If you ask people how they are doing, how often do they include the word “busy” in their reply?  We often feel we need to justify ourselves that way – I’m busy.  I’m not lazy.  I’m productive!

This isn’t untrue, we usually are busy!  But it’s not always a good form of busyness.  Negative busyness comes from a cycle of slavery to work, defining ourselves by our work, or becoming consumed by worry and guilt about work.

One inner way to combat this is with satisfaction.  It starts with satisfaction in Christ – I am not God, I am not in charge of universe.  God is.

I rebelled against him, but Jesus has done something incredible, in his death on cross, for me.  He’s accomplished what matters most in life – he’s freed me from having to prove my worth.  I don’t need to accomplish anything to know God for eternity.  He’s accomplished it for me.

This can be remembered with Sabbath rest every week.  Rest is an opportunity to look back and celebrate what’s been done by God, and by you.  You might journal, and pray to thank God for the successes, say sorry for the failures, and acknowledge that what’s done is done.

Then you can look forward to the new week ahead, now in perspective.

Challenge: Divide a piece of paper into four columns, and think about the last work week.  In the first column, write your worries, then your guilts, then your unfinished business.  Now in the fourth column, write some words that represent who you are, and want to be.  Where are the disconnects between this column and the others?

Ryan Sim - July 18, 2013

Thursday - Act On It - Originality

Sermon on the Mount

There is some teaching, especially when it's unoriginal and shallow, that you can take under advisement. You can simply say, "That’s interesting" and then move on with your life. We read stuff like this all the time. Magazine articles. Newspaper. Blogs. Facebook posts. Some people are very skilled at rehashing other people’s research in entertaining and interesting ways. I often read things that are of little value to me. They're just interesting, and not going to change my life. I hope the Sermon on the Mount we've been studying is not that way for you. We saw last week – hearing and living these words is like building upon a stone foundation for life. Hearing and ignoring these words is like building on a sand foundation that washes away. How you hear the Sermon on the Mount is like the difference between a wedding announcement and invitation. With a wedding announcement in the newspaper or on Facebook, you say, "Oh, look, they’re getting married, how nice". An invitation is quite different, since it has your name on it. It’s for you. We want you to come. The Kingdom of heaven is often described as a party, and it would be a party with the most original, profound teacher ever at its centre. The very source of truth, wisdom is the attraction. His way of life would now be the only reality. The kingdom he’s been describing, would be there in living colour. He’s issued that invitation to you. Come to my kingdom, my celebration, my party. And this is not just a future reality, somewhere else. It’s something we are called to start practicing now, really living it out, to be ready for the full production . Life on earth is meant to be a practice party, and you’re invited. We're establishing a new church, or Christian community, in Ajax – and it will be built on the model of a party with Jesus at the center. It will be like nothing you've ever experienced before. We're planning our first party for this fall. Challenge: We're running a poll right now, that you can find in our app or here on our web site: http://bit.ly/15B2yry Tell us what kind of party you could RSVP to!

Related Topics: Authority, Jesus, Originality, Teaching | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

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