Enter His Rest

In the last two messages, we've considered the glory of the Lord. We
saw how we are now God's Temple and are to "reflect the Lord's glory"
(2 Corinthians 3:18) into the world as we are transformed into the
likeness of Christ. It is a great honor to be in the presence of the
Lord and we have been given the awesome responsibility to reflect an
"ever-increasing" amount of His glory.

But what does this really mean? How can we increase the glory which
our life reflects?

When we place our life in the Hands of God through faith in Jesus
Christ, we are given His Spirit "with whom you were sealed for the
day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). We reflect His glory as we
submit to His leading and allow the fruit of His Spirit to be evident
in our life; "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control"
(Galatians 5:22-23). As we further submit and allow His fruit to
define the character of our life, God's glory will shine with ever
greater intensity!

Notice that the focus of reflecting His glory is on submission, not
on our effort. When the glory of the Lord filled Solomon's Temple,
"the priests could not perform their service" (2 Chronicles
5:14). God's glory and the work we perform through our own effort
are incompatible - our work hinders His reflection.

Hebrews 4:10-11
"For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just
as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest."

God created the heavens and the earth in six days; "By the seventh
day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh
day he rested from all His work" (Genesis 2:2). God was satisfied
with His work and entered His rest for all eternity. He is still
intimately involved, but God accomplishes everything from a confident
and calm position of rest because He KNOWS the final outcome.

Likewise, we must not cease from doing what God calls us to do, but
we must cease from working in our own strength and for self-righteous
rewards. God will certainly keep us active, but the focus of our
effort must be on serving and growing from a position of rest with a
true desire to do ALL for the love of God.

Many of us are attempting to walk His path in our own strength by
working hard and carrying the burdens which are rightfully His. This
is not our call! We must love Him with all our heart and serve Him
with all our strength. But we must do so through joyful surrender,
daily submission, and obedience. He will accomplish His work in His
time and according to His purpose. Let's continue to reflect more
and more of His glory. Let's draw closer into His presence and make
every effort to enter His rest.

Have a Great Day!

Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries

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Scripture references: The Holy Bible: New International Version.
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Lorena, TX 76655
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