Best of the Rest

For he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own. Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell]. (Hebrews:4:10)

GOD created the heavens and the earth and rested on the seventh day as we read in Genesis:2:2&3 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. The writer of Hebrew talks about a rest that we are called to enter just as the Lord did on the seventh day. It isn't the rest that we enter after our death but it's what Jesus purchased for us on the cross. The rest is made available to all of us right now.

Jesus said in Matthew:11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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.” It is a rest from all the weariness and pain of human labors as mentioned in Hebrews. Without being made aware of this truth and due to the hardening of our hearts, we labor like all the unbelievers and miss out on GOD's blessings. Israelites were called to enter the land of rest, where the cities had already been built and food available for plenty before they even entered. A generation of them missed out due to their hardened hearts and unbelief. It doesn't mean we stop going to work, sit at home and wait for money to drop on our rooftops. It means we don't have to work hard, putting in extra hours etc. Be yourself, keep doing what you are doing and rest in His promises.

When we say "enter into GOD's rest" it's not a physical thing but it's on our minds. When we tune our minds to this truth about rest, we will enjoy every moment of every day, come what may, without having to strive, struggle and work our socks off.

Blessings!

GOD's Job Offer

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah:6:8)

In this verse, we could see that there wasn't a detailed plan from the Lord for the person He was looking to recruit for His mission. The Lord didn't specify where this person should go or when or how. He just mentions that He is on the lookout for someone who will go on behalf of Him. Isaiah puts his hand up and agrees to be that person even before the Lord could reveal any further details. It's not easy to take up a job without knowing the job description! But not for Isaiah and it shouldn't be for you and me if the job offer is from the Lord.

The Lord expects His people to be ready and willing to act on His behalf immediately when called upon, even if it includes not knowing His entire plan. This is where the Lord expects us to trust Him and take a leap of faith. Let's go to Hebrews:11:7&8 "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." Both Noah and Abraham did something similar to Isaiah. Noah built an ark even when the term 'rain' was unheard of. Abraham decided to step out of his hometown not knowing where he was going. But their acts of faith demonstrated their total surrender to the voice of GOD.

Are you looking at an uncertain future? The Lord wants you to trust Him. When you say that you trust the Lord with your future, you wouldn't be worried about it. Because He is not a man who would go back on His word. He is your ever loving Father, who neither sleeps nor slumbers and He will never let you down.

Blessings!

To Be Commissioned

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah:6:5)

In the light of GOD's presence, Isaiah feels unworthy which reminds me of a similar scene with Peter and Jesus. We read in John:13:6 "He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”. Peter felt the same way as Isaiah did and the feeling of unworthiness weighed heavily on both of them.

While an encounter with GOD always humbles us, it's not the primary purpose as we see in many instances. In Isaiah's case, he gets to see a revelation of GOD as a Almighty King seated on the throne. In Peter's case, Jesus after washing the feet of all the disciples, lets them know that He performed the act to reveal Himself as a servant. What followed after the revelation (King to Isaiah and servant to Peter and the disciples) was commission. Revelation is always followed by a commission. Isaiah volunteered himself to go on behalf of the Lord to the people of Israel. Jesus commissioned Peter and the disciples to follow suit the act of servanthood that He just displayed. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (John:13:14 & 15)

Most of us hunger to have a vision of heaven or angelic visitations but are yet to see it being fulfilled in our lives. The reason could be because we are not yet ready to fulfill the commission that is going to follow. In strange cases like Moses, we may not be aware that we are ready for the commission. Moses had an encounter at the burning bush and GOD revealed Himself as the "Great I AM" and followed it up with a commission. Moses thought that he wasn't ready but GOD knew he was. Let's keep surrendering ourselves and be ready for the commission and it won't be long before we have an encounter accompanied with a revelation.

Blessings!

Get a Grip on your Worship

Above Him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were lying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah:6:2-4)

Isaiah has a vision of the angelic hosts worshiping the Lord on High. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook. If the angels could do such a fabulous job on worship, how much more we, the children of the Almighty GOD, whom we have the right to call Abba, Father! should be doing with our worship!! We cannot brush this aside, saying it's in heaven and it's the most holy place etc. The apostles experienced it as we read in Acts:4:31 "After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness." Not to forget the Israelities who won wars with worship and brought down the walls of Jericho.

Now, the question arises why aren't our worship such powerful as it should be? Jesus said in John:4:24 "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The seraphims worshiped by proclaiming the nature of GOD (Holy) that had been revealed to them. There was no going through the motions but they worshiped in truth. We should worship by confessing what we have seen in GOD.

For example, we read in John:4:17-19 "Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet." The Samaritan woman has a revelation just by having an interaction with Jesus. She was truthful to Jesus which resulted in her getting a revelation that Jesus is a prophet. When we interact with Him by spending time in the Word and His presence, GOD reveals His nature and we should use those revelations when we worship. You can't sing "Jehovah Jireh, My provider" wholeheartedly and truthfully unless you have experienced and acknowledged GOD's provision in your life. Worship cannot be taught. It should be spontaneous and it becomes truthful only when we have a day to day relationship with GOD.

Blessings!

Back to Back miracles

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted,seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. (Isaiah:6:1)

The Bible is full of such beautiful encounters and stuffs that we dream of. The purpose GOD had those encounters written down is not to overwhelm us, but its an invitation for us to experience such encounters on our own. All it takes is a renewed mind and a leap of faith. Not only Isaiah, we see many people that had such encounters were ordinary men just like you and me.

Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. (II Kings:2:13&14) Elijah had been an able assistant for a while and now the time has come for Elijah to be taken upto heaven. Just a little while ago, Elijah using his cloak struck the river Jordan, splitting it into two. Elisha was a spectator to that miracle. A few minutes later, after Elijah was taken upto heaven dramatically, Elisha uses the same technique and performs the miracle just like Elijah did. Elisha wasn't overwhelmed and even with the fifty men from the company of prophets watching he didn't waver in his faith. He knew that if Elijah could do it, so could he.

GOD is always ready to replicate his miracle. What He is looking for is someone like Elisha, to pick up the cloak of Elijah or in other words, to pick up the cloak of faith, looking at the godly encounters of others like Isaiah's and use it in their own lives. Jesus said in John:14:12 "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." 

Blessings!

Get a hike in faith

You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” (Deuteronomy:18:21)

The Lord knows all the things concerning us. Here we see that GOD even addresses beforehand the questions that could arise in our mind. This reminds us of the incident involving the Lord's visitation to Abraham's tent in Genesis:18:10-15 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

At this point in time, Sarah didn't have a tiny little bit of faith about having a child on her own. But we read in Hebrews:11:11 "And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise." From where did Sarah get that faith in such a short while? Just like Nathanael believed that Jesus is the Messiah after hearing Him revealing something secretive about him. “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” (John:1:48-50) In the same way, though Sarah vehemently denied doubting the Word of GOD, it stirred her faith because the Lord revealed what was in her mind. Revealing what was inside her heart, propelled Sarah's faith to astronomical heights leading her to have a child at an age that's naturally impossible for a woman to have one. Let's pray and long for such an encounter with GOD and for His revelations which will take us to greater realms of faith.

Blessings!

Fear for Real

For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” (Deuteronomy:18:16)

The people of Israel were scared of approaching GOD unlike Moses did. The reason being they had "the fear of GOD" but not in the right sense. They were scared that they may die if they draw closer to GOD. If they indeed really had the fear of GOD, they wouldn't have pushed Aaron into making the golden calf while Moses was away meeting with GOD. In short, the real "fear of GOD" isn't about running away from GOD but drawing closer to Him and not to lose Him. The real fear of GOD isn't about striving for a sinless life fearing GOD's punishment but the fear of living a life without Him.

I couldn't think of anyone better than Joseph who demonstrated the fear of GOD in a best possible way, in a real time scenario. Let's read Genesis:39:6-9 "Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”. Joseph refuses to give in to the temptation that arises in the form of his master's wife. The reason he gives for not accepting the lady's advances is that he couldn't do such a wicked thing against GOD! Hold on, did he get that wrong after narrating everything that his master had done for him, shouldn't he say he couldn't do such a wicked thing against his master? Joseph knew that the promotion and success he had attained in an alien nation couldn't have happened without the Lord being with him. The very thought of yielding to sin and losing GOD's presence in his life scared him to death. Now that is what the real "fear of GOD" is all about!

Fear of GOD is not running away from His presence feeling unworthy but the absence of His presence. That's why David cried out in Psalms:51:11 "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me."

Blessings!

HE Trusts Us

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. (Deuteronomy:18:9-11)

The Lord knows that the land the Israelites are to possess is filled with wickedness because of the people who live there. Yet, it didn't stop GOD from leading them into a land full of people with wrong practices. It tells us about the trust that the Lord had on His people. He believed that the people had been taught enough of His laws and commands which should be good enough to help them survive in the promised land without getting contaminated from the evil practices found there. Note that it isn't some kind of temptation that the Lord is leading them into purposefully for them to overcome. The Lord never tempts us but its from the devil. The world that we live in too is filled with evil practices and it's upto us to safeguard against those with the help of the Word of GOD and the Holy Spirit. He wouldn't have allowed us to live on this earth if He didn't think we can overcome it. Infact, He went before us in the form of Jesus Christ and showed us how it should be done.

We read in Exodus:13:17,18 that the Lord didn't allow the people to take the shorter route from Egypt to Israel since He knew they weren't ready for war and hadn't had the training for it. "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle." Similarly, GOD will never lead us through the path if we aren't fully equipped to face the challenges that lie ahead.

Blessings!

GOD's guidance trumps reputations

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” (I Kings:17:13&14)

I doubt that the widow would have made a meal for Elijah, had she known that it was him who as per the Lord's command brought the famine over the land. Jesus too spoke on the lines when He referred this incident in Luke:4:24-26 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.

Sometimes, we judge people based on their reputation and miss out on receiving the blessings that the Lord intended to bring upon us through them. Reputation is man's perception of another man, a place or a thing and it's not GOD's. The hometown of Jesus, for example didn't accept Jesus as their Messiah because He hailed from their own town and was the son of a carpenter. This attitude cost the town badly as Jesus didn't perform many miracles owing to their unbelief. 

Nathanael, one of the disciples of Jesus didn't believe at first when Philip told him that Jesus from Nazareth is the Messiah. He questioned the reputation of the town that Jesus belonged to - Nazareth. (John:1:45&46). In countries like India, where there are still caste systems in play, believers need to be an example in looking beyond people's reputation (upper or lower caste) and look for something good that GOD has placed in them. It doesn't mean heeding to the voice of an evil man with a bad reputation. It's not that. Let us not allow the reputation of a person be it good or bad, cloud our judgement but lets use the wisdom that the Lord has given us to evaluate people and their words.

Blessings!

No is as good as His Yes

The Levitical priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,as he promised them. (Deuteronomy:18:1&2)

It's not often the Lord says "No" to His people, but when He does, He always got a better plan which will supersede what His people asked for. The Lord didn't allocate any specific land for the Levites as an inheritance in the promised land. But, He promises them that the Lord Himself will be their inheritance. What else you would need when you have the Lord as your inheritance. It's worth nothing that we are called to be priests (I Peter:2:9) and this principle applies to us as well. The Lord Himself is our inheritance.

There are couple of other occasions when the Lord said "No", but made up for that by granting something more extra ordinary and superior. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool,because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians:12:6-10) Paul was talking about His thorn in the flesh. His thorn is not any kind of sickness as many people perceive it to be, but the persecutions that he was facing because of the gospel. He pleaded for them to be removed, but the Lord refused and instead promised to give him sufficient grace, which is more than enough.

Jesus too wasn't spared, when He prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke:22:42) it wasn't answered or rather He got a "No" for an answer. Jesus humbly surrendered to the will of GOD and the Lord raised Him from the dead, reconciling the whole of mankind to Himself. We should be happy to trust GOD with His "No's" just like His "Yes'". He will never let us down.

Blessings!

His Will is our Way in

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew:12:46-50)

We don't become an acquaintance of GOD or rightfully accepted into His family because of our Christian parents. Our parents maybe a regular church goer or a pastor or even a minister but that doesn't guarantee our salvation. We have to be born again and do the will of the Lord, to become His son/daughter. Mary and Jesus' siblings may have been related to Him because of His birth, but Jesus regarded them just like any other person. He always referred to Mary as "woman" and not "Mother". Mary was just a holy vessel used by GOD to bring the Messiah into the earth.

Secondly, our gifts doesn't necessarily allow us to be a part of His family, if we don't use it according to His will. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew:7:21-23)

Finally, our natural talents won't be useful when it comes to becoming a part of the Lord's family. Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. (Acts:19:13-16) These people used their talents to imitate Paul for their personal gain and they got what they deserved.

Let us not depend on our birth, gifts or talents to become a part of GOD's kingdom but depend on doing the will GOD. GOD's will will be known to us only when we are born again and have a personal relationship with Him.

Blessings!

Generation Goals

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew:12:41 & 42)

With every passing generation, the mystery of GOD is continued to be explored and a new revelation of His nature and works is being obtained. With that being said, the responsibility of each passing generation also increases. The current generation already has inherited the revelations of their previous generations. It's the responsibility of the current generation to build on what they inherited as well as to explore GOD on their own, so that they can leave something better for the upcoming future generations.

The resources available to people during the time of Jonah and Solomon was to hear from the prophets most of the time. When Jesus arrived at the scene, people had the privilege of encountering the Son of GOD in flesh and He walked among them. In our generation, it gets even better, as the Almighty GOD Himself dwells within each one of us in the form of His Spirit. 

Jesus said in John:14:12 "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." This is the mandate and the responsibility of our generation. To go one better than Jesus, like Paul and Peter. Their clothes and even their shadows carried the power of GOD. Let's strive and ask GOD to help us walk in the realm of supernatural.

Blessings!