38 lines
4.4 KiB
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38 lines
4.4 KiB
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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Day By Day By Grace — Bob Hoekstra</title>
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Day By Day By Grace
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Bob Hoekstra
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August 5
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<h1>God's Promises and God's Rest</h1>
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<div class="block"><i>Therefore, since a <b>promise</b> remains of entering <b>His rest</b>, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the <b>gospel</b> was <b>preached</b> to <b>us</b> as well as to <b>them</b>; but the word which they heard did <b>not</b> profit them, not being mixed with <b>faith</b> in those who heard it. For we who have <b>believed</b> do enter that rest.</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Hbr', 4, '1-3');">Hebrews 4:1-3</a>)</div>
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<p>Through the <b>promises</b> of God, all who believe can experience <b>spiritual rest</b>. Initially, those who believe enjoy rest from the guilt and condemnation of sin. Additionally, those whose faith embraces other promises from God can enjoy rest from carnal striving and worldly indulgence.</p>
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<p>When the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt, they had rest from the bondage they had known there. This pictures our rest from sin and guilt. Yet, the Lord had more rest to share with His people. He wanted to give them rest from the futile wilderness striving they experienced between Egypt and the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey. This pictures how we can rest from the fleshly striving of doubt and disobedience by drawing upon the riches that are ours in Christ.</p>
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<p>The Israelites wandered through the wilderness in hardness of heart for forty years. All of that generation (except Joshua and Caleb) missed the <b>additional rest</b> that God wanted them to experience. <i>"Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, 'They always go <b>astray</b> in their <b>heart</b>, and they have not known My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, '<b>They shall not enter My rest</b>'"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Hbr', 3, '10-11');">Hebrews 3:10-11</a>). They were out of Egypt, but they would <b>not</b> enter into the <b>Promised Land</b>.</p>
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<p>Are we entering into the additional rest that God has for us? <i>"Therefore, since a <b>promise</b> remains of entering <b>His rest</b>, let <b>us</b> fear lest any of <b>you</b> seem to have come short of it."</i> The <b>Promised Land</b> is a picture of the abundant spiritual life (not a picture of heaven—no battles or failures in heaven). This additional rest is what Jesus offers to all who believe in Him. <i>"I have come that they may have life</i> [eternal life, forgiveness of sin]<i>, and that they may have it <b>more abundantly</b></i> [richness of life, growing in practical righteousness]<i>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jhn', 10, '10-10');">John 10:10</a>). This abundant life is enjoyed as we believe in the word of God, as it describes the riches that are ours in Christ. <i>"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who <b>has blessed us</b> with <b>every spiritual blessing</b> in the heavenly places <b>in Christ</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Eph', 1, '3-3');">Ephesians 1:3</a>). Will we take the Lord at His word and believe that we might enter in? <i>"For we who have <b>believed</b> do enter that rest."</i> Israel did not believe, so they did not enter in. <i>"The word which they heard did <b>not</b> profit them, not being mixed with <b>faith</b> in those who heard it."</i></p>
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<div class="dbdbg_prayer">Dear Lord, I thank You for giving me rest from sin and guilt, simply by trusting in Your promises. Now, I ask for new measures of additional rest from barrenness and striving, simply by trusting in Your promises of abundant life, in Jesus' name, Amen.</div>
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