Photo taken by Flickr user Lawrence OP

Behold a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.” 1 Chronicles 22:9 (NASB)

The Hebrew word for “rest” denotes a presence of security. It is also used where peace, quiet, and trust are present. It’s hard to rest when we are afraid or worried about circumstances in our lives. God knew this. He knew that Solomon would need to devote all of his attention to the details of the construction. If there were external wars or turmoil in Israel, his attention would be divided so God gave “peace and quiet to Israel in his days”.

The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom”. Two-thirds of the occurrences of shalom in the Old Testament describe a state of fulfillment that is the result of God’s presence. It is the result of God’s activities. Any peace that we establish will be short-lived. God’s peace is characterized as a state of wholeness and unity. It involves relationships that are harmonious.[2] It isn’t just a cease-fire. There is real community.

What is needed to make us men and women of rest characterized by a spirit of peace?

First, we must have a profound conviction that God is working. We aren’t shaken when life’s storms come because we know that there is a strong and experienced hand at the helm.  Second, we must surrender entirely to His will. God’s will is certain to mean the destruction of our fleshly desires and plans. We must yield to Him if we desire to live a life of peace and rest. Third, we must realize that we are not required to originate or initiate any great plans to further God’s work. He already has the plan. He is already working to further His glory and His kingdom. We just have to be prepared to join the work when prompted.[3]

Finally, what was true for Solomon is true for those building God’s church today. We must pray for the pastoral staff, their families, and the congregants of our churches. God has work for us to do. We need God’s peace and rest so that our attention is not diverted from building His church. Men and women of rest are the builders of the most lasting “structures”. [4]

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”  - Matthew 6:25

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’” – Matthew 6:30-31

In verse 25, Jesus points out that God has given us something far greater than food or clothes; He has given us life. Every day that we take a breath is a gift from God. THEN why do we worry about the lesser things like food, clothes, or any of the other unanswered questions in our lives? What is producing this anxiety? Verse 30 tells us that the root of anxiety is lack of faith. When I worry or fear about the issues in my life, it is because I don’t fully trust God to take care of my loved ones or me. I think it also demonstrates something more. In verse 33 Jesus exhorts us to:

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:33

The anxiety that creeps in when things aren’t going according to my plans demonstrate that I am living out of self-centered rather than God-centered motives. I am conveying to those who are observing my life, that I am much more concerned about what happens to me or to my loved ones, than what I can do to bring glory to God and further His plans. I have to accept that some temporary, earthly pain can be used by God for the furthering of His kingdom and for His glory.  I have to not only be okay with this but to joyfully surrender my plans for His.

I don’t know the answers to my questions but what I do KNOW is that scripture tells us that God is: faithful, long-suffering, loving, kind, just, in-control, purposeful, missional, in-charge, creative, unconventional, generous, organized, persistent, gracious, merciful, available, approachable, wise, patient, capable, determined, jealous, trustworthy, protective, strong, sovereign, safe, awesome, majestic, and glorious.

Today, God reminded me to stop focusing on what I don’t know, and instead focus on what I know.

• Make this week’s scripture your “lock screen” image
• Use a “fill in the blank” quiz to test your mastery of the verse
• Listen to the verse -it loops so it repeats itself
• Read a commentary on the verse
• Read a short blog post on the verse
• Sing the verse

I have always struggled with Bible memorization but so far I really like the fill in the blank option and listening to the verse.  I have a 30-minute commute to and from work and I memorized this week’s verse in one day!

The app is $2.99 for both the iPhone, iPad, and the Android.  It is well worth it!

2 Peter 1 Wordle

Wordle is a free online site that creates an image using words you insert into their application.  The larger the words, the more often they are used.  It is a good way to see the main themes of a book or chapter of the Bible.  As you can see from the Wordle of 2 Peter 1, that knowledge is one of the themes of this chapter.

The Greek word for knowledge in this chapter is epignosis.  This word expresses a type of knowledge that the learner is actively pursuing. The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament, by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, states that this type of knowledge “lays claim to a personal involvement” on the part of the learner.  J. Vernon McGee, in his commentary on 2 Peter, said epignosis is a type of “super knowledge” which comes by the Holy Spirit taking the things of Christ and making them real to us.  It is describing the power of God’s Word when we allow His Spirit to be our teacher as we read and study it.

Grace and peace by multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1: 2-3

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is God breathed.  Then who better to teach it than the Holy Spirit?

Used by CC License - Flickr user: rimabek

Tonight I visited Austin Stone Community Church, a non-denominational church in Austin, Texas.  The sermon was given by Ronnie Smith.  It was entitled “Beholding the Beauty of the Word”.  It’s hard to capture an entire sermon in a short blog post but his sermon rang true with my own personal experience. I blogged about my struggle studying the Bible here. Ronnie started his Sermon by stating,

You can only love God to the degree you know God.

He expounded on this by stating that the only way our love for God can grow is if our knowledge of God grows.  Reading and studying the Scriptures is really the only way of understanding who God is.  Then why don’t we do it?  Why aren’t we drawn to reading God’s Word and instead, actually dread reading it?

Ronnie’s sermon laid out an excellent rationale why this happens and better yet, how to remedy it.  The following was the text for the sermon:

Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. Psalm 119:18 (ESV)

We don’t enjoy reading God’s Word because we are “beholding” worldly things.  When we spend so much time “beholding” the world we become worldly, which kills our ability to “behold” the Scriptures.   Further down in Psalm 119 the writer recognizes where we have to begin, by seeking God’s help.

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in Your way. Psalm 119:37

The psalmist knew that we have no power to change our heart.  Only God can do that.  I started my path by praying over and over, “God, help me hunger and thirst after Your righteousness.”  I was tired of looking at worthless things. Over time, God answered my prayer.  I began watching less and less TV and found myself looking forward to getting into His Word. I used Kay Arthur’s Precept’s process which enabled me to slow down to “behold” God’s Word.  It has completely changed my life.

Ronnie gives good advice in how to fall in love with God’s Word.  You can listen to his sermon here.

I attend another church but we don’t have services on Sunday night and the reputation of Austin Stone led me to visit this church. With sermons like this, I’ll be back.

Hallowed be Your Name! Treasured be Your Triune Being! Above all. Infinitely above all. This is my desire in every desire.”

He also posted a blog about what he learned.  I’m glad he’s back.  I have missed his tweets, they are full of wisdom.  And I have missed his sermons, they are full of passion. Most of all I have missed his ability to speak the unvarnished truth of God without apologizing or watering it down.  We need more pastors like John Piper.

Storms in Oklahoma are legendary.  Tornados are something you just learn to live with.  You hear the sirens and look for cover.  The threat of tornados was one of the few things I was glad to leave behind.  No tornados in Houston! Nope, I didn’t have to worry about those pesky things.

During the middle of August, our local weatherman began to talk about a tropical storm that was named Alicia.  It was making it’s way to the coast of Texas.  I wasn’t that worried because I had gone to high school in Bryan, Texas which was about 90 miles west of Spring and I didn’t ever remember a hurricane hitting Houston, much less coming as far inland as Spring. My attitude began to change when I went to the grocery store and witnessed a stampede of shoppers filling up their baskets with bottled water, batteries, flashlights, cardboard, and tape.  When in Rome, do what the Romans do, so I started grabbing stuff off the shelf (the only bottled water left was Perrier!).  I didn’t know if Alicia would make it to my neighborhood, but I was going to be prepared.

Early in the morning on August 18^th, my husband left our house to travel to Conroe (about 20 miles north of our house) to attend bus-driving school, something that was required for all coaches.  I stayed home glued to the TV watching the weather.  About an hour after he left it began to rain very hard.  Soon after, the electricity went out.  I had no way of knowing if the storm would make it to my house without a weather report (this was way before public Internet and cell-phones) so I went out to my driveway and sat in the car so that I could listen to the radio.  My biggest fears were being realized.  Alicia not only was upgraded to a hurricane but she was headed directly my way.

My husband made it home about two hours after he left the house. We are tough in Texas, but not tough enough to practice driving school buses during a hurricane!  When he got home he found me in the hallway with a twin mattress over my body.  By this time, the winds were extremely volatile. The tall pine trees were bending almost in half.  Those trees would do some serious damage to houses in my neighborhood and I wasn’t taking any chances that one wouldn’t fall right through the middle of our house.

A tornado can be deathly freighting.  They come up suddenly and are extremely unpredictable.  But they usually pass quickly. Not so with a hurricane.  I spent most of the day under that mattress.  Every once in a while I would get the courage to peek out the window to look at the pine trees behind our house.  As the storm passed over, I saw the trees bend in the direction of the storm.  I could literally track the storm passing over us by looking at the trees.

We were lucky.  The trees around us did not fall on our house.  We survived the storm but it was a very long day.  We had no communication with the world and the storm was all around us.   It was a day I will never forget.

In Matthew, Jesus uses such a storm to illustrate an important truth.  It is found in Matthew 7: 24-27. Jesus is finishing the Sermon on the Mount by warning His disciples to beware of false prophets.  He warns them

that not everyone who says, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”

He then tells them the famous parable about the wise and foolish builders.  The wise man built his house upon the rock and when

the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall for it had been founded on the rock.”

The foolish man built his house upon the sand, and when

the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; it fell—and great was its fall.”

Jesus was reminding His disciples that it’s not our words that please Him, but rather our actions.  Our actions reveal what we have built our life upon. Earlier in 7:16-17 He tells the disciples,

“You will know them by their fruits.  Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?  So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit”.

Why does He use the storm to illustrate this, because only storms reveal the quality of the work of the builder.  If a tree had fallen on my house, we would have seen whether the builder built my house sturdy enough to withstand a hurricane.  When we listen to Christ’s teachings and practice them, we will be able to stand with Him in the midst of the storm.  Obeying God deepens the root and strengthens the foundation (Matthew 13:20-21) so that when a storm hits us, our life, in the midst of the storm, will reflect His work in us.

We all would like to go through life without facing storms.  That isn’t going to happen. We may face sickness, betrayal, addiction, or loss of a loved one but we can prepare for these storms by laying a strong foundation by studying His Word and obeying His commands. This will enable us to demonstrate His craftsmanship when the storm hits.  My prayer is that when life’s storms hit me, you will see good fruit even when the trees are falling all around.

Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the bird of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”  Matthew 8:19-20 (NASB)

Saying that these two verses “caused me to pause”, is putting it mildly.  I was immediately challenged and convicted.

My thoughts went to the people who, instead of fleeing Haiti, are willingly going there to give aid.  They see the same pictures on the TV that I see but are compelled to go someplace where worrying about where they will lay their head is the least of their concerns. I want that kind of faith; knowing that God will provide the most basic needs so I willingly go where I will have to depend on Him for those things. Mission of Hope Haiti has this type of faith and has been depending on God to meet needs in Haiti for years.

It gives me some comfort to know that even Jesus’ disciples struggled with this type of faith. When they were crossing the sea of Galilee in a storm and Jesus was asleep in the stern they rushed to him and said:

Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and sea, and it became perfectly calm.” Matthew 8:25-26 (NASB)

It is our lack of faith in a powerful, sovereign God that limits us.  Instead of wasting precious time stressing over our circumstances, we need to recognize that God is in control and will use these circumstances to do His good will.

Pastor Kempton Turner of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minnesota has this kind of faith.  He posted a blog this week that is worth your time.

As preposterous as this sounds, we do this everyday. In fact we spend most of our time and talent accumulating things that are temporary and some day will rot and decay. Jesus knew this when He warned us in the Sermon on the Mount:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 5:19-21 (NASB)

Take an inventory of what you treasure.  What would keep you up at night if it was lost? What do you spend the bulk of your time trying to collect?  These could be material possessions, power, prestige, relationships, or pleasures. Jesus reminds us that what we treasure is also where our heart is.  The Expositor’s Commentary on Matthew helps explain why this is dangerous to our soul.

The things we most treasure occupy the “heart” which is the center of the personality, embracing mind, emotions, and will.  The heart controls the whole person’s direction and values.

Want to know what controls your actions and your values? Look at what you treasure. Are you spending all your time, talent, wealth, and effort decorating a “hotel room” that will some day rot and decay? Or are you investing in things that will last for eternity? Jesus let us know how to achieve the latter.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and wealth.”  Matthew 6:24 (NASB)

In other words, you can’t devote all your time decorating a “hotel room” and still invest in the kingdom of heaven. Don’t let Satan deceive you in thinking any treasure other than Christ is worth your time!

*Illustration on the hotel room was originally given by David Arthur of Precept Ministries.

*Photo used under a Creative Commons License