Quote from Forum Archives on September 26, 2002, 9:45 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

If you are anything at all like me, you appreciate a place of
rest. Though I don't always accomplish everything I set out to
do, at the end of the day I find myself tired, needing rest. If
I've been trying to do too much, I may also find that when
morning comes, I still feel like I need rest. Can any of you
relate to that?

Today's message from the Bible also talks about a place of rest,
but this place is different. It's talking about a place of
eternal rest, where there is no more suffering and no more pain,
a place where we can be with God forever.

Maybe some of you don't think about such a place very often, or
even if you do, the activities of the day tend to drown out such
thoughts. Well, I think this message has something to say to
each of us. The message says that only people who have faith
will enter the place of rest. Most of us will probably say we
have some faith. But I don't want to let it rest there. When it
the last time your faith that you claim has been exercised? When
was the last time that you made a choice, NOT on the basis of
what you can see with your own eyes, but in what you couldn't
possibly see, yet you believe?

Rhetorically, I can tell you that we all make choices every day,
often without even thinking about them, that demonstrate faith in
something. We believe that the ground will hold us, so we take a
step of faith and walk. We believe that our food is edible, so
we eat it. But what about genuine matters of faith regarding
what God says to us? (I'm challenging myself as well as you).
Can we say we have made choices based on the faith in God we
claim to have?

My prayer for each one of us is that we will exercise our faith
today, and make living by faith a regular, purposeful way we
live, until it is still purposeful, but instead of a reluctant,
forced into, last alternative, it becomes our every day way of
life. May the Name of God be forever praised as we live by faith
in Him, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us!

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

September 26, Hebrews 4.1-13

4 The promise to enter the place of rest is still good, and we
must take care that none of you miss out. 2 We have heard the
message, just as they did. But they failed to believe what they
heard, and the message did not do them any good. 3 Only people
who have faith will enter the place of rest. It is just as the
Scriptures say,

"God became angry and told the people, 'You will never enter
my place of rest!'"

God said this, even though everything has been ready from the
time of creation. 4 In fact, somewhere the Scriptures say that by
the seventh day, God had finished his work, and so he rested. 5
We also read that he later said, "You people will never enter my
place of rest!" 6 This means that the promise to enter is still
good, because those who first heard about it disobeyed and did
not enter. 7 Much later God told David to make the promise again,
just as I have already said,

"If you hear his voice today, don't be stubborn!"

8 If Joshua had really given the people rest, there would not be
any need for God to talk about another day of rest. 9 But God
has promised us a Sabbath when we will rest, even though it has
not yet come. 10 On that day God's people will rest from their
work, just as God rested from his work.

11 We should do our best to enter that place of rest, so that
none of us will disobey and miss going there, as they did. 12
What God has said isn't only alive and active! It is sharper
than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our
spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it
discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts. 13 Nothing
is hidden from God! He sees through everything, and we will
have to tell him the truth.

Scripture made available by the American Bible Society for the
Year of the Bible Project. These passages are from the
Contemporary English Version of the Bible. For more information
call: 1.888.324.2535 or contact us through this web site.

-
Year of the Bible
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Report problems to webmaster@yob.org

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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