I was challenged this morning. These passages are all from the Holman Christian Standard Bible translation, emphases mine.
Watch out, brothers, so that there won't be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today , so that none of you is hardened by sin's deception. (Hebrews 3:12-13)
For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:10-11)
Basically what comes between these passages talks about the children of Israel who did not believe the Word of God through Moses and who rebelled and disobeyed in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief and disobedience, they were not allowed to enter "God's rest," their Promised Land. As New Testament believers, our "rest" comes from obedience to God's Word, too. But that's not easy!! Sometimes I am so weak....I don't do the things that I know I should. I stumble and fall and have to get up and try again. I get so discouraged sometimes because I seem to make the same dumb mistakes over and over again.
So I was very encouraged by this passage after having had my toes stepped upon....
....We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time. (Hebrews 4:15-16)
When I try to do it on my own, I fail miserably. It's God's mercy and grace that has and will continue to save me. The faith that I have to obey Him comes from Him, too (Ephesians 2:8). I cannot live the way He desires of me in my own power....only by His grace.
4 comments:
Awesome! I think that all of us can be guilty of this at times. Some mornings we are just "too tired" to do the things we should..or before bed, we've got to get rest..and if not, we'll be "too tired." I've learned that God will give you the strength to obey Him and all of a sudden I'm not tired anymore :) Thanks for this encouragement..it's awesome to know that God's grace is sufficient for us, at all times..and we cannot have enough power to accomplish things by ourselves..but only with God, Himself!
I made the comment to Angela today that I've noticed that theres a direct relationship between the consistancy of my quiet time and the amount and severity of temptation I face. Funny, huh? It's as if when I do my quiet time and spend time in prayer there seems to be less temptation.
It blows my mind how faithful the perfect holy God is to those who have been so unfaithful and far from perfect. Crazy stuff, God's love. It defies all logic.
I feel the exact opposite, Dustin! The better the time is that I spend with the Lord, the more I'm tested later during the day...it's as if He's testing to see if I really meant what I prayed earlier in the morning.....
My feeling is that when I'm closer to the Lord, He gives me the strength to fight through temptations and struggles so they don't seem as big a deal as when I'm not praying consistantly or reading the Word. It's like the old umbrella illustration alot of pastors give. When you're close the Lord, you're under His umbrella. I'm not saying I don't have struggles when I'm praying. I'm just saying that its easier for me to fend off the attacks of the devil when I'm nearer to the Lord.
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