Rest in the Lord

We are driven in today's society to have, to achieve, to acquire and to work toward prizes, which turn out to be nothing more than an empty box or trivial pursuits that never satisfy us.

Yet, for some reason, we continue to seek after that illusive prize that will make us truly happy and fulfilled. We look for the mate that will complete us, and the vocation, house and car which will give us status.

We buy a bigger television, more electronic toys, more lights to hang for Christmas than our neighbor did last year; and yet, they leave us flat-lining and they put our soul in the "hospital".

Our soul continually cries out for rest, peace and lasting joy and fulfillment. We do not really want to respond to the drive to earn more in order to buy more; but we cannot seem to help our self.

Like the Israelites, our disobedience and prideful, rebellious heart prevent us from entering God's rest (Hebrews 3:11). We live our whole life and fall short of entering His rest (Hebrews 4:1).

God gives us a clue during His days of creation by resting on the seventh day after six full nights and days of speaking the cosmos into existence. He calls us to join Him in that rest, so that He can restore our soul (Psalm 23:2-3).

If we respond, we will enjoy true riches for the rest of our life, because we will prosper even as our soul prospers (3 John 1:2). As we believe God, we receive all that He provides for us, and we have the faith to enter into His promised rest.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to cease from striving to enter your rest through the power of our flesh in a futile exercise to attain holiness (Romans 7-8; Galatians 3:1-3). Remind us to enter Your rest and to allow Your Spirit to work in us to attain that Godly life You offer (Romans 8:10-17).

Through Your Word, we clearly see that as we abide in You, and allow Your Spirit  to do His transforming work in our nature and character, we will see Your fruitfulness in our life (John 15:1-14; Galatians 5:22-23). Give us the faith of Your dear Son, Jesus, to enter into Your rest now and forever (Hebrews 4:2; Genesis 2:2)

Thought for the Day:

Once we finally recognize our insufficiency to accomplish the works in our own strength, which God pre-ordained for us to do, we surrender our life in whole-hearted obedience to Christ and enter into His rest. 

- Ephesians 2:10: Hebrews 4:1-10

Serving in the Body of Christ

The Body of Christ is too busy for its own good. We neglect our Lord and one another, because we make our own pursuits more important than God’s will for our life (1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 2:10).

The government took over so many of our ministries, because the needs went unmet. Take, for instance, the care of our elderly. They go unvisited and feel unwanted, because we do not make them a priority in our churches.

Elderly Saints, who ministered for the Lord all of their life, need and deserve our attention. Rides to doctor appointments, visits, taking someone out to lunch, cards, phone calls and praying for one another are just a few ways that we can minister to our elderly.

Parents are so busy today that children's workers in the Body of Christ can fill in the gaps and encourage our children to grow up in service to God. Many adults give their children and youth leaders credit for their dedication to God. We influence eternity by our service to children now.

However, caring for the children attending our churches is another neglected ministry. We already raised our children, or we are in the process of raising them, and we want nothing to do with children's ministries in the Body of Christ.

Single parents need the most help. We can babysit to give these parents a chance to allow their Inner Child to play. Gifting these hardworking parents with a certificate to go out to eat or to buy whatever they need at a retail store is also helpful on their tight budget.

Many churches end up hiring people in order to have someone committed to the children, since very few people will commit to this ministry. Our children need Godly authority, responsibility, approval and nurturing in the same way which God relates to us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).

If we all band together, the care required in these vital ministries will not be a burden on any one person, but will be a blessing for everyone involved (Romans 15:7).

We can make time for God and His Body as a priority in our schedule. Before we do anything, we consult the Lord and live each moment in His perfect will for us (Ephesians 2:10). While living by the Spirit, we will all function as a valuable member of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to love Your Body as You love us. Allow us to be Your ambassadors to Your Body. Unconditional love and acceptance gives Your Body the assurance we all crave as human beings, regardless of our age or social/economic status. Remind us to give one another grace in our failings and to encourage one another in our successes.

Give us listening ears and the ability to recognize body language in order to be present with one another, rather than taking each other for granted. Help us to make one another feel safe to share our issues with each other, so we can bear each others burdens as You expect us to do (Galatians 6:2).

Thought for the Day:

If Satan can keep us in bondage to our failures, he cripples us in our service to God and His Body; as we learn to nurture and forgive our self, we will have an increased ability to accept, nurture, affirm and forgive one another. 

- Mark 12:30-31

Overcoming Life's Hurdles

Mental, emotional and physical pain and stress, loss and grief, and wounded individuals put us at risk for reaping negative results in life. In addition, unresolved childhood trauma increases the effects of our current distress. ( www.theophostic.com )

With repeated trauma, we can even develop various degrees of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and we view the world as a painful, alarming, treacherous place.

Separation through death, divorce, rejection, abandonment, etc. will affect our future relationships. We lose our sense of safety and security and may even live in continual fear and insecurity.

Our breathing is shallow, which affect our lungs, diaphragm and heart. Stomach, heart, lung and nerve issues cause us problems. Our mind can even affect us with physical symptoms, which have no physical source.

On guard in every situation, we are in a constant state of "fight or flight". This makes us combative and easily angered when we feel vulnerable and helpless.

A lack of trust causes us to build thick walls around our soul. Then we feel lonely, disheartened, hopeless and overwhelmed. We may even blame our self for what happens to us.

Attempting to prepare our self for the unexpected, we delve into worse case scenarios to prepare our self for any contingency; yet, we only provide our self with a false sense of power and protection from future trauma.

When events in our life are going well, we tend to rely less on God and more on our self. We have the idea that we deserve God's love and blessings, because we are so good.

However, with this attitude, we will never feel totally secure in life. We will live in constant anxiety, because we fear that if we fail in some area, we will lose His love and be lost for eternity.

The opposite is actually true. God loved us while we were still sinners, is our everlasting Savior and continues to love us unconditionally (Romans 5:8; 1 John 1:9). He is the same yesterday, today and for eternity (Hebrews 13:8).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for allowing us to fail and to learn from our mistakes, to suffer trails for Your glory so that people can see our love for and trust in You regardless of our earthly status. Teach us to rely totally on You and not to pursue the world or the flesh.

Remind us to stop depending on our self and to begin to depend solely on You for every step we take (Proverbs 3:5-6). Help us to do only the works, which You ordained for us to achieve, rather than asking You to bless our works (Ephesians 2:10).

Thought for the Day:

When we rely on God's Holy Spirit for direction and strength, we listen to God's Spirit, step out in faith, and find all the resources we need to accomplish all that God ordained us to do.

- Philippians 2:12-13, 4:13; Matthew 7:7-8