Week 63: Enter 2015 with His Rest

Hallelujah! Praise be to God of Most High! Praise be to Jesus, our Savior, our Redeemer! Amen!

Happy New Year to all. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and celebration. I can't be happier that we are entering 2015! Because 15 is one of my favorite number.

The number 15 in the Bible means new direction and it can also means rest. The 15th day of the first Hebrew month (Nisan) is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a day of rest for the children of Israel (and for Christians). The 15th day of the 7th Hebrew month begins the Feast of Tabernacles, also a day of rest.

The 15th time that Naomi is mentioned in Ruth 3:1,

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, My daughter, shall I not seek rest or a home for you, that you may prosper?


If one continues to read the context, we find Naomi sending Ruth in a new direction in order to make herself noticed by Boaz. The idea of “rest” itself can certainly fit the number 15 at times, because going from “work” to “rest” is a new direction.

One of the turning point in my walk with God is coming to understand the word "rest". Here, we are not talking about being lazy or doing nothing. It is about resting in the finished work of Christ, trusting in the Lord.

When Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Here, rest means relief, ease and refreshment. And in verse 29, He said "find rest for your souls." The only condition required of us to be granted His rest is to go to Him! He did not say "Come to Me, all you who have finished reading the Bible..." or "Come  to Me, all you who have sanctified yourself..."

I used to be conscious of my status whenever I read the Bible or go to Church. If that day, I do not feel good or for some reason I don't feel "holy" or "sanctified", I would rather not read the Bible and I would find it hard to raise my hands to worship God. How wrong was I with such thinking! That mindset had put me in self-focus, self-effort and in demand-orientation. I was under the Law all that while. I was lost until Grace found me. Amen!

The devil likes to play mind game. He will put thoughts like "How can you come before God when you have just scouted your kids?" or "Are you sure partaking Holy Communion can heal your sickness? Look at yourself, you are still feeling the pain, right?"

The devil will do all things to put us in condemnation, guilt and self-looking. Do you know that the devil is also known as "the accuser of the brethren"? His weapons today are accusations to produce condemnation, guilt and shame. That's why it is important we watch the words that come out of our mouth, lest we fall into his plot and starting condemning others. Our words should be of edification. Our words should be filled with power to resurrect the death. When Jesus said "Lazarus, come forth!" in John 11:43, Lazarus, who was death for four days, was resurrected! Amen! When someone with heavy heart come to us, their hearts should be lifted from heaviness after the conversation with us and not the other way round. There should be resurrection power in our speech. Amen!

The Bible says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” in Proverbs 18:21. So what will come out of your mouth today, death or life? It will all depend on what’s filling your heart. Jesus said, “. . . out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). A critical heart produces a critical tongue. A self-righteous heart produces a judgmental tongue. A bitter heart produces an acerbic tongue. An ungrateful heart produces a grumbling tongue.

But a loving heart produces a gracious tongue. A faithful heart produces a truthful tongue. A peaceful heart produces a reconciling tongue. A trusting heart produces an encouraging tongue. Amen!

Going back to the plot of the devil. He would want us to think as though Christ has not already defeated him at the cross. The truth is Christ did! Our fight with the devil today is NOT to defeat him, the real fight is to stand on our ground and remain at rest. The enemy wants to wrestle us out of our position of rest, get us into self-effort and get us all agitated, anxious and fearful. But God wants us to remain seated and restful, trusting in Him and the finished work of His Son that has wrought victory over all the works of the enemy. Amen!

So don’t get provoked out of our place of rest. Know that the Lord is on our side and with us in the midst of our battle. As we remain at rest in Him, He will give us might and lead us to a glorious victory. Amen!

I can't tell you enough how blessed I am to know this truth. All of a sudden, there is a paradigm shift in my thinking. As much as I used to look inward (Law-demand), very often I experience stress, frustration, strife, disappointment, pain, lack of confidence, etc. The moment I look outward (Grace-supply), I sense a relief (rest) and see favor, blessing and the hand of God at work on my behalf! Hallelujah! Amen! What a joy!

God does not want your heart full of worries and fears, tossed and turned by every challenge that comes your way. He wants your heart at rest and established by His grace toward you. Let's not chase after worries, fear or stress. Jesus said in Matthew 6:27(AMP)

"And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the [a]span of his life?"

Indeed, by worrying, we are not going to grow nor prolong our lives. Instead the opposite is true! Let us therefore begin this year 2015 with the right mindset and the right posture. Jesus said "Come to Me...I will give you rest." So, let's adopt a posture of rest, trusting in God, filled our hearts with thanksgiving, knowing with full assurance His grace is sufficient to take us through this year with huge success and great victory. Amen!