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I’m feeling really tired today and don’t think I’m the only one. The past few months have been really draining for many reasons and are starting to catch up to me. While doing some reading on the topic of tiredness I came across this account in Mark 6:7 He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff—no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts, 9 but to wear sandals and not put on an extra shirt. 10 He said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. 11 If any place does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons, anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. 30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. You can imagine the busyness of ministry the disciples must have faced after being sent out by Jesus. After this time of intense ministry the disciples then reported on everything they had done and taught in this time. Jesus’ response really stood out to me: “Come away to a remote place and rest for a while.” Jesus recognized that His disciples were tired and told them that they needed some time to rest away from the context of their work. This is a much needed reminder of the fact that we all need rest. We simply can’t keep working without it or our bodies will start to give up eventually. I really enjoyed these words from GotQuestions on this topic:“God desires rest for us because it does not come naturally to us. To rest, we have to trust that God will take care of things for us. We have to trust that, if we take a day off, the world will not stop turning on its axis. From the beginning (Genesis 3), when we decided that we would start making all the decisions, mankind has become more tense and less able to relax. It was disobedience in the Garden that started the problem, but obedience now will bring the rest that God so desires for us (Hebrews 3:7 - 4:11). If one of the definitions of “relax” is “to become less firm,” then relaxing our grip on our own lives, careers, families, etc., and giving them over to God in faith is the best way to relax.”If you are feeling tired at the moment I urge you to prioritize rest for a period of time which God desires for you. Trust him with what has got you so busy at the moment and take the time to allow yourself to rest and relax. While this may look different in our current context…

"Do you feel the world is broken?""We do..."This is the opening line from Andrew Peterson's song Is He Worthy? A call and response style song that cleverly and beautifully acknowledges both the brokenness and darkness in the world and at the same time affirms Christ's light dispelling the dark, conquering death and God's promise to restore all creation.About two months ago, when I included this song in the worship playlist for that Sunday, I shared a brief note reflecting on how appropriate and relevant this song (written in 2018) is for us today as we face the trials and implications of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Today as I see news reports about how on top of the turmoil caused by the virus, there is police brutality, prejudice, violent protests, rising crime and corruption, I'm brought back to that opening line, Do you feel the world is broken? And reply alongside others, "We do." It's an important observation to make. But it should not be one that causes us to lose hope. For there is a greater truth, as the first verse alludes to:Do you feel the world is broken? (We do)Do you feel the shadows deepen? (We do)But do you know that all the darkWon't stop the light from getting through?(We do)Do you wish that you could see it all made new? (We do)Yes, the world is broken, yes the shadows are deepening, but... but no matter how broken and dark it gets, nothing will stop the God's light breaking through, nothing will stop Him from making things anew. Yes creation is groaning (verse 2 of the song) but a new creation is coming and God's glory will be a light in our midst right now, let us not forget that. We can confidently declare that God loves us, that His Spirit moves among us, that we are safe in His hand and that His plan is to dwell with us in eternity.How can we know this? How can we have this hope? Because of Jesus. Because our hope is found in Christ. Is He worthy? Worthy of our trust and worship? Worthy of all blessing and honour and praise?He is.He conquered death and sin. He is descended from a line of kings and is in fact the King of all kings. He is the sacrifice, the Lamb of God, who died in our place to satisfy the wrath of God against all our sin. Of course He is worthy. Worthy of all honour, glory and praise.Is He Worthy?Do you feel the world is broken? (We do)Do you feel the shadows deepen? (We do)But do you know that all the darkWon't stop the light from getting through?We doDo you wish that you could see it all made new (We do)Is all creation groaning? (It is)Is a new creation coming? (It is)Is the glory of the LordTo be the light within our midst? (It is)Is it good that we remind ourselves of this? (It is)Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?Is anyone able to…

These are certainly very difficult times that we find ourselves in, and perhaps this whole world pandemic and all the restrictions being placed on us as a society are starting to take their toll on you and your family. Often when we’re faced with tough stuff it can be very daunting and overwhelming. I think I’ve coped quite well with it all, but like everyone else I have my moments when I become quite depressed and agitated, especially at the thought of how long it could possibly drag on for.  I was so uplifted when a Christian friend encouraged me with this portion of Scripture in Hebrews 12 in which we are told to run with perseverance the race marked out for us, “…2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2NIV)I found it to be an encouraging passage inasmuch as it gives us some sort of direction in handling the inevitable challenges of life. For the joy set before him was the best way for Jesus to overcome pain, to endure crises, and it is also the best way for us to overcome the stumbling blocks and tough times in our own lives. The joy that Jesus had set before Him was the incredible, unconditional love He has for each one of us, and ultimately what His death would accomplish on our behalf. Jesus’ mission on earth was to restore humanity to God. When Jesus hung on the cross He was able to find strength and joy rooted in His love for us. And we need to find the same joy and strength in overcoming the challenges that we face in our lives.  If Jesus pictured us as He hung on the cross, then it makes sense that we should fix our eyes on Him as we persevere through whatever life throws our way. In his book “The Cost of Discipleship”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer articulates this same kind of thinking. He writes, “We shouldn’t look down the road ahead at what is too hard for us, but rather we should set our eyes on Jesus, who is right in front of us…”In his book, Run The Mile You’re In, long-distance marathon runner Ryan Hall wrote, “I remember being at mile six of the London Marathon and feeling my calves prematurely tightening up on me. I started thinking about how many miles I still had to go, but fortunately I was able to channel my thinking and instead focus on just running the mile I was in and ended up running my personal best … Had I continued to think about how hard the road was going to be, I never would have made it. The truth is that the road was hard, but greater truth is that God always supplies, by His grace, all the strength we need for each moment…”Grace…