April 3 GOD HAS A PLACE FOR YOU!
IN CREATION!
It’s called “HIS REST”
A Verse to Remember: Matthew 11:28-30
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.
Todays Scripture: Hebrews 4:1-4
God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. 2 For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. 3 For only we who believe can enter his rest.
As for the others, God said,“In my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’”
even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. 4 We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.”
Gospel Story: Genesis 1:26-2:3 THE STORY OF GOD’S CREATION AND HIS REST
Reflection:
So much of life is spent just trying to figure out where I fit. What is my purpose or place? Well i’m glad to report, God has Good News for each and everyone of us! God has a “place" for us. Hebrews tells us that this “place” been ready “since he made the world”. Right from Creation God has provided “a special rest” (Hebrews 4:9) for you and I. And the author of Hebrews doesn’t want anyone to miss out. Neither do we at Selah Fire. It’s why our “banner” saying is Real Rest. Real Freedom. Real Life.
The author of Hebrews tells us this rest has been available to us since creation, “on the seventh day God rested from all his work”. Connected to the theme of rest, I have to stress that only twice in the bible does God say, “it is finished”. Once at the “end” of creation and then when Jesus at his death on the cross says,“it is finished” (John 19:28-30)”. The only two places in Scripture where God finishes his work! And then what’s next? REST!
So “God rested from all his work”. The scene is set for people and God to live together without sin, right from the “beginning” The same can be said of the New Creation reality that follows from faith in Christ. With God’s “finished” work of the cross, Jesus provides people once again with the opportunity to be in relationship with God, unhindered by the power or influence off sin/unbelief. Now and forever, nothing stands in the way of our relationship with God.
We can now do life with God just as He’s always wanted. We call it “living in the rest”. He wanted it for us at Creation. God wanted it for the people He delivered and freed to live in the promised land. And as David suggests in psalm 95*, there is a promised rest to come. A rest we know that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
Because of what God has done for us in Christ, this week, let’s take time pause (Selah) in God’s presence. To remember that from the “beginning” God wanted to do life with us. So take a moment to worship the creator amidst His creation. Go watch a sunset. Let the smell of spring warm your heart and lighten your step. Appreciate the creation that surrounds you.
Then go one step further. Believe that here in this world, God has created a “place” just for you. It’s not just a physical place. But an actual “place” or way of living in this world. This “place”, it’s found living in “His rest”.
How do we move into this place of “rest” and live there? …. We trust God, believe and “enter His rest”. Looking for your place in life? Find it in His Rest. Because with His Rest comes REAL REST, REAL FREEDOM and you get to live the REAL LIFE God has wanted you to live since the foundation of the world! Doing life with God….YOU AND GOD, US AND GOD, TOGETHER! Wow, that’s Good News!
*Hebrews quotes Pslam 95 to make that point that even after Joshua lead the next generation into the promised land, still there was a “rest” to come that God wanted for His people.
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