God brings rest!
True rest is difficult to obtain. Just ask these people:
- Young mothers and fathers of a newborn.
- A parent who is praying for his wayward child.
- A university student who has a large project, essay, or exam DUE—TOMORROW!
- A young pastor of a congregation of parishioners.
- An overworked nurse who is now working a double shift because a co-worker is absent.
Resting, yes, oftentimes we struggle to find the deep rest we need.
God knows this about us. He realizes that we can easily become workaholics; maybe that’s why He instituted a “Sabbath rest” when He created “everything.”
“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
(Genesis 1: 31 to 2: 1-3 NASB)
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.
By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
God knows us.
God brings rest!
God realizes that we can easily follow our own folly; maybe that’s why He commanded a
“Sabbath rest” when He gave His Ten Commandments.
“Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God;
in it you shall not do any work,
- you or your son or your daughter,
- your male or your female servant or
- your cattle or
- your sojourner who stays with you.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them,
and rested on the seventh day;
therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”
(Exodus 20: 8-11 NASB)
God brings rest!
- True rest does not come to us apart from Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
- God knows we need a Savior, One who will save us from our sinful selves!
- So, God sent His Only Son to earth!
The Lord Jesus—He is the LORD of the Sabbath, and He even demonstrated this when He fed His disciples and healed the man with the withered hand—both on the Sabbath day. In feeding the hungry and healing the sick, Jesus revealed how valuable we are to the LORD.
“And He said to them [to the religious, Jewish leaders],
(Matthew 12: 11-12 NASB)
“What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,
will he not take hold of it and lift it out?
How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep!
So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Nevertheless, our Lord Jesus also knows that we willingly pick up to carry more than we ever need to carry. Just as the Creator knows us because we are His creation, Jesus, too, knows our hearts, and He wants us to see that TRUE REST IS NOT EVER POSSIBLE APART FROM HIM!
Never—ever—can mankind be secure in our own salvation through our “good works.”
- God knows!
- Jesus knows! &
- the Holy Spirit knows!
We need to come to Jesus if we are to EVER REST!
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11: 28-30 NASB)
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Today, may we ask ourselves—
- Who do we know who needs our helping hand?
- Who do we know who desperately needs rest?
- What can we physically do for another this day?
- Where can we lend a helping hand?
- Who do we know who does not know the LOVE of GOD?
- Who do we know who does not know JESUS as his SAVIOR?
What about us, What about our inner soul—
- Am I patterning my life after God in a way that reveals to the world the God I serve? “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it”
- Am I obeying God’s 4th Commandment? “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.”
- Have I learned from Jesus how to “FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS” [for my soul]?
- Have I turned toward JESUS—THE ONLY ONE WHO PROVIDES THE “TRUE REST” for my soul?
The amazing truth is that God has given us a new day!
- Even if we are a “mess-up.” &
- Even if yesterday was a total disregard of the LORD’S SABBATH REST!
- Then in just six more days, (God-willing) we will be given another Sabbath Day!
- THAT’S RIGHT—another opportunity to follow God’s Commandment for our lives.
Another amazing truth—GOD BRINGS ETERNAL REST!
JESUS is the SAVIOR of today! just as JESUS was the SAVIOR of yesterday!
So that means—
- Today, we can pray, asking Him for an opportunity to share our testimony, to share with another about the love of God & the salvation He provides!
- Today, we can share with another about the saving grace He provides! &
- Today, we can tell someone about the ONLY WAY to come to KNOW GOD!