okay so it's too much work to keep up with 2 xanga sites.

i'll be posting normal and spiritual stuff on my other xanga site.

subscribe to that one. http://xanga.com/hometownheros

peace out.

Hebrews 4:9-11 
⁹So there is a special rest^[a] still waiting for the people of God. ¹⁰For all who enter into God's rest will find rest from their labors, just as God rested after creating the world. ¹¹Let us do our best to enter that place of rest. For anyone who disobeys God, as the people of Israel did, will fall.

WHY must we be diligent to enter into this so called “rest”?  To be diligent means determined or working hard towards something…Have you ever had to work hard to take a nap or relax and watch TV? No! The two are seem quite the opposite in my mind…But could it be possible that this rest is not referring to sleeping or even physical relaxing? Would it shock you if I said that the persecuted church in China is experiencing more rest in the Lord than most of the (spiritually)fat, lazy, comfortable American Christians?

YES!

God’s call to rest in him is not a call to laziness or even lots of sleep…But rather it’s a call to quit striving in our own strength and let the Holy Spirit accomplish more through us than we ever could on our own…I truly believe that anyone “resting in the Lord” will be working harder for the kingdom of God than those that are trying to do it on their own, but the cool part is they will be able to take joy in it (even in the stress) b/c they recognize his joy is there strength…So often I hear people talk about not wanting to do it in their own strength and so they end up being lazy and complacent, so afraid that their flesh will get in the way that they don’t do anything for God.

Kind of reminds me of a story I heard one time about this servant who the King gave some money to and asked him to something with it while he was gone…Well he was scared too and he hid his money…In the end the King was pretty pissed off and kicked him out his kingdom to suffer a lot of crap…

Really to rest in the Lord is just to fully surrender to the Holy Spirit and listen to his every command…We don’t need diligence to get earthly rest but it is a REQUIREMENT (scary word huh?) in order to get to that state of “heavenly rest.” And we can go through seasons of stressful sleepless nights and walk with “peace that passes all understanding” b/c though our body is being pushed our spirit is resting it’s head against the breast of Christ Jesus our Lord…
and yes SOMETIMES that might mean you don’t do anything, you go into seclusion and study the word and pray your heart out and grow in intimacy with your lover Christ…these seasons are much like a married couple getting away from the kids and work to help their marriage grow (going away for your anniversary and such)…but unless God is specifically telling you to stay and not take action than you should be out advancing the kingdom violently.

The best way I’ve found to walk in the “rest of the Lord” is to simply get alone every day with him…I love to lay on the floor face down speak out my love to him and than wait and listen to him speak his love over me…even on busy days when I have to set time aside (taking away from other things/people) to do this it’s beautiful b/c it refreshes my spirit and puts my eyes back on him…Also meditating on the word (about rest) is an awesome reminder…

So I encourage you to take you’re hands off that plow and put them back on under the power of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 46:10

¹⁰Be still, and know that I am God;  I will be exalted among the nations,  I will be exalted in the earth

So it's funny how the one thing you want to meditate on, is the one thing that's hardest to set your mind on.

Once you've set your gaze on him, it's as if the moment will never end and you never want to leave...But take your eyes off for a few minutes becase you want to give full attention to something or someone else...even with good intentions...and then the enemy quickly takes the opportunity to raise a wall the size of Jericho...But in all honesty it us who built the wall...letting the busyness of the day, the problems of our friends, the inconveniences of life, the things we need to work on or work out, maybe even “godly” tasks and spiritual things, we let them take center of our attention... With no little or no effort we've given up the "with all your mind" part of his command.

But on the other end, it might take more than a little effort to clear out the clutter from our brains so that he can have free reign, so that we might not only meditate on him but be absolutely consumed with him. He longs for us to set our gaze on him and even among the daily tasks give him our full attention…nothing else truly deserves that…

What sweet thing it is to be obsessed with the one who is obsessed with us.

I do believe it's time for a vacation...just me and the Holy Spirit. If you need to get a hold of me...don't. See you in a week.

The Lord is freaking amazing. I can't accurately describe with words on a xanga site what he's doing in my heart...but let me tell you, I know the Lord. No for real, I really really know him and he really knows me.

I love Him and we are intimate together. Here's some scriptures to ponder:

Ezekiel 11:19
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 3:16-20
¹⁶I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

So Hebrews 10:35 says "Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward."

So you know what? I'm not going to cast it away. I'm going to be confident. I think way to many Christians get this "woe is me, I’m a humble piece of crap" and they let everyone beat them up and tell them what to do...But that's not at all what we're called to do.

Being humble is recognizing how amazing God is and what we are to him. According to Psalms 17:8 we're the apple of his eye...not useless dirt. It's good to recognize that without God you are/have absolutely nothing, but because of his grace, his blood you have everything you could ever need and you have become the object of his affection and love.

So He was reminding me this morning of the dreams he's given me...and just reminding me that I have to be confident in what he's told me even though I don't see it yet. I know that he's called me to worship and play music...and through that he promised that I would inspire many to go on the mission’s field. How that's all going to happen, I don't know all the details yet but I trust the Lord that it is going to happen.

Why should I worry? Give me one reason to doubt what he's told me? God doesn't lie so I can take his promises to the bank and cash them in.

I love God so much and I'm enjoying this life he's given me...taking it one step at a time.