Dear Faith Family,

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, (Matthew 11:28-29). 

We’ve all done it.  We’ve all looked for something that we just couldn’t find, right?  Like standing in front of the refrigerator, door open, looking for a bottle of ketchup, a leftover sandwich, or last night’s pizza.  After a lengthy investigation, like two seconds, we call our spouse and ask, “do you know where the ketchup is?”  Translated, “what did you do with the ketchup?” 

And then it happens.  Our spouse points to the bottle of ketchup sitting loudly on the top shelf, front and center.  A question sometimes follows, “you mean that bottle of ketchup?”  How did we not see it? 

Have you seen Matthew 11:28-29?  We’re familiar with the labor and heavy-laden part.  And, we are so desirous of the rest.  We are even acquainted with the yoke.  But if we aren’t careful, we will look right past the heart of our Savior.  Think about it.  Jesus exposed His heart!  What did you see?  That His heart is gentle and lowly.  Wow!  Is that how you would have described His heart? 

At the core, Jesus is able to relate to His creation, us, broken and fallen as we are!  At the core, Jesus is able to give us rest while we’re serving Him (not rest from serving Him)!  Could it be that rest escapes us because we have the wrong yoke?  At the core, Jesus is able for us to come and experience His heart! 

Two questions:  1. Does your heart look like His heart, gentle and lowly?  2. Do you want to know more about His heart? 

Gentle and Lowly, The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers is an attempt by Dane Ortlund to know and experience the heart of Jesus.  Ortlund dives headfirst into Matthew 11:28-29.  Want to read more?  Come pick up a free copy of Ortlund’s book on Sunday or stop by the office during the week.  We will have a copy available for you. 

Resting in His Heart, 
Pastor Karl