Rest 101 Series

Psalm 95 [95:1]Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! [2]Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! [3]For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. [4]In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. [5]The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. [6]Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! [7]For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, [8]do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,[9]when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. [10]For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." [11]Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest." (ESV)

Delay hardens the heart, especially when we are fully aware that we have heard the voice of God in the inner soul. Every shrug of the shoulder that puts off acting on God’s urging for change, every toss of the head that says, “I know I should, but I don’t care,” every attempt at outward conformity without inner commitment produces a hardening of the heart that makes repentance harder and harder to do. The witness of the Spirit must not be ignored, for the opportunity to believe does not last forever. Playing games with the living God is not only disrespectful, but also dangerous. “There is a line, by us unseen, That crosses every path. The hidden boundary between God’s patience and His wrath”. (Stedman, Ray C. Hebrews: The IVP New Testament Commentary Series. 1992. InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515, U.S.A.)

None of us know how long we will live. There are many otherwise healthy people who succumbed to their injuries in a car accident or even a hidden illness, that suddenly took their life. The only time that we are guaranteed is this immediate moment. God limits the time for salvation to this life. This is God’s today, right now—the only day, the only opportunity, we can be sure of. Acknowledge to God that you are not perfect. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins though faith in Christ. This very second you can have eternal rest, assured of God’s perfect peace.

(Format Note: Outline & Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1983). Hebrews. MacArthur New Testament Commentary (pp. 95–107). Chicago: Moody Press.)