The Rest of the Gospel: Entering God's Rest (Chapter 25)

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The Rest of the Gospel: Entering God's Rest (Chapter 25)

Key Verses:
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Heb 4:9-11 ESV

Read Chapter 25:  Entering God's Rest

1. Is your life characterized by an inner rest? What does your answer tell you about the degree to which you are trusting Christ as your life?

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Attachment: The Secret of Detachment

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Attachment: The Secret of Detachment

Detachment, Relinquishment ... Letting go! No matter how you say it, it is hard but beautiful. And it is needed...needed, that is, in order to grow in the spiritual life. In fact, Jesuit Richard Rohr, says, "All great spirituality is about letting go." (Everything Belongs) Our Lord Jesus was the One truly spiritual Person on this earth. And He was detached in a healthy way. He was detached because He was attached to Another ... to His Heavenly Father. All through the gospels, especially the gospel of John, we see and hear this truth clearly. 

 

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The Rest of the Gospel: Detached Living (Chapter 21)

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Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 ESV

Key Question:

Are you wholly attached to Christ or is He just "a piece of the pie"?

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The Rest of the Gospel: Poured Out (Chapter 23)

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The Rest of the Gospel: Poured Out (Chapter 23)

Key Verse:

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:6-7 ESV

Key Question:

How is God's love manifested through us?

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Song of the Week: To Write the Love of God Above

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Song of the Week: To Write the Love of God Above

There is a gem of a hymn that really grabs my heart and soul.  I almost forgot about it until someone commented on an old post containing the song. The hymn? -- "The Love of God."  The metaphor in the third stanza absorbs my mind and imagination:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,…

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The Rest of the Gospel: Hearing God (Chapter 19)

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The Rest of the Gospel: Hearing God (Chapter 19)

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers...My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:3-5,27 ESV

Key Question:

How do we hear God?

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The Rest of the Gospel: Temptation, a Faith Opportunity (Chapter 18)

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The Rest of the Gospel: Temptation, a Faith Opportunity (Chapter 18)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:2-5 ESV

Key Question:

How do temptation and faith interact?

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The Rest of the Gospel: The Holy But (Chapter 17)

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The Rest of the Gospel: The Holy But (Chapter 17)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 ESV

Key Question:

How does the "holy but" cause us to see our circumstances, good and bad?

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Song of the Week: I Live, Yet not I...

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Song of the Week: I Live, Yet not I...

My UNION with Christ...I live, yet not I...Christ with and in and through me.  This song brings me to my knees in humble gratitude for this awesome truth:  I am not separate!  I am not alone, trying to do my best with God's help if I believe hard enough and ask Him correctly.

He and I are ONE!  You are ONE with Him too, O believing child of God!  Hallelujah!

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The Rest of the Gospel: Who Does What? (Chapter 14)

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The Rest of the Gospel: Who Does What? (Chapter 14)

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV

Key Question:

Is Jesus living His life through you, or are you trying to live it with His help?

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The Rest of the Gospel: The Rule of Grace (chapter 13)

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The Rest of the Gospel: The Rule of Grace (chapter 13)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2: 8-10 ESV

Key Question:

Do you live under works (the law) or by grace through faith?

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The Rest of the Gospel: The Single Eye (Chapter 12)

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The Rest of the Gospel: The Single Eye (Chapter 12)

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:22-23 ESV

Key Question:

What does it mean to "see with a single eye?"

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Song of the Week: The Lord of the Dance

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Song of the Week: The Lord of the Dance

My precious Jesus is the Lord of the Dance. Many years ago He took my hand, when I was just a small child and invited me into His dance.

And so moment by moment, day by day, we dance together through my life. At times I may stumble, but He has me in His strong but kind and gentle grip. And so we keep on dancing together.

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The Rest of the Gospel: God's Process of Growth (Chapter 15)

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The Rest of the Gospel: God's Process of Growth (Chapter 15)

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one…. 1 John 2:12-14

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