Saturday, March 9, 2024
REST IS COMING!
Heb
4:9-10
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the
people of God.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased
from his own works, as God did from his.
When God delivered the Jews from Egypt, He delivered them as slaves. One of the gifts
they received was a required rest.
Ex
31:13
13 Speak thou also unto the children of
That God should force rest
upon slaves is a curious thing. They had been conditioned by years of harshness
to think of it as normal. They had been trained by the whip that idleness was a
bad thing. Today’s frenzied pace is whipping us into the same mind-set.
Gradually
the machinery of life spun faster and “overtime” was invented with its lure of
wealth. Finally, one man could not perform all the labor thought to be needed
so mother went to work as well. Housework and parenting went begging. Rest
ceased! Worship was postponed to another day that never came. We had once
again become slaves.
The spirit needs rest!
Mark
6:31
31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a
desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they
had no leisure so much as to eat.
If you carefully read the verses that precede this one it is clear that one need was drowned out by the cries of another,
and one task hardly was finished before life’s assembly line presented another.
Ministry, for Jesus and His followers, had become the dance of the weary.
Jesus put a stop to it. A short Sabbath was needed.
But it is not
just the cessation of labor that Jesus recommends. It is the focus of prayer
and the presence of God that the spirit needs. Communion with the Creator
revitalizes the soul as no amount of entertainment or amusement can ever
provide!
What master whips you
so that Sunday worship is neglected? Who or what has conditioned you to forego
what Jesus described to Martha as “the good part?”
Luke
10:41-11:1
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou
art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that
good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
There remains a rest
for the people of God. Heaven is that eternal Sabbath where there shall not
enter in anything that troubles us.
2
Thess 1:7
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
Dear Lord, I acknowledge my soul’s need for rest. I sense a
great hunger for prayer and meditation, but the demands of a busy life have me
enslaved. Liberate me and help me to find a place in the house of worship this
week. AMEN
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