From - Purpose Driven Life - Daily Divotional

Do Your Best to Rest
by Jon Walker

"…There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest …." (Hebrews 4:8b-11 NIV)

Most of us think of the Sabbath as a day of rest, originating from the day of rest God took after he created the universe, as recorded in Genesis. And that view is correct; that is the basis for us taking a Sabbath, a day of rest, within our own week.

Yet there is a larger sense of God's Sabbath: an invitation to rest in God's healing grace, trusting in his power and his purpose for your life. We rest in our Father's arms, knowing he goes before and he goes behind, knowing that his plans for us are good and not evil (Jeremiah 29:11).

We enter this "let go and let God" rest through faith, where we cease to work and live independent of God ("… anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work …"). Instead, we're to focus our efforts toward entering this Sabbath-trust in God, a restful certainty that God's got a handle on it all, and that he's got our best interests in mind.

If I recall correctly, Ian Thomas illustrates this point by telling the story of a man walking down a dusty rural road on a hot, humid day. The man is loaded down with a heavy backpack and carries a duffle bag in each hand. A pick-up truck comes along, and the driver offers the walking man a ride, telling him to hop in the back.

The driver heads down the road, but when he looks in the rear-view mirror he sees that his new passenger is standing in the bed of the truck – still holding both duffle bags, still wearing the over-packed backpack on his back.

The thing is: We stand in the truck of faith, still carrying our burdens, thinking they are independent of the ride we're taking. Perhaps we think God can carry us, but not our burdens, that we have to keep bearing them ourselves.

What now?

· Rest in God – Rest in God's power and grace, and work toward confidence (faith) that he is looking out for your best interests. "I believe; Lord, help my unbelief."

· Rest requires dependence – If you're working independently of God, then you're not at rest in God. Possible signs that you're working independently: worry, a need to control, a crammed-full schedule.

· Our Father's heart encourages rest – Next time you feel overwhelmed by life, settle in a chair and "be still and know that he is God." Give him your burdens – your backpack and your duffels.

· Faith leads to rest – Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:28-29 NIV)

© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.

 

Love Louisa...(22Oct07)

Hi everyone, hope you had a great week and feel filled with renewed optimism and strength for the week ahead.

Sitting in church last week I suddenly realized that my soul has been restored. This has been a very hard year for me. Slowly over a period of time my hope and faith in God, Christianity and man had been eroded. I had to be honest with myself and cry brokenly to God, listen to what the Spirit is saying and make some difficult decisions. But God is so very faithful. I could have remained dishonest with myself and others and remained with my head buried in the sand…..but I didn't. And all I did was so worth it. Not that I did much, mostly in despair, handing over to God, letting Him do the restoring as He saw fit.

And suddenly I realized the restoring of my soul has been done. I am learning for myself, once again, what a great God I belong too!

God promised me through the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 9:4, a deliverance as surprising and sudden as Gideon's old victory over Midian. Read up about it in Judges 6-7. An amazing deliverance, all God's doing! And it's mine and it can be yours too.

Part of the restoration process was a realization that I am righteous not because of what I do or who I am, but who I am in Christ! Genesis 15:6 Abram believed God! God declared him "Set-right-with-God." Do you believe the message of God's grace? If you do then you are set right with God-righteous! Romans 14:17 The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness, peace and joy. To have the peace that passes all understanding and the joy of the Lord be your strength, you need to be sure of your righteousness. A righteousness not of your doing but because of who you are in God. PRAISE GOD

Enjoy your walk with God

Love Louisa

This weeks question

 

Why are we not seeing signs and wonders, as frequently, as written about in the Acts church?

Testimony from my father-in-law

 

Hi everyone, an update on my medicals.   Last week, after seeing my blood tests, my endocrinologist sent me for ultrasound and scans. These showed an abnormality in the pituitary. When read in conjunction with the blood tests and Thyroid hormones it was conclusive proof of a tumour. He sent me for an MRI on the pituitary gland, in his opinion, to decide on the best course of action for it's removal. The MRI was to give him the precise location and size of the growth.   That's where all of you that have  said prayers for me over the last few trying days come into it.   I went in to see him today, he showed me where he had made my booking for cranial surgery next week Thursday, but had one huge problem... the MRI showed NO abnormality anywhere in the brain. The new blood tests I underwent on Friday of last week, were NORMAL. Not just normal range, near perfect within all parameters. Certainly not reflecting a patient that had Thyroid cancer 8 months ago !!!! He also said that he was at a loss to explain this, it was mystifying. I explained to him that there was nothing mystifying about it, it's a thing called faith. GOD IS GREAT !! Thank you all so much, I can feel the love. Love always. I know now exactly that 'The will of GOD will never take me anywhere that the grace of GOD will not protect me'. Alleluia. Mike Toweel

This weeks question

Do you believe New Covenant believers have a sinful nature?

 

Before you answer please download and read http://www.purestain.net/Temp_Storage/ryanrufusbook_001.pdf

Love Louisa...(11 Oct07)

Hope you're well and full of the joy of the Lord!

I spent the last few days in Cape Town, visiting my two girls studying at the university there. What a wonderful place. So beautiful it's almost unbelievable! Our visit coincided with the end of the spring flower season there. Because the Cape has winter rainfall and large tracts of land are left undisturbed this spectacular show of wild flowers everywhere has to be seen to be believed! It was the first time I was privileged to experience this wonderful example of God's generosity and made me think of the scripture, There is far to more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description,careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds. "Has anyone fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten an inch taller? All the time and money wasted on fashion-do you think that makes much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen colour and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers-most of which are never even seen-don't you think He will attend to you, take pride in you and do His best for you? Matthew 6:25-30

I read somewhere that the love of God is like the Amazon River flowing down to water one daisy! More and more I'm realizing how true this is.....

On Sunday we visited the church my girl's love Jubilee Church in Observatory. What an experience-grace in action! I don't think the people attending the service fully comprehend how blessed they are to belong to such an amazing church. While listening to the sermon I remembered that earlier this year I felt God say to me that this would be my year of Jubilee. This I understood to mean release and freedom. That outstanding debts would be paid, what the locusts had eaten would be restored and there would be general rejoicing and celebrating God's abundance, in what ever shape or form. Also a sense of open heavens and closeness and experiencing the favour of God. But at the back of my mind I was thinking, "How long will this last?" "Is this a year from when I got the revelation or does it suddenly end on 31st December?" Silly really this thinking. I suddenly realised that I'm living in a continual year of Jubilee, it's never going to end! This is God's grace....
And it's for everyone, who accepts and believes it......

Love Louisa

Prayer

 

Please take a listen to this wonderful disussion on prayer from our "Growing in Grace" brothers.

 

http://www.graceroots.org/gigmp3/GIG-2007-10-07.mp3

 

 

Good Advice

I have been listening to the following teachings on the Holy Spirit by Rob Rufus.

I really feel it would be beneficial to listen to these.

 

http://www.citychurchinternational.net/mp3_2/2007_09_09.zip

 

http://www.citychurchinternational.net/mp3_2/2007_09_16.zip

 

http://www.citychurchinternational.net/mp3_2/2007_09_23.zip

 

http://www.citychurchinternational.net/mp3_2/2007_10_07.zip

This weeks question

 

^{Hebrews 10v1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.}

 

^{What does that mean.?}

^{Have a good week.}

Don't neglect the gathering of the saints

4,500 of God's people together

Praising the High King of Heaven









Wonderful Worship time









Shan and Gregg

Quote from Rob Rufus

Under the New Covenant, the debt is cleared. Past, present and future. We know it. We believe it. Therefore we have a perfectly clear conscience even though we are not perfect. Amen

It is legalistic, self righteous, bigoted arrogance to say I have a clear conscience because of what I do. You have replaced yourself with Jesus and said your obedience is superior to the sacrifice of Jesus and His obedience on your behalf.