Free Face Lift !!

Read Hebrews 4:1-11
Title in NIV: Christ's rest is promised to all who believe.

What do you do when you finish a hard task or a long day at work? I collapse on the couch and watch HGTV or read. What do you think God did when he rested on the 7th day? What ever it was, I bet it was spectacular. I bet it was better than any vacation or massage or golf game ever participated in as a reward for hard work. 

We can enter into His rest too if we believe. But, believing is only the start. Just like the remodel my husband and I began, believing we can do it and deciding to do it is only the start. Now we have the hard work in front of us. We have to agree on the design. We have to spend the money on the materials. We have to put our skills to work and use the materials. They don't look very good in the box. (Neither does your faith.) We have to act to see any results! That is kinda what the writer of Hebrews is saying. Now that you believe, do the work and see the results. In this case, the results of our actions ise rest--God's rest.

The Israelites saw  miraculous things (10 plagues) and were eager to believe at first, but when it got hard roaming in the dessert, they did not believe any more. They lost it. Their unbelief created disobedience and their disobedience caused them to loose their access to God's rest. (That whole generation died in the dessert before God allowed the rest to enter Canna.)  Hebrews 4:1 says, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of the rest God promised. They heard the Word but then stopped growing. They said they believed but had no actions to 'back-up' their words.

I can say I am a wonderful artist, but if I have no paintings to back up my claim, I am a lier. I can say I am a wonderful cook, but if everyone hates my food, there is no credit to my words.  I can say I believe, but if I do nothing that shows I believe, people have doubts about me and God knows my heart and reasons I don't act in my so-called belief.

James 2:17 says faith without actions is dead. So, Belief + Faith + Obedience = Action.  So many people say they believe and have faith, but they fall short when it comes to Action. Act on what you believe. We have to be careful too! We cannot judge other's actions. They may be doing things in faith we never see. However, people WILL judge you.  Be a person above reproach. Don't be the person who gripes all the time---offer help. Don't be the person who is obsessed with 'stuff'--give. Don't be the person who doesn't follow through--keep your commitments. Don't cause someone to stumble and judge you by your actions...or lack of action.

In the beginning Moses wrote about  God's rest. God also spoke through David about how to attain that rest. Vs 7 says "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart."   How can you harden your heart? By rejecting God's whisper to do something. Or by suppressing the Spirit (1 Thes 5:19). Ephesians 4:30 says, "Don't grieve the Holy Spirit." Where does the Holy Spirit live? Inside you!! If you feel bad all the time, examine yourself. Are you grieving the Holy Spirit?  If the Holy Spirit is inside you and you grieve that Spirit by not listening and acting, a grieving Spirit is inside you. You cannot feel good when God's grieving Spirit lives in you.  You are more stressed if you suppress the Spirit's voice/nudge/push. You will look haggard and older than you really are.
I have the answer to feeling younger, feeling alive, looking great, acting great and influencing people. It is not some herb or pill or exercise. It is obeying what the Spirit is whispering to you. When you obey, you receive a face lift, too! Prov 15:13 says, "A happy heart makes the face cheerful..."  Psalm 34:5 says, "Those who look on him are radiant." Ecc 8:1 says, "Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes  his hard appearance."

I challenge you to examine yourself, not others, and determine how you could be loosing the rest God promised. How well do you listen to the Spirit? You have only a moment to act  promptly. By the way, the whisper will not come when you have enough time to act, or enough money to act, or enough energy to act. The whisper will test how obedient you are to the One and only God. The whisper will test who or what controls you.

Blessings for a better you today than you were yesterday!