Post by cspain03 on May 6, 2014 7:35:16 GMT
I pray you all are doing well! Thanks @quia for the encouraging words and gentle push to remain accountable to keeping up with this even in the midst of being busy or preoccupied with getting ready for the summer :-)
So in Mark 6, these verses stood out to me:
31 He said to them, "Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while" (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat).
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to some remote place.
In my mind, I have always felt that being a good Christoan meant constantly doing for others and serving and giving and going out of your way and putting the world first (after God) because "its not about US it's about Jesus" and He was about healing and teaching and doing for others all the time. These verses are refreshing for me because it shows that even someone as perfect as Jesus knew He, and His disciples needed rest. Jesus wants us to remember to take care of ourselves. It's not a selfish act, but a reality that comes with this earthly vessel. We aren't superman/wonder woman or the energizer bunny, we are human.
I always felt resting was a waste of time, that it showed weakness, that this world would be a better place if we all dug a little deeper and pushed a little hard to be more selfless and get over being tired or hungry and do something for someone instead of always thinking of ourselves and our needs because there are people out there with actual problems who God wants us to reach. But how effective can we really be if we aren't taking care of ourselves. What example can we set or how good if a reflection of God are we when we are always tired and hungry (and therefore cranky and catching an attitude with people - like @quia mentioned from her Mark 5 post).
I still have to work on practicing taking better care of myself and realizing its ok to rest and recharge, doing do doesn't make me less of a Christian or some how disappoint God. I feel like what would disappoint God is if we failed to recognize what Jesus did:
33 But many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived there ahead of them.
34 As Jesus came ashore he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things.
Jesus had compassion! Showing Hos great love and remembering His purpose, He showed compassion and adjusted His plans to be a blessing to those who showed great faith and need/desire for healing. We can make plans to rest but we should be so self righteous to fixate on those plans and forego blessing those in need who've come to us.
For me, what is important to notice is Jesus had compassion on those who met Him and arrived ahead of Him on shore. He didn't go out of His way, His original plan was to rest, but there were those who out in work and effort and had faith enough to meet Jesus on the other side, trusting He would bless them and that's when Jesus showed compassion. It's okay to deviate from you plan to be a blessing to others, but make sure they have put in some effort and are willing to meet you where you're going, not take you off your path or cause you to turn around. Keep moving forward and remember to put God first and take care of yourself, but be a blessing to those along the way.
Love y'all !
So in Mark 6, these verses stood out to me:
31 He said to them, "Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while" (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat).
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to some remote place.
In my mind, I have always felt that being a good Christoan meant constantly doing for others and serving and giving and going out of your way and putting the world first (after God) because "its not about US it's about Jesus" and He was about healing and teaching and doing for others all the time. These verses are refreshing for me because it shows that even someone as perfect as Jesus knew He, and His disciples needed rest. Jesus wants us to remember to take care of ourselves. It's not a selfish act, but a reality that comes with this earthly vessel. We aren't superman/wonder woman or the energizer bunny, we are human.
I always felt resting was a waste of time, that it showed weakness, that this world would be a better place if we all dug a little deeper and pushed a little hard to be more selfless and get over being tired or hungry and do something for someone instead of always thinking of ourselves and our needs because there are people out there with actual problems who God wants us to reach. But how effective can we really be if we aren't taking care of ourselves. What example can we set or how good if a reflection of God are we when we are always tired and hungry (and therefore cranky and catching an attitude with people - like @quia mentioned from her Mark 5 post).
I still have to work on practicing taking better care of myself and realizing its ok to rest and recharge, doing do doesn't make me less of a Christian or some how disappoint God. I feel like what would disappoint God is if we failed to recognize what Jesus did:
33 But many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived there ahead of them.
34 As Jesus came ashore he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things.
Jesus had compassion! Showing Hos great love and remembering His purpose, He showed compassion and adjusted His plans to be a blessing to those who showed great faith and need/desire for healing. We can make plans to rest but we should be so self righteous to fixate on those plans and forego blessing those in need who've come to us.
For me, what is important to notice is Jesus had compassion on those who met Him and arrived ahead of Him on shore. He didn't go out of His way, His original plan was to rest, but there were those who out in work and effort and had faith enough to meet Jesus on the other side, trusting He would bless them and that's when Jesus showed compassion. It's okay to deviate from you plan to be a blessing to others, but make sure they have put in some effort and are willing to meet you where you're going, not take you off your path or cause you to turn around. Keep moving forward and remember to put God first and take care of yourself, but be a blessing to those along the way.
Love y'all !
