Mr Lucado begins chapter 4 called “You Can Rest Now” by reminding us of just how tired we all can get. Life’s demands seem endless and our energy is very obviously limited. He then compares us with the Hebrew slaves in Egypt and how burdened they were as they worked their fingers to the bone for Pharaoh. Then God sent Moses to bring them out of their hard labor and into God’s Holy rest. But it didn’t take long before they were murmuring and complaining, and even demanding to go back into slavery!
Then Mr Lucado cleverly points us to Galatians 3:1 and notes how things were the same in the days of St Paul. The author says, “The second redemption upstaged the first. God sent not Moses, but Jesus. He smote not Pharaoh but Satan. Not with ten plagues but a single cross. The Red Sea didn’t open, but the grave did, and Jesus led anyone who wanted to follow him to the land of No More. No more law keeping. No more striving after God’s approval. ‘You can rest now,’ he told them.” (p45) Yet the people in Paul’s day, and in ours, prefer to work for our own redemption, as if we could.
Grace. We don’t understand it because we, ourselves, would never give it. And so we try… and we try… and we try…no wonder we are so very tired! Instead of “trying” we need to start “trusting.” Mr Lucado says, “…grace was questioned. It wasn’t that the people didn’t believe in grace at all. They did. They believed in grace a lot. They just didn’t believe in grace alone. They wanted to add to the work of Christ.” (p45) Do we? Are we still trying to earn something that God desires to give us as a free gift? Working for our Salvation is an impossible feat. Let’s choose to stop and simply receive His Loving Grace instead.
2023’s Got A Minute? Book Club
January: The First & Best Book Ever: The Bible
February: Love Is In the Air: “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts” by Gary Chapman
March: Spring Growth: “Secrets of the Vine” by Bruce Wilkinson
April: Living the Resurrected Life: “The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life” by Dr Charles Stanley
May: My Spiritual Mom: “Making Good Habits Breaking Bad Habits” by Joyce Meyer
June: Spiritual Dad: “It’s Not About Me- Rescue from the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy” by Max Lucado
July: Financial Freedom “Complete Guide to Money” by Dave Ramsey
August: Summer’s Soul Restorer “A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23” by W Phillip Keller
September: Covering Our Children: “Prayers for the Prodigals” by James Banks
October: Reformation of Our Hearts: “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine” by Max Lucado
<>< Peace, Diane
