We have talked a lot about the need for rest…the main way we see that spoken of in the Bible is Sabbath rest – one day in seven, one year in seven.

In Judaism, this was very structured and supported by cultural and societal norms.  Jesus’ approach seemed to be to peel away the layers of societal and cultural norms, all the rules that had been developed over the years, and simply return to the God-given command to rest on the seventh day.

This was his usual routine – where humans focus on actions, in hopes that it will change hearts, Jesus wants to focus in on the heart.  Jesus wants to mold hearts to want to know and follow him, and where that then transforms their actions.

This makes taking Sabbath rest both easier and harder.

It’s harder, because just blindly following rules isn’t all that hard, especially when everyone else in society follows them as well.

It’s easier because of the freedom we explored last week…freedom from slavery to rules, replaced by a new kind of obedience, to a person rather than a code.  Jesus gives rest from enforced rest – he gives true rest.

We can see it in how Jesus handled the crushing demands of his own work: Mark 6:30-32 ESV

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”

He took rest when he needed it, we have several examples of unstructured rest that he took “regularly”.  When I found I’d been sitting too long at an office job, I used to go for a walk around the block from my office.  I called it my sanity walk.  Or at other times, I would just get up and do something different.  Working from home, I might empty the dishwasher, then get back to my computer refreshed from the change of pace.

We also see Jesus taking weekly rest.  “He went to synagogue to worship on the seventh day.  When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.”

It was Jesus’ “custom” to take weekly Sabbath rest according to the rules of his father in heaven, and not according to the rules of the Pharisees.

We also see Jesus living with an annual rhythm.  He celebrated the annual feasts – we see him attending Passover in Jerusalem, for example. As he travelled to and from various religious festivals, there are ebbs and flows in his energy and work – the big moments in his ministry regularly coincide with major festivals.  Sometimes he is in small towns, sometimes in the city.  There were intense times and places and low times and places in his culture…and his ministry needed both.

The Bible also commands a year of rest after six years of work – not to lay around, but let the land lie fallow and improve, and let slaves and debts go free.  There was also a command that every 50 years, a complete reset and leveling of the playing field should occur.  Unfortunately there is no evidence they ever listened to and observed these.

Let’s not let the same thing happen to us!

Question: What rest can you plan for today?  This week?  This year?  Now dream a little bit – what could a “reset” year look like this decade?  What about for the whole of your life?

Ryan Sim - April 3, 2014

Thursday - Act On It - Reset Death

Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I'm Ryan your host of the Daily Challenges. Here we are in nature. And that's because this week we're studying how following Jesus resets our views of death, and in fact, Jesus resets death itself. I have led a number of funeral services, and sometimes hear some troubling things. One of my first was a difficult funeral for a young child. As we planned the funeral, I remember the child’s grandmother trying to comfort her daughter. She said God must have needed another angel in heaven. I remember wondering whether to say anything or not. I could let it slide as a harmless attempt to make someone feel better – but what happens when she learns that humans never become angels? What happens when she gets angry with God for stealing her child for his “personal collection”? I decided the gospel was even better news to share than this sentimental idea about children becoming angels, and told her about the gospel or good news of Jesus instead. Ultimately that is news that will last and will transform her life, not just nice ideas that don’t hold water. Remember this passage we explored on Tuesday? 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 1 Thess 4:13-14 Paul said all this stuff to the Thessalonians to encourage appropriate Christian grief, not the wild wailing of pagan funerals. He wants to give them confidence, and assurance that death is not something to fear. The number one reason: they have hope. One person who follows Redeem the Commute is preparing for the death of a family member. She said to me that her family members are upset, then looked at me and said, “We see it differently, right?” She struggled for words about heaven, resurrection, how it’s not the end yet, all the while still trying to figure out if she was allowed to be sad. And I simply said, “It’s okay to still be sad. We’re not sad about the death, but about the lost life.” Followers of Jesus should communicate that hope as they deal with death – it’s sad to lose time with a friend or loved one now, but the death itself isn’t the sad part. Everything communicates. Christian tradition was long to be buried intact, and in many cases facing eastward (at least in Canada) to be facing Jerusalem. The ideas was to communicate you were ready for the second coming. Was this a law, that you must be buried this way or God can’t raise you? No way. It was simply a way to communicate hope in God. There are many ways to communicate this hope when you die – from the songs people sing, to scriptures read, to how they distribute their estate. Challenge: Write out some funeral plans. What do you want to be communicated about you? About Jesus? About God?

Related Topics: Death, Funerals, Reset, Resurrection | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

From Series: "Reset"

When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again? The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate. What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives: Reset: Goals Reset: Time Reset: Money Reset: Work Reset: Body & Food Reset: Sex & Marriage Reset: Family Reset: Compassion Reset: Nature Reset: Society Reset: Death Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.

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