In the Old
Testament, Believers worshipped in temples of stone and mortar. Their contact
with God was from the first five books of our Bible. Today, God dwells in us,
not in temples made with human hands (Romans 10:9). In the New Testament, we have 66
books of God’s Word to encourage and instruct us, along with God’s Spirit
within us.
Jesus is
the chief cornerstone on which all of us, as “living stones” in His Temple, are
centered (1 Peter 2:4-6). We have a deepening understanding of the reality of Christ
who dwells in us (Colossians 1:27). This reality changes our outlook on life and affects our
body, soul and spirit. We enter God’s rest forever (Hebrews
4:9-10).
God rested
after He created the universe. Jesus rested after carrying the burden of our
sin to the cross. Now, we can rest from serving God through compulsion.
Instead, we serve Him from a place of love. The doorway to this rest is through
total surrender to God’s will and to Christ in us, which is our hope of living
in glory both now and in eternity (Colossians 1:27).
Our
humanity is dead and we are a new creation with Christ living in and through
us. We decrease so that He can increase (John 3:30). We cease from our human striving
and follow God’s Spirit through every moment of every day (Galatians
5:16-25). Our ultimate
rest will be when we leave this sin-cursed world behind and live instead in the
Kingdom of Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Until then
we dwell in Christ, as Christ abides in us. We die with Christ and He raises us
to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). We live by the faith of the Son of God, who loves us and
gave Himself for us (Ephesians 5:2). We seek His will and He directs our paths (Proverbs
3:5-6). The peace of
God rules in our hearts (Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:7).
Prayer:
Father
God, remind us not to strive in our life, but to submit our will to Yours each
and every day. Help us to accomplish the works, which You prepared for us to do
before we were ever born (Ephesians 2:10). Bring people our way to whom we can share Your love
and give us the boldness to proclaim to them Your truth.
Thought
for the Day:
Yoke up
with Jesus and find rest for your soul. – Matthew 11:29
