GOD’S WAYS, GOD’S REST
By Mrs. Murphy
God’s Ways God’s Rest
Do you have peace in your life? Do you have joy? Do you rest in a perfect love that wants the best for you and is always present? You can! I would like to introduce you to the God of the Bible.
First of all God loves you. The Bible states: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Do you know anyone that would give up their son for you? God did! God’s love is demonstrated so perfectly by the cross. That is His way. Because He loves, He gives.
Why did God have to give His son? Because of the sin that Adam and Eve committed and that passed down to us. Romans 3:23 states: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Isaiah 53:6 states: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him (Jesus Christ) the iniquity of us all.” God is a holy God and cannot tolerate sin. It cannot live in His powerful presence. But God still loved Adam and Eve and all mankind and provided a sacrifice for them, clothing them with skins of the sacrificed animal; because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. Leviticus 17:11 states: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” And Hebrews 9:22 states: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” And later, the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, came and made a more perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 9:13, 14 states: “For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Revelation 1:5 states: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us in his own blood.” Do you know anyone who would die for you? Jesus Christ did! Just like the Father God, Jesus the Son of God loves you and demonstrated that love by giving His life so we could be reconciled back to God. It is His way, and it brings us rest.
On the contrary, does the world love you? Does anything it can offer bring you peace, love, joy, and rest? The world wants you to believe that there is no God or that you yourself are God. This way you can do just about anything you want without having to give account. This philosophy will not bring peace but only emptiness. It will lead to a search that will never bring fulfillment but only a constant craving for more. The reason this is true is because God, as our creator, has made us to be complete only when we have a thriving relationship with Him. It is in our owner’s manual. Similar to how a remote control car will not work without the batteries. Something vital is missing without God in our lives. The world’s lie of the “evolution theory” that nothing created everything is an impossibility. Look up “The Atheist Delusion” video by Ray Comfort. It describes how your DNA is a complicated book with 48-250 million letters for each of your 46 chromosomes, which is approximately 3.2 billion letters total. This DNA is an instruction book on how to make you. If it were laid out end to end it would go to the sun and back many times. In Psalms 139 it states: “For thou has possessed my reins: thou has covered me in my mother’s womb (knit me together). I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought (woven) in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect (unformed); and in thy book all my members were written.” We know a regular book has to have an author. And yet the information code (book) for a human being is so much more complicated than any other book. It only makes sense that we were made by far superior intelligent design. How can intelligence come from unintelligence? There was a maker and that maker was God. So it is not the world that loves you at all; but it is your creator: God.
So what will you believe? John 10:10 states: “The thief cometh not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Satan wants to steal your peace, kill your joy, and destroy you. But Jesus Christ came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly. I plead with you to take that first step toward God and believe in Him and know that He wants your best. If you refuse to believe, you will not be able to enter into that wonderful rest he has for you, but you will incur His wrath instead. Hebrews 3:18 states: “And to whom swear he should not enter into his rest but to them that believed not.” Hebrews 11:6 states: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” He loves you dearly and has made a way for you to come to Him. Even now his Holy Spirit is drawing you.
If you do take that first step, and believe in Him, the next step is to trust Him with your life. No matter where you are right now, God can pick up the pieces and make your life whole once again. He can make you His child. You can be free from all of the sin and shame. Sin is anything in word, thought, or deed that is against the eternal commandments of God in His word. Sin is rottenness in the soul. It is the very stench of death, and we need to hate it like God does. We need to pray that He will restore our soul and lead us in the paths of righteousness (Psalms 23). 1 John 1:9 states: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” He will give you a new heart. He not only cleanses us from sin, He gives us His grace not to continue in sin; freeing us from sin’s dominion of our thoughts and actions. This grace, this heavenly influence, actually is God’s power from the Holy Spirit that enables us to be holy. There is nothing we can do; it is God’s grace. It is the secret weapon to a victorious Christian life: God’s power working in us as we yield to Him. Ephesians 2:8 states: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” I pray that you repent of your sins and trust in Christ’s perfect work and provision to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
The next step if you do repent and trust in Christ’s perfect sacrifice is baptism (e.g. Acts 2:38, 39, Mark16:16, Acts18:8). Jesus Christ Himself was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. It is a symbol that you are dying to your old self and are now living for God. It is the next step of obedience in walking in this wonderful newness of life. I would encourage you to seek out a fellowship of believers and be baptized as soon as possible. Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead you to the right fellowship. Whatever fellowship you attend, watch out for the doctrines of men, and always seek God directly through the scriptures.
Once you have been baptized, this is just the beginning of your Christian walk. God wants your whole heart. Develop your relationship with Him through prayer, bible study, and fellowship with believers. There is much to learn about His ways so you can bear fruit for Him, such as: walking in forgiveness (a root of bitterness will defile you), loving your neighbor as yourself, and living in true holiness. Romans 6:18 states: “Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.” You are free to do the good that God wants because His goodness is now in you. Ephesians 2:10 states: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Just as it was by grace through faith that you were saved, so it is by grace through faith that you can do these works. You must be aware of your need for Him, else you can do nothing. John 15:5 states: “I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.” 1 Peter 2:2 states “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” Faith is fed by God’s word. Set aside a time every day to read, memorize, and meditate on the word of God. Let it go down deep until it becomes a part of you. There can be so many distractions when you try to read God’s word and think on Him; but turn down the noise of the world and turn up His word full blast so you can be blessed every day and be a blessing to others. Prayer is also a discipline and a delight that needs to be a daily practice. Prayer is just talking with and listening to God. You can begin with praising Him and thanking Him for everything He has done for you. Then you can bring him your requests and any concerns you have. You can also be a powerful influence in this world by interceding for people in prayer. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send forth workers into His harvest. There are so many lost and lonely people who need to hear about the love of God. Your prayers just might make the difference in someone’s eternal salvation. We know we have an enemy, Satan. But God has defeated this enemy. We have all of God’s power at our fingertips when we fold them in prayer, as long as we pray in His will.
Sometimes it may not be easy to be a Christian. People may not always understand your faith. Sometimes persecution may come. Most of the original disciples and many more throughout history have died a martyr’s death. But it is so worth it because there is fellowship with our Savior and eternal heaven with Him to be gained. I would love to hear from you if this letter has been an encouragement. May God lead you! Murphy316@aol.com