The Place Of My Rest

Isaiah 66:1 ESV 

Thus says the Lord:

“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool;

what is the house that you would build for me,

and what is the place of my rest?

Heaven and earth are the two sides of creation. The Lord existed before He created them. He begins by entering heaven, which is His throne of light and presence. It is Eden from where the river flowed and watered the Garden of Eden. 

He left the throne of heaven to walk on the earth in the body of a man. He left the footprints of the way to God for us to follow Him to His throne in heaven. We are creatures of the earth until we enter the kingdom of heaven. There we journey in Him until we rest with Him. 

Spreading The Word

We proclaim the gospel by living the gospel. 

Back Into The Deep

Jeremiah 4:23 ESV 

I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void;

and to the heavens, and they had no light.

Israel and Judah had reverted back to the darkness and confusion by forgoing the light of God. They who had been given the light to carry into the world had let the torch fall into the waters of the deep. They slipped back under the waves of darkness. Like Adam, they had eaten the forbidden fruit of idolatry.  

Why Darkness?

Out of all creation, only mankind can choose to be with God. All in heaven are created to be in His presence. We on earth must choose to go there, to be there. We are created in the darkness of the world so that we might choose the light. 

No other creature on earth can perceive and respond to the darkness and light, and therefore comprehend God. Even so, few will make the journey between the two. 

Don’t Be Scatter Brained

Jeremiah 13:24-25 ESV 

I will scatter you like chaff

driven by the wind from the desert.

This is your lot,

the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,

because you have forgotten me

and trusted in lies.

The fall of Adam foreshadowed the fall of Israel. Adam believed the lies of the serpent and was cast out of the Garden and into the world. 

Israel trusted in lies and was scattered from the promised land and into the world. 

We in the body of Christ can learn and benefit from their mistakes. 

Below And Above

The creation of the heavens and the earth speaks to the creation of man. They signify the two states of man: that of darkness and of light. Man evolves from one to the other, leaving the waters below for the waters above. This happens when we are reborn from above. The light provides for this migration and fulfillment. God is the light of the world. 

Dress For Success

Jeremiah 1:17 ESV 

But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.

“Dress yourself for work” comes from the Hebrew for “gird up your loins.”  It carries the same idea as conveyed in putting on our spiritual armor. The battle is the same and the principle applies. 

We should dress for success. We can do this by putting on Christ. 

Shake That Dust

Isaiah 52:1-2 ESV 

Awake, awake,

put on your strength, O Zion;

put on your beautiful garments,

O Jerusalem, the holy city;

for there shall no more come into you

the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Shake yourself from the dust and arise;

be seated, O Jerusalem;

loose the bonds from your neck,

O captive daughter of Zion.

The remnant of the descendants of Adam will one day will be dressed with beautiful garments, as was Adam before the fall. No longer will they be imprisoned in the dust of the earth, but be seated on the holy mountain of Zion. They will arise and take their place as the people of the Lord. 

Adam was cursed to return to the dust from which he was taken. His children will shake off the dust and return to the presence of the Lord. 

Garments Of Skin

Genesis 3:21 ESV 

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

The Lord clothed them like the rest of the creatures on earth. In death, they entered the life shared with the beasts of the field. They are cursed with the flesh which will battle against their spirits. Their descendants will be prisoners of these “garments of skins “ until the Lord sets them free. 

Mother Of All Living

Genesis 3:20

The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

God created Adam and Eve, and Eve would be the mother of all the living of mankind.   The living of mankind would be those who are made alive in the life of Christ. Through her would come the Son of Man, who was a life-giving Spirit. 

Spiritual Worship

Romans 12:1-2 ESV 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Living according to His commandments is our sacrifice and spiritual worship. We worship in Spirit through obedience. Our bodies are a necessary component of worship, just as they are a necessary component of our threefold existence of mind, body, and spirit. 

The transformation of our mind will be followed by the transformation of our bodies from the mortal to the immortal. Both follow the spirit made alive in Christ. That is the spirit led by the Spirit of the Lord. 

We pray without ceasing when we become living sacrifices. Prayer is seeking and entering the presence of the Lord. Prayer is the essence of a sign of our relationship with Him. 

Through our relationship with Christ, we will become more like Him. We will be made whole at last in the perfection that is the image of the Lord. 

Across

A cross looms before everyone. We will go across to the other side sooner or later. We either hang with Jesus, or we hang by ourselves. Divine mercy or justice? It’s for you to decide. 

Light My Fire

Isaiah 50:11 ESV 

Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

who equip yourselves with burning torches!

Walk by the light of your fire,

and by the torches that you have kindled!

This you have from my hand:

you shall lie down in torment.

Those who walk by the light of their own fire will walk in the darkness of their own council. 

The Lord has kindled a fire on the earth which brings the light of heaven into the world. 

Going Home

We will escape the trial which is coming to all the earth if we walk with Jesus. In our walk with Him, we are passing through this land on the way home. This earth is not our home. Our eyes and hope are on a new heaven and earth. 

To Be With Us

The agent of communication across the impossible distance between the existence of the Lord and man is the Holy Spirit. We were created in His image in that we have been given a spirit of our own. We are created with the ability to hear and speak with our Creator. Thus communion and relationship are possible between the natural and the supernatural. 

He has done this because He wants to be with us. 

Take It To The Limit

Though our flesh and world have distinct boundaries, our spirits have no limit. 

Confidence Of Change

1 Corinthians 15:50-52 ESV 

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

The change begins when we trust the Lord and place our faith in Him. The change is made complete at the last trumpet. If there is no change during our life, can we be confident of change at the end?

Seeking His Face Book

We can’t follow Jesus on Facebook, though we can follow Him through a Book known as the Bible. We might even see His face among its pages. It’s possible to see one’s own face in the words before us as we read of the problem of mankind and its solution. It certainly can open our eyes. 

Spend a little time in that book to network with Christ. 

By the way, He won’t block you or unfriend you. 

A Swimming Advisory

Genesis 1:6 ESV 

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

The expanse that separates mankind from God is contained in our hearts. It separates the waters from the waters. The waters of heaven sparkle in the light of Christ. The waters below are covered by the darkness of the deep. 

We will swim in one sea or the other. 

Without God

Our self knowledge is incomplete without knowing God. 

No matter how accomplished we are, or the breadth of our possessions, without God we will never know our poverty of life. We will never rise to our potential and attain the riches of heaven. 

At Your Word

Luke 5:1-5 ESV 

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Hearing the word of God from the shore is quite different than from hearing it and moving into the water by acting on it. 

It is in the waters of mankind where the net of the kingdom of heaven is filled. These are the dark waters of the deep before light was spoken into creation. 

Without Ceasing

When your life becomes a living prayer, you can pray without ceasing. 

Come Let Us Go

Micah 4:1-2 ESV 

It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and it shall be lifted up above the hills;

and peoples shall flow to it,

and many nations shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Jesus says He is the way. He is the Lord who will show the world the way, “that we may walk in his paths.” The path will lead to Zion, the mountain of the Lord, and from there will flow His teaching that will be for the healing of the nations. 

The twelve gates of the New Jerusalem seem to correspond with the twelve leaves of healing for the nations that hang from the tree of life. 

Take What You’ve Got

If the Lord has given you something, do something with it. 

If He has given you life, then live it. 

Our Inheritance

Isaiah 14:1 ESV 

For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob.

The Hebrew for “land” is (אֲדָמָה ’ăḏâmâ).  Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden and was turned out for disobedience. Israel was placed in the promised land by God and was dispersed for disobedience. 

Adam/Israel will return to the Garden/promised land and will join with the body of Christ. 

“Sojourners” can be understood as the Gentiles who attach themselves to the tree of life in the body of Christ. They do not have a promised land on earth. That is why they are sojourners in this world. Their promised inheritance is the Lord. 

From the stump of Jessie grows the branch of Jesus. He grows into the tree of life. It takes root in Zion and its leaves will be for the healing of the nations. 

Get Up And Follow Him

Believeing Jesus saves the soul and transfers us into the kingdom of heaven. We can claim to be a disciple if we rise on legs that have been healed and follow Him. He has healed our eyes so we can see the way to go by keeping our eyes on Him. If we keep following, we will be made in His image. We conquer by reaching our destination. It is where He is and what He is. 

Don’t Settle

Don’t settle for life, but for the abundant life of God. 

Supreme Gravity

The human grasp for supremacy flies in the face of the natural order and uncages all these results just as the breaking of a physical law produces pain and disorder. -John Oswalt, Isaiah Commentary 

The human grasp for supremacy is opposed to the gravity of the Almighty Creator. It will only result in a fall. -Stephen Brown 

Explains Everything

The light explains everything. He is the beginning and the end.