Believing and Resting in Jesus

John G. Patton was a Bible translator in the South Sea Islands.



While translating, he came to the word “believe” and searched for a word that the native people could truly understand. He wanted something that meant commitment and trust, but he couldn’t think of a word.

Then one day, a messenger rushed into Mr. Patton’s room out of breath. Needing to rest, he flung himself into a big chair and leaned back in complete relaxation.





Patton asked the native for a word to describe what he did when he sat down and completely trusted in the chair to hold him so he could relax. That’s the word he used for “believe.”

When a person quits trying and begins to trust the Lord Jesus, that’s “belief.” ~~ Adrian Rogers (Love Worth Finding)

Quit trying? Yes. When we give up and rest from our own attempts at righteousness and fully rely on Christ's Performance, then we are resting in saving faith.

Isaiah 30:15 ~~ This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to Me (repentance) and resting in Me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength . . . "

But don't we need to work? Build? DO? Yes. Our faith, as James the Apostle wrote, is dead without good works. However . . .

PSALM 127:1 ~~~

Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. 2 It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Many Christians spend their time involved in "religious" activities—prayer groups, Bible studies, outreach ministries— sometimes hyperactively running the "hamster wheel" of what they believe are good and commendable deeds. However, according to Psalm 127:1-2, they are useless and wasted energy if the Lord did not initiate them.

So HOW do we not "do" but live out a "live" faith? Simple. . . so simple. . . we RESPOND."For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." ~~ Romans 8:14

All religious and spiritual performers can think up wonderful projects and good, commendable things to "do". . . but if the Lord is not the initiator through a new and regenerate heart, guiding and prompting and inspiring, it is worth nothing. If you see one family adopt an orphan and you think to yourself, that would be a "good" thing to do, but the Lord didn't direct you . . .you are following your own heart, not His. He may want you to do something different. Jesus said to Peter, "You follow Me." (John 21:22)

We may hear a preacher's message suggesting good things to "do" for God, but they are usless and a waste of lots of time and energy if it isn't Jesus leading you to do and act and be. We must simply REST, ENJOY GOD, RECEIVE FROM HIM AND RESPOND AS HE LEADS US (and He will) DOWN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Take off the heavy yoke of "I should." And trust in His leading as you follow His desires. His yoke is easy. His burden is light.

One of the greatest benefits of our redemption is the privilege of being led by the Spirit of God. Children of God can be expected to be led by the Spirit of God. One of the greatest needs is to have the wisdom of God to make the right decisions. This comes through being led by the Spirit of God.

I'll never forget the first days of my New Birth experience. It was cold outside and my husband and I were driving in the city and I noticed an old, homeless woman not wearing a coat. The Holy Spirit instantly directed me to give her my coat. We were in a warm car and I had more coats at home. . . I KNEW what He wanted me to do. Being led of the Spirit is an exciting adventure through the Personality and Heart of God. We learn more about Him as we respond to Him. You know it isn't your idea and you take no glory. Following His Heart and doing His Will has been one of the most blessed components of being His child.

It is not the mind, which gives man understanding. It is the spirit in a man. You see, Job’s friends used their minds to try to enlighten them regarding Job’s sufferings. They were dead wrong. In this passage Elihu explains the reason they were wrong. He says, "It is the spirit in a man…that gives him understanding." Not your mind, but your spirit. This is why Solomon wrote, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Prov 3:5).

When we are born again, our spirits are saved. Our spirit is the part of us that has been saved. So becoming a child of God enables the Holy Spirit to testify with our spirit that we are God’s children. The Spirit does not testify to our minds. Our minds may not receive this testimony, but our spirits can.

Resting in His finished work is our strength. I highly recommend a little book by Max Lucado called, "Safe in the Shepherd's Arms". . .here is a quote from the book that really blessed me recently and gave me such relief. (As a recovering legalist, I want to be alert to His Relief. To me, His relief is the Good News and Grace He purchased for me on Calvary.) So here is some relief:

"Sheep cannot find pasture or food. They need help. They need a shepherd to "lead them" and help them "lie down in green pastures (Psalm 23:2)." Without a shepherd they cannot rest. WITHOUT A SHEPHERD, NEITHER CAN WE. He leads me . . . He makes me. Notice the two pronouns. Who is the active one? Who is in charge? The shepherd. The shepherd selects the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep's job -- our job -- is to watch the shepherd. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You." (Isaiah 26:3)

For you to be healthy, you must rest. Slow down and God will heal you. He will bring rest to your mind, to your body, and most of all to your soul. He will lead you to green pastures.

Green pastures were not natural terrain of Judea. The hills around Bethlehem where David kept his flock were not lush and green. Even today they are white and parched. Any green pasture in Judea is the work of some shepherd. He has cleared the rough, rocky land. Stumps have been torn out, and brush has been burned. Irrigation. Cultivation. Such are the work of a shepherd.

Hence, when David says, "He makes me to lie down in green pastures," he is saying, "My Shepherd makes me lie down IN HIS FINISHED WORK." With His own pierced hands, Jesus created a pasture for the soul. He tore out the thorny underbrush of condemnation. He pried loose the huge boulders of sin. In their place, He planted seeds of grace and dug ponds of mercy. ("It is Finished!") And He invites us to rest there.

Can you imagine the satisfaction in the heart of the shepherd when, with work completed, he sees his sheep rest in the tender grass? Can you imagine the satisfaction in the heart of God when we do the same? His pasture is His GIFT to us! This is not a pasture that you have made. Nor is it a pasture that you deserve. It is a GIFT of God."

False shepherds/hirelings will drive the sheep and make the sheep work. True shepherds will encourage the sheep to rest, receive, respond and enjoy the Chief Shepherd. . . . listen to His Voice...get to KNOW HIM as a Friend and Follow Him.

The Lord is my Shepherd . . . I shall not want! It's time to nestle in His finished work, His lush and green pasture, His light and easy yoke. . . Delight yourself in the RELIEF of God.

He Stands By Me and It Is Well

When the storms of life are raging
Stand by me
When the storms of life are raging
Stand by me
When the world is tossing me
Like a ship out on the sea
Thou who rulest wind and water
Stand by me


When I'm growing old and feeble
Stand by me
When I'm growing old and feeble
Stand by me
When I do the best I can
And my friends misunderstand
Thou who never lost a battle
Stand by me
Thou who never lost a battle
Stand by me ~~ hymn




A friend is someone who stays with you in the bad weather of life, guards you when you are off your guard, restrains your inpetuosity, delights in your wholeness, forgives your failures, does not forsake you when others let you down . . . . Jesus is my Best Friend Forever. He stands by me. He will never leave me, remove me, forsake me, block me from His Presence or Friendship. Anyone who comes to Him, He will in no wise cast us away. Even when our faith seems a little "shipwrecked" by circumstances and life, we are not cast away from Him. He is our Anchor of Hope. He is steady and firm in His unwavering Love. He is faithful, even when we are not. He is immutable . . .unchangeable in His love and devotion as Savior toward us.



My God and Friend
By Bob Gotti

He’s my God, my Lord, and a friend, who sticks closer than a brother,
He is one in whom you can depend, for comfort, more than any other,
He is a friend through thick and thin, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Who saved us from all of our sin, by becoming for us God’s sacrifice.


And for this, He became our Savior, but my friend He’s so much more,
As Christ my friend, He’s our Creator; one good reason He is our Lord.
However, Jesus lords not over us, and by God’s Grace we understand,
That all of those who in Him trust, He guides them with His gentle hand.


Dear friend, as our Creator God, there’s not one thing He doesn’t know,
And knowing all this earth we trod, Christ directs us in which way to go.
And Christ knows just how He will, provide for us each and every need,
And every need for our Lord to fill, is for our Creator a tiny task indeed.


The Lord God does all of this in love, from His Glorious Eternal Throne,
Reaching down from Heaven above, to care for those He calls His own.
But dear friend, before any of this, I stood all alone, lost and depraved,
I then received Christ’s Righteousness, when by His Grace I was saved.


It was on that day, which I believed, by faith in Christ Jesus as my Lord,
And from God the Father I received, new life through Christ forevermore.
So now He is my God and my friend, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
In a relationship, which has no end, as through Jesus I enter Eternal Life.



Gandhi once said, "I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ."


What a strange breed of Christianity the Law has ushered in! What little resemblance it bears to the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Personally, right now, I would rather spend five hours in a bar sharing a drink with a pre-Christian, than 5 minutes in "fellowship" at any church.

Jesus is my all-sufficient Friend Who sticks closer than any brother, sister, son, daughter, husband, pastor, or fellow believer. There is NONE like Him. No, not one. When everyone else is friendless and cold, He is warm and inviting.




IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL

By Horatio Spafford and Phillip Bliss

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/t/i/itiswell.htm



When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

JUST THE WAY I AM

I've mentioned a few times that I am a recovering legalist. Many times it takes just one "drink," and my walk in Liberty wavers. Especially after a few bad days. Legalism makes you feel distant to the Lord whenever your "performance" doesn't seem to you (or to others) to have "cut it." Words, like "struggle," "standards," "hard heart," "stiff necked" and "backslider," ring mercilessly in your head. Shame becomes your heavy robe. Legalism makes you "feel" you need to work back into His graces some how (as if that's what got you there in the first place)!

We start believing, legalistically, that WE have to maintain and stay in the love of God, stay in His good graces. . . rather than the truth . . . He maintains us and keeps us. The mindset of the law is probation. The mindset of grace is complete unconditional pardon! The Lord's Salvation has nothing to do with our performance. He already "performed" on our behalf. Now it's by faith in His performance that we stand in God's Grace.

The battle some times is just in staying convinced and knowing His heart and grace when you feel faithless. The battle is His, however, and when He breaks through . . . WOW! The depth of the Savior's heart and love is AMAZING! It takes all the weight of shame and standard and conditions off and your exalted response is "I am Yours forever!" He has won my heart by His great mercy. And it's that same great Mercy that keeps me convinced and relieved. It makes me want to be like Him. . . rather than have to be like Him.

About 3 a.m. this morning, I was calling out to the Shepherd of the Hills. Some times the only word left you can say is just, "HELP!" He knows that code word for a crisis moment. . . of unbelief, troubled times, and the prison of legalism. Then I went back to bed. I want to share this because I know that I'm not the only one in Christiandom who is in this battle to stay convinced of the Good News of the Gospel.

A little while later, after falling back to sleep, the Lord of Love and Life, "Great Heart," straightened out my helmet of the hope of salvation by singing this Billy Joel song to me . . . .

JUST THE WAY YOU ARE ~~

Don't go changing, to try and please Me,
You never let me down before,
Don't imagine, you're too familiar,
And I don't see you anymore.


I would not leave you, in times of trouble,
We never could have come this far,
I took the good times, I'll take the bad times,
I'll take you just the way you are.

Don't go trying, some new fashion,
Don't change the colour of your hair,
You always have my, unspoken passion,
Although I might not seem to care.


I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew,
What will it take till you believe in Me,
The way that I believe in you?

I said I love you, and that's forever,
And this I promise from the heart,
I couldn't love you, any better,
I love you just the way you are.

I don't want clever, conversation,
I never want to work that hard,
I just want someone, that I can talk to,
I want you just the way you are.


Ahhhhh, back to the Relief of God and resting in His acceptance . . . not based on performance . . .not conditional. . . .no strings are attached . . . there is no "small print" to surprise me. . . just the Gift of Salvation purchased by The Lord of Love, Jesus Christ.

You might want to grab a kleenex, enjoy the video and take hold of this Word for yourself. . . that the Lord Loves you just the way you are! He just wants someone that He can talk to. He'll never leave you even in times of trouble. He takes the good times with the bad. You don't need to "try" or "change." You'll always have His undying passion. His love is forever, that's a promise from His heart. And He can't love you any better than He loves you right now!


May our response be the same as the great hymn by Charles Elliot (1841), "Just as I Am, Without One Plea" . . . .

Just as I am,
Without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, Whose Blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt;
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive;
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because Thy promise I believe!
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am,
Of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above:
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.


I'm here, Lord! Fully-accepted, fully-convinced, and fully-kept! Amen!