Month: July 2017

Robert Rajamani

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;  ..Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.  — Hebrews 4:9,11

In the beginning after completing the creation, God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and rested on the seventh day. God did not rest because He was tired of work. He rested because He was at Peace. He had created His children and provided a perfect garden for them to live in. They were safe and in perfect union with Him. He had a perfect family. He was at Rest – the Sabbath Rest.

God desired that Adam and Eve will remain in this state of unbroken relationship with Him and enjoy the Sabbath Rest with Him. He wanted them to be in this loving relationship with the Father as a family of God. As long as they were in fellowship with God, they had access to His provision and Life and were at Rest. Their heart was designed to find rest only in Him and so had He chosen to find His rest in His children.

But, Man decided to get out of this relationship and find his own rest outside God, which he soon realized does not exist. Since that day man has only experienced turmoil and fear. Along with man even God has been restless since. He could not be at Peace when His children were lost. Since that day, God has been striving continuously to restore His family and bring them back to His Sabbath Rest. Jesus referred to this and said, “My Father is always at His work to this very day” when He was questioned about healing on Sabbath. (John 5:16-17)

To emphasize the importance of finding Rest in their relationship with God, He commanded the Israelites to honor the Sabbath day. He asked them to rest from their work of the flesh and focus on fellowshipping with the Lord in Worship and Thanksgiving. Experiencing one day of Sabbath in a week was just a shadow and foretaste of the Eternal Sabbath they were going to enter into in Jesus. God made every effort through Joshua to lead the Israelites to the Canaan land to enter His rest, but they could not because of their unbelief (Hebrews 3:19)

Ultimately, God paid a huge price in Christ to restore this Sabbath Rest for his family. He desires that we enter His Sabbath rest in Christ. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28). As we come to Christ and abide in Him and are led by His Spirit, we enter His Rest and experience His Peace.

The Father’s Heart cannot rest until we enter His Rest. He wants His family back, the family He lost in the Garden of Eden. . He is at Peace only after our relationship with Him is restored and we have entered His Sabbath Rest and are secure in Christ. So, let us make every effort today to Enter His Rest. (Hebrews 4:11)

Scripture Reference:

• Hebrews 4:9,11
• John 5:16
• Hebrews 3:19
• Matthew 11:28

Robert Rajamani

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. – Zechariah 4:6

It is very much possible to be driven by a passion. For a believer, it will mostly be a passion which is godly. Some may have a passion to do the work of the Lord, become a missionary etc. It is very easy and convenient to be driven by the passion and convince oneself what we are doing is the will of the Lord, because passion for something gives purpose to life and can be a great motivation.

Christian life is not to be lived by clinging on to certain apparent godly things which gives a purpose to life and run with it. Christian life is meant to be led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14), in continuous relationship with Him and continuously hearing from Him.

It is very much possible to be driven by a Passion for the things of God and miss God. Paul was passionate for God, but he missed God when he persecuted the church. He was not in personal relationship with God, but with his religion of God. But once he got into a relationship with God, he was led by the Spirit of God.

God wants us to have a Father-child relationship in which we are in constant communication with Him in every step of our way. He is not looking for someone who hears from God and gets passionate about it and runs with it leaving God behind. Rather learn to be with Him, talk to Him all the time. Make it a lifestyle to just hang out with Him and let Him reveal you things and speak to you and guide you every step of the way. (Psalm 32:8)

Let the Holy Spirit be your guide. Talk to Him and develop an intimate relationship with Him. One Word that you hear from Him personally, can change your life upside down. Just as Jesus said, “ Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”. (Matthew 4:4)

Scripture Reference:

• Zechariah 4:6
• Romans 8:14
• Psalm 32:8
• Matthew 4:4

Robert Rajamani

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. – 2 Corinthians 4:7

The Lord is looking for vessels which can contain His Presence and His Glory. A vessel in which He can make His dwelling. The Spirit of the Lord is in the process of preparing a vessel for God. He is looking for a willing heart which will yield to the sanctification process.

Any effort of the flesh to meet the standards of God is something He abhors. He said, flesh cannot glory in His presence (1 Corinthians 1:29). He is the one who makes us a worthy vessel. Human efforts and work of the flesh will only break the vessel in pride and self-glory. He is the Potter who makes us worthy. The only thing He expects from us is our willingness to abide in Him; no matter what He takes us through to make us worthy unto Him.

We are not inanimate clay vessels with no will of our own. On the contrary, we are living vessels with a will and freedom to choose. We can choose to remain on the Potter’s wheel when He spins us or we can get off the wheel and keep our carnal self in shape. But when we choose to remain on the wheel even when it does not make sense to our carnal mind and trust in Him to shape us according to his purpose, that’s when we are transformed in to a worthy vessel. Worthy for His Kingdom. He makes us worthy, not us. Any human effort to make us worthy will only deform the vessel.

Remain in Him as He takes us through the process of sanctification; from the spinning wheel to the furnace of fire and to perfection. He will make us worthy.

Scripture Reference:
• 2 Corinthians 4:7
• 1 Corinthians 1:29