“‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ (Psalm 95:11; Hebrews 3:10-11).”

Wintertime is here in full force. Over the week, New York has seen over two feet of snow. As I sit tucked away in the quiet shelter of our home, I find myself staring out the window and trying to find the positive in it all.  The phrase that repeatedly comes to mind is “God’s winter rest.”

The idea of some never finding rest is repeated several times in Hebrews, and it got me to thinking… what does it mean to rest? And, what can we learn from it in relation to Christ crucified?

In context, the scripture quoted above seems to imply that God set aside our disbelieving ancestors and ultimately shut them out.

Do you remember the story of the Israelites?

Do you recall how many times God’s chosen grumbled and disobeyed even after all the miracles they witnessed?

How much are we like them with our disobedience and hardened hearts?

God commands us to rest!
God’s winter rest.

He made it possible for us to enter His rest through Jesus’ perfect work on the cross, but we need to do our part and accept His free gift.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son (John 3:16-18).”

“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it (Hebrews 4:1).”

“…everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13).”

Repent.
Believe.
Rest.

There is nothing we can do to earn a right standing with God. If that were the case, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come and take our place on the cross. This recent tweet from Casting Crowns says it best:

Our pride can make us feel that we need to earn God’s forgiveness. It requires humility to admit that we have nothing to offer God.

— Casting Crowns (@castingcrowns) February 10, 2015

Lord, I pray that you hide my words and speak your Truth through me. I trust that I don’t need to be a great theological teacher, or expert in everything scripture for you to reach those who are lost. Soften hearts and open eyes like only you can do. Let those who are seeking find rest in you today. In Jesus name, Amen!

“Now we who have believed enter that rest… (Hebrews 4:3)”

 

*original photo credit: Rhonda Rossi
(photo edited & shared with permission)

This is may be a difficult post for some to read, but the Lord has placed the subject on my heart. I will be ministering to myself as I write, and possibly also to some of you.

Most of us have probably heard the term “skeletons in the closet.” The phrase came to mind as I was watching a Criminal Minds episode with my teenage daughter.  The Season 9 Finale included a quote by Émile Zola that really did a number on my heart.  It speaks of the law of sowing and reaping:

“If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.”

Sowing and reaping is a law of the natural world. Galatians 6:7  says,

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

Unfortunately, when I hear this phrase and verse my sinful heart is quick to think of the skeletons in someone else’s closet.  Sins committed against me.  But, when we choose to focus on the sins of others and not to deal with our own sin, that sinful root can grow within us and cause us to run far from the things of God.

“How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye (Matthew 7:4)?”

As followers of Christ, our heart’s desire should be to bring truth into the light.

“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible–and everything that is illuminated becomes a light (Ephesians 5:13).”

“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves (1 Peter 2:16).”

Bringing truth to light involves confessing our sins to God and confessing our sins to others.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).”

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16).”

When a brother or sister in Christ stumbles and falls, it also involves restoring that individual by speaking truth in love.

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would [an unbeliever] (Matthew 18:15-17),

“…speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15).”

Truth brings freedom. Scripture tells us in John 14:6 that Jesus is Truth.

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

As sinful human beings, it’s important to remember that we’re all doing life on an even playing field. Not one of us is without sin (Romans 3:23); however, In Christ, we have been set free from the bondage of sin. Confessing our sins to God and to our brothers & sisters in Christ helps to hold us accountable and build community.

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life (Romans 6:22).”

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).”

The Lord may be teaching you the hard way, through the natural law of sowing and reaping, that there are consequences for sinful behavior.  Don’t let this set of circumstances cause you to become critical and judgmental. Instead, allow it to bring you closer to God.  Let it be an opportunity for God to increase your faith and learn to hear His voice.  God will forgive us of our sinful ways. He will heal us and restore our relationship with others and with Him, but first, we must allow truth to come into the light.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32).”

Lord, I thank you for the finished work of the cross. Shower us with the liberating truth of the gospel and your life-breathing grace. Help us to trust and treasure you above all other things.  Give us a heart that is quick to repent when we are wrong and forgive when we are sinned against. In Jesus name, Amen!