Obedience and Rest

Bible Reading (July 25)

• Nehemiah 10-11
• Proverbs 12
• Hebrews 3

What Spiritual Gift has God given for me to thank Him and praise Him for in worship today? (Rom 1:11)

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

We are God’s house! What a gift. 1 Cor 3:16 says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (NIV) If we are God’s house, and God’s Spirit lives in us, then I hope He feels at home in our hearts! Eph 3:17 Paul prays for the Ephesians that Christ would dwell in their hearts as they trust him.

I pray today that you will dwell in His presence (Rom 13:14) and that your heart will be a place God feels at home as he dwells in your heart (Eph 3:17). And that His presence will be a source of courage and confidence as you go through today. (Heb 3:6)

What encouraged me in my faith? (Rom 1:12)

Neh 10:29-37 They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the LORD our Lord:

Heb 3:18-19 And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

It’s interesting to see the correlation between obedience and rest. Obedience enables resting. The people of Israel disobeyed, and as a result, they found themselves at war and in constant fear and bondage. They failed to enter into God’s rest. I see this in my life. The more I give in to my flesh, and the more I fail to respond to the Spirit, the more anxious I feel, and the more hectic and agitated I become. But, when I am living with the awareness of His presence, and making the choice to walk in the Spirit, I find much more peace on the inside, even when things outside are not necessarily peaceful.

I pray today that you will choose to walk in the Spirit, so that you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. That’s God’s promise in Gal 5:16. i pray you will find rest from the flesh as you choose to walk in the Spirit. I pray that the things of this world, it’s values and pleasures, will be distasteful, and as the words of the old hymn says, may they, “become strangely dim in light of his glory and grace.” I pray you will enjoy resting in the loving arms of Jesus today, no matter what you are facing. May the peace that passes understanding fill your heart today. (Phil 4:7)

What spiritual fruit does God want to work in me and in those I share this with today? (Rom 1:13)

• Prov 12:1 To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.
• Prov 12;14 Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards.
• Prov 12:18 the words of the wise bring healing.
• Prov 12:25 Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.
• Heb 3:13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.