Tag Archives: Come this way

The Pearl Within

March 8, 2019 robuck4@aol.com Leave a comment

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matthew 13:45-46)

Oysters

When my mom was alive she cooked a special treat for me every Thanksgiving. I say “me” because she and I were the only ones who liked oyster casserole. From time to time others would taste a spoon full and with a “yuk,” confirm their dislike. This would leave me several helpings and leftovers of succulent seafood delight.

I love oysters, but oysters have more going for them than just being delicious.

When a grain of sand or other small particle slips in between its shells, an oyster will begin covering the uninvited visitor with nacre. Nacre, also known as mother of pearl, is a strong and iridescent material which protects the oyster from the intruder. Overtime, this nacre covered grain of sand is transformed into a pearl.

Treasure Within

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the most valuable treasure imaginable inside us, the Holy Spirit of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s Holy Spirit lives in us.

He’s the deposit sealing and guaranteeing our future inheritance[1]

He’s the Helper and Comforter Jesus promised[2][3]

He’s our power to live like Jesus Christ [4]

He’s our source of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control[5]

God indwelling us is the most important thing about us, but do we live accordingly? We’re designed to live lives of dependence, not independence.

Paul wrote: For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead (II Corinthians 1:8-9);

Coming to the End of Me

For years as a Christian, I tried to emulate the Jesus I read about in my own strength.

I wore myself out with Christian activities and trying to behave like Jesus. It was utter failure. Besetting sins lingered, frustration and anger brewed. Busyness crowded people out. My life felt dutiful, not delightful. I experienced dark nights of the soul progressively coming to the end of me.

At every point of surrender God was waiting to teach me a deeper level of yielding to His life within. He’s teaching me to stop doing things “for Him” and allow His Spirit to empower me.

The Abiding Life is the Dying Life

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5 NASB).

I used to think verses about abiding were good ideas. But I know now abiding is essential to living the joyous Christian life God intended.

Abiding means remaining, staying and dwelling in the spot of drawing our vital life source from Jesus the Vine. It’s yielding to Christ’s live within us; allowing Him to love others through us. But this requires us coming to terms with our spiritual death.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20 NASB)

We died. God lives inside. He becomes our life.

Rivers of Living Water Within

Jesus didn’t leave us as orphans. He sent His Holy Spirit to comfort us, to guide us, to fuel our lives.

Right now Jesus is in us. Let’s pause and acknowledge His nearness, determining not to move on without Him.

When Jesus said, Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.[6]

The word ‘Come’ means come this way. Come. Stay, Walk this way with me. It’s an invitation to a continual, lasting togetherness.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and You will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.[7]

As the adult ox bears the weight and does the work, the younger ox is guided along, resting and learning, Abiding is staying yoked and depending on the power of Jesus every moment of the day.

Prayer

Lord, I see it now. There’s really no other way to live my life than in complete dependence upon you. I died and my life is now hidden in you. I want to remain aware of your presence as much as possible throughout the day. Remind me often that you’re near. When I forget your nearness because of daily duties, bring me quickly back to the enjoyment of being with You. And when I take that all too familiar stance of depending again on me, bring my efforts to failure that I might abide again in the sweet flow of your Rivers of Living Water within. You are my Pearl of Great Value. I give up all I have and all I am to You. Please use me for Your glory. Amen.

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

[1] Ephesians 1:13-14

[2] John 14:16-17

[3] Colossians 1:27

[4] Philippians 2:13

[5] Galatians 5:22-23

[6] Matthew 11:28

[7] Matthew 11:29-30

Guiding Hand

Turning Weariness into Rest and Joy

September 3, 2017 robuck4@aol.com Leave a comment

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Mathew 11:28)

Have you ever noticed how the same workload can seem easy one day and insurmountably overwhelming the next?

A few days ago, work seemed effortless, as I cruised along in the Rivers of Living Water, experiencing the joy of the Lord’s nearness.

However, only a day later, I trudged through a dry dusty riverbed, pulling an overloaded donkey cart of work. Everything was difficult, stress mounted, people faded from focus.

I sit wondering what happened, Why the drastic change?

Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28 come to mind: Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Weary and heavy-laden, fatigued and over-burdened. That’s how I feel. But the work load hasn’t changed. Why has my heart shifted from delight to drudgery?

I pore over the words again, stopping at the first phrase.

Come to Me.

But I’m already with you, I thought. You’re in me and I’m in You.[1] [2] You hold the universe together.[3] How can I be any closer to you than I already am?

I pull up my Strongs concordance app and dig into the word – “Come”

In the original Greek the word “come” means “come hither” or “come this way”.

Jesus is always with me, but He’s asking me for a deeper “withness”.

I think of being with people in an elevator. They are with me, but unless we engage, there’s no connection.

One of my earliest memories comes to mind. I remember being woken up and seeing someone enter the room through the bars of a crib. I’m not sure who the person was, probably my mother, but they picked me up and took care of me.

Next I remember a little later being led by the hand by my great grandmother, whom I called”Mommie,” We were walking very slowly around a small a body of water.

I don’t know how I know it was Mommie, but I do. We must have been at my grandparent’s place in Pompano Beach, Florida. And it must have been the garden pool in the midst of their nursery she was leading me around. I was so small, so dependent on her guiding hand.

I was a mere toddler, but to this day I feel the love of those moments. Mommie led me with such tender care.

As I think back to that event in light of my current situation, clarity emerges.

Mommie was not giving me directions from far away, expecting me to walk on my own. Her soft hand, firmly embracing my little fingers, communicated, “walk this way child. I’ll guide you and show you where to go. And I’ll support your feeble legs every step of the way.”

Wow. I’d let go of the Lord’s hand. I’d lost the joy of His presence. I’d begun to look at work as just work, instead of the adventure He wanted us to have together.

“I’m sorry, Lord,” I confess.

I feel no condemnation, no displeasure, just an invitation.

I lift my hand and hear Him say, “Come this way.”

Rest – take ease, refresh, refrain, come to an end.

[1] Galatians 2:20

[2] Ephesians 2:4-6

[3] Colossians 1:17

God is our Life, God is our Strength

Resting at Work

April 30, 2016 robuck4@aol.com Leave a comment

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Mathew 11:28)

True rest can happen even in the midst of work.

Have you ever noticed that the same workload can seem easy one day and insurmountably overwhelming the next? A few days ago, work seemed effortless, as I cruised along in the Rivers of Living Water, experiencing the joy of the Lord’s nearness. However, only a day later, I trudged through a dry dusty riverbed, pulling an overloaded donkey cart of work.

What happened?

As is my plan, when I noticed the shift in my heart, I reached for the truth of God’s word. This time I turned to Matthew 11:28. As I read, I knew the Lord was talking to me. I felt weary and heavy-laden, fatigued and over-burdened.

Come to Me, I read

But I’m already with you, I thought. You’re in me and I’m in You.[1] [2] You hold the universe together.[3] There must be more to it.

Digging in, I discovered that the Greek word for “come” means “come hither” or “come this way”.

Jesus is always with me, but here He is asking me for a deeper “withness”. I thought of being with people in an elevator. They are with me, but unless we engage, there’s no connection.

Conversely, one of my earliest memories was walking with my great grandmother. She held my hand and guided me around a swimming pool. Being with her was not an option. I would have been in danger without her.

This is the level of “withness” Jesus is asking of me. When I comply, the rest comes. In my backward thinking, rest only comes when all the work is done. Which is never, because there’s always something else to do.

The rest Jesus is offering happens even in the midst of work, a byproduct of heeding His call to “come this way”.

Rest – take ease, refresh, refrain, come to an end. My striving, my focus on work, needs to end.

My dutiful, weary day happened not because of the amount of work, but because work had become my focus. I knew Christ is my life, but I was living as if work was my life.

Being with Jesus is rest. Taking His yoke upon me is literally giving Him my burdens. In His yoke, my burden becomes His. The weightiest task feels light when I’m following Him. “For My yoke is easy and My load is light.” (Matthew 28:30)

Lord, I’m sorry I became so focused on work. You are my Life. Please keep me ever aware of your nearness and strength that I might continually be attentive to your leading.

Challenge: Is there an area of your life where you feel weary and over-burdened? If so, lean in close to Jesus so that He can say ‘come this way.’ His way will be light and powerfully effective. Handling the burdens on your own is not only wearisome, but completely ineffective.