The Rest of God

Mark Buchanan

ISBN 10: 0849918480 / ISBN 13: 9780849918483

Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006

About this Item

Most of us feel utterly ransacked: we're waylaid by endless demands and stifling routines. Even our vacations have a panicky, task-like edge to them. "If I only had more time," is the mantra of our age. But is this the real problem Widely acclaimed author Mark Buchanan states that what we've really lost is "the rest of God-the rest God bestows and, with it, that part of himself we can know only through stillness." Stillness as a virtue is a foreign concept in our society, but there is wisdom in God's own rhythm of work and rest. Sabbath is elixir and antidote. It is a gift for our sanity and wholeness-to prolong our lives, to enrich our relationships, to increase our fruitfulness, to make our joy complete. Jesus practiced Sabbath among those who had turned it into a dismal thing, a day for murmuring and finger-wagging, and he reminded them of the day's true purpose: liberation-to heal, to feed, to rescue, to celebrate, to lavish and relish life abundant. The gift of Sabbath is essential to our full humanity and faith, says Buchanan. Far from being some starched and dour day only to be endured, Sabbath is a day wide and bright, brimming with laughter, enough to lend beauty to all our other days. Readers will be changed forever by this pivotal book. "It seems very unsabbath-like to describe a book about Sabbath with the adverb 'urgently'-but we urgently need this book. Mark Buchanan shows us that our busyness is killing us-killin us-and that Sabbath is our best cure, our best path for rest and reverence and discipleship."-LAUREN WINNER, Best-selling author of Girl Meets God and Mudhouse Sabbath "With the easiness of long intimacy and a very deft hand, Buchanan here braids together into one gracious and sustaining strand the beauty of Sabbath, the wisdom of its keeping, and the generosity of God in gifting us with it. These pages are not just a blessing, they are a psalm that cries out to be joyfully engaged."-PHYLLIS TICKLE, Religion editor (ret.) Publishers Weekly and compiler of The Divine Hours.

Seller Inventory # 00102799205

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Rest of God
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0849918480
• ISBN 13: 9780849918483
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Emphasizes the importance of stillness--a virtue that is a foreign concept in today's society--for sanity and wholeness, reminding people that Sabbath is a gift to prolong lives, enrich relationships, increase fruitfulness, and make joy complete.

Reviews

In his fourth book, Christian pastor Buchanan delves into the concept of the Sabbath, by which he means both a day and an attitude. He campaigns persuasively for readers to revive the Sabbath as a refuge from our pervasive and spiritually destructive culture of busyness. Buchanan's prose is fresh and immediate, earnest and self-effacing at the same time. Each chapter is peppered with vivid stories from his own childhood and ministries as well as insightful retellings of biblical narratives. Each chapter also ends with a practicum the author calls a "Sabbath liturgy"—something to try out like choreographic notes, "not to be followed slavishly." Indeed, these invitations to put his ideas on living the Sabbath into action are not PowerPoint-style bulleted lists, but brief narrative passages spiced with more stories and engaging insights. The book can be taken as a whole or read piecemeal as rejuvenating brief sermons. It will aid those Christians looking to step off the hamster wheel of modern working lifestyles and find the rest of God—not just "actual physical, mental, spiritual rest, but also the rest of God—the things of God's nature and presence we miss in our busyness." (Jan. 31)
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