Abide with Jesus awhile. Tarry with Him awhile. Abide with Him the rest of your life, why not?
Jesus said, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 NASB. Jesus invites all who are weary of all the troubles and trials of this world, who are weary from their burdens, worries and guilt, to take His rest, to take His yoke upon them, because His burden is easy, and His burden is light. The yoke of love that Jesus offers you dear reader is much easier than struggling with your problems by yourself. It is a hard thing to try to order your steps and make all the right decisions and do all the right things and not make a mess out of your life. Or worry about how you can make your life a success. But Jesus can take all your worries about not being good enough, smart enough, or strong enough to succeed, and help you fight the good fight to receive the crown of righteousness in the end, if you will give all of these worries to Him. 2 Timothy 4:7-8. No reason to worry about failure. No reason to be afraid or be in bondage to addictions or sin anymore, because Jesus came to set you free, dear reader! He came that you might be free! Free from guilt, worry and shame and from the fear of failure. “If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 NASB. This is what Jesus promised to you dear reader and all who will “come” and allow Him to make them free. If He makes you free, ye shall be free indeed!
John declared, “And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.” 1 John 3:5 NASB. Jesus appeared on this earth and died on the cross to take away your sin. In “Him” there is no sin, because He was the spotless Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29. John declared that He came in order to take away sin. Think on this, meditate on it, believe it. It is a most beautiful promise when you see it and believe it! Tarry with Jesus awhile and He will help you to be good and live a righteous life for Him. And He will give you rest! This is because He can break your yoke of bondage if you let Him. Better yet, why not abide with Him the rest of your life? What do you have to lose? He will help you to be a better, kinder and gentler person! Derived from our article: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, Part 2.
Dear reader, God says to you, “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David.” Isaiah 55:1-3 NASB. What were the faithful mercies shown to David? David loved God but had lost sight of Him several times and sinned greatly against Him, but God forgave him, even though he deserved to die. But don’t we all deserve to die for our sins? “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 KJV. Not only did God forgive David, but chose to send Jesus His son through his lineage. This text in Isaiah, when it talks about ‘the faithful mercies shown to David,’ is talking about the promise made to David, that his throne would be established forever, which was a prophecy about Jesus, the Messiah, who would die for the sins of the world and would reign forever and ever. 2 Samuel 7:12-16, 25-29. What a promise God made to David! Not only did David not deserve this honor and privilege, but God was going to use his lineage through Jesus to save the world! No human that has ever lived has ever deserved God’s gift of His son to die for their sins. John 3:16-17. So even though David and no human being who has ever lived deserved God’s mercy, God still sent His only son to die on the cross for their sins. This is what it means when God declares that if you will listen to Him, He will make ‘an everlasting covenant’ with you ‘according to the faithful mercies shown to David.’ Do you want the faithful mercies shown to David? Do you know that you are a sinner? Do you want hope? Do you want to listen to God and accept His covenant of grace for you? Then Isaiah 55 is for you! Everyone who thirsts can come. All who are hungry can come. Turn no one away who is thirsty, hungry or weary!
It is especially noteworthy what Jesus proclaimed in the synagogue on the Sabbath: “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, ‘THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE DOWNTRODDEN, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.’” And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’" Luke 4:16-21 NASB. After he closed the book and gave it back to the attendant all eyes were on Him! Here Jesus declared in so many words that He was the fulfillment of this prophecy from Isaiah. The Holy Spirit was trying to convict all who were there listening to Him that He was the Messiah, the hope of Israel - that was why all eyes were fixed on Him after He read this passage and declared that this prophecy was fulfilled that day in their hearing! This was the event that the children of Israel had been waiting for, but sadly not all accepted Him. But what does this passage really mean? Study it carefully! Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor, and to set the captives free! And to set free all those who are downtrodden. Jesus also declared, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” John 12:32 NASB. Yes, Jesus was lifted up on that cross for you, He paid the penalty for your sins. This act will draw all who will to Him who want it, who see their need and want His help. This is the power of the Cross! His death on the cross allows you to get rest and peace! Jesus proclaimed that His mission was to preach the Gospel (the good news) to the poor, to set the captives free, and to set free all those who are downtrodden. That is to say, He came to give you rest and to give you peace!
Oh soul are you weary? Do you long for rest? Do you long for peace? Do you long to be free? Free from all your guilt, sin and shame? Then let Jesus draw you to the cross, let His love move you, let it break your heart. Take His yoke upon you and He will give you rest. His yoke that is easy and His burden that is light is the sweet bond of love He has for you that binds you closer to Him. Oh such love! I cannot fathom it! No words I write can fully describe it! Oh hungry soul, there is a Balm in Gilead and the great Physician there who has healing for your soul if you want it. Why thirst for the water of life or the bread of Heaven, when He is within your reach? There is no reason to be thirsty or go around hungry anymore when He offers this life to you freely.
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6 KJV. Do you long for a new, better life? Then hunger no more, because Jesus wants to fill you. Just let Him! This promise is not for those who are happily filling themselves up with the spiritual “husks” of this world or with the false ideas that some have of how to be saved or to be happy, etc. This promise is not for those who don’t truly want it. But this promise is for all those who are tired of sinning, tired of living in shame, tired of failing, tired of hurting themselves and others, tired of guilt who just want a better life. Those who are tired of filling themselves up with the spiritual “husks” of this world, or with false ideas of how to be saved or be happy, can come - come to Jesus. To all whose desire is this – come! Come to Him that you might have life and have it more abundantly! Jesus said ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ John 10:10 KJV. Is this what you want?
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’ (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” John 7:37-39 KJV. Yes, all who are thirsty come unto Jesus and drink, and out of their belly will flow rivers of living water! “And Jesus said ‘come to the waters stand by my side, I know you are thirsty you won’t be denied.’ And I saw every tear drop when in darkness you cried. And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died.’” * From the song: “For those tears I died”.
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” Revelation 22:17 NASB.
So all who are thirsty, all who are weary, come and tarry with Jesus awhile. Abide with Him for as long as you will. He will supply all your needs according to the riches of His grace. “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NASB. And He will give you peace, and joy, and will take away your guilt and fears that you cannot make it; He will give you a new life! Is that what you want? He wants to give it to you! He wants to be in you a well of water springing up unto eternal life!
May the grace of God and the fellowship of Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit be with you all! Amen.
Songs for the Message Today:
Abide with Me:
Listen to Heritage Singers sing: ‘For Those Tears I Died’:
Read the lyrics to 'For those tears I died' here:
http://www.songlyrics.com/heritage-singers/for-those-tears-i-died-lyrics/
Article by John Foll, Finished 5/12/2018 – 5/13/2018.
© Copyright 2018 John Foll
Watchword:
White Raiment Evangelism Revelation 3:18:
In Revelation 3:18 Jesus said, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, and white raiment, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness do not
#Abide #Tarry #Jesus #Rest #Peace #Weary #Heavy #Laden #Yoke #Burdens #Light #Free #Thirst #Hunger #Faithful #Mercy #Gospel #Captives #Downtrodden #Spirit
Originally posted 2018-05-13 10:06:00.
The Unity of the Scriptures. We want to build upon our order upon order, and line upon line doctrines. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV. What scripture does Paul say is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and instruction in righteousness? All scripture. What scriptures were the scriptures in Paul’s day? Just the Old Testament. Paul didn’t start to write any of his epistles until a long time after Jesus had gone back to Heaven, and most likely his own writings, although inspired, were not considered on the same level as scriptures until a later date. Our point is to make you aware that the books of the Old Testament were the scriptures first, and they were the scriptures that Paul specifically referred to when he wrote the epistle of 2nd Timothy. In addition to some Christians wanting to get rid of the Old Testament as part of their rule of faith, atheism, for some time now, has been trying to destroy our belief that God was the creator, as the Bible says He was in the book of Genesis. What’s at stake? The unity of the Bible, and whether God really meant what He said, or whether He changed His mind and said something different at a later date.
The articles in our series: “Order Upon Order, Line Upon Line, Precept Upon Precept!” on our Love of God Blog: are designed to teach you the importance of studying the […]
We will post precious truth about Bible doctrines that are essential for you to know, that you might not be aware of.The goal of this blog is to help everyone […]
Dear Friend: I see you have had a lot of trouble since you became a Christian. You have had great trouble and were wondering why God wasn’t helping you. You haven’t had an easy life, and the enemy of humanity has been greatly troubling you and trying to put you down, and to steal your new life away from you. You don’t know why you can’t have an easier time, and not have so many problems. I would like to tell you about my special friend whom you are starting to get to know. His name is Jesus. He knows what you are going through, the problems you inherited, and knows the battles that you are fighting. But He has won the battle for you at the cross and has been given all power and authority. Matthew 28:18. Just let Him fight your battles for you and rest in His strength. He is pleading on your behalf to the Father. Sometimes you have felt like you were ready to give up. Are you ready to give up yet? Then let God take care of you.
"The just shall live by faith." Who are the just? -- They are only those who are of faith, because men are justified only by faith. For though we all "have sinned and come short of the glory of God," yet we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." For "to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Those who are of faith and those alone are the just in the earth.
“To whom would He teach knowledge, and to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? For He says, 'Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line, a little here, a little there.' Indeed, He will speak to this people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," And "Here is repose," but they would not listen.” Isaiah 28:9-12 NASB. [Or as it says in the KJV: “this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.”]. Yes that is the question: To whom will God teach knowledge? Would He want to keep having to teach us over and over the basics of the truth when we should have already learned it long ago? God prefers that His people advance closer to His ideal for them, instead of being “stuck in neutral” or backsliding. In this article, we want to discuss some important Bible study principles to help you to know how to properly study and understand the “saving truths” that you need to know, and not be deceived into the many errors that plague Christianity today and modern man. We want to help equip you to know the truth if you don’t already know it. But we believe there is ever more to learn. It’s time to get beyond the basics, but to get beyond the basics the errors must be unlearned and true faith learned by all who would want to be weaned from spiritual infancy.
The Joy of a Fool or the Joy of the Wise? Which will you have? How can both the wise and the fool have joy? “Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.” Proverbs 15:21 KJV. Now from the NASB: “Folly is joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight.” Proverbs 15:21 NASB. Solomon declared that foolishness or folly is joy to the man who lacks understanding. The fool is compared with a man of understanding who walks uprightly, the wise man or the righteous man. Is there also joy for the righteous? Yes true joy! There are two paths to joy. Which one will you choose?
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as 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 so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB. Not only are we saved by grace, but we were also created in Christ Jesus for good works. According to Paul its not one way or the other its both: We are saved by grace AND created in Christ Jesus for good works.
Jesus said, ‘But so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.’ John 14:31 NASB. It’s time to get busy serving the Lord and carrying out His will. Get up, let us go from here! This is what Jesus said as He went out of the last supper with His disciples, to allow Judas Iscariot and the mob to arrest Him and take Him to Jerusalem, that He might die on the cross for our sins. Men did a lot of bad things to Jesus, but it was necessary for our salvation and for the world that He submit to all that Satan and evil men would do to Him; that He would drink this cup that the Father had given Him to drink and die on the cross for our sins, a most cruel death, but He did it out of love for His Father and for you and me! But He would see all the people who would be saved, and be satisfied with His sacrifice. “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:11 KJV. Never forget what Jesus did for you and the other sinners in this world! Meditate on this often, never let it depart from your mind. In like manner, if we love Jesus and His Father, it is time, high time, that we go out from here to carry out God’s plan to save the world.
