July 6th, 21

Today’s readings are Hosea 6 – 9 and Hebrews 3. We are reading from the New Living Translation.

To rest or not to rest, that is the question. Our world experiences so much pain in judgment, all because we refuse to rest. We refuse to trust and rely on God. And instead, we insist on relying on our own efforts. We refuse to humble ourselves. We refuse to accept the proclamation, that this is the day of salvation, the day to enter his rest. It's such a simple word, rest. It's such a simple call upon our lives, to enter into God's rest. And yet none of the prophets succeeded in bringing God's people into God's rest. Call and cry as they would, the people harden their hearts, and refuse to enter in to the sublime simplicity of rest in God. Moses offered sacrifices, pointing us to the ultimate sacrifice of God, that paid the price to achieve that rest for us. Christ was the sacrifice that would make a way for us to enter into God's rest. And now because of what Christ has done, the Holy Spirit empowers us to enter in and cease from our incessant and fearful work, of trying to justify ourselves through our own piety, so much of which is motivated by our fear of the God of law in judgment, failing to see and to receive the invitation to come to the God who is Father, Redeemer, the one who forgives The one who lifts our head. So we must stop our never ending rebellion, and running away from this God, demanding that life be lived only on our terms. Instead, we are invited to exchange all of that, for his rest. This is the simple call of faith. Come, come to God. Come to the one who is your life. Today, if you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts. But come and rest. exchange a hard heart for a heart at rest. Here the simple sublime call of faith in Christ. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. That's the prayer that I have for my family for my wife, my daughters, my son. And that's the prayer that I have for you. May it be so

You are loved!