"God is equally near to all parts of His universe. We think rightly about God and spiritual things only when we...
I praise the Lord God as the source of rest for the weary! We are commanded: "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him" (Psalm 37:7). The destination of the obedient believer is to enter into His rest (Psalm 95:11). The blessed Saviour Jesus Christ tells us to take His yoke on us and learn of Him in order to find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-29). This rest is offered not only to the Jewish nation, but also to the Gentiles; and we will all find that "his rest shall be glorious" (Isaiah 11:10). When we trust in the Lord, we enter into that rest for our souls by ceasing to seek entrance into heaven by our own works (Hebrews 4:10). But, there "remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). One day, we will enter into that glorious rest. I can rest in my Lord. He gives rest to my soul and will bring me one day into His glorious, heavenly rest. What a Lord and Saviour we have!
Last night, Drew Ray preached a powerful message at Antioch Baptist Church. The text of his message was taken from Hebrews 4:9, which states, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." This idea was that, although we have a present rest in Jesus Christ, our true rest will come after we leave this world. Therefore, our present life is a time for service. We need to work; or, as Jesus said in Luke 19:13, "Occupy till I come." Brother Ray pointed out the word "occupy" is related to the word "occupation." One of the most convicting passages he used was the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-29. It begins, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." But too often we stop with the rest. The next statement is, "Take my yoke upon you." That is work. We find our rest in Jesus Christ through our service to Him. All this reminds me of a verse I read yesterday: "Their strength is to sit still" (Isaiah 30:7). We have far too many in our churches who are described by that statement.
According to an article in today's "Wall Street Journal," cellphone providers in Asian countries are offering many innovative services. In India, Hindu worshippers can send text messages to their god Ganesh at the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai. Ganesh is the god in charge of destroying obstacles that might keep you from successfully completing personal goals (like getting a job or purchasing a house) and he is particularly receptive to requests on Tuesday's. So visitors on that day may wait in a line for up to five hours just to get Ganesh to obliterate the hindrances in their path. However, for only four cents per text message (a fee split between the cellphone company and the temple), participants can use their cellphone to send a text message request which will be printed out, neatly folded, and placed in a box next to the temple's idol--with the hope that he takes time to read them. Presently, about 70,000 text messages are coming in from all over India each week.
One of the biggest fads of recent years has been Reality TV. People want something real; not stuff all made up. What the customer wants, the customer gets. The television programming is filled with Reality TV. There is only one problem. It turns out that Reality TV isn't real. To a great extent, it is made up, fabricated, and edited for effect. But will the customers care? Probably not. Jeremiah 5:31 states, "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so."
Note: What follows is an introduction I just wrote to a lesson on Mark 6:1-26 entitled "Changes in the Ministry of Christ." I thought it might be an encouragement to someone who is presently going through some great changes.
On August 3, 2006 (9th of Ab in the Jewish calendar; a month called the "fifth month" in the Bible), the Jewish people will remember the 2,592nd anniversary of the destruction of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem with a day of mourning and fasting. This is also thought to be the date when Herod's Temple was destroyed in 70AD and the date for the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. The Jews still mourn their many losses. In Zechariah 7:3-5, Zechariah was asked if it ws proper to continue the fast of the fifth month. The fast had been established to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem; but now Jerusalem was being restored. In reply, the Lord foretold of the day when Israel will be fully restored and the fasts "shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace" (Zechariah 8:19). Yet, as any reading of today's newspaper will demonstrate, the Jews still fast and Rachel is still weeping for her children (Jeremiah 31:15). All who love the Lord still look to that day when the fast of the fifth month will be turned into a feast.
David Cloud has an excellent article on his site that I encourage you to read. It deals with our tendency to speak of salvation using unbiblical phrases. We talk about "giving our life to Christ" or "inviting Jesus into our hearts" as if these phrases truly described the act of salvation. They do not. That does not mean that those who use these phrases are unsaved. It only means we are sloppy in our terminology. This is important because these phrases are also sloppy in doctrinal meaning. We are not saved by inviting Jesus into our hearts but by believing on Him. It is true that we receive Him (John 1:12; Colossians 2:6), but this refers more to a receiving of His way and person. Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Why should we invite Jesus in? The point is that we should get as close as possible to biblical terminology and meaning. Sloppy appeals for converts tend to make sloppy converts.
Recently, my Bible reading brought me across a most interesting passage. In Jeremiah 27:6-7, the Lord declared that He has given the land of Judah and the surrounding countries to Nebechadnezzar. "And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of the land come" (v.7). This is known as the Babylonian Captivity but what do these details mean?
