Morning Mist

"God knows we need rest; He also knows we often
resist giving ourselves the rest we need. In His
wisdom, God declared a day of rest and modeled it
himself! (See Exodus 20:9-11.)
The rest Jesus promises is not necessarily a break
from our labors, but it is peace, contentment, love,
and healing that renew our spirits and strengthen
our souls. (See Matthew 11:28-29.)
David accepted rest as a gift from his Good Shepherd.
Psalm 23:1-3 expresses David's appreciation of God's
good care for him.
When trials and time join forces to ravage us, tear-
ing at body and mind and crushing the spirit, we
desperately need rest - to be refreshed and renewed.
But only the Lord can do that work. As our original
designer and creator, only He knows us and our unique
needs. Only He can restore our souls.
God begins this miracle of restoration by leading us,
like a caring shepherd, away from the bustle and
traffic, stress and storms, to the green meadows
where we can rest and eat. And He leads us to the
peaceful streams, the still waters - calm, quiet,
deep, inviting - where we can quench our thirst and
receive His loving care.

Renewal begins when we, like frightened sheep, stop
running and struggling and submit to our Shepherd.
God wants to restore our souls, and He has every-
thing that we need."
(Living Water For Those Who Thirst)
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"Six days a week are for your daily duties and your
regular work, but the seventh day is a day of Sabbath
rest before the Lord your God. On that day you are
to do no work of any kind, nor shall your son, daughter,
or slaves - whether men or women - or your cattle or
your house guests. For in six days the Lord made the
heaven, earth, and sea, and everything in them, and
rested the seventh day; so He blessed the Sabbath day
and set it aside for rest."
(Exodus 20: 9-11) (The Living Bible) ______________________________________________________ "Come to me and I will give you rest - all of you who
work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. Wear my yoke - for
it fits perfectly - and let me teach you; for I am
gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your
souls; for I give you only light burdens."
(Matthew 11:28-29) (The Living Bible)
______________________________________________________ "Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I
need! He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads
me beside the quiet streams. He restores my failing
health. He helps me do what honors Him the most."
(Psalm 23:1-3) (The Living Bible) _____________________________________________________

"Do not be anxious for your life..."
(Matthew 6:25) (New American Standard Version)
"Some people ask, 'Do you think God has time
for me? You don't know how mixed up my life is,
how confused it is; the pressures, the tension
at home, the business problems, so many things
I couldn't possibly tell you about, including
the sins in my life that I somehow cannot seem
to give up.' Yes, God has time for you. When
Jesus was dying on the cross, He had time for a
thief who turned to Him and said, 'Lord, remember
me.' That's all the record tells us that the
thief said, 'Lord, remember me.' But what he
was really saying was, 'I'm unworthy. I've
broken all the laws. I deserve hell. Just
remember me.' And Jesus turned to him in that
moment and said, 'Today you will be with me in
Paradise.'
Even in Your greatest suffering, Lord Jesus,
You had time to assure another of Your love.
My heart is comforted to know this caring for
my soul is infinite."
(Day By Day With Billy Graham)
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"The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me."
(Psalm 138:8) (New International Version)
"There is a divine mystery in suffering, one that
has a strange and supernatural power and has never
been completely understood by human reason. No one
has ever developed a deep level of spirituality or
holiness without experiencing a great deal of
suffering. When a person who suffers reaches a
point where he can be calm and carefree, inwardly
smiling at his own suffering, and no longer asking
God to be delivered from it, then the suffering has
accomplished its blessed ministry, perseverance has
'finish[ed] its work' (James 1:4), and the pain of
the Crucifixion has begun to weave itself into a
crown.
It is in this experience of complete suffering that
the Holy Spirit works many miraculous things deep
within our soul. In this condition, our entire
being lies perfectly still under the hand of God;
every power and ability of the mind, will, and
heart are at last submissive; a quietness of
eternity settles into the entire soul; and finally,
the mouth becomes quiet, having only a few words to
say, and stops crying out the words Christ quoted
on the cross: 'My God, my God, why have you for-
saken me?' (Ps. 22:1)
At this point the person stops imagining castles
in the sky, and pursuing foolish ideas, and his
reasoning becomes calm and relaxed, with all
choices removed, because the only choice has now
become the purpose of God. Also, his emotions
are weaned away from other people and things,
becoming deadened so that nothing can hurt,
offend, hinder, or get in his way. He can now
let the circumstances be what they may, and
continue to seek only God and His will, with
the calm assurance that He is causing everything
in the universe, whether good or bad, past or
present, to work 'for the good of those who love
Him' (Romans 8:28).
Oh, the blessings of absolute submission to Christ!
What a blessing to lose our own strength, wisdom,
plans, and desires and to be where every ounce of
our being becomes like a peaceful Sea of Galilee
under the omnipotent feet of Jesus! (from Soul Food)
The main thing is to suffer without becoming
discouraged. (Francois Fenelon)
The heart that serves, and loves, and clings,
Hears everywhere the rush of angel wings."
(L. B. Cowman - Streams In The Desert)
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"I Thirst"

"Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so
that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said,
'I am thirsty.' (John 19:28) (New International)
"I'm tired,' He sighed. So He stopped. 'You go
on and get the food. I'll rest right here.' He
was tired. Bone-tired. His feet were hurting.
His face was hot. The noon sun was sizzling. He
wanted to rest. So He stopped at the well, waved
on His disciples, stretched a bit, and sat down.
But before He could close His eyes, here came a
Samaritan woman. She was alone. Maybe it was the
bags under her eyes or the way she stooped that
made Him forget how weary He was. 'How strange
that she should be here at midday.'
'I'm sleepy.' He stretched. He yawned. It had
been a long day. The crowd had been large, so
large that preaching on the beach had proved to
be an occupational hazard, so He had taught from
the bow of a fishing boat. And now night had
fallen and Jesus was sleepy. 'If you guys don't
mind, I'm going to catch a few winks.' So He did.
On a cloud-covered night on the Sea of Galilee,
God went to sleep. Someone rustled him up a
pillow and He went to the boat's driest point and
sacked out. So deep was His sleep, the thunder
did not wake Him. Nor did the tossing of the
boat. Nor did the salty spray of the storm-blown
waves. Only the screams of some breathless dis-
ciples could penetrate His slumber.
'I'm angry.' He didn't have to say it; you could
see it in His eyes. Face red. Blood vessels
bulging. Fists clenched. 'I ain't taking this
no more!' And what was a temple became a one-
sided barroom brawl. What was a normal day at
the market became a one-man riot. And what was
a smile on the face of the Son of God became a
scowl. 'Get out of here!' The only thing that
flew higher than the tables were the doves
flapping their way to freedom. An angry Messiah
made His point: don't go making money off
religion, or God will make hay of you!
We are indebted to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
for choosing to include these tidbits of humanity.
They didn't have to, you know. But they did -
and at just the right times.
Just as His divinity is becoming unapproachable,
just when His holiness is becoming untouchable,
just when His perfection becomes inimitable, the
phone rings and a voice whispers, 'He was human.
Don't forget. He had flesh.'
Just at the right time we are reminded that the
one to whom we pray knows our feelings. He knows
temptation. He has felt discouraged. He has
been hungry and sleepy and tired. He knows what
we feel like when the alarm clock goes off. He
knows what we feel like when our children want
different things at the same time. He nods in
understanding when we pray in anger. He is
touched when we tell Him there is more to do
than can ever be done. He smiles when we confess
our weariness.
But we are most indebted to John for choosing to
include verse 28 of chapter 19. It reads simply:
'I'm thirsty.'
That's not THE CHRIST that's thirsty. That's the
carpenter. And those are words of humanity in the
midst of divinity.
This phrase messes up your sermon outline. The
other six statements are more 'in character.'
They are cries we would expect: forgiving sinners,
promising paradise, caring for His mother, even the
cry 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me' is
one of power.
But, 'I thirst'?
Just when we had it all figured out. Just when the
cross was all packaged and defined. Just when the
manuscript was finished. Just when we had invented
all those nice clean 'ation' words like sancitifi-
cation, justification, propitiation, and purifi-
cation. Just when we put our big golden cross on
our big golden steeple, He reminds us that 'the
Word became flesh.'
He wants us to remember that He, too, was human.
He wants us to know that He, too, knew the drone
of the humdrum and the weariness that comes with
long days. He wants us to remember that our
trailblazer didn't wear bullelproof vests or
rubber gloves or an impenetrable suit of armor.
No, He pioneered our salvation through the world
that you and I face daily.
He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and
the Word of Life. More than ever He is the
Morning Star, the Horn of Salvation, and the
Prince of Peace.
But there are some hours when we are restored by
remembering that God became flesh and dwelt
among us. Our Master knew what it meant to be
a crucified carpenter who got thirsty."
(Max Lucado - No Wonder They Call Him The Savior)
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"As a father, I cannot even begin to fathom
the pain that our wonderful heavenly Father
endured by allowing His Son to die the
terrible death of Calvary.
I do everything in my power to prevent
anything bad from happening to my children.
I'm concerned when they have a bad day at
school or when they scrape a knee while
playing. Oh, how the Father's heart must
have ached as He watched His precious,
perfect Son - rejected by the people He
came to save - spat upon, scourged, sliced
with a crown of thorns, and crucified among
criminals and cursed!
Oh, my friend, never doubt for even one
moment the precious love of our wonderful
heavenly Father for you and me. Truly,
there is no other single greater thing
that the Father could do to demonstrate
His love for us than send His Son to die
in our place and for our sins."
(Benny Hinn - The Miracle of Healing)
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