April 14, 2016
MY FRIENDS, IN THE 21ST CENTURY CAN WE TRULY FIND REST?
Can you remember as a child playing outside all day, coming in the house, your mother having dinner ready, you eat, bath, get ready for bed, your mother tucks you in, gives you a kiss, one that assures you that nothing will ever harm you. With that assurance of love, and protection we fall asleep for ten to twelve hours until morning with no interruptions.
My friends, let’s now fast forward to today, when a good nights sleep evades most of us, and we have only memories when life was so simple. And now it becomes personal because we have allowed our lives to become self-centered instead of Christ-centered. God is still important in our lives but the chaos and uncertainty of our day to day life remains. But why? Remember, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace,” and he “gives us understanding in all things” 1 Cor. 14:33 (KJV), 2 Tim 2:7 (KJV)
But my friends, it comes down to staying focused but when we have moved off course that is when we must seek God’s presence knowing He is reaching and even when we are lost, He is still 
willing to pursue us and Lift our heads up to show us His glory as we become “Captivated by the splendor Of His face,” And then He speaks to us as a Friend. Oh what a God we serve. Today as I look at life, and death, and what it means to each of us, we must be totally rested spiritually not to get caught up in the chaos.
And my friends, it is that spirituality and that connection with Christ that gives us that comfort from being in His presence. For His grace is “so relentless” so overwhelming because He defines for us, perfect love, perfect peace, all “wrapped within His touch. For Christ tells us to “Take His yoke and learn from me For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matt. 1:29 (NKJV)
Rest only evades us when we feel this is my battle, that I must fight, but if self is eliminated we will realize it is God’s battle if we are willing to give it all to Jesus and then say “not my will, but thy will be done.” Letting go of self and accepting God’s spiritual vision for our life is a difficult process. But that is where we will find rest as we accept each situation and circumstances in our life simply because we no God makes no mistakes.
We must be willing to say, God, I can not figure this out, in fact I will not even try to, I’m just going to trust You to give me your vision of hope for your children in the 1st century, got to have the latest right now society. My friends first we must give our burdens to the Master as we rest in the bosom of Christ, knowing God is going to accomplish what needs to be done in our life and we don’t need to know when He will do it, or how.
And now that God is in control, we have the confidence of David up against Goliath, Because our faith and endurance, and God’s word tells us we can find rest in the loving arms of Jesus. My friends each day our faith must be strengthened as we grow spiritually in Christ, “because we can be confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you [and I] will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Phil. 1:6 (NKJV)
Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.
Amen