It's vacation time. As you read this article this week I am sitting on a beach, catching a big walleye in a boat, or swinging a golf club on a golf course. I can't wait. I am really looking forward to this vacation.

Does this mean I am taking a vacation from being a Christian? Certainly not. In fact, I am weighing my options for worship on Sunday and am bringing several books along for devotions. I am looking forward to being able to devote some quiet time in a most serene setting, the north woods of Minnesota, to reading and listening to God's Word. I am looking forward to being in God's Word MORE.

A vacation is a good thing. In fact, God commands us to rest. The third commandment is very specific about remembering the Sabbath (rest) day by keeping it holy. Yet, we are not to rest AWAY from God's Word, but instead rest IN God's Word.

God's Word is where we can truly find rest. Yet even I, as a pastor, can forget that from time to time. I can't get over distressed about things going on in the church. I can get frustrated with the sinful things that people say and do. I can get overwhelmed from time to time with the great responsibilities that come with leading a church. All of this stress and heartache usually comes about because I am not, in the words of Martin Luther himself, reading, marking, learning, and inwardly digesting God's Word as much as I need to.

If I look back at the most stressful times in my life and my devotional life, there is a direct correlation between the two. The more stressed and freaked out I am the less I am in God's Word. The more calm, relaxed, and peaceful I am the more I am in God's Word. I am sure you can see this in your own life as well.

This is because in God's Word is where we find true peace, comfort and joy. In God's Word we find the true light of the good news of Jesus Christ. We hear things like, "For God so loved the world that he sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but everlasting life." And, "He was crucified for our transgressions and raised for our justification." And, "Don't worry... God know what you need." And "For we are saved by grace through faith and this not of ourselves, it is a gift of God not by works so that no one can boast."

I encourage you today to get into God's Word. Find a Bible study or start one of your own. Ask your pastor questions when you don't understand something. Take shelter under God's Word for in it you will find rest for your souls.

Rev. Jeremy Klaustermeier

To God All Praise and Glory!