Love and Rest

Father God, we thank you for You. Thank you for being our source of love, peace, hope, strength, comfort, refuge and healer In the name of Jesus. May You open up the eyes of our understanding as we read and share the Word today. We also ask that You Father grant us the ability to be able to apply rest in every area of our lives today and forever In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Today's lead Scripture is from Hebrews 4:1-2 NKJV

"1. Therefore since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

2. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it."

In my previous post, I shared on the Father's love and grace for mankind that we can only truly receive and enjoy through a relationship with Jesus Christ. We also saw that there's a correlation between God's love and rest. The preceding verses (Hebrews 3:16-19) to the above lead Scripture refer to the children of Israel who were unable to enter God's rest because of unbelief. They did not believe that God would take care of them. Unlike faith that is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), belief on the other hand is not expressly defined in Scripture. However, may I submit to you that belief is what you see on the inside of you which then makes faith the actions that you take becasue of what you have believed. Inevitably, when you believe right, you will have the corresponding right actions which actions symbolizes your faith. Lets take an example from the book of Exodus. Before God sent Moses to rescue the children of Israel from slavery, he was provided with specific instructions. Exodus 4:21 tells us, "And the LORD said to Moses, when you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand." Moses had to perceive the LORD's instructions before he could go out to Pharaoh. Hence, because he believed God, Moses was then able to act on God's Word by faith which was to lead God's people out of their bondage in Egypt.

Friend, I don't know if you realize that God, the Father cares so much about you especially what happens on the inside of you as much as He cares about your 8 hours of sleep, good diet and exercising which are good practices for your physical well-being. Luke 17:21 tells us that the kingdom of God is within you. I reiterate, if you are a born again believer, the kingdom of God is within you. Matthew 11:12 says, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force."

This Scripture is not asking that we physically fight anyone as may sometimes be portrayed for we do not wage war against physical enemies. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 reminds us "For though walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

So when fear creeps on the inside, may you use your faith to boldly apply the truth in God's Word. For you have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). When you are tempted to feel lonely by the enemy and that nobody really cares about you, may you be reminded that the LORD God who watches over you never sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4) and He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8). When you are feeling guilty or condemned may you remember that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) and nothing will separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39). When you use the truth found in God's Word to pull down negative emotions and any other thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of God, you are on track for right believing and you getting violent against anything that is contrary to God's love, rest, peace, health, prosperity, joy, strength, hope, and every other promise that God has for you in His Word.

When you are on track for right believing, you will be on track for right actions which will be a symbol of your faith. The combination of right believing, faith and obedience to God's Word, will position you to your place of rest that God has promised to all His sons and daughters. God is faithful.

Prayer: Father, we thank you for this Word. We come in agreement and pull down every stronghold of trauma that exalts itself above the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus. We ask that You continually guard our hearts from unbelief, every lie and deception of the enemy in the name of Jesus for out of the heart flow the issues of life. May You uproot every lie of the enemy that is not consistent with our identity in Christ in the name of Jesus. Father, we ask that You reveal to us areas in our lives where we are not well positioned to receive Your precious promises that are yes and amen, Your love and rest for us in Christ Jesus. When you reveal these areas to us Holy Spirit, may You also empower us with the grace and the wisdom required so we are able to profit from the Word that we hear and read. May our hearts always be continually open to receive Your love in Christ and may we be hearers and doers of Your Word In the name of Jesus, Amen. Thank you Father.

I'll end with this Word in 1 John 3:20-22 NKJV

"20.For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

21.Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

22.And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight."

AMEN. Thank you LORD.

Invitation to salvation: If you would like to know about God, the Father who from the beginning of creation has always loved you and desires to commune with you through a personal relationship with His only Son Christ by dwelling on the inside of you and to be included in all the blessings of Christ Jesus such as eternal life, rest, joy, peace, love, guidance, victory and more - I invite you to make this confession:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.

Congratulations, by grace you are saved and are now a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old life has passed away and you have received the free gift of salvation into your life (2 Corinthians 5:17) where you get to freely access everything I've shared in this post. To the glory of the Almighty God. Amen.

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