rest

June 15, 2022

“Rest”

9 So we conclude that there is still a full and complete “rest”[g] waiting for believers[h] to experience. –Hebrews 4:9 TPT

Hebrews 4:4-11 TPT

In Exodus, when God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, His plan was that they would enter into a land of milk and honey. They would eat crops they had not planted, drink water from wells they did not dig, and live in houses they did not build. In other words, God had prepared a place of rest for them. Because they were stubborn and refused to believe that God could and would deliver them, they disobeyed again and again. God became angry at their disobedience and refused to allow any of that generation to enter into the land of Canaan except for Joshua and Caleb. These two men had shown faith in God when all others refused to believe, thus they were allowed to enter into the land of rest. God’s plan was for man to work six days and then rest, just as He set the example in His acts of creation. His plan is for us to enter a period of rest when we leave this earth and then to reign with Him forever. But for us to enter that land of rest, we must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Just as God showed grace to those in the Old Testament who believed, He shows us grace through faith. The difference being that He was the perfect sacrifice forever and there is now no need for another sacrifice of any sort. As believers, our place in the land of rest is assured by the blood of Jesus.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

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April 9, 2021

“I Will Give You Rest”

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28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  — Matt. 11:28-30 NIV

God has made precious promises to us if we will learn to lean on Him.  We get so wrapped up in our work and making our own plans for the future, that we have no time left to enjoy today.  We carry all this baggage with us all the time, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  We say we trust God, yet, we worry when the bank account is low and we feel we have to have weeks worth of food stored in the house. Remember when Jesus sent the disciples out?  He told them not to take anything with them, no food, no money, not even a change of clothes.  I must ask myself, “would I be willing to start out on a trip like that?”  Sadly, the answer is no.  We are so concerned about things that we rarely ever get a good night’s rest. We worry about things over which we have no control and a lot of those things never happen anyway.  The scriptures above are not meant to be just some “pie in the sky”, future event.  They are for now. They are the way we should be living our lives today.  We wear ourselves out trying to do God’s job.  Just as the Israelis who refused to believe and were not allowed to enter in Canaan physically, we never reach a place to rest here on earth because of our unbelief.

16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. — Hebrews 3:16-19 NIV

When life seems more than we can bear, we have a place of quiet rest prepared for us, near to the heart of God. “Come unto me and I will give you rest”.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

December 26, 2019

“Come, Let’s Take A Break”

31 There was such a swirl of activity around Jesus, with so many people coming and going, that they were unable to even eat a meal. So Jesus said to his disciples, “Come, let’s take a break and find a secluded place where you can rest a while.” – Mark 6:31 TPT

Mark 6:30-32 TPT

​After​ the extended holiday period from Thanksgiving through Christmas, at some point, we just need to take a break and rest for a while.  This would be a good time to relax quietly and meditate on what is “real. honorable, admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind.  And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God. praising Him always.” (Phil. 4:8)  After all the shopping, spending, and stuffing, your Spirit, mind and body need a time to receive the refreshing of the Holy Spirit.  This is a time for waiting on the Lord and being filled with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to refresh us as we prepare for a New Year of praying, praising and rejoicing as we draw closer to the time when we will be with Jesus for eternity.  Let’s just relax in His arms and lay our head upon His shoulders and get a true sense of just how much He loves us.

Post 12-26-2019

November 23, 2019

“For God Is Not Unjust”

10 For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.— Hebrews 3:10 NLT

Hebrews 6:7-12 NLT

This passage should not be interpreted to mean that we must work for our salvation. That would be in direct conflict with other passages that clearly state that we are saved by”grace through faith”. What the writer of Hebrews is saying is that doing good works after we are saved is how we lay up rewards in heaven. This should encourage us to help our neighbors and others that we see in need of food, housing, clothing, etc. God gave Adam and Eve the job of tending the Garden of Eden. Work in and of itself is not a curse. God expects each of us to be busy doing good works. We are instructed to “redeem the time”. James tells us that we show our faith in Jesus by doing good works. If we want to enter into the rest mentioned earlier in Hebrews, we must continue in faith and be patient. The day will come soon enough when we will receive our rewards.

Matt. 6:19-21 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 11-23-2019

November 16, 2019

“Still A Full and Complete Rest”

9 So we conclude that there is still a full and complete “rest”[g] waiting for believers[h] to experience. –Hebrews 4:9 TPT

Hebrews 4:4-11 TPT

In Exodus, when God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, His plan was that they would enter into a land of milk and honey. They would eat crops they had not planted, drink water from wells they did not dig, and live in houses they did not build. In other words, God had prepared a place of rest for them. Because they were stubborn and refused to believe that God could and would deliver them, they disobeyed again and again. God became angry at their disobedience and refused to allow any of that generation to enter into the land of Canaan except for Joshua and Caleb. These two men had shown faith in God when all others refused to believe, thus they were allowed to enter into the land of rest. God’s plan was for man to work six days and then rest, just as He set the example in His acts of creation. His plan is for us to enter a period of rest when we leave this earth and then to reign with Him forever. But for us to enter that land of rest, we must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Just as God showed grace to those in the Old Testament who believed, He shows us grace through faith. The difference being that He was the perfect sacrifice forever and there is now no need for another sacrifice of any sort. As believers, our place in the land of rest is assured by the blood of Jesus.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 11-16-2019

November 3, 2018

“Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”

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11  You will make known to me the path of life;In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. — Psalm 16:11 NASB

In our busy, busy world, we often think about just getting away from it all.  Just go somewhere and relax, where we don’t even have to think about anything. Perhaps, at some time in the past, that was possible (I doubt it), but, not now. Why?  Because we take everything with us.  It fits easily in our pockets, it is lightweight and it is our umbilical cord to the world.  We think we can’t live without it. I posit that we can’t truly live with it.  It is time to cut the cord and relax in the arms of Jesus.  Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  So, to experience life, we must experience Jesus.  To experience Jesus, we must spend time with Him, both in quality and in quantity.  Time with Him and Him alone.  While we do need time away from our jobs with just the family, we need time away from everything and everybody with just Him;  Our God is a great God and a good God. Yes, we need to fear (as in respect) Him for who He is, but we also need to understand that He loves us and longs for our companionship.  He longs for us to be focused and fully dependent on Him.  So, if you are looking for real life, real peace and real joy, run to Him, curl up in His lap, marinate yourself in His presence and just experience His love.  You will never want to leave that spot.  It is totally impossible to live a life of joy and peace without being completely addicted to Jesus.

 
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” — Matt. 11:28-30 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 11-03-2018

April 24, 2017

Enter In Through Jesus

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 9 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.

–Hebrews 4:9 NLT


In Exodus, when God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, His plan was that they would enter into a land of milk and honey. They would eat crops they had not planted, drink water from wells they did not dig, and live in houses they did not build. In other words, God had prepared a place of rest for them. Because they were stubborn and refused to believe that God could and would deliver them, they disobeyed again and again. God became angry at their disobedience and refused to allow any of that generation to enter into the land of Canaan except for Joshua and Caleb. These two men had shown faith in God when all others refused to believe, thus they were allowed to enter into the land of rest. God’s plan was for man to work six days and then rest, just as He set the example in His acts of creation. His plan is for us to enter a period of rest when we leave this earth and then to reign with Him forever. But for us to enter that land of rest, we must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Just as God showed grace to those in the Old Testament who believed, He shows us grace through faith. The difference being that He was the perfect sacrifice forever and there is now no need for another sacrifice of any sort. As believers, our place in the land of rest is assured by the blood of Jesus.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 04-24-2017

April 22, 2017

Keep A Teachable Heart

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8     don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled,
    when they tested me in the wilderness.  — Hebrews 3:8 NLT
 
Hebrews 3:7-12 NLT

We should always be obedient and have a teachable spirit. If we become stubborn and rebellious, God will not be able to use us in His plan and He will remove us from the position He has allowed us to hold, just as He removed Saul from being king of Israel.


For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king.”–1 Samuel 15:23 (KJ21)


God sees an unteachable spirit as stubborn and rebellious and compares it to sin and idolatry. We must allow God to replace our stubborn, straying hearts of stone with hearts of teachable flesh and He will write His name upon those hearts of flesh. Then He will be our God and we will be His people. Then we will learn His ways and walk with Him into that land of rest.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

 

December 5, 2016

The Joy of Your Salvation!

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12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,  and make me willing to obey you.
— Psalm 51:12 NLT
 
Psalm 51:7-12 NLT
When we have one of those days that we can’t seem to find the joy of the Lord, perhaps we need to look into our recent thoughts and actions. Have there been any changes in our attitude toward God and His blessings? Did we take time to thank Him for our salvation or did we just take it for granted? Jesus did not have to die, He chose to die for us. After each prayer, do you take time to thank God for the answer and just give Him praise for Who He is and what He has done and continues to do. If you are not finding joy in this season of joy, perhaps you have moved away from God. He inhabits the praises of His people. He will hear your praises and you will feel His presence. Slip into His arms and find rest, joy, and peace. Not just today, but every day.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 12-05-2016

March 8, 2016

A2J

even-smaller-bug-light111  You will make known to me the path of life;In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. — Psalm 16:11 NASB

In our busy, busy world, we often think about just getting away from it all.  Just go somewhere and relax, where we don’t even have to think about anything. Perhaps, at some time in the past, that was possible (I doubt it), but, not now. Why?  Because we take everything with us.  It fits easily in our pockets, it is lightweight and it is our umbilical cord to the world.  We think we can’t live without it. I posit that we can’t truly live with it.  It is time to cut the cord and relax in the arms of Jesus.  Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  So, to experience life, we must experience Jesus.  To experience Jesus, we must spend time with Him, both in quality and in quantity.  Time with Him and Him alone.  While we do need time away from our jobs with just the family, we need time away from everything and everybody with just Him;  Our God is a great God and a good God. Yes, we need to fear (as in respect) Him for who He is, but we also need to understand that He loves us and longs for our companionship.  He longs for us to be focused and fully dependent on Him.  So, if you are looking for real life, real peace and real joy, run to Him, curl up in HIs lap, marinate yourself in His presence and just experience His love.  You will never want to leave that spot.  It is totally impossible to live a life of joy and peace without being completely addicted to Jesus.
 
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” — Matt. 11:28-30 NLT
Post 03-08-2016