out.

   Yet whatever your circumstances, or mine, may we all remember the teaching of Jesus regarding the foundation of our calling: “Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the One he has sent’” (John 6:29 NIV).

   Back at that time when I was a student at Virginia Tech, I was not a follower of Jesus.  My four years at college were a special time in my life, since I had some friends and I had an important job as a Resident Advisor.  I even attended the first bowl game Virginia Tech ever won.  However, deep in my heart, I was spiritually dying.  I did not have true love in my heart.  I am eternally grateful to God who continued to gently reach out to me in His Love.  And in the year after graduation, in April of 1990, I gave my heart to Jesus.  I live in gratitude I have been saved.

   If you want to be in a relationship with Jesus as your Savior, Lord, and Best Friend, please know today that He loves you.  Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the substitute for the consequence of wrong doings, which is spiritual death.  Then he was resurrected.  If you believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life with Him in heaven.

   Again, thank you for reading my blog.

love, Hunter