Entering Into Rest

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God."  Heb. 4:9  The Old Testament is full of examples for us to learn from.  The promised land is an example to us of the fullness of blessing that God wants every Christian to enter into.  In Numbers 13 and 14 we read that Moses sent 12 spies into the land to spy out the land and bring back a report.  10 spies brought back an evil report, because they did not believe they could conquer the land because of the giants and the enemies.  Only Joshua and Caleb brought a good report, saying to the people that they could enter this land and possess it.  This land had already been promised to them by God, so now it was time for them to possess their possessions.  Instead, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.  Now there remains is a rest for the people of God to enter into.  We do not want to wander in the wilderness!  We need to enter into the rest of God.  The Israelites had the sons of Anak, the Amalakites, the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites and Canaanites to defeat.  We have different enemies, but we must conquer our enemies.  We are told in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 to beware of an evil heart of unbelief, and to watch lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  In Heb. 4:1 we are told to fear lest any of us seem to come short of entering into His rest.  Again in Hebrews 4:11 we are to be diligent to enter that rest.  The enemies of unbelief, doubt, worry, strife, unforgiveness, anger, and fear must be defeated.  We are given 3 things at the end of Heb. 4 to enter the rest.  We have been given the Word of God, which is alive, and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword.  With this spiritual sword we can cut down the enemies.  We have a great High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, and run to our aid.  We have a throne of grace to come to in prayer, to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in our time of need.  "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You," Isa. 26:3.  The rest of God is a place of peace.  Peace is that invaluable quality of heart that keeps your mind at rest when there is turmoil all around.  Surpassing our understanding, it keeps and guards our hearts and minds.  One day there will be ultimate peace and rest from our labors, Rev. 14:13.  Now, we must be diligent to enter that rest in faith and trust.  Enter into your place of rest today.  Through the Word of God and prayer, you can defeat your enemies, and enter into rest!

In what way am I living in rest today?

Wonders of Creation

Gen. 1:1 says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."  The wonders of creation are a message from God for everyone to read.  Gen. 1 recounts the seven days of creation.  Not only do we see the things God created, but every element of chemistry, biology and physics were set in motion.  The laws of nature were put into place so that the earth would be a beautiful place for people to inhabit.  On the fourth day God created the sun, the moon, and the stars.  I recently did a google search to find out how many stars are in the universe.  After another look, astronomers say that the number of known stars has tripled, due to more sophisticated tools.  In every direction of the sky, the stars reach to an infinite distance!  Why would God make such an extravagant creation?  Everyday, every person on the planet has an opportunity to experience creation, and ask the question, "How did this happen?"  Everyday we have an opportunity to worship God because of what we see and experience.  "For since the beginning of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,"  Rom. 1:20.  The creation speaks of the invisible attributes of God: His power, His wisdom, His care, His love, His beauty, His order, His omniscience, His infinite greatness.  An infinite creation speaks of an infinite God.  I also did a google research of DNA.  Science tells us that the DNA stretched out from a single person would reach to the sun and back about 610 times!  DNA is a very complex ladder like structure and is different in each person making every person unique.  Whether we look outward to the heavens,, or inward with the microscope, we are struck with wonder at the creation of God.  No wonder God is called the Lord of heaven and earth, Matt. 11:25.  Looking at creation gives us all the more reason to trust God with our lives.  He who created the heavens and the earth can be trusted to rule in our lives.  Let us take Him at His Word, and follow Him in this walk of faith.

Today I will let the awesomeness of God touch my heart!

Work Without The Lord Is In Vain

Ps. 127:1,2 "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep." The Psalm is talking about our work, whether it is building a house, guarding a city, or whatever project we are doing. The Psalm tells us that unless the Lord is the one who is giving the vision, the plan, and is personally involved in the project, that it will be in vain. This is not to say that we cannot do projects on our own without God. God has created people in such an ingenious way, that we can accomplish tremendous things on our own. The tower of Babel is a great example of people in unity working together to accomplish a great goal. God Himself said in Gen. 11:6, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them." So it is not that we cannot do anything without God, but that our work will be in vain without God. Our work will produce no Kingdom benefits without God working through us. Ps. 127:1,2 uses the phrase 'it is vain' 3 times to impress upon us our need for God to work through us. All our worry, and anxiety, and trying to do things in our own strength is shown to be vain. If we rise up early, and stay up late, eating the bread of sorrows (anxiety), going over and over things, losing sleep over it all, it will not help solve our problems or bring about solutions. He gives His beloved sleep. But what do we do when we toss and turn, and can't sleep, because we can't turn off our mind, worrying about things. We go back to the first verse, which reminds us that unless the Lord builds the house, our work will be in vain. So we have to trust God, and realize that unless God works through us, our work will be in vain. We must turn it all over to God, and with trust in our hearts, we will be able to get a good peaceful sleep, which we need for a clear mind, a positive attitude, and health for our bodies. So may God bless you with a trusting heart, depending upon God in the building of His work, and a good peaceful sleep that will refresh you for tomorrow.

One Thing

We can learn so much from Mary and Martha.  Their story is found in Luke 10:38-42.  Jesus came to their house, and each of the women responded differently to his coming.  Martha was busy serving Him, while Mary sat at His feet and heard His word.  Martha was distracted with her serving, and therefore had no time to spend in fellowship with Jesus.  What did Jesus want when He went to their house?  I'm sure He wanted to spend time with them, and fellowship with them.  So when Martha asked that He would tell Mary to come help her, He said that one thing was needful, and Mary had chosen that good part, which would not be taken away from her.  This story goes far beyond serving in the kitchen.  It is a call for everyone of us to choose priorities in our lives that will bring us into fellowship with Jesus, and cause us to walk by revelation, rather than by the strength of our flesh.  God is found by those who diligently seek Him, and so we are each called to set aside the worries and troubles of our day, and seek first the kingdom of God.  As we put God first, we will find the peace that passees all understanding.  Our worries and troubles wiill fade away, and we will be changed.  This one thing is the key to walking with God.  Paul mentioned this one thing in Philippians, when he said he was forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching forth to the things which are ahead.  He put his full passion into pressing toward the mark of God's call on his life.  David also found one thing, which was more important to him than anything else.  In Ps. 27:4 he said, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple."  This one thing is more important that all the other things in our lives.  Do we have this one thing in our lives today?  Time spent with the Lord is never wasted time.

How God Reveals Himself

It is God's desire to reveal Himself to all people!  Here are 3 main ways that God reveals Himself:
1.  Through Christ.  Christ is the revelation of God.  1 Cor. 1:24 says, "...Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God."  It is through Christ that we see God's wisdom and power.  We need the spirit of wisdom and revelation to see Him, for even some of those close to Him did not know who He was.  In John 14, Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  But Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He that has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'"?  Philip did not realize that in seeing Jesus, he was seeing the Father.  Jesus is the Word, from the beginning, made flesh, and dwelt among us.  He declared and showed to us the Father.  God has spoken to us through His Son, the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person, Heb. 1:1-3.  Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily, Col.2:9.  God has revealed Himself through Christ.
2.  Through Scripture.  The Scriptures are the God inspired words given to us to reveal God to us.  2 Tim. 3:16 says,  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."  Only through the scriptures can we become mature, and equipped to do every good work God has planned for us.   By our hunger for the Word of God, we are transformed and changed, and God reveals Himself to us. 
3.  By the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit brings revelation of God to us.  It was by revelation that Paul received the gospel, Gal. 1:12.  We need that same spirit of revelation to bring the power of the gospel alive in our lives.  The Spirit has come to teach us and lead us into all truth. 
Today, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, give attention to the Scriptures, and open our hearts to the Holy Spirit.  We will grow in our revelation of God as we do these things.   

Living By Revelation

"I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes."  Matt. 11:25.  The things of God are revealed, and therefore available to anyone who will receive them.  The Christian life is to be a life of revelation.  Paul's prayer for the church was that we would have the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Chirst, Eph.1:17.  Only through revelation can we know the things given to us in Christ.  1 Cor. 2:12 says, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God."  We need the Holy Spirit to show us the things that are ours through Christ.  Without the Holy Spirit, we are blind to the things of God.  God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  This is revelation!  It is the revealing of Christ to our hearts.  The rock that the church is built upon is the rock of revelation.  In Matt. 16, Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  The people had many different ideas about who Jesus was.  They thought maybe he was John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  They didn't know Him, even though he was there with them.  So Jesus asked the disciples, "But who do you say that I am?"  "Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' "  Jesus said, "Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you, but My Father in heaven... and on this rock I will build My church..."  The revelation of Christ to our hearts is the unmoveable rock upon which the church is built, and nothing can stand against that revelation.  We are called to live by that revelation.  Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to bring revelation into our hearts today.

The Blood Line

There is a blood line that goes through the Bible from the beginning to the end.  It begins in Gen. 3 when God made tunics of skin to clothe Adam and Eve, as a result of their sin.  We see the blood in Gen. 4 as Abel brought an offering of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat.  We see the blood when Noah offered sacrifices unto the Lord.  We see the blood as Abraham offered animals to God in Gen. 15, and God cut a covenant with Abraham that day.  God's presence, as a smoking oven and a burning torch passed between the pieces.  The offering of the passover lamb in Ex. 12 is an amazing picture of the power of the blood.  Every family was to apply the blood of a sacrificed lamb to the doors and windows of their houses.  At midnight, in every home in Egypt, the firstborn was dead, except in the homes of the Israelites where the blood had been applied.  Ex. 12:13 says, "Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are.  And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and  the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."  Throughout the Old Testament, there is the shedding of blood, to sanctify and to set apart God's people and their place of worship.  Hebrews 9:22 says, "And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission."  On the Day of Atonement, the high priest went into the holy of holies, not without blood, to make atonement for his own sins and for the sins of the people.  But all this was pointing to the one day, when Christ would shed His blood, and once and for all, the price for sin would be paid.  Never again would there need to be a blood sacrifice for sin!  Now we are invited to enter into the holy of holies, by a new and living way, through the veil, into the very presence of God.  Now by the blood we enter, we worship, we stand, we are purified, we overcome, we are forgiven, we are in right standing with God.  Now, and forever, our song is "Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain."  Rev. 5:9 "...For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation..."  Claim the power of the blood in your life today.  Apply the power of the blood to sanctify, cleanse, and overcome every enemy, in the name of Jesus!