Before we begin, I want you to follow me on a weird excursion. To go where we have to go, you need to read the entire paragraph and do exactly as told.
I’d tell you to trust me, but that would be vain. Trust Him instead, He’s a much better choice… After you’ve read this paragraph, I want you to close your eyes softly. Breathe a breath that will fill your lungs with air. Allow your mind to wander to that place in your mind where peace and tranquility is possible, whether that be a forest trail that you like or a lake that you’ve been to. Go to your happy place. When you get to that place, take a pause and listen to what the Father tells you as you remain in His presence… Thank you for joining me in this little trip. The reason why I asked you to join me is because, I believe that, In these moments of rest, God the Father, can talk to us. In our extremely busy world, we rarely take the time to really rest and listen to what the Father has to say. Sometimes, they are messages of peace, meant to alleviate whatever worries or burdens that we may have in our lives. In other times, it may be a message to present what He has intended for us. To be frank, even as I list these things that He may tell us in these times of rest,I realize there are so many things that He could tell us. He is the Sovereign One. He will decide what He tells you, if He decides to tell you what He wants to tell you. But why is rest so important? While the idea of rest may seem to foreign to us, it wasn’t always the case. The Bible presents quite a few instances of rest, within both testaments. Within the ten commandments, He says: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8 - 11) “Sabbath”, in Hebrew, was the term for rest. God is repeatedly asking for us, His children, to relax and breathe. And in that, it is elaborated upon in the Psalms, as his humble servant David says: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). God wants us to rest with Him, in His shelter, and in His time. Another instance happens in 1 Kings 3, where we see the newest king of Israel, Solomon, sleeping. It was as he slept, in a dream, that God the Father presented Himself to the new King and asked Solomon what he wanted; that’s when Solomon asked for wisdom and discernment (1 Kings 3:6 - 9). Again, we see that it is in these small moments of rest that the Father can present Himself to us and talk to us. And finally, I can present to you the greatest Example: Jesus. Let us never forget the famous example of Jesus sleeping through a storm (Mark 4:38 - 40; Matthew 8:23 - 27). If God, the Creator of both the Heavens and Earth, as well as His begotten Son, Jesus Christ, can both take time to rest, why can’t we? I say that we can, but it requires something from us. It is more than just obedience to the Word, but acknowledgement of our detachment to this world. Remember that Jesus said that those we are not of this world once we are chosen by Him and choose to follow Him (John 15:19). You and I must detach from this world and attach ourselves to a lifetime where the Father is our only priority - a world in which rest is something that we do naturally. All the best and may the Father bless you, Eli
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Heyy!
I’d like to start this article with a story that is a little funny. I was reading the list of articles that I had to write and I realized that there was one that I was already thinking about. The truth is that I had given it a name and put it in my calendar. And I had forgotten the link that I had made between the passage that I wanted to use and the title that I had written. So, I wrote another article… “It’s My Life’’. Since that article and this one are pretty much linked, I am inviting you to go read, or reread, “It’s My Life” before you continue, or later on if you want. I do not want to force you to do anything that you don’t want to do lol. So, thanks to the two verses that I kind of forgot, you are allowed two articles with similar topics. Yet, I think that you know me well enough now to know that I am a pro at doing this subject. Therefore, let’s start. I mentioned in “It’s My Life” that we are living lives that do not belong to us if we have given our hearts to Christ. I’d like to go even further with that today. In a context where Paul asks the church of Corinth to live a moral life in God, the Father, he tells them: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19 - 20) I believe that God has given us a huge responsibility. He is asking that our bodies glorify Him. Lastly, I was touched by the principle of “to not sin” and of sanctification. I promise you an article on this subject will come soon enough. But, as we wait, I would like to ask you this question: when you are not sinning, are you truly the temple of the Holy Spirit? My life cost God the life of His only Son, who died pierced for my iniquities (Isaiah 53). That’s what the verse tells me. My life, my eternity, cost Jesus His life, His pride, His intimacy. Some will tell me that it is a violation of His human rights. But it is what He did for me. Paul said it and I am incapable of doing better than that. If God redeemed me at the price of the death of Jesus - His resurrection proving that nothing, not even death can stop Him - I therefore have the obligation to glorify Him with my body and soul, for nothing belongs to me. I would like to invite you to meditate on this verse for a moment, so that you realize the importance of what God has done for us: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19 - 20) Now that you have understood the responsibility on your shoulders, you have two choices. The first being that you can continue living your life like you were doing before opening this article. Or, you can choose to no longer be in charge of your life and give the reins over to the Father, so that you may glorify Him with your body and soul. I made my choice, even if it’s something that requires a lot of energy. But I love God, and I want to glorify Him. I hope that you will too. Be blessed, Do |
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November 2021
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