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| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 867 Registered: 10-2002  |
I thought I'd share some notes I've jotted down in the last week or so... June 9, 2007 Recently I got a tune and a chorus for the old hymn by Charles Wesley, "Lord I Believe a Rest Remains" and it's begun a deep rocking of my "Sabbath-rest" life. In a nutshell, I've begun to discover that the Sabbath-rest is also for my sins. This may be obvious to some, but as a Former Adventist, when speaking of or thinking of the Sabbath-rest I've focused on being freed from my good works, from my striving, and from the Law. But isn't the Sabbath-rest also from my bad works? Yes! In fact, that's the original call of Matthew 11:28-30, and also of Hebrews 4! Now His rest promises rest for me from my sins! My struggles! My woes! My addictions! There is Sabbath-rest in Him! Rest from all these things! Thank You God! The sun has set on my sins and the eternal Sabbath has begun. He has begun (and finished!) a work of perfection in me -- a perfection in love, in Eden -- different from the work of "perfection" in the fallen world. And He is faithful to complete it. It's begun & finished in Him. My rest is here from sin! | ||
| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 868 Registered: 10-2002 |
June 10, 2007 The Sabbath-rest is also from our sins! It's rest from sinning. In this garden (in Christ) we can rest as in sinless Eden, without worrying about transgression, without confusion, without constantly needing to look to Law---which couldn't keep us safe or on the path or in Eden. The Sabbath-rest is from everything that is not Christ. | ||
| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 869 Registered: 10-2002 |
June 2007 The Sabbath-rest in Christ is the reality! The seventh day is a limited shadow. Often I've started at "the Sabbath day" and defined the Sabbath-rest (the Light) by the shadow of the old day. But now I must start with Your reality, Your love, Your rest in Jesus, and that is the foundation and starting point of what Sabbath means! Your power! Your keeping me safe! Your wrapping me in Your love! Your loving me through all of this! You keeping me secure in Your arms, folding me close to Your breast! This is all "SABBATH-REST!" Your Sabbath love! Thank You! Some have only found Sabbath-rest from theological works, or from SDA striving. But Sabbath-rest is also from our sins! Some are still looking to the Law as a guide for rest/security from sinning. But Sabbath-rest (the Spirit) keeps us. And I see at some point I must give up this name, "Sabbath", because it goes only so far and conjurs up the old meaning. I must say "Your rest", rest in Jesus. | ||
| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 870 Registered: 10-2002 |
June 10, 2007 You said in me I'm in Your Sabbath-rest. I am in Your holy Sabbath. I am in Your rest. (Oh! My flesh & doubt resists believing it... can it be true? Yes, because of <em>You!</em>) I read briefly (skimmed) what Wesley wrote and it was then You suggested it, You spoke it in my heart: I'm in Your rest. Thank You, Jesus. Shalom, Peace! (This is the "Peace to you" in Paul's letters! Amen! Sabbath-rest! Jesus!) | ||
| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 871 Registered: 10-2002 |
June 13, 2007 In Eden. Oh God... it hits me. I am walking in Eden. I AM WALKING IN EDEN. I am in Eden! (Col.1, Rom.8) God, I've written the fact of this many times. I've known it, but now it truly starts to hit me. Thank You. Now I begin to wake up. I am in Eden. Living here. I've never known it before. Get up. Walk around. Look around. Show me what life is like here, Lord. I'm in You, Lord. You're in me. Eden's in me. I walk around in You. Help me realize. Help me understand. I'm here in the Sabbath of Your love! Eden's Sabbath rest. This rest... in You, as You (Christ) were in Father. You were in His love! That's Sabbath! And You lived, breathed, moved, spoke and walked in Him. So here, too, I walk. In Your love, Father. Take me along. | ||
| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 872 Registered: 10-2002 |
These two pictures also came along during this time: http://art-for-jesus.blogspot.com/2007/06/resting-in-eden.html http://art-for-jesus.blogspot.com/2007/06/its-finished.html | ||
| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 873 Registered: 10-2002 |
The hymn Charles Wesley wrote which was used as the trigger for this time of deepening resting was actually much larger -- I guess all of the verses aren't available online yet. However about nine or ten can be found in his book, "A Plain Account of Christian Perfection". The other night God used a brief skimming of that to let me know I was definitely in His rest.
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| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 874 Registered: 10-2002 |
I was also blessed when I ran across this excerpt from a book by Andrew Murray:
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| Agapetos Registered user Username: Agapetos Post Number: 875 Registered: 10-2002 |
June 13, 2007 For a brief, frightening moment the way I was thinking of the effects of Your rest sounded the same as that magic desire-to-do-right that I'd always hoped to attain in Adventism. So I asked, What's the difference? And my spirit (and/or Yours) replied, My rest springs from knowing He finished it all on the Cross. And I just cried. Even now my heart is moved and I have tears in my eyes. Your sacrifice of Yourself, Your finishing of it all for me --my sins & everything necessary to make it to heaven, right with You-- You've done it all for me. I'm free! I'm so free! | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 6046 Registered: 12-2003  |
Ramone, thank you so much for sharing with us this deepening "knowledge" of Sabbath rest you have experienced. You are so right; Sabbath rest is complete—it's not just from our "salvation works", it's also from our sin and struggle just to live. I remember when I went back into the classroom to teach 9th grade English in 1999. I was so overwhelmed with grading papers for over 120 students as well as FAF study, etc., that I thought I might completely "lose it". I distinctly remember thinking that Sabbath rest had to "work" in the places where my life was most out-of-control or it wasn't actually "real". So I asked God to give me Sabbath rest in the middle of all that franticness, to help me accomplish what I needed to do, and to help me let go of what was unnecessary. God answered my prayer. During those five years of teaching, God kept me from being frantic. He helped me do what I needed to do, and He kept my heart peaceful. I remember asking Him to help me teach what needed to be taught and to help the kids learn what they needed to learn, because there was more content than time. I still can't explain what He did, but He answered those prayers. Ramone, your new experience with Sabbath rest is exactly what God intended for us. Jesus is so much greater than all our responsibilities and efforts. He is completely faithful—and He is giving you His rest! The Sabbath can never equal Him. This reality you're experiencing is so much greater than the Sabbath could ever be. Colleen |
