Early Christian Relic

Here is a link to a story you might like to know about.  Books of lead plates found in a cave seem to be early Christian writings from within a few years of Jesus' resurrection.  I am interested that secular scholars have noted that the theme of the writing so far understood, seems to center on the divinity of Christ.  That's just another piece of evidence that Jesus' first followers completely understood that Jesus is God.  This undermines some theologically liberal scholars that try to tell us that this idea was a later development.  Not!

Unearthed in Jordan several years ago and recently discovered in Israel, a group of metal books could hold vital information about early Christianity.  from the BBC web site:

< http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/world-middle-east-12888421 >

Self Care
All of us who follow Jesus Christ are ministers - we all have an active Christian ministry - our lives.  Whether we are pastors, IT consultants, nurses, accountants, tradespeople, students, professionals, carers - our work is a full-time Christian ministry to which we are called.  In my own ministry I sense today a need for a new focus on self-care. Ministry (i.e. The Christian Life) can deplete us, wear us down and exhaust us. Depression, self-doubt, irritability and discontent soon creep in from the outside, or worse - arise from within us.  Like a monkey on our backs we can't seem to shake these off, and before long they are in control and defining our thoughts and relationships.  This isn't what Jesus wants for us, and this isn't our calling.  There is a need for self care.  Here are some simple thoughts about how to start:

Sleep: get plenty.  Go to bed at 8 PM if you have to, but get solid sleep.  If environmental factors impact your sleep - try to mitigate them.  Children disturbing you?  Try to train them as much as possible to give you as much sleep as you need.  Some research shows (and I thoroughly agree - although not everyone shares this opinion) that we humans sleep in 90 minutes cycles.  If you can, try to get 1.5 minutes, or 3 hours, or 4.5 or 6 or 7.5 hours of sleep in a block.  Try to get a solid 7.5 hours of sleep every night for at least 10 days to get replenished.

Worship: We are made to worship God.  Once we have enough sleep - or even while we are getting our sleep in order, we need to profoundly praise, worship, magnify, and glorify God, with God, in God. This is completely important. Take 30 minutes in complete solitude - no one else around, no noise, no distractions, and consider God.  Count your blessings, one by one- perhaps write them down on a note pad.  Get prayerful, and say thank you to God for your life and all your blessings.  Then move into thanking God for Himself - just for being who He is.  Spend delicious moments just enjoying His presence. Ask Him for more of Himself - to lead you into the deeper places of worship.  Finally, spend some moments considering how you - with your particular personality, get into a mood of worship.  Some people play music, some prefer silence.  Some need to praise with other people, some people prefer solitude.  Some walk out in nature, others prefer to sit quietly in a church. promise yourself to make worship-time a frequent habit.

Joy:  Once you have enough sleep and have begun to develop a life-pattern of intentional worship, rediscover joy.  Take pleasure in your blessings.  Enjoy the relationships you have in your life - each is a gift from God.  Develop a few good friends that love the Lord too.  Reach beyond your immediate family.  Take a moment to reflect on the rich tapestry of your life - notice all the elements that go into it.  Seek God in each of these - each friendship, each hurt, each area of suffering, each area of blessing.  As you return to a more God-centered life, you will discover contentment and fresh joy.  The real joy of living IN God, more than just with God.

Peace.  Each time you feel hurt or suffering or fear, grief or anxiety, don't immediately ask God to solve the situation for you.  Do something much more daring and dangerous.  Ask God to be with you in the situation.  If you can, ask God to surround you and protect you as you pass through the situation together - no matter how short or long that takes.  Confess to God that if only He is with you, then you will rely on Him. Praise and worship God in the fear, anxiety, hurt and pain.  As we do so, our eyes will be lifted off the problem and we will find ourselves centered in God - IN God. We will discover a new type of peace.  The Bible talks about a 'peace that passes all understanding.  This is how we find it, by depending on God when He is the only One keeping us going.

Scripture.  Christians get to read scripture.  If you have gotten out of the habit then pick a little book in the Bible and just curl up and read it right through.  Colossians, Ephesians or Philippians or the little letters of John are dynamite.  Read them fast, read them slow, pick one sentence and just noodle on it.  Recently I have been thinking on the names of God.  Each one is like a week in the spa. For example, how about just taking 15 minutes to consider this name of God: "The author and completer of your faith".          Wow.

Finally think about the second great commandment - to love your neighbor as yourself.  Did you notice that this  commandment assumes that you love yourself?  That is not referring to some creepy self obsession, but rather that you value yourself (God knows, He loves you!) and are taking care of yourself.

Ministry - the Christian life - is a marathon, not a sprint.  Take care of yourself.  We need you, God loves you and just being the real you - with Jesus at your heart - is a life of wholeness - holiness - and worship.  I thank God for each and every one of my fellow Journey friends.  Pray for me.  I will be praying for you.