As Born Again Believers we are free from the mandates of the law, free from sin, and free from the finality of death. Christ also frees us to live in His rest, to be led by His peace, and to walk in His ways. We live each day to the richest: filled with the fullness of God and reaping the benefits of His presence within us and all around us (Luke 17:21; Colossians 1:27).
Daily, we celebrate our relationship with God. At every negative thought that threatens to overwhelm us, we find His joy when we consider the fact of our intimate union with Him (Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:3-5). We have heaven on earth in no uncertain terms. We reign supreme over every negative experience that comes our way (Romans 5:17).
We do not view our outlook of Heaven as an accumulation of our rewards and treasures that we store up there now (Matthew 6:19-21). Conversely, we look forward to the future of abiding in the physical presence of our Lord for eternity and enjoying everlasting life in our spirit, soul, and infinite, immortal body (1 Corinthians 15:53-55).
People around us are blinded by the schemes of the devil, veiled by the lies of the world, and duped by the desires of our flesh (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). They grope for meaning for their life, success from their efforts, and worth and identity from their accomplishments. These are merely fleeting feelings because they never truly feel that they are good enough.
No one is righteous, we are all inherently sinners, and our best is merely filthy rags when compared to God’s standard for us (Romans 3:9-31; Isaiah 64:6). We pursue selfish dreams and ignore the needs of our family, church family, community, and the dying world all around us.
As we freely cooperate with His plans for us, Jesus can live in and through us. He uses us to express His compassion, understanding, and forgiveness toward others. God gives us His heart, and we experience times when we break into tears over sin, swell with compassion toward one another, and refuse to judge but to love His Body.
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for giving us Your heart and perspective on life, loss, and the needs of other people. This allows us to effortlessly love others as our self (Matthew 22:36-40). Remind us that You want us to operate as intercessors for the needs and suffering in the world around us and abroad. Help us to meet the needs of those You bring our way without enabling them (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Teach us to serve others so that they will see our good works and glorify You with their life (1 Corinthians 9:19). Remind us to love others as we love our self, and not to neglect our needs or to expect others to meet our needs, but to trust You alone to provide for us (Matthew 22:36-40; Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8). Our union with You gives us the grace that sufficiently allows us to enter Your rest and to walk in Your Spirit (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Thoughts for the Day:
God’s rest is amazing and comes as a benefit of Jesus’ redeeming work in us that began on Calvaries cross and is continued by His Spirit doing a perfecting work in us from one stage of maturity to the next. Ceasing from our human efforts allows us to find rest for our soul from the expectations of our self and others, and to appreciate all that God did, does, and will do for us by His mercy, grace and unconditional love for us.
- Isaiah 11:10; Matthew 11:28-29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 4:10; Genesis 2:2-3
