Entering Into God's Rest

I came to Christ in college and I felt compelled to be busy for the Lord. I served through the Baptist Student Union in revivals and community outreaches, witnessed on my college campus and served in my local church through the College and Career group.

After my marriage, my foremost ministry was to my husband and children. I was described by church members as a casually spotless homemaker, and I provided them with healthy, home cooked meals from scratch. When my children reached kindergarten age, I volunteered in local schools as a teacher's helper.

In the churches my husband pastored, I helped to lead worship with my guitar, I mentored younger women one-on-one, and I volunteered in the community at the weekly soup kitchen and seasonal food drives.

Since I had extra time once my children went to school, I volunteered in the church office, conducted women's ministry meetings, taught children's Sunday school and eventually directed the children's Sunday school.

I taught crochet classes at a local yarn shop and led my boss to faith in Christ. I did inreach to members and outreach to visitors in the church setting and helped in my husband's ministry as much as he would allow.

Then, we moved into a travel trailer and our little family accompanied my husband around the eastern USA as he went from church to church as he felt led. My children did puppet shows; and I led singing with my guitar for the children's ministries, sang specials in the church meetings and shared encouraging word pictures as the Lord gave them to me.

I home schooled my children and continued to cook from scratch in our little trailer home. When we settled in a permanent location again, God provided a job for me at a local alternative school to teach social studies and math.

I also volunteered to teach art classes, since that was not supported by the school budget. I had a few student to our home for supper every week so they could experience the love of a Christian family. A time or two, we even housed a student who was homeless or from a violent home. I continued this frenzy of service well into my 40s.

Am I telling you all of this to brag? No, but to confess my faults.

I did much of this in the flesh and was not led by the Spirit of God in many of my activities. I am sure I was walking in God's will at various moments of all of this effort; but I was often out of His will too.

I certainly was not ministering from the place of God's rest, but from my own human effort and understanding. I did not consult God in order to allow Him to direct my paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). I just ran around doing good.

It was only in my late 40s that I really realized the importance of functioning from God's rest (Lamentations 3:25-26). In my 50s, God taught me that prayer is as vital as service; and in my 60s, I started to write more, which is where God was anointing my time.

I learned to say "No" when asked to serve in a ministry where God was not calling me. As a codependent perfectionist, this was painful to do; but as I reaped the blessings of God's continual presence in all that I did do, it did not take me long to learn that to obey is much better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).

Prayer:

Father God, I am so glad that people are learning this lesson at a younger age now than ever before (Psalm 40:6). We are coveting Your presence and anointing in our life rather than sacrifice and service to which You are not calling us (Hebrews 10:6). You would much rather that we spend our time loving You with all of our heart, strength and understanding, and our neighbor as our self before we get caught up in the business of life and church work (Mark 12:33; Psalm 51:16).

You want us to listen to Your Spirit and to function in Your will for our life (Ephesians 2:10; Ecclesiastes 5:1; Proverbs 21:3), because our perfect sacrifice to You is humility, mercy and obedience as we consult You for Your will for our life rather than for us to sacrifice in areas where You are not calling us. - Hosea 6:6; Jeremiah 7:23; Isaiah 1:11; Psalm 51:17

Thought for the Day:

God created us as a Body and if we all function in the ministries to which He calls us, the church will be perfectly fitted for service to Him, to one another and to our community. - Ecclesiastes 5:1

Comfort for the Oppressed

 

God cares about the abused and the oppressed. He loves the mistreated, but He abhors our affliction. He gathers our tears in His bottle and records them in His journal (Psalm 56:8). He promises not to hide His face from us when we cry out to Him, and He champions our cause (Psalm 22:24, 140:12). He redeems the soul of the afflicted from deceit and violence, and our blood is precious in His sight (Psalm 72:14).

The Lord hates those who love violence and promises to punish them (Psalm 11:5; Zephaniah 1:9). He is wearied by the violence in homes and those who make excuses for divorcing their mate, whom they should be protecting (Malachi 2:16). God promises to lift up the distressed above those who try to hurt them and to deliver them from violent people (Psalm 18:48; Psalm 27:5-6). 

Even verbal abuse is dealt with when God inspires Solomon to write, “violence covers the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:6,11). Jesus equates anger without a cause as murder, and He speaks out against verbal abuse (Matthew 5:21-22). He makes things right and provides the afflicted with a refuge from oppression and trouble (Psalm 9:9; 103:6). He brings down the haughty evil person and saves the afflicted (2 Samuel 22:28).

God gives us hope and a secure future (Jeremiah 29:11). Our weeping may endure for the night, but God gives us joy in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Because we know the name of the Lord, we put our trust in Him. He will never forsake those who seek Him. We end up singing praises to His name for what He does for us and we tell everyone who will listen about what God did for us (Psalm 9:9-11).

Prayer:

Father God, even if we walk through the shadow of death, we have nothing to fear. You are with us and You give us support and protection, as well as correction if we are causing our own misfortune (Psalm 23:4). Even though the righteous may suffer many afflictions, You deliver us out of them all (Psalm 34:19). You order our steps, and even if we fall, we are never completely cast down, because You hold us up with Your hand (Ps 37:23-24). Remind us to bear one another burdens (Galatians 6:2) and to encourage each other in our times of distress (Hebrews 12:12).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus is our rock, fortress and deliverer in whom we can take refuge. He is our shield and the horn of our salvation, our stronghold. - Psalm 18:2

The Benefits of Believing

Anger previously peppered our life, and rose from the disappointments we experience from conception, and which intensified throughout the years. Some have a more violent past than others, but we all suffered from deprivation, violence, permissiveness and/or wickedness in one form or another. Salvation eliminates much of our anger. Christ frees us and heals the pain of our past and gives us courage to face the future.

The second asset we receive with salvation is the blanket of peace, which defies human explanation and envelops every fiber of our being (Philippians 4:7). We suddenly realize that we are not alone (Hebrews 13:5). We have no need to struggle through life any longer. Rather than seeing life as full of hopelessness, we see that all things are now possible, because Christ lives in us (Luke 18:27). In our exhaustion, we yoke up with Jesus and find fulfilling rest (Matthew 11:28:390; Hebrews 4:10).

Jealousy and envy no longer rot our bones (Proverbs 14:40), because we realize that God does not love another person better than He loves me. He loves us all enough to go to Calvary’s cross and bear the penalty of our shameful sins. Problems only arise when we compare our life to someone else’s and focus on what we do not have, rather than to live in gratitude for what we do have. God works all things, even bad things, out for the ultimate good (Romans 8:28; John 3:16, 3:34).

We are filled with God’s Spirit (Romans 8:9). We are able to accomplish the works God created for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), because we can do anything now that Christ abides within us (Philippians 4:13, 19). When we feel defeated, His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9; Psalm 91:15). God works in and through us as we walk in His Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25). We are still powerless alone, but Christ in us is infinitely able. We are now more than conquerors and nothing separates us from His love (2 Corinthians 9:8; Romans 8:37-39).

Prayer:

Father God, You are our Everything (Psalms 23 & 91). There is not a hair on our head that grows in or falls out, which You do not see (Matthew 10:30). You give us wisdom to face the challenges of life (1 Corinthians 1:30), and You walk within us every step of the way (Hebrews 13:5). Each day, we acknowledge You and You direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). When life worries or frustrates us, we can cast every care on Your shoulders, because You care for us infinitely more than we even care about our self (1 Peter 5:7).

Thought for the Day:

When I feel like I can no longer face the challenges of life, I realize that the King of Kings forgives me and provides me with love, power and a calm mind, which allows me to obey His will. - 1 John 1:9, Romans 8:1-2, 2 Timothy 1:7

Comfort for the Abused and Oppressed

 

God cares about the abused and the oppressed. He does not look down upon the mistreated, but He abhors their affliction. He gathers their tears in His bottle and records them in His journal (Psalm 56:8). He promises not to hide His face from them when they cry out to Him, and He champions their cause (Psalm 22:24, 140:12). He redeems the soul of the afflicted from deceit and violence. Their blood is precious in His sight (Psalm 72:14). God promises to lift up the distressed above those who try to hurt them and to deliver them from violent people (Psalm 18:48).

The Lord hates those who love violence and promises to punish them (Psalm 11:5; Zephaniah 1:9). He is wearied by the violence in homes and those who make excuses for divorcing their mate, whom they should be protecting (Malachi 2:16). God even despises verbal abuse, and proved it when He inspired Solomon to write, “violence covers the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:6,11). Jesus equates anger without a cause to murder, and He also speaks out against verbal abuse (Matthew 5:21-22).

There is comfort in belonging to Christ, comfort in His love and fellowship with His Spirit. His comfort makes us tenderhearted, compassionate, single-minded and in one accord with other Believers (Philippians 2:1-2). God gives them hope and a secure future (Jeremiah 29:11). God tells the church to bear one another burdens and to comfort each other (Galatians 6:2). God makes things right and provides the afflicted with a refuge from oppression and trouble (Psalm 9:9; 103:6). He brings down the haughty, evil person and saves the afflicted from their troubles (2 Samuel 22:28).

Prayer:

Father God, You comfort the downcast in our affliction (2 Corinthians 1:4, 7:6). You call each of us to encourage one another and to bear one another’s burdens (2 Corinthians 7:7).  By doing this, we actually fulfill Your law (Galatians 6:2). You call the strong to overlook the failings of the weak, and not to hold it against them (Romans 15:1). We love our neighbor with the same intensity that we love our self (Galatians 5:14).

Thought for the Day:

We encourage each other in our times of distress. - Hebrews 12:12

Does God Hate?

 

It is amazing to see that God feels the same emotions that He gave to human beings. He experiences all of them from joy to love, and even hate. God is very concerned about His people walking in the ungodly ways of the world. He hates the sin of the world, because it is unrighteous and it ruins our health spiritual, physical and in our mind, will and emotions (Leviticus 20:23). He knows that worshipping any other God will ultimately disappoint us; therefore He abhors it when we put any person, place, activity or thing ahead of Him in our heart (Leviticus 26:30).

When anyone provokes God’s children to sin, God hates them (Deuteronomy 32:19). He says it is better for a millstone to be around their neck (Luke 17:2). God abhors the wicked that boast of their sin and encourage the covetous, as well as the wicked that love violence and all workers of iniquity. He considers them fools. They will not be able to stand in His sight (Psalm 10:3, 11:5, 5:5). He especially hates those who deceive or murder the innocent (Psalm 5:6).

Israel vexed the Lord so often that it was only His promise to Abraham that kept Him from destroying the whole nation more than once (Psalm 78:59). They ignited His anger over and over; so much so that He acually abhorred His own inheritance (Pslam 106:40). He took away His tabernacle, destroyed the places of the assembly and caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Israel, because He despised their kings and priests (Lamentations 2:6). God drove Israel out of His house due to their wickedness, and He hated their princes (Hosea 9:15).

God has even been known to hate individual people. It seems unreasonable for Him to do that; but He knows the end from the beginning, and He knows the hearts of mankind (Isaiah 46:10; Jeremiah 17:10). Esau was one of those God hated (Romans 9:13). Esau’s god was his belly. He sold his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew (Genesis 25:29-34). So God destroyed Esau’s heritage (Malachi 1:3).

God also destroys those who plot against His Saints. He puts them to shame because He despises them (Psalm 53:5). He warns against prostitues, because He abohors those who fall under their spell (Proverbs 22:14). There are seven things, which God really despises: the proud, liars, murders of innocent people, a heart that plans wicked scemes, mischief makers, a false witness and those who sow discord in His Body (Proverbs 6:16-19). That just about covers the spectrum of sin.

Prayer:

Father God, You despise anything and anyone that will harm Your beloved Saints. You are jealous over us and You want to keep us and protect us from all harm (Exodus 20:5). Sin is the most harmful habit anyone can embrace. Therefore, You abhor whatever will lead us into temptation. We thank You for sending Your only begotten Son to pay the penalty of our sin, and to set us free from Satan’s clutches, the flesh and the world (Romans 5:6-10).

Thought for the Day:

God forgives every sinner who repents. – John 3:16

 

 

Unreserved Forgiveness

Read: Hebrews 12:14-15  

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you." - Ephesians 4:32

When someone hurts me, I want to strike back. I often struggle to forgive the offense, until I remember that forgiving does not have to include forgetting. The memory of the painful affront may linger in my heart, but I can still make a conscious decision to absolve the offender, just as God readily forgives my sins against Him. Whether the assault is a major event such as rape or physical violence, or if it consists of less abusive, habitual impositions such as lies and betrayal, we can still forgive.

Even though we should erect boundaries to keep ourselves safe from continued abusers, forgiveness means to pray for those who hurt us and to show them kindness (Matthew 5:44). We can only do this through God's love for them, which dwells in us. It is only by sincerely wishing them the best, that our healing is complete.

Prayer:

Lord, make me a vessel of Your peace; when I am reviled, help me to bless; when I am wounded, help me to forgive the offender.

Thought for the Day:

Bitterness is a boomerang that harms no one but me.