Can I rest today?

We have the promise. It has not been fulfilled yet. We can receive it today even though in the past it has gone unfulfilled. We can obey. We can rest. Today is the day. Now is the time. God is faithful. If we let Him take over, we can rest. Our place of rest comes in our obedience to God and what He wants to have happen today. He has a plan.

May I listen and obey. That is my part.

God made that vow, even though he’d finished his part before the foundation of the world. Somewhere it’s written, “God rested the seventh day, having completed his work,” but in this other text he says, “They’ll never be able to sit down and rest.” So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David’s psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen, don’t turn a deaf ear . . . Hebrews 4:3-7

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The promise of rest if we believe. Don’t exasperate God!

Relax, God is in control. I keep hearing that from our Father. He promised a rest. That is His goal for us. This rest requires that we have faith in Him.

If we believe that nothing is impossible for God, that he loves us and has a great plan for us, we can be “at rest”. His peace isn’t easily understood but it is real. His rest is like no other.

There is only one requirement. We must believe.

For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God’s goal for us, we need to be careful that we’re not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn’t do them a bit of good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we’ll experience that state of resting. But not if we don’t have faith. Remember that God said, Exasperated, I vowed, “They’ll never get where they’re going, never be able to sit down and rest.” Hebrews 4:1-3

“Never promise more than you can perform.” ~Publilius Syrus, 1st century B.C.

The promise

Our Father’s promise is not just for me. It is for my relatives and anyone who God invites to the table. The new agreement is that He has made me accepted in His sight. And, anyone I touch, through His power, has access to the promise too. Starting with my family and to anyone else He invites.

His word is true. He is faithful to His promise. He invites me move in closer. Lean in and hear His promise. The promise starts close to me. Then to those I care most about. I need the courage to believe. I need the love to persist. He is mighty and He will deliver on His promise.

Woo Hoo!!! He is so amazing.

Rock solid guarantee

There is the saying “As good as his word”. All God has to do to guarantee His promise to us to give us His word. When He says it, we can count on it. No ifs, ands or buts. It is done.

I can take it to the bank. He won’t break His promise to me. He is faithful so I can be faithful.

When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. Hebrews 6:18

 

Am I confident enough to endure to get God's promise?

Many of our struggles about faith have to do with timing. We believe, at least in theory that God will keep His promises – but when?

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. Hebrews 10:35-36

Count on it

Someone has to be put in charge of capturing what God is saying. He is revealing so much to us. It needs care because His words stand out (are Holy). “Religion” and religious people create some interesting challenges. “Religious” people can abandon the mission they have been given. If we have put our faith in them and not in Him, who can we trust? Well, God always keeps His word. That is that and that is all there is to that.

He can’t be rejected because He is always faithful. If He has said it, we can count on it.

First, there’s the matter of being put in charge of writing down and caring for God’s revelation, these Holy words of His. So, what if, in the course of doing that, some religious people have abandoned their post? God didn’t abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. His word says the same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn’t faze you. Romans 3:2-6

A promise to Jesus

Here is a great approach to starting the day. Make Jesus a promise!!

“Make the Lord Jesus a promise that you will spend more time with Him and live each day in the fullness of His Spirit”

–Jack Graham, Pastor, Prestonwood Church