A Community of Grace »

“It is finished” were the last and most important words of Jesus Christ, spoken moments before His death upon the cross. What did He finish? The work that He alone as the holy and sinless Son of God could accomplish, the ultimate rescue mission: the ongoing salvation of man from the consequences and penalty of sin. Salvation from sin provides peace with God, rest and soul prosperity.

Made to live in peaceful union with the glorious God of the universe, man chose to walk in his own dark and restless ways. We were seeking fulfillment in lie-based beliefs and self-indulgent behaviors. Jesus saw our miserable condition apart from our Creator. He came to rescue us.

The enormity of what Christ accomplished is staggering. Like the liberating forces who freed prisoners of war from cruel enemies, Jesus destroyed Satan’s works and his authority over us. Satan holds no power over us as we reject his lies and replace them with God’s truth. Why would we continue to live as morally emaciated prisoners, captive to Satan’s lies, when Christ has opened our prison doors through faith in His death and resurrection?

What will you choose? Will you esteem Jesus as your most vital necessity, your Way, your Truth and your Life? The soul-peace and rest Christ offers is found only through daily seeking Him with your whole heart. Will you humble yourself, inviting the indwelling Holy Spirit to fill you and reign over your mind, emotions and will? It involves daily dying to all desires, attitudes and dreams that are self- centered and self-pleasing. Dying hurts, but it produces life.

Consider the cross. See the nail-pierced feet and hands as Jesus’ blood flowed in sacrificial love. That love defines your indescribable significance and worth as a child of God. As Jesus did in His agony on the cross, fix your eyes on the future joy that will be yours as you resist the fleeting pleasures of sin. You will find abundant life, rest from sin and wholeness. Come to Jesus, believe His Words and receive rest for your soul. Let Him finish the good work that He has begun in you!

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith.”

2 Timothy 4:7

Some slogans are remembered long after the advertising campaign ends. You may remember two famous slogans and their catchy tunes from the 1970s and 80s:

“Have it your way at Burger King” and “You deserve a break today at McDonalds.”

Companies hope to increase sales by suggesting a need or desire will be met if a particular product is purchased. Many advertising claims fall far short of the generated expectation. There’s a claim, however, made by God and reiterated by Jesus that will meet our great need and far exceed our expectations:

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Speaking to a crowd of people who were weary and burdened, Jesus promised rest. What was this rest? It was freedom from sin and the power of Satan. Rest is receiving provision for our every need from God’s abundant supply. This freedom is obtained not through endless striving and countless religious rituals, but by coming to and believing in the sin-conquering power of Jesus. In doing that, we receive His rest.

The rest of God is the rightful inheritance of every child of God. Are you experiencing it? Do you expect daily victory over the sin in your life? The nation of Israel failed to enter God’s rest because of their unbelief. On the border of the Promised Land, ten of the twelve men who surveyed the land voted not to enter, saying, “The people who live there are powerful and the cities are fortified and very large” (Numbers 13:28).

We will not experience our freedom in Christ if we believe the strongholds of sin are too powerful, too deeply-rooted and entrenched to conquer. Yet we can experience great victory and rest if we repent of our unbelief and instead trust in God. After Israel did so:

“The LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to their forefathers. He gave them rest on every side. Not one of their enemies withstood them. Every promise of God was fulfilled” (Joshua 21:43-45).

Fix your mind on a life-changing slogan: Be Free!

“For if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed! “

John 8:37

Could you imagine inheriting a vast piece of property the size of a small country worth an incalculable fortune? Could you imagine the foolishness of deciding that it would be too inconvenient to do whatever was necessary to appropriate such an inheritance? Such was the case for the people of Israel upon entering the land of Canaan, the Promised Land that God had chosen to give them. Out of 30,000 square miles of fertile land, they chose to appropriate only 3,000. Fear of enemy inhabitants and a lack of obedient faith in God’s commandments forfeited much of their rich inheritance.

God has given the promise of a rich rest-land to each of His children. That rest-land for the Israelites was the promise of peace and victory over their enemies if they would listen to, believe, and obey God’s Words. But they often chose to act independently of God, refusing to receive His deliverance.

As part of God’s chosen people through faith in Christ, we are often no different from the foolish Israelites. The rest-land God has equipped us to inherit is victory over sin: holy conduct and character. The enemies we must conquer are defeated in the same manner as the Israelites’ enemies were: through obedient faith that triumphs over fear. Satan’s lies, fears, temptations, prideful independence and self-seeking are conquered by believing and obeying God’s Word’s. We, unlike the Israelites, have the additional help and hope of victory because of the indwelling Holy Spirit who guides us.

Too often, our words of faith are invalidated by our actions. Instead of clinging to Jesus in every circumstance, no matter how difficult, and seeking His wisdom, we quickly follow our own independent ways, quenching the Spirit’s power.

God desires to enlarge the borders of your Promised Land – holy character that comes from victory over sin. Are you aligning your will in trusting obedience to God’s Word no matter what? As you do so, expecting God to work through impossible-looking situations, difficult people and battered emotions, He will! Your territory of godly influence will expand, deepening your joy and bringing glory to God.

“For we who have believed enter that rest, as He has said…”

Hebrews 4:3