Weekly Word Devotional

Religion

By: Stephen A. Brown, Marketplace Ministries, inc.

Last month the Golden Globe Awards recognized actor Christian Bale, best known for his role as BATMAN. Bale gave credit to Satan. Another devil disciple in the entertainment industry. Anti-Christ celebs continue to corrupt the Christian character of our country. In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

The Devil Manifest

Religion

The Great Deceiver

 I want to share with you a visit I had from the devil. Please listen. I hate talking about sin and the devil, but this is what the Lord has given me to do at this time. The devil needs to be expose our families are being attacked. I will tell you how important this is  and I want you to pray about it. You can ask the Lord to judge me. Ask him if what  Bob Allen said is true. He knows who I am, and I have total faith and confidence in what I am saying.  I give you permission to judge me for yourself. I was put in the presence of the devil to see how evil and wicked he is, so I could share it with you. I had been saved a very short time and one day while driving my car; I ask the Lord if tongues are real and if they are for today. The power of God fell on me in the car, and I began to speak in tongues! I had the true “ book of Acts” experience. I had to get my car off the road and just lay in the seat while the Spirit was upon me. I spoke what seemed to be many, many languages for maybe over an hour I could not stop until the Lord was through. At that time I received the gift for giving message and interpretation in tongues for the Church.  I lay down in the seat until the Lord was finished with me. My mouth was filled with the Spirit. I was completely consumed in the Spirit world. It would be too much to try to share all I experienced that day.

Shortly after that, I had three personal visits from the evil one. I am only going to share  one with you. It seems to me; his greater purpose was to stop or discredit my new language of tongues. I still don’t quite know how to value our Holy Spirit languages, but the devil evidently does. I know that the most important thing to him was to stop these tongues now at any cost. I was in the First Baptist Church in a small town on eastern shore Maryland and tongues had never been introduced there, in that Church. You would think the way the devil came after me that I was the most important person in the world. It was as if I had my hands on the pearl of great price which Jesus spoke of and satan thought it was his. I knew little to nothing. I was just starting to read the Bible for the first time. You would find it hard to believe, but I was in a constant battle with satan for at least a year. Try to hear this. If you are a child of God, you most likely have never had troubles that he was not the author of. His footprints would be on all family problems. In that first year, he knew every place I would go, and everything I would do. I went to a motel to fast and pray for three days just to seek the Lord and to pray for my marriage. He was there. He spoke to me and answered my very first prayer, disguising himself as the Lord Jesus. He is a never ceasing evil force against you. One of the things he said was, “you don’t need to pray in tongues just talk to me, and I will answer you.”

 Be a real Marine for the Lord and fight! You can beat him every time with the Spirit of God that’s in you. Please wake up! When it comes to sin, if you are not in spiritual warfare you’re not in war. You are in defense or defeat. Don’t forget ,David didn’t make David famous; Goliath did, so fight.

 While I was on my knees in the midst of prayer, the devil showed up. The first thing I heard  from him was “God doesn’t want you to praise Him.” What a lie. The devil hates it when we praise the Lord. Praise the Lord more often and with your whole heart. I am going to take you into my visitation from the devil then my last teaching on sin will be my trip to heaven to learn more about sin.

Part 2: Sin Killed Jesus. Dividing the soul and spirit

Religion

The Lord knew the road  the knowledge of the tree of good and evil would take Adam down, and that sin would kill him because he had eaten from the tree. He knew the lust that would be in the soul and the flesh of man.God is love.  God is Spirit and can only lead us by His Spirit, His Word, and His love. The Spirit of God does not feed or satisfy the desires of the flesh or the soul unless the soul has been converted back to Him.

 Adam would no longer be led only by God, but by the spirit of darkness.  Adam’s desires would now come through the demands of the flesh and the decision of the soul. The soul, his mind, will, and emotions, would no longer be pure. The wicked one whom Adam had obeyed can now lead him by his flesh as it makes the demands upon the soul. The devil operates in the hidden darkness. He can’t touch our spirit. If we belong to God, we are sealed! We are zip- locked in. We are led by God’s Holy Spirit, and the more of His Word we take in, the more influence our spirit will have on our lives. The spirit works from inside of you to the outside. The soul and body, however, have to be fulfilled by the things on the outside of this fallen sin ruled world. This is where the devil tries to step in and offer you this, that, and another thing. In other words, he offers”nothing for everybody.” The soul operates through taste, touch,see, feel, hear,and smell. And all the lust of the world flows through these streams.Once man drew the knowledge, and the dark power of evil from that tree of good and evil, it is his. Out of that tree comes every temptation that is in the world .The desires of the body and soul are many many times stronger than the spirit. All the spirit needs to be secure and complete in God, is His spirit, His word, His love, His mercy and His grace. Your living soul is not the same as your spirit. The soul and spirit can be divided. If you are born again, your soul will be saved, and it will go with you to heaven, but if you are not saved, it will go to hell with you.

 The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.” Heb 4:12, the great divider is The Word. Do you believe It enough to act on it or not?  

I believe these experiences of Jesus with Peter are the best examples I can find of the dividing of the soul and spirit. When Jesus said to Peter, “come,” Peter stood on the water on the word of Jesus, which is spirit. When Peter looked at the storm,  he saw it with the eyes of his soul, and he was filled with fear; standing on spirit, but looking with the soul at the same time. The spirit and soul were divided. He had been standing on the faith of Jesus. If Jesus had said to Peter, I have the storm covered; he would have walked right through the storm. Peter had not been converted at this time. “Jesus said,  when you are converted strengthen you’re the brethren.” Peter did not receive the spirit until Jesus breathed on him. Therefore, the  spirit was not in him. He could only see through his soul. When Peter cried out for Jesus to save him, Jesus said, “oh you of little faith, wherefore did youdoubt.”Mt.14:31 the soul can never believe for more than it can see.

Although Jesus was God made flesh, the Son of Man, Christ Jesus, was 100% man. When He was on the cross, His spirit said Father into your hands I commend my spirit. His suffering soul, on the cross,cried out MY GOD! My God! Why have you forsaken me? We must as children of God have a perfectunderstanding of sin; to hate it as we should and to move others away from it. Today sin is toocommonplace,even within the church.

When Jesus was being tried , This good man, Peter who had spent over three years with Jesus,denied Him.  This perfectly taught man said three times, I don’t know the man. So the best, of the best of men, without the spirit in him, is nothing but a liar. His life is a lie.  No liar will ever enter the gates of heaven. Rev 21:8”…. all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.” The soul will never value anyone or anything above itself, and it’s will to care for itself. Much more to come on sin, share with everybody, share with your pastor. The Lord has a cry in his heart for those trapped in sin, and not getting help. Do you have  friends and family that you need to be fighting for, praying for, and talking to?

THE LIAR

Religion

THE LIAR: ARE YOU A LIAR/YOU ARE GOING TO HELL
It looks like, for sure, all liars will go to a burning hell!

*The Lie**,* The devil’s foundation is built on it. The devil lied to Eve
in the garden and brought sin into the whole world, upon all mankind.

*Lying spirit*: The devil is a liar and a deceiver. He comes to take away
God’s best for your life and God’s promises to you. He comes only to steal,
kill, and destroy you. The Lord wants you to be free from the attack of
your enemy, the devil.

·        Jesus  died to break Satan’s power, and set man free.

If there is such a thing as the world’s worst sin, it would have to be
lying.The devil’s power base for his sinful, fallen world is built on it.

·        Prov 19:22 “A poor man is better than a liar.”

·        Prov19:5 “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that
speak lies *shall not escape*.”   Ops

·        Pro19:9  “He that speak lies *shall perish.” (That’s scary)*

·        Ps101:7 “He that works deceit shall not dwell within my house.

·         He that tells lies shall not tarry in my sight.” O, What hate God
must have for the lie. Watch your tongue.

John 8:44 Jesus said;” Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of
your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not
in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he
speaks of his own: *for he *is a liar *and the father of it.”*

If you lie, you are speaking for the devil.  When you lie, Jesus says that
the devil is your father.

Acts 5:3 “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath *Satan filled thine* *heart to
lie* to the Holy Ghost.  Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?
Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”

Jesus has defeated Satan. He spent a lot of time teaching us who, and
what the devil is like.

Jesus has taught us that in his name, and by his power, we too can defeat
him every time. Submit yourself to God resist the devil, and he will flee
from you.

Just how do you think Father God feels when you neglect all of his
promises, and all of his provisions for you, and lie?  The Father must weep
when you reject the shed blood of his own son, who is the truth. If you
leave the truth and accept the devil’s lies, that means, right now you
think the devil can, and will help you and put you over better than God
can.

If you are a liar, it is because you are being influenced by the demon of
insecurity, and inferiority.  You think you cannot be represented on your
own merits, so you borrow the devil’s power, which is always deception. You
depend on the lie, not realizing you are calling on the wrong father, the
Devil to prop you up.

When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar *and the
father of it*.  If you use a lie, to manipulate someone to accomplish your
will or purpose, you have just used the doctrine of the devil and showed no
faith in God. That makes the devil your father. If you are the head of your
house, and you are a liar, you will have a cursed house, and it will run
through your family line until you repent.  You have given the devil a seat
at your table.  Who’s *your daddy*?

Let’s look at where the lie will put you in the end.

Rev 21:27”And there shall in no wise enter into heaven anything that
defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, *nor maketh a* *lie.”
Watch what comes out of your mouth.*

Rev 21:8  “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, *and all liars*
shall have their part in the lake *which burns *with *fire* *and brimstone*
.”

Rev22:14” Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have the
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers,
and idolaters, and whosoever *loveth and maketh* *a lie.”*

My friend if you are a liar you can’t go anywhere, but to hell. Notice the
word says you are the *same as a murderer.*

Lying is something not to be taken lightly, yet many people are chronic
liars. If you have a family member that is a liar, I think he is in danger
of a burning hell. Go to him help him.
The jailer said to Paul Sir, what must I do to be saved? Paul said, “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved”. Just believe and ask.-
Dr. Bob Allen

* God  Loves You. Keep your eye on the Straight Gate.*

Visiting Angel

Religion

I had a family room downstairs in my house, and I had established it as my prayer closet. My favorite way to pray was on my knees with my elbows on a round footstool. One night I had just finished praying, and I went upstairs to bed. It seemed as soon as I lay down, I was taken back downstairs where I was on my knees with my elbows on the footstool praying again. Just where I was before.  All at once, an angel was standing beside me. I looked up with surprise and called him by name first, and then he called me Bob.  It is an amazing thing that without one previous thought I knew who he was and addressed him first.  Whenever you step into the Spirit realm you know things by the Spirit without learning or having ever entertained a thought about the person.  At that time, he put his arms around my arm, and I guess you would say under my shoulder and carried me to heaven. I asked him where he was taking me, and he said, “I am taking you to meet Jesus.” I yelled stop!  He said,” why Bob?”  I said I don’t want to meet Jesus.  He said,” why Bob?” and I said I don’t want to look upon his face.” Again he said, “why Bob?” and I said least my deeds should be reproved. At that point, he turned and took me back to my bedroom, but he had picked me up in my family room downstairs. I know for sure I was out of my body because on my way back to earth when we got over the top of my house I could hear the phone ringing in my bedroom. I could also see my body lying there, and I knew it had no life in it to answer the phone. I actually felt my spirit re-enter my body and I reached over and answered the phone. I still don’t understand how I left the family room downstairs when my body was upstairs in the bedroom.

           Now I am so far out in left field with my life; I was just learning about the Lord, and I had not been saved very long. I wasn’t sure of anything, and now I was scared to meet with Jesus because of my deeds. I mean, I had the honored, and pleasure of meeting with Jesus, but I was in such bad shape, so I thought, at that time that I was scared to death of Him.  I think that was the scariest I have ever been in my life! I can’t quite tell you what it’s like to feel such strong FEAR at the thought of meeting the Lord Jesus face to face.  I had been seeking Him day and night, and reading the Bible. I was in the First Baptist Church, and going to every church service that I could get to. I had made it a priority to witness of Him to as many people as possible and was seeing people saved.  I was trying to learn the right way to live. I very much wanted to live the Christian life. I was on my knees praying when he took me up, that tells you I was seeking him.

         Every day I was searching my heart and crying out to God and asking him what my wrong deeds were. Well finally, I thought this is what my problems must be: I was spending too much time in the Apostle Paul’s teachings and too much time learning about the Holy Spirit.  I concluded that it must be my desire for the supernatural, and I was trying to learn about spiritual gifts.  I thought maybe I took my eyes off Jesus. I didn’t know what else it could be. This had to be it. I made up my mind that I would spend all of my time just reading about Jesus and nothing else.  I can say for sure that this is a problem that you never want to have, that is being fearful of facing or being rejected by The Lord Jesus.

          Well, by now this is how it looked to me: I must get my deeds straightened out, whatever they are. After trying unsuccessfully to share my trip to heaven with my wife and pastor, I made up my mind that this would be the last time I would try to share it. In the meantime; I just kept seeking the Lord, witnessing and doing everything I could that I thought would please Him. I just kept going, and I noticed the Lord began to use me in prophecy and I was hearing from Him.  I was really being used by the Holy Spirit. I was preaching, and serving in many ways, and in many places. I just moved on without ever finding an answer for the reason I was so fearful of meeting the Lord Jesus.

                                               Part #2 –  The Vision

 Some years later, I was home alone for lunch, and I thought I would get a little prayer time in. It had been over ten years, and I still did not have any answers concerning my deeds; although by now I had led many, many people to the Lord.  I had all but quit praying about it. While on my knees praying, the memory of the trip to heaven floated up again to my mind.  I asked the Lord about my visit. I asked God if spiritual gifts were the problem you could have sent someone to teach me, and I would have listened.

At that point, He took me into an open vision, and He began to reveal to me the real reason for the visit, to heaven. It was not about gifts, or about me, but about what it would be like when He returns and our deeds are not right, and we are unsaved. I saw men running for their lives, with unspeakable fear. They were trying to bury themselves under the rocks. I heard these words three times   IT’S OVER!     IT’S OVER!   IT’S OVER!  The words seemed to be the only sound on earth!  The whole sky spoke.  The whole heaven spoke. This might be the sound of the last trump!  I am not sure about that. I saw men in such fear it looked like they were running fast er than cars, trying to get away to keep from facing the Lord Jesus; somewhat like the fear, I had when I was to face Him. He was the last person they ever wanted to meet, or they ever wanted to see. It is hard to explain, but the day will come when it’s over!  THE DOOR WILL CLOSE, AND THE CHANCE FOR SALVATION IS OVER!

 They were caught out in darkness. Somehow, I was made to understand that they knew everything and had a perfect understanding of Jesus, but they were better off in darkness than they were facing the light.  The light guides us, and they knew that the light would consume them. Every one that doeth evil hates the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” John3:20 People who have rejected or not accepted Jesus will, not only, not seek Him, but will flee from His presence in indescribable fear. They are forever condemned and know it. Just as the Lord promised the sinner, their end would be a burning hell. Please listen to me; this is not a sermon.  This is a word from the Lord Jesus speaking to you on behalf of your family, friends, and anyone you have feelings for.  I would have jumped out of heaven before I would have met Jesus face to face. The Lord let me carry this fear like an albatross around my neck for a very long time; It seemed like forever.  It was a long, long time before I could move on.  I was already going through, what seemed to be, a hell of my own. He burned this message into me to help me express, His burning love for you, your loved ones as well as the sinner. He is sending me, in his love, to make this desperate plea for your salvation.  I can say with permission from the Lord that you are hearing from Him and that this is His perfect will for you that you believe in Him and to be a witness for Him. Not one good person, if they are a sinner, and not washed in His blood, will get into heaven, even if it is your mother.  I know. I was made to carry this stigma, the fear of a rejected sinner, to talk to you today. You would be wise to listen. Not one sinner can enter paradise.  Adam only committed one sin. When God came looking for him, he was hidden behind the fig leaves. One sin condemned him, and Adam knew It without God saying a word.” So he drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”(Gen3:24) [ Not one sinner will ever get in]  Listen to me, this is not a might happen. I have already watched it play out. I might have seen some of your loved ones out there running from the burning flame. If, my friend, you will get one person saved in your lifetime it will be the greatest achievement of your life. This message should make every Christian want to be a preacher. Together let’s take this message to the world by sending it to as many people as you can and encouraging them to keep it moving forward. I would love to know if you are on board with me.

When He comes back clothed in a vesture dipped in blood and a two-edged sword in His mouth, I don’t think it will be a good time to try and make a deal.  Absolutely no loopholes here. May we  all come together around this scripture,( Acts 26:18) Jesus said,”Paul,  turn men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.”

Regardless of how much you have now the only thing you can take to heaven is people.

The Apostle Paul said,” And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. (2Thess 1:7-9) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (V: 12)

“The Visit” By Bob Allen

Religion

Visit With Evil.

This is urgent, must rear.

This, my friend, is a word from the Lord for the followers of Christ Jesus. The message is not about my experience, but to encourage you to put on the whole armor of God and get yourself into the fight.

In 1987 I had cancer in my throat, while being prayed for the minister said, “You have been shot, I see shrapnel in your jaw I had been shot in my throat and jaw at age 17 as a young Marine.  The minister said, “There was a death sentence attached to that bullet by Satan it had now been broken. The devil wanted to destroy my throat because of the calling on my life.  No one but the Lord could have revealed the knowledge of the shrapnel in my jaw to that little housewife that spoke this word over me; it can only be revealed by an x-ray, the cancer was also from the devil.

                 Let me now show you what this ugly thing is like.

Another person and I from the church were having a disagreement, and I said let’s pray about it. We went downstairsto my game room, and we got on our knees facing each other around an eighteen-inch round footstool and began topray.  I just began to praise the Lord, and all at once the person said, “Stop! He doesn’t want you to praise Him.”  So I stopped. I had no reason to question this person. I had just gotten saved, and I knew little to nothing, but I was hearing from God, I guess I thought everyone could. All of a sudden, the person’s eyes were changed to a bright yellow with a red center stripe running perpendicular; very terrible and scary.  Their thumb was cocked back like a pistol, and their finger  was thrust into my side applying pressure to my side. It was sore for a few days.   Suddenlytheir language was changed to a cold, hard, evil, scary tongue.  The sound was as fast and loud as a German machine gun.  I had never heard teaching on casting out devils, and I was too scared to run. I remember looking at the stairs and wondering if I could make it without being overpowered.  I waved my hand before their eyes and could see that the person was hypnotized. Their eyes were like glass.  The person never moved their finger or released the pressure from my side, or stopped speaking in the harsh, evil tongue. I had never heard this tongue. Before or since itwas like perfect evil. It was very fearful and scary. The devil kept this evil tongue up using this person like they were a piece of trash until they fell out from exhaustion. I thought they might be dead.  All I knew to do was put my hands over their head and praise the Lord. After a time the person set up and was normal; just as if nothing had happened.  I said, “What did he say?” The demon spoke through the person and said, “He just said, you stand accused.” I said what’s going on here?  They asked what I meant. I said do you know what just went on here and they said no. They never knew or believed they had such an experience and were taken over by the devil, and yet it happened. The person left the room perfectly normal with the demons still in them. Once in you, until he is dealt with, he can come and go at will, and he can appear to be a good manager of your life.

One of the things the devil wanted to convince me of was that tongues were his. The pastor had already told me that tongues belong to the devil. This person was in the First Baptist Church on Sunday with a choir robe on and teaching Sunday school. There was no sign of demons, but the demons were still there. This is not that unusual. Satan was at the table with the disciples at the last supper “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot being of the twelve.” (Lu22:3) “And when the hour was come He (Jesus) sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.”(Verse: 11)  Jesus said, “But, behold, the hand of him that betrays me is with me on the table.”(Verse: 21)

 I had two more visits about this same time when the devil made a statement about tongues. The Lord wanted me to have this experience to learn about the evil devil’s ways, so I could help others. Most of us will not see a face taken over and changed like I did that day.  I still find it a mystery the way he was exposed to me. One day during a visit from him while trying to pass himself off as the Lord I caught him in a lie and told him so. I think it is a mystery why he let me catch him lying, and why he exposed his hand to me. It only made me a greater lover of God. The evil, wicked power can be used by him if he can get you over into sin. It is his to use if he can get to you through deception.  The devil totally possessed this person, but don’t worry; he can’t touch you, just like he couldn’t touch me. There must be something for him to travel on to get into you. It is what I call a sin road. If you are in sin or deception, he has directaccess to you.  If you will hide the Word in your heart and won’t sin against God, the Word in you will be a stop sign for the devil. If you can handle this next statement ok, but if not, so be it: I have heard many, many preachers say a Christian can’t have a demon, but I must say they have all been  wrong.This person was a Christian caught up in lustand lies to cover the sin. Remember  the devil cannot touch a born again spirit, but if your soul and body step into sin, you leave yourself wide open , and If you play in his sandbox, you are going to have company from sin’s rightful owner.

  This person was delivered from demons about forty-five days later.  They called the pastor and said, “I am deathly sick. Come quickly.” I stopped in just to check on the person at the same time the pastor showed up; he said, “Do you want me to call an ambulance and get you to the hospital?” They said,” don’t you know what this is? This is demons coming out of me.” Neither of us had ever been around anything like this before. The pastor was very scared. He never believed in demons being active today, and he had not believed me when I tried to tell him about my prior experience with the person. Now, this happened about forty-five years ago at that time you would have a hard time finding a TV preacher as well as very few Christian books on this subject.

This was a solemn work of the Lord. I don’t know how this person knew that they were full of demons or that the Lord was going to deliver them at that time. If this person had not been a child of God, the Lord would not have delivered them like this. It was His solemn work. It was a beautiful thing to see the Lord rescue one of His own. He never wants the devil’s wicked ways to touch us. The Pastor and I did nothing; we didn’t know how. The word, come out, was not spoken by us one time. This goes against every deliverance I have ever witnessed or heard of or been involved in. I saw this evil; wicked devil operating, even in one that is in the church. Satan has great power to use, but only against those not under the Father’s protection at all times through the Lord Jesus.

The Lord wants me to share with you what I saw in the evil, wicked, hideous one who hates you. If you belong to Christ Jesus, Satan is most likely the author of everything that’s going wrong in your life.

 Father God loves you with perfect love, and through the overcoming power of our Lord Jesus, we can put the devil under our feet. If you know anyone who needs help in this area, please push this teaching forward this is the work of God and not man. This work needs to touch the whole body of Christ; Please ask the one you forward it to also to pass it on.If you know someone that is maybe struggling or needs deliverance, I can and will help, and I can get you to the right Church. [email protected]

The last teaching on this subject is coming up: a trip to meet Jesus to learn more about sin.

Resting and Trust

Religion

Religion column written by Larry Bennett

“So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.” (Hebrews 4:9 NLT)

The context of the book of Hebrews has to do with convincing the unbelieving Jews of the superiority of Christ. Jesus is the fulfillment of all that they hold dear. Jesus is better than Angels, Moses, and the Law because He is the fulfillment of all of those things. So the writer of the book is admonishing them to not harden their heart in unbelief like their ancestors, but enter into the rest that salvation can give them.

This message of rest is also for us today. Because of the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross we can enter into a Spiritual rest for salvation.

This rest not only applies to salvation, but also to everyday life. Our salvation is so complete that it not only deals with our eternal destiny, but it can offer us rest in the midst of every problem. The same rest that is available for the salvation of our souls is also available for every challenge of life.

Learning how to rest is an important element of victorious living. Saying, “I’m resting” is not some spiritual incantation that enters us into the resting mode, but rather it’s a lifestyle based on absolute truth. As the invitation in Hebrews states, “therefore be diligent to enter into that rest” (V 11). Entering into God’s rest is an exercise of the will, trusting in the authority of His Word.

It’s a deliberate acknowledgment that God is fully aware of your situation and He understands the severity, the timing and the gravity of your problem. In other words, resting is agreeing to allow God to “fix it” in His way, on His terms, and in His timing. Its the act of “casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7)

Bottom Line
When my daughter Leslie was a toddler she was a trusting soul. I would lift her up and put her on the kitchen counter. She would leap off the counter with enthusiasm into my arms. No matter how far I got from the counters edge she would leap with complete trust that I was going to catch her. After each jump she would say, “again,again”.

That’s how God wants us to experience Him. He wants us to take the leap of faith and learn torest in Him, again and again. He will, without fail, catch us when we take the leap of faith and give all our anxiety to Him.

There is a song written in 1920 by a Englishman named Edward Henry Joy called “All our Anxiety”. I believe the song echoes the message of rest in Hebrews 4.

Is there a heart bound by sorrow?
Is there a life weighed down by care?
Come to the cross each burden bearing
All you anxiety leave it there

All our anxiety all our care
Bring to the mercy seat, leave it there.
Never a burden He cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus”.

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