But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. — 1 Corinthians 15:20 Do you ever use euphemisms? Euphemisms are nice-sounding phrases that we use to talk about something harsh or difficult. For example, we may say “golden years” rather than “old age.” And many cultures describe dying in terms of “passing away.” Paul describes Christians who have died as being “asleep in Christ.” The ancient Hebrews commonly used “sleep” as a euphemism for death. The accounts of Israel’s kings often end by saying “he slept with his fathers” or “rested with his ..read more

Do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake from your slumber. . . . — Romans 13:11 I generally try to get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night. Often, though, I get less than that. And at those times when I’m a little “sleep deprived,” I can be a bit grouchy. Maybe you’re that way too. So why does Paul urge us to sleep less and not more? Paul isn’t talking about restful slumber here. He’s talking about getting drowsy in our spiritual lives. After reminding us that love should be at the center of our hearts, Paul urges us to wake up from our ..read more

The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted. — Acts 20:12 Have you ever fallen asleep in a public place, like during a long talk by a speaker or a preacher? Maybe your eyes began drooping, and your head started to nod. Then, despite your best efforts, you dozed off. Though falling asleep like that can be embarrassing, it’s not usually fatal. But it was for Eutychus, who fell three stories from an open window to the ground. What should we make of this strange story? Should we judge Paul for being insensitive to his audience? No, Paul was doing just as he was commanded, t ..read more

Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. — Acts 12:6 Sometimes we awake from a dream feeling relieved that it was only a dream. Other times we awake and wish the dream were real. After being locked up in prison, Peter awoke when an angel came to free him, “but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.” Later he realized that a miracle had taken place and he was no longer in prison. The book of Acts shows us what the early church suffered for preaching and teaching about ..read more

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28 Do you ever feel completely worn out? Health experts may advise remedies such as eating right, exercising regularly, and getting enough rest. To feel truly rested, many of us need seven to eight hours of sleep each night, and some of us may need even more. This is good advice, but sleep isn’t the only rest we need. Jesus offers us true rest. Jesus promises a kind of spiritual rest unrecognized by the world’s physical health experts. As the Creator of the world and of all humanity, Jesus knows us. He kno ..read more

Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. — Mark 4:38 There are some places—like on airplanes—where I find it impossible to sleep. In our story today, though, we read that Jesus fell into a deep sleep on a small boat that was out on a lake—in the middle of a storm! Though a cushion may have aided his sleep, this brief scene about Jesus’ nap on a boat reveals two important truths about him. Like us, Jesus needed sleep. Too often when we read the stories of Jesus, we focus only on his divinity—that he is God. But this story also reminds us of Jesus’ humanity—that he is human, just like us ..read more

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him. . . . — Matthew 1:24 Have you ever dreamed that an angel commanded you to do something? I’ve had some serious dreams, but I’ve never had a dream where I awoke convinced that God had told me to do something. Joseph had that kind of a dream, though. He had become engaged to a young woman named Mary, but then he discovered she was pregnant—and he knew that he wasn’t the father. Being both a devout and decent man, Joseph decided to end the engagement quietly. In this way he was responding to the wisdom of his faith and the c ..read more

“I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.” — Daniel 7:15 On occasions when I have visited places plagued with malaria, I have taken antimalarial drugs. The lifesaving benefits of these medications certainly outweigh the side effects, but these pills can trigger vivid, bizarre, and even frightening dreams. The prophet Daniel sometimes had strange dreams, but they weren’t induced by medications (see Daniel 7-12). He received those dreams from the Lord, and they were given to assure God’s people that the Lord will always care for them and that h ..read more

How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? — Proverbs 6:9 Years ago, when we lived in Taiwan, we awoke one morning to find a column of ants marching across our house, from one end to the other. Ants are truly amazing. They seem so driven, directed, and industrious. In fact, Proverbs describes them here as a model of organization and industry and as a spur against laziness. This passage does not suggest that we must always be busy or that rest is unimportant. For human beings, both rest and work together reveal our identity as imagebearers of Creator God. A ..read more

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. — Proverbs 3:24 Last night I slept well. I fell asleep quickly, got up only once, had pleasant dreams, and awoke refreshed and ready to greet the new day. As the writer of Proverbs might have said, it was a “sweet” night of sleep. King Solomon, the author of the first part of Proverbs, advises his son that wisdom is found only in the Lord. The king urges his son to seek wisdom and understanding. Make them “an ornament to grace your neck,” he says. “They will be life for you.” So, what constitutes wisdom? Wi ..read more