Sunday’s Blessing – 04/27/2025 – The Rest of God

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/27/2025 – The Rest of God

During this past Easter season I became familiar with a song by Andrew Peterson called, “God Rested.” In this song, the composer drew a parallel between God in the Creation, described in Genesis 1-2, and the Crucifixion of Christ. After creation, God said:

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Genesis 2:1-3 (ESV) 

When God finished His work of creation, He rested! His last creation was The Sabbath. God had set things in motion for eternity. Even though everything had not yet taken place, God had finished creation … and rested!

When Jesus was on the cross, He said:

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:28-30 (ESV)

“Knowing that all was now finished …” Jesus gave up His life. Even though everything had not yet become manifest, He placed everything in motion which would be completed after His death. Jesus went to the tomb … and rested! After He died, Jesus was taken down off the cross, His body prepared for burial, was placed in the tomb of a stranger, then was resurrected from the dead. Jesus then ascended to heaven where He sat down at the right hand of the Father. He then sent the Holy Spirit (as He had promised) to fill the Believers and to empower them to carry out the work of the ministry of reconciling all people back to full fellowship with the Father. Through salvation, mankind can now “rest” with Christ, seated with Him at the right hand of the Father. (Ephesians 1-2)

Now for today’s blessing:

May you come to experience the rest of God

As you become identified with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension

Now take your rest as you are seated with Him in heavenly places

Far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion in this world and the one to come

May you find in living from this place of rest abundant peace

A peace beyond anything you can imagine ever being possible

A peace which keeps our hearts and mind as we focus on our fellowship with the Father

Full of grace and mercy because of all Jesus finished in His life, death, and eternal rule with God

Crucifixion (not Convenience) - an excerpt from The Call to Worship - The Life of Every Believer by Dudley M. Harris

The Call to Worship

Crucifixion – to destroy the power of the flesh – sacrifice

Convenience – something conducive to comfort – selfish

Chapter 3 – Crucifixion (not Convenience)

I believe we have things backwards in the American church. We make becoming a Christian convenient, but then crucify those in the Church for wrong behavior. “Getting saved” has been reduced to a handshake and a card rather than being identified with Christ in His crucifixion, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating at the right hand of Father, then the infilling of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus sent to help us. While it is true that we do not have to die physically to atone for our sins (we would not be an acceptable sacrifice anyway) we are called to be “crucified with Christ.”

Galatians 2:20 (ESV) 

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

Salvation is more than a prayer. It is an exchange; my life for that of Jesus. It is a surrender of my will. We take on His Call. There is pain and suffering in our soul as we go to war with the person we have been up to the point of our encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Being “born again” is instantaneous. Our spirit is recreated by the Holy Spirit. We become a new creation, what the Greek word κτίσις  describes as “a species of being that has never existed before.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (κτίσις). The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

Everything from that point forward is “the saving of our soul”, the process of being conformed to the image of Christ. The writer of Hebrews (whom I believe to be Paul) put it like this.

Hebrews 10:36-39 (ESV) 

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. 

The saving of one’s soul is not convenient. It requires a complete change of priorities, plans, and pursuits; or at the very least, a change in motives for all of these. Becoming a Christian does not mean a change of occupation, spouse, or geography. What does change is the requirement that we now represent Christ in all of these. In our work we no longer cheat our employer, employees, or our clients. In our marriage we now love our spouse with the love of God, unselfishly giving them our affection. We sacrifice our will for that of the Holy Spirit, who now leads us by His still, small voice.

Lest you draw the wrong conclusion, please know that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation. You cannot be good enough. You cannot purchase this salvation. You cannot rely on the family name. The only way into this New Covenant relationship with your Creator is by the provision made through Christ.

There is only one way to receive the New Life that is available in Christ. You must be born again.

John 3:3-6 (ESV) 

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

The moment we are willing to admit that we cannot save ourselves is the beginning of salvation. When we ask God to save us we must be willing to identify with Christ is every way: His death (we must die to self), His burial (old things pass away), His resurrection (new things come), His ascension (we begin the process of renewing our mind to His ways which are higher than ours), His seating at the right hand of Father (we take on the authority we have in the Kingdom of God), and His sending the Holy Spirit (we receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit).

It’s not convenient to become a Christian. As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, the American church seems to have reversed the process. Instead of judging the new Christian we should pray for them, disciple them, encourage them, celebrate life with them, and worship our Savior and our Lord with them. We seem ready to extend grace to the lost, but require law-keeping of the Christian. How we must frustrate our Lord. Grace is for the lost, but it is even more so for the Believer. Let’s find a way to do better than this. If we are truly crucified with Christ then we need to respond to others, inside and outside the Church, with the love of God. Let’s answer The Call to worship and be crucified with Him.

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/20/2025 – Resurrection Sunday – I AM the Resurrection and the Life

Many liturgical churches who observe Lent redecorate their buildings to reflect the time of fasting. They replace the cross of gold with one of wood, the brass collection plates with wicker baskets, and the beautiful flowers normally adorning the pulpit with some leafless tree branches. All of this serves as a visual reminder that they are in a time fasting, awaiting the resurrection of the Savior.

Then, on Easter Sunday, also called Resurrection Sunday, all of the usual beautiful and ornate décor are returned to their rightful place. Everything is shouting, “He is alive!” Jesus declared to those who would listen that He would rise again. The final I AM we will consider is found in John 11:25:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” (ESV)

This was spoken outside the tomb of Lazarus, the friend of Jesus who had died had been buried for days. Martha, the sister of Lazarus, was lamenting to Jesus, saying, “If only you had been here he would not have died.” She had faith to see her brother healed, but did not realize the power operating in Jesus was not only strong enough to heal the sick, but could also bring them back from the dead. That’s when He declared, “I AM the Resurrection.” It was something He did, but it was also part of who He was.

Jesus then demonstrated this by commanding Lazarus, who was dead, to come out of the tomb. And he did! I will not take time to cover all of it here, but this is when the religious leaders decided to kill Jesus; not with their hands, but with the blessing of Roman government who ruled over them. They could discount the healings, but who could argue with a dead man who came back to life?

This is still what Jesus does today. As Paul stated in Romans 5:8, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (ESV). We were dead, not physically like Lazarus, but spiritually dead, separated from the Father. Jesus comes and gives us life, resurrecting our dead spirit so we can be born again, back into fellowship with our Creator.

Now for this week’s blessing:

May you experience a complete resurrection through Christ, the Risen Savior

So you can walk in the life He purchased for you with His own death

So in turn, you can lay down your life for others

Being poured out as a sacrifice of praise to the glory of God

May you comprehend the lengths God went through to bring you back to life

From the Garden when man sinned and became separated from God

Then passed on that spiritual death to everyone after Adam

But ended when Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice to redeem you from death

May you be refreshed by the depths of God’s love

Demonstrated by Christ who became an example for us

Lead by the Holy Spirit and empowered to do only what the Father commanded

You now live a life full of the blessings of God

May the resurrection of Jesus be evident in your life

By reflecting the glory of God in the earth

Speaking the good news of salvation, redemption, and restoration

Turning others back to the Father, full of grace and truth

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/13/2025 – Palm Sunday – I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/13/2025 – Palm Sunday – I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life

This Sixth Week of Lent, also known as Palm Sunday, brings us to I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So far, Jesus has revealed Himself to be the Bread, the Light, the Door, the Good Shepherd, and the Vine. Some might say that “the Door” and “the Way” are basically the same thing. I disagree. The Door is simply an ingress/egress; a means of getting into or out of something. In some sense of the word, “the Way” could also indicate a means of entry or exit. However, I believe Jesus was speaking of something much more broad and deep. The other words coupled with “the Way” give us insight as to what Jesus was trying to communicate. “The Way” speaks our entire life. Christianity has been referred to as “The Way” throughout history. Jesus was saying that He was the pattern by which we are to order our life. When you add “the Truth” and “the Life”, you see the quality of that life.

Truth is liberating. When you are operating in Truth, you are exhibiting the ultimate freedom. There is no guilt or regret. There is no need for remorse. Truth needs no excuse. With “the Life”, Jesus was explaining that the zoe (God kind of life) is what He brings to everyone who will believe.

The sixth I AM to consider is found in John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (ESV)

In order to get to God the Father you have to be “in” Christ. We become a part of Him when we are saved, born again, or whatever you call the process of regeneration. It’s the moment the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ. As Paul described in Ephesians 1 and 2, we are identified with the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating of Jesus. This was a great demonstration of love and power shown by the Father when the Son was given as a sacrificial lamb to pay the debt for our sin, then raised Him up again, defeating death, hell, and the grave. The Father literally moved heaven and earth to make a way for us to be reconciled back to Himself.

Palm Sunday was the beginning of the end for Jesus. He entered Jerusalem that day and would not leave again until He was resurrected!  

Now for this week’s blessing:

May you experience the joy of welcoming Messiah with shouts of Hosanna

Which means, “Save now”, knowing that He hears and responds

So that you may walk out your destiny with assurance that God is with you

Just as He was with Jesus

May you rejoice as Jesus enters your life, bringing hope and peace

So you may live each day in fellowship with the Father

Living in unfettered relationship with Him

As you walk with Him, and commune face to face as friend with friend

May you keep the reality of God’s presence in your consciousness

Always aware that He’s closer than the air you breathe

And more real than the ground upon which you stand

And your future is sealed in Him

May you find ways to include others in your journey

Sharing with them the hope you have found in Christ

Allowing them to see the Kingdom of God in you

And bringing them into the Kingdom with you

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/06/2025 – 5th Sunday of Lent – I AM the Vine

Sunday’s Blessing – 04/06/2025 – 5th Sunday of Lent – I AM the Vine

This Fifth Week of Lent brings us to I AM the Vine. A predominant theme in the teachings of Jesus is that of “sabbath”. Jesus proclaimed Himself to be Lord of the Sabbath. If you remember the Ten Commandments, you recall one said, “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8 ESV) In giving Moses the Law, God commanded His people to set aside one day a week and do no work. It was for the purpose of remembering that God provides everything for them. The Sabbath (the 7th day, or Saturday) was to be considered holy (sacred, set apart).

Jesus came along in the New Testament with a totally new look at this very old tradition.

“And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.’” (Mark 2:27-28 ESV)

This shocked the religious leaders of the day. It was considered blasphemy. But what was Jesus trying to communicate? Was He going against the Law of God? No. Keep in mind Jesus was “The Word made flesh.” (John 1) He WAS the Law of God. Jesus was presenting Himself as not only the incarnate Word, but the fulfillment of all God was, is, and will be. God created the sabbath for man so he could learn to rest. Jesus declared that He IS the sabbath.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 ESV

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Hebrews 4:11 ESV

The only “work” we are to do is to find the way into the Rest provided by God, which is in Jesus Christ. So, why are we spending time looking at “rest” when the topic of the day is “vine”? Let’s look at this now.

The fifth I AM to consider is found in John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (ESV)

Picture a grape vine. If you’ve never seen one in person, Google it. The vine is the part planted in the ground, which is the source of nourishment and life for the whole vine. The branches are where the fruit is grown. The cluster of grapes do not labor draw nourishment from the soil. They simply rest, firmly attached to the vine, receiving all they have need of to produce their fruit.

This is the image Jesus uses to describe more fully the relationship He desires to have with us. “I AM the Vine. You are the branch.” Our complete identity is found in being part of The Vine. Apart from the Vine, we are nothing. Attached to the Vine, we are fruit-yielding parts of God’s Kingdom in the earth. The more fully we receive what Jesus has to offer us, the more fruitful we will be, allowing others to feast on our fruit so they may live. Simply stated, the Vine is Rest.

Now for this week’s blessing:

May you find complete rest, wholy relying on Jesus to sustain you

As He brings life from the Father through Himself, the Vine

To provide water (the Word) and nutrients (the Spirit)

While basking in the Sonlight of God’s love

May you allow the Master Vinedresser, the Holy Spirit

To prune you of anything which will prevent a bounteous harvest

Making you bear much fruit for the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth

A blessing to all those you encounter

May the sweetness of the fruit of your life draw others

And the fragrant aroma of Jesus’ reflection in your life

Be a living testimony of the Rest of God

As you remain content in The Vine

Sunday’s Blessing – 03/30/2025 – 4th Sunday of Lent – I AM the Good Shepherd

Sunday’s Blessing – 03/30/2025 – 4th Sunday of Lent – I AM the Good Shepherd

This Fourth Week of Lent brings us to I AM the Good Shepherd. Jesus used this linguistic mechanism of “I AM” to very clearly describe His purpose in being with them. His hearers, being Jews, knew exactly who “I AM” was. It was used in the Old Testament by God Himself to explain who He was to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14) and again in the re-giving of the law (Deuteronomy 32:39). Now Jesus was using this same phrase to describe Himself.

The fourth I AM to consider is found in John 10:11

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

(ESV)

Jesus added some additional descriptors so they would understand that God had finally come near to them. In the Old Testament He was thunder and lightning on the mountain seen from afar. Now, He was truly Emmanuel, God with us, wrapped in human skin so they could touch Him, hear Him speak, and speak with Him – face to face – just like in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve walked with God.

The first few I AMs describe God’s function in being with them – The Bread to bring life, The Light to guide them through life, and The Door to provide entrance back into fellowship with the Father. Now, He is moving into His character. This week we see Him as The Good Shepherd. He was not just a shepherd. It was a common occupation in that day. Shepherds were not upper class, but they were critical to life in caring for the livestock of others. You had to trust someone hired to tend your flocks. Jesus assured them He was a Good Shepherd. He would not only be faithful in His duties of keeping the sheep, but He would make sure they came back better than they left. He would lead them into green pastures, by still waters, and secure places of rest. He would fight off any attackers and tend to their wounds. He does the same for us today. Scripture defines this as zoe life: the kind of life God brings. He makes us whole – spirit, soul, and body.

Now for this week’s blessing:

May you find peace, joy, and love from the Good Shepherd

By allowing Him to provide nourishment, replenishment, and security

Learning submission to His care, which brings complete rest

Letting us see what life at the right hand of the Father looks like

May you learn the art of shepherding well

So you may lead your friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances

Into the same care which you have received from the Good Shepherd

Allowing them to exist in a painfully cruel world, yet with joy and peace

May you always find ways to keep yourself in remembrance

By utilizing prescribed times like Lent, Passover, or the Lord’s Table

Or other ways which fit your temperament like reading, journaling, etc.

Praying always, which is our communion with Him

Sunday’s Blessing – 03/23/2025 – 3rd Sunday of Lent – I AM the Door

Sunday’s Blessing – 03/23/2025 – 3rd Sunday of Lent – I AM the Door

During the weeks of Lent we are looking at the Seven I AMs of Jesus. So far we have considered Jesus as the Bread of Life and the Light of the World. This week we are looking at “I AM the Door”.

The third I AM to consider is found in John 10:9

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (ESV)

Jesus came to provide mankind a way back to the Father. Man and woman were created in the Garden to have fellowship with their Creator. After the fall and subsequent expulsion from the Garden, mankind began to draft their own means of getting into good standing with God. Some developed works-based legalism as a means of earning salvation. Others decided they were simply born into the right lineage or could elevate their social status to the point of being allowed entry into Heaven.

Jesus addressed these religious leaders to debunk their ideas as rubbish, then boldly declared, “I AM the Door!!” This infuriated the religious community so much that they began to plot ways of putting him down. He didn’t add His name to the list of ways to God, but instead proclaimed, “I AM the only way back to God.” Paul later affirmed this in his letter to the Church at Ephesus by saying, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” (Ephesians 4:5 ESV) “The” is a singular article. If Jesus had said “a door” things would have been vastly different. The choice is yours. He either is, or is not.

Now for this week’s blessing:

May you enter The Door into the Kingdom by proclaiming Jesus is Lord

By identifying yourself as one crucified with Christ, buried with Him

Then raised together with Him, ascended to Heaven with Him

And then seated at the right hand of the Father

From this place of authority as a joint heir with Christ

May you live as one who is far above all rule and authority

Taking every thought captive and authority over every name that is named

Until you have transformed your thinking into that of Christ Himself

As you live from this elevated position in Christ

Allow the Holy Spirit to bring you into lives whom you can touch with love

That you can encourage and teach from The Word with Whom you fellowship

And provoke others to become disciples in the Kingdom of Christ