Rest Sessions 3 and 4

Well, it has been a busy few weeks and I've not had the chance to get on here and put up the last 2 sessions of the retreat. So without delay...here they are.

Session 3: "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." Matthew 11:29

Jesus is offering us his yoke. This is something we cannot refuse!

What is a yoke?

A yoke is a heavy wooden collar fitted to the neck and shoulders of an animal. It was used to control the animal so that the owner could use the animal to complete his work. It guided and kept the animal under control. In Jesus' time, the term "yoke" was commonly used in terms of one being subjected under the control of another. It was not a pleasant thing but term of oppression. According to Websters Dictionary, a yoke is "a frame fitted to a person's shoulder's to carry a load in two equal portions." According to Vines Dictionary of the Bible, the term "yoke" was used metaphorically of submission to authority, of Christ's yoke; not simply imparted by Him but shared with Him.

In Leviticus 23 the term "yoke" was used for discipleship. It was considered "coming under the rabbi's yoke". This simply meant to be a student or disciple of the rabbi.

So, what is the soulution? * Have the right yoke!

Too often we create our own standards and create our own inner yokes. This is NEVER going to work! When He offers his yoke to us, we HAVE to take it! He will never force it on us but we must decide that in every situation that we will take His yoke.

The first step toward change is to understand why we don't take Jesus' yoke.

• We don't truly surrender to God

The word surrender means to be willing to do what Jesus wants you to do even if you don't know what it is. Jesus modeled this behavior and so did Abraham. Some questions to ask ourselves are "How willing am I to surrender my schedule?", "How willing am I to surrender that which I love?", "How willing am I to surrender that which I desire?".

• We struggle with the other options out there

We look for fulfillment in the options either placed before us or those we actively seek instead of looking to God for complete fulfillment. When we engage in this behavior, we are slipping in and out of Jesus's yoke and are not fully committed to him. We can even get caught up in looking too intently to creation and miss the great things and blessing of our Creator! The lesson here is this: "Don't get consumed by the looking that you miss the listening".

The blessings or benefits of taking on the yoke of Jesus:

• We get to learn from Jesus

To learn is to receive instruction, to find out, to understand. This ability to understand is a continual process.

John 16:13-16: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, 'The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'

Isaiah 48:17: "This is what the LORD says-your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow."

Therefore, we come to the conclussion that a yoke which ties us to the heart of the Father is a blessing because it keeps us connected to our lifeline, Christ himself.

• We get to experience a gentle and humble master

Our master steers us and pulls us back when we need to rest. He knows the terrain that we cover and is mindful of what we need at each point of the journey. He will never lead us down a path that is going to hurt us. His heart is ALWAYS for our good! We can rest in the fact that our master is GENTLE and HUMBLE!

• We receive rest for our souls

First question, "What is our soul? "

According to Dallas Willard, "Our soul is the ultimate inner depth of our being. It is the inner stream that gives us strength, direction and harmony to every other element in our life."

The word soul means "breath". It is related to when God breathed the breath of life into Adam and caused his heart to start beating in a life sustaining rhythm.

*God's breath starts everything in rhythm before life starts. This rhythm keeps me in beat with my Creator. Our souls are rooted in the vastness of God.

Our souls respond when we are disconnected from God. Damages souls: Matthew 10:28, Psalm 42:5. Broken souls: all of 1Peter. Restored souls: Psalm 23:1-2, Psalm 19.

The lesson learned is that God gives place to pause...stop and get reconnected! He is your life sustainer!

Session 4: "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" Matthew 11:30

As we go through life, we pick up burdens that we think we can carry. We end up going halfway with them, realize that we cannot handle the load and we give up because we cannot finish.

When we take Jesus' yoke, he disciples us so that we can carry our difficult and heavy burdens.

Matthew 22:35-40: This passage covers the question of what is the most important commandment. Jesus replies by saying that the most important is to love the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, and mind. And that a second is equally important; which is to love your neighbor as yourself. This is a heavy burden. When we are called to love our neighbors, that includes people that we may not feel loving toward. But Jesus instructs us that it is as important as loving God.

Matthew 16:24-25: Jesus tells the disciples here that in order to follow Him, they must take up their cross daily and follow Him. This too is a heavy burden. Crosses are heavy and symbolize an unpleasant task; they are symbolic of death. What thing or things has God called me to carry that are a "death" of some sort? How can I take up these burdens? REALIZE THAT THE YOKE THAT I TAKE IS A DIFFERENT YOKE AND THAT MY RABBI IS A DIFFERENT RABBI!

Another word on yokes, an animal was fitted to his yoke so that the yoke fit perfectly so as not to chaff the animal. When we take on Jesus's yoke, it fits us perfectly. He knows the perfect and best way to teach us and it is going to be just right. It will not bruise us or chaff us.

Matthew 11:25-26, Zephaniah 3:17: The Lord loves us as his children and reveals wise things to us. We are a delight to Him, so much so that He rejoices over us with singing! He takes great pleasure in us.....think on it for a while!

So, what do we do now?

John 1:12: But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

We need only to receive him. This is how we become his children. He takes great pleasure in the unwise and ill-equiped. He requires only a willing heart. He can use a broken and hurt person, he wants to lift our burdens from us.

Some passages that offer comfort and support:

Matthew 11:27: Jesus knows the Father!

John 17:8: The words that Jesus shares come straight from the Father!

Psalm 56:8: The Lord knows every tear we shed and collects them in his bottle

Psalm 147:3: The Lord binds up the brokenhearted

Our yoke is under Christ (in submission to him) and with him (he has given us a counselor).

Reminders: The Holy Spirit is right by us, with us, getting dirty with us. He goes ahead and prepares the ground, walks with us through the burden, and goes behind us and picks up all the pieces that have fallen.

Final thoughts: He has gone before me and will go after me for my lifetime! PRAISE YOU FATHER!

Here are a few pics of the weekend....ENJOY!

The cross in the meeting area.....interesting note, the ropes and stuff on the cross is a yoke! (not placed by our ladies but already right in God's will for our weekend!)

Pretty trees...love capturing God's beauty in creation.

My sweet friend Robin and I...Had a bit of a dreary morning and she insisted that I stand by the yellow flowers so as to get a little happiness and sunshine in my morning!

Thanks Rob!


Gretchen on the ropes course....loved watching these brave ladies conquer their fears. Maybe next year I'll do the same. Too chicken this year!

Our little group...top to bottom: Kay, Robin, Bethany, Sue, and Petra....thank you for a wonderful weekend of bonding, crying, and laughing ladies!

BVG Women's Retreat: Rest Session 1

Hello all you out there in Blog Land. I hope that you have had a wonderful day! The weekend is here and I am so excited that I am getting a new haircut today! I will make sure and post pics so that you can see the new do!


So...last weekend I went to Koinonia Conference Grounds for my 2nd annual Women's Retreat with BVG. The theme for the retreat was "Rest"...and ladies, may I just add that I needed rest more than anything else! It was so AMAZING! Such a great time of relaxation, rest, rejuvination, worship and fellowship with some of the sweetest sisters in the body! God spoke to me in so many wonderful ways (lots of laughter and lots of tears)....I am awed again and again how He speaks to me and helps me to understand Him and His ways.

I'd like to recap the weekend's sessions. I hope that it blesses you as much as it did me!

Theme Verse: Matthew 11:28

Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your weary souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Session 1- "Come to me"

Invitations: God is extending us an invitation to come to him.

What invitations have I received in my lifetime?

• marriage proposal
• wedding invitations
• baby shower invitations
• birthday invitations
• invitation to enter into relationship with my Heavenly Father

The first question to ask is "Who is inviting me?"

Colossians 1:15: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

Hebrews 1:3: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

Jesus is everything we can see and everything we cannot see. We should not take his invitation lightly, because it is kingly!

Luke 19:1-9: This is the story of Zaccheus (read it...it's great!)

• The invitation Zacch received was totally unexpected. He came to see Jesus thinking that he was only going to be an observer.
• The invitation Zacch received was personal. When Jesus reached the spot where Zacch had climbed up to see him, he looked up and called our brother by name. John 10:14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-". This verse states that Jesus knows us personally...by name. He enters our most personal places. He wants to transform us. Jesus tells Zacch that he wants to "stay" in his house today. The meaning of the word "stay" in this passage means "to lodge, take up residence." Jesus was not just coming for a quick visit. He had serious business to work through with Zacchaeus.
• The invitation that Zacch received demands a response. Zacch comes down at once and comes gladly. In verse 8 we find that Zacch was repentant. This was a heart response to Jesus extending an invitation to him. His repentant heart followed by action to remedy what he had done wrong was extreme. By law he was only supposed to return 20% more of the goods lost. If he had been guilty of theft of an animal he would have been required to return 4 or 5 times the amount of the value of the animal. We can see from the text that Zaccheaus considered his sin theft as he returned 4 times the amount that he had taken from the people.

So....the question is: How am I responding to Jesus' invitation to me?

• With joy?
• With repentance?
• With action?

Side note on Zaccheaus: His name means "Righteous One". Before his encounter with Jesus he had been marginalized. After his encounter with the Savior, he has been restored spiritually.

Final thought: Respond to the invitation that Christ is extending to me!

John 7:37 "Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds 'Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!'.

So, girlfriends....what invitation is Jesus extending to you???? Are you thirsty? Do you need restoration?....If so, run to Jesus, he is extending an invitation to you that you cannot miss out on! He says to come to him and he will give you rest....so get your running shoes on and get going!