Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Sabbath, April 20, 2019

Audio Link: http://bit.ly/ThoughtsinWorship

This is devotional thought number 9 in our devotional series titled, “The Faith I Live By”

“Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.” (Matthew 27:62–66).

Would you rather watch a restful man die, or a dead man rest? I suppose, as with all things, it is a matter of perspective. In these two related scenarios, Jesus was that man.

As Jesus volunteered to die in our stead, He could be restful with the trust that, though He felt forsaken by His Father for a short time on the day of preparation, God’s will was being done. Jesus lived a flawless life, and now died as the perfect Substitute for those who would learn to abandon self and allow God to transform their characters to reflect Jesus’. He could rest in the fact that He accomplished His sacrificial mission. Then, He died at peace. Foolish men whose hearts were darkened by pride could not understand how the perfect Lamb of God could die without a fight. How could He allow Himself to be captured and murdered if He was so powerful? Restfulness.

As Jesus, having given His life, lay motionless in Joseph’s tomb, He was resting in peace. How else can a dead man rest? Nothing can arouse a dead man besides the voice and power of God. Jesus rested in the tomb during the Sabbath, signifying the rest each of us can experience when we love God enough to keep His commandments. The seventh day remains a holy sign of our allegiance to the one true Creator of the universe. In the same way Jesus rested after He reveled in His creative work over six literal days in the beginning, He allowed His adopted human form to rest in the tomb, assured that His re-creative work of salvation would be accomplished like He mentioned in His prayer in John 17. How could Jesus allow Himself stay dead on the Sabbath if was so powerful? Rest.

Let me tell you, it is useless for the devil to try and keep a good man down. I am referring to Jesus; except I am referring to Jesus in the lives of those who have adopted His model of restfulness in all situations because of His perfect work. When Jesus is at work in your life, the devil can conspire with evil angels and people against you. He can set guards and traps for you. He can tell lies that paranoid people have convinced themselves to believe about you. However, come what may, the restful believer will arise from the ashes of earthly pain, privation, and even death. Those who fully rest in the Lord will arise with Christ, with victory in their hands. Are you dead to self and sin? If you are, welcome into rest with Christ.

By God’s grace, this is the faith I live by, let this be the same for you, in Jesus’ name.—L. David Harris (http://bit.ly/BQuotable)

#theprotestisnotover #thefaithiliveby