I used to be really good at resting.

I rock climbed, mountain biked, went running.  I went to movies, read books, relaxed at home.  Then I got a job!  It became a lot harder when I was no longer a student.

Add to that that pressures of family life – marriage and children – and it’s even harder to rest at all, much less daily, weekly, yearly and beyond.

So how do you carve that out and protect it?

We asked Jerry, a friend of RTC and a business owner, how he does it.

Be sure to catch his interview on video or audio.

For Jerry, maintaining daily, weekly and less frequent rhythms of rest is a witness to others – they know when your store is closed, and it says something about the values of the family behind the business.   It also teaches his family what’s important to him and his wife.  They are not just about money, there is much more to their life.

Challenge: Find at least four other people in your line of work, and ask them how they handle their need for rest, leisure and restoration.  Ask them how that looks on a weekly basis, and throughout the year.  Then ask them to keep you accountable.

Ryan Sim - May 22, 2013

Wednesday - Change It - Priorities

Jesus’ second illustration about priorities in life. Said it with a confusing saying that needs to be explained for people in our day: “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23 ESV) When we ask what’s in someone’s heart, is the answer blood? No, the heart stands for something else – the core of their being. In Jesus’ culture, the eye was often used in the same way. Someone with a good eye was someone generous. Someone with a bad eye = miserly. Jesus is saying those who are generous are like those who can see where they are going, and those who are selfish are like the blind. That’s why he says the eye is a lamp, or window, into the body. It’s a small thing, but its functionality changes everything. For sighted people, eyes are the guide for just about every task. We don't do much by touch unless we have to. But blind people learn to do everything differently. I’m always fascinated by how blind people get around – it takes an entirely different skillset from the way I move. And the difference all comes down to that little eye. In this illustration, our “eye” or “heart” represents our priorities, ambitions, hopes and dreams. And like an eye, they affect everything. If our priorities are right, they affect how we handle everything else. If our priorities are wrong, then everything is in disarray, with competing priorities constantly battling each other. Sailing - aim the bow where you want to go. Aim it at Christ’s character – the one who was generous, sacrificial because he was resolute in his priorities, God’s kingdom breaking into our world. He was heavenly minded – but did a tremendous amount of worldly good. Investing in developing a Christlike character as our priority is the one safe investment, because is something we can take with us. As we accept him as saviour and submit to him as Lord, he transforms us through his Holy Spirit, into his likeness. Makes us acceptable to the Father. So we can join him, in his presence, heaven. Question: When you see someone who has what you desire how to do feel personally? What do you think of them? How does greed blind us to our true state? How does generosity free us from the grip of materialism and self-centeredness?

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