OUR LORD WHO GIVES US REST

A gift that we hardly ever cherish for its incredible value is the gift of rest that the Lord gives us. 

This rest is given in two forms. In the first form, the rest is given for our minds and bodies in the form of peace and sleep.  As the scriptures say in Isaiah 14 verse 3, "And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved". In this example, the Lord is giving rest to His people who have endured physical and mental turmoil.  It should be said that this form of rest is itself a metaphor for the second form of rest.

In the second form, rest is given for our souls and our spirits. In the scriptures in Matthew 11 verse 28, Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." In this context, rest is for those burdened by guilt and weariness of the heaviness of sin and its demands. 

The rest being offered here is that which is paid for by the Lord Jesus that those who would believe in Him have their sins washed away and the peace that passes all understanding given to them. In this rest, our souls find rest and our spirits soar in the weightlessness.  

The Lord our God grants rest to our body, soul and  spirit to those who believe and are called according to His purposes.

Amen.

OUR LORD'S SCEPTER RULES FROM ZION

I will sing to Him

He who made all things

Who shines brighter, brighter than the sun

With the cherubim

I will worship Him

He whose scepter rules from Zion

OUR LORD IS THE ETERNAL MESSIAH (reprise)

You are the great and eternal Messiah

You died for us and did ascend

From everlasting to everlasting 

Your kingdom will never end. (X 3) (X 4)

   To our Saviour our voices we bring

   It is with grateful hearts we sing  (X 3)

 THE LORD OUR GOD WANTS US BACK

The Lord our God made us. He constructed the human being as a peculiar hybrid of spirit, soul and body.

We humans are an encapsulation writ small of the image and operation of the God of the universe. This awesome privilege gives us a high status in creation as stewards and trustees of the things of God but with that privilege  comes moral responsibility. 

Presently, humans have deviated from moral law and have set up outposts in the most wretched moral depravity imaginable. The most evil things conceivable are routine occurrences in the human story from extreme cruelty to vicious predatory behaviour.

Why are we like this? 

There was a time that the human race could have cleaved to God and paralleled His moral path by being subject to Him. Our progenitor Adam however, at a critical point of decision,  chose a path that availed the full spectrum of moral options to him. 

By choosing to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil, the human race decoupled from the life of God and drifted into independence from God where we could do as we pleased and where other parties other than our creator could have  influence over the life and  destiny of our entire species.

The Lord our God, having experienced us cutting ourselves loose from Him, nevertheless, undertook to save mankind from a fate of death that we had chosen for ourselves. 

God presented us an offer where we could decide if we wanted to return to union with Him or if we wanted to stay separate from Him and take our chances with the 'other' parties.

This option was presented to us through the death of our Lord Jesus on a cross where He paid the price for our rebellion. We could either accept the price that Jesus paid for us or we could reject it.

Those of us who feel convicted in our hearts and feel that rebellion against God is the wrong stance for the human race, have been given the opportunity to take up God's offer by  believing in the provision that God made of His Son's death on the cross and recanting our part in the rebellion.

By believing in the sacrifice Jesus made, we are opting back into union with God and recoupling our moral path to God's.

The invitation to opt in with God, though open,  is finite and expires either when we die or when a fixed number of people around the world accept the offer.

This is what we must do to accept the offer of God: 

We  must believe in Jesus's sacrificial death to redeem us.

We must then repent of our sins which are the hallmarks of our participation in the rebellion against God.   

Do these two things and begin the journey back to the Kingdom of God. 

He welcomes us with joy and open arms.

Amen.

THE LORD OUR SHIELD

Sometimes in our lives, calamities and afflictions take aim at us and send volleys of missiles straight at us. Sometimes it is grievous bodily injuries and illnesses. Other times it is financial reversals or family disasters.

In such cases, these attacks strike so suddenly all we can do is crouch behind the shield of protection that God provides and  wait for the assault to pass.

Our Lord is our shield and defender as described in Psalm 28 verse 7:

"The LORD is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped 

Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

Our Lord is watchful over us and is mighty to save. 

Praise and honor to His name.

Amen.

OUR LORD OUR HEALER

The Lord Jesus was reknown in the area of Judea and beyond for the healing miracles that He performed which touched the lives of people who were blind, deaf, mute, lame and people who had many other infirmities.

Wherever He traveled teaching the good news of the kingdom of God, miracles followed Him and changed the lives of those afflicted.

These miracles were among the signs that confirmed that Jesus was the Messiah Israel had been waiting for.

Jesus declared this when John the Baptist sent word to Jesus asking if He was the "Expected One" or if they should expect another.

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

            - Mathew 11 verse 2 - 5

The sign of widespread and public healing was an important marker of the appearance of the Lord. 

The Lord gladly and willing heals those who ask Him. He paid the price for our healing because at the time of His crucifixion, Jesus underwent a brutal scurging and terrible injuries to His physical body. These injuries, having been inflicted on an innocent person,  purchased our healing for by His wounds you were healed. -  1 Peter 2 verse 24.

Give thanks to our Lord for His wonderful gift of healing He purchased for us.

Amen.

OUR LORD IS MINDFUL WE ARE BUT DUST

The Lord encourages His people along the path of righteousness and He does so, He remembers we are but dust. He remembers that we are but a vapour that can evaporate in a moment.

The Lord is patient with us and strengthens us to live the life of the spirit and serve in His Kingdom. 

His abundant grace gives us the time and space we need to gain footholds in the spirit.

Amen.