One of the difficult paradoxes in the Bible is found in Hebrews 4, where we read, “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 4:9-11). The rest is referring to accepting the work Jesus did on the cross. All our righteous acts then earn us nothing. Jesus paid it all, and we rest in His work.
But how does “make every effort” fit into rest? The King James Version is even stronger when it uses the word ‘labor‘. It is translated from the Greek word ‘spoudazo’, which means endeavor. We learn from this that entering into the Lord’s rest requires something of us. I can’t just accept Jesus and then do what I please. Standing righteous before God (and inheriting His promises) requires a joint partnership between us and God. His Spirit gives us the strength to live in a godly way, but I also have to make choices along the way, as well.
If you’re going to work at doing the right things in life, work hard at staying in God’s grace (unearned favor).
Abraham Lincoln once said, “No man ever got lost on a straight road.”
I guess that’s true. We used to tell our kids that if they ever got lost in a corn field, they should just start walking down the row and it will eventually lead them out of the field. The straighter the row, the less likely to become confused and disoriented. There’s a life lesson in this. The straighter you set your course, the less likely you’ll become lost.
If you let Jesus be your guide, He will always lead us in the correct direction. Its now been 42 years I’ve walked with Jesus. The first year was a false start and God had to jerk me back in line. For that entire time God has not permitted me to walk too far off center. He set before me a straight path.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
There are two popular levels of bankruptcy. Chapter 11 is when a person or corporation reorganizes their finances so they can then have a better handle on paying their bills. It is a way to buy time. It is temporary.
The other popular form of bankruptcy is called Chapter 7. Chapter 7 is applied when you are so over your head with debt that there is no possible way for you to ever resolve it. It declares your financial picture a lost cause. And it is permanent.
Many people come to God declaring Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. We want help with our lives for this difficult moment, then we try to pick things back up and handle our lives alone, without Him. It never works that way.
We must all come to God declaring Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. We must recognize our thoughts so that all our efforts to manage our lives is hopeless. We surrender all to God, knowing that there is no way we can pick the pieces back up…then we leave it in God’s hands. Grace must be continual, not temporary. Go ahead, declare Chapter 7 and fall on God’s mercy. It will be a new beginning.
I don’t like wasting time at a gas station, so I usually run the tank as empty as I can before filling up. However, I once let it go too low and ran out of gas with visiting missionaries in the back seat. I was so embarrassed. I called up Pastor Stine and he rescued me with his lawn mower gas. I learned a lesson, but I still get all the mileage I can before refills.
Have you ever ran out of spiritual fuel? It can happen. If you give out without refilling you can find yourself without any fuel to run on. Don’t let that happen to you. We refuel spiritually by letting God refill us, not by more ‘doing’. I pray that is exactly what happens to you this coming weekend. Relax and receive. Let God refill your tank.
“Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18b).
“Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men’” (Joshua 6:1-2).
What was Joshua to see? The heavily fortified city of Jericho looked impenetrable. God had given them an impossible undertaking. Yet God wanted Joshua to see that the city was delivered. This is another one of the paradoxes in the Bible. What was he to see?
God wanted Joshua to see the vision of what God could see. God could see the city reduced to rubble and the king and his fighting men destroyed. God could see it in His mind and wanted Joshua to see it in his mind. If Joshua can see it as God sees it, then he can confidently possess it.
Faith lets us see things through God’s eyes. Imagine the impossible with God and it can be yours.
Before God brings judgment, He first examines the hearts of those He will judge. Consider what happened just before Noah’s flood:
“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5).
It is a sad day when God looks deep into the hearts of people and finds only selfishness and worldly wickedness. But notice this next statement: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). Even in the midst of God’s disillusionment with people like us, He still finds favor in His people. Be one of those who receives His favor even in this dark world.
In his book Leading With a Limp, Dan Allender writes, “A manager wants to approach the inevitable chaos with the tried-and-true methods that have worked in the past. In contrast, a leader knows that as difficult as it is to bring about change, not to do so will destroy the community. There can be no freedom from the bondage of the daily rut without the chaos that comes with leading people out of the status quo”. He is here describing the difference between managers and leaders, as it relates to change.
These two differences may not always be accurate, but when it comes to bringing about change, it pretty well is. No one likes change, and everything will grind to a halt without it. Leaders, therefore, have to carefully find the balance between coddling those who resist change and those who can’t grow without it. Change is what repentance is all about, and Paul said that in Christ, all things become new.
In the church we embrace tradition, and outside the church (our target group) tradition is disrespected (except for Easter and Christmas). I can’t wait to see where this changing world is leading us. Let’s move together out of the status quo.