Entering God's Rest

"God's promise of entering His rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it... For only we who believe can enter His rest." Hebrews 4:1,3

I remember the first time I entered "God's rest". I was in my room sitting on my bed... I was 15 years old and was living in Farmington Hills, MI. I had just come back from a weekend retreat with my church youth group. Before that retreat, I was living a "double-life" - using drugs every day, lying continually, yet claiming to believe in Jesus.

During a worship time in that retreat, the Holy Spirit touched my life and brought me to a place of repentance before Him. I cried and knelt and asked for God's forgiveness in my life. After the retreat, I came home and talked to my parents about the life I was living - I opened up my life and brought it to the light.

So there I was, sitting on my bed, with a clear conscious before God and people for the first time in my life! I experienced the fulfillment of Jesus' words, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) I felt an overwhelming sense of peace enter my heart and I said to God, "Father if this is what it is like to be right with you, then it's better than any drug I've ever experienced". That peace became my new addiction.

To this day I cannot stand to live outside of God's rest. If there's any sin or area of my life that's in the dark and that Peace begins to fade away, I immediately ask for God's forgiveness and bring it to the light again. I can understand why the writer of Hebrews said, "we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to enter it" - because once you know what it is like to enter it, you know how terrible it is to be out of it.

Let me encourage you to bring every area of your life to the light. If there are sins you are dealing with that are unconfessed or that no one knows about, you will not have God's peace. God created this place of Rest, so that we would enter it every day and live in it. Get down on your knees, expose your heart before Jesus, and step into a new addiction of peace.

"God's rest is there for people to enter... so God set a time for entering His rest, and that time is today... So let us do our best to enter that rest" Hebrews 4:6, 7, 11

Tiago singing & laughing!

One week after an accident that fractured his skull in 3 places and almost took his life, watch the miracle God performed in my nephew's life as he now is already talking, singing, and laughing. If you've never seen a miracle before, here's one right in front of your eyes.

God can turn the destructive events that come from our broken world, into opportunities for Him to be Glorified. When Jesus' friend Lazarus looked like he was going to die, this is what Jesus said: "Lazarus' sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God. I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this." (John 11:4)

God is surely good and He has surely been glorified.

If you're having a hard time watching the video above, try it here.

A Real Miracle

Last week my family experienced one of the most horrific things someone can experience. My sister Cristine in Brazil was driving down the interstate with her 19-month as she lost control of her car. The car crashed at high speed into the side of a rocky hill.

I got a phone call from my dad, who was crying, saying that there had been a terrible accident and, though my sister seemed ok, her son, Tiago, was in critical condition and had fractured his skull in 2 places.

He was unresponsive and it didn't seem like he was going to make it. His brain was swelling and bleeding internally.

Within a couple hours, friends, family, and our Church family began to spread the news like wildfire. Literally thousands of people around America and Brazil began to pray fervently and ask God for a miracle. I spent several hours crying and praying and pleading with God for his touch in Tiago's life and His comfort in my sister's heart.

In the midst of all this, I received a text message from a my good friend Kevin Harris and all it said was, "he 'will not die but live to declare the works of the Lord' - Ps. 118:17" Though I wanted to believe this with all my heart, part of me didn't quite know what would happen. I fully believe God heals, but I also know that bad things happen to the godly and the ungodly. Life without pain and suffering is only guaranteed in eternity, not this life. Also, the odds were against Tiago - even if he survived, no one knew if he would be the same again.

To keep a long story short, a real miracle happened! Tiago's recovery has been surprisingly fast. As the Church began to pray, his brain stopped swelling and the internal bleeding stopped. Each day he has miraculously experienced healing. Only ONE WEEK later, he is walking, talking, and even singing! The doctors said he can go home from the hospital very soon! God is touching Tiago and restoring health to his body.

HERE ARE SOME LESSONS TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS:

1. Miracles happen! God moves when people pray.
   
2. Don't take your family for granted, enjoy every minute. Life is very fragile.
3. The Church of Christ is powerful when we unite. I literally got over 100 emails in just a few hours with people offering help, prayers, and encouragement. So much love was poured on our family.
   
4. Always buckle up! Especially your kids. No one is exempt from accidents.
5. God helps us through trials. My sister said several times that she felt the supernatural strength of God in her as people prayed. I can't imagine going through something like this without the comforting power and strength of the Holy Spirit.
   

Thank you for all you who prayed! Glory be to God for healing Tiago and my sister. Glory to Him for reversing the consequences of this horrible accident and saving a little child's life!

Something God Hates.

I've been studying the subject of marriage in Scripture lately and came across this powerful passage in Malachi - written 2500 years ago, yet totally relevant to our day as if it were written specifically for our generation.

"You weep and groan because God pays no attention to your offerings... I'll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her... Didn't the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his." Malachi 2:13-15

So many people get angry with God for not "being there", or not answering their prayers... Others keep wanting God to "bless" them and "guide" them... and wonder why God seems silent. "I'll tell you why!" Malachi would say. Marriage vows are just not treated with honor anymore. Love is not unconditional (in bad times or good times, in poverty or wealth...), love is often based on whether or not she "meets" our needs.

So many men in our day dishonor their vows by looking at pornography, flirting at work, not controlling their wandering eye, undressing women in their minds... Then, they wonder why God's blessing has left them. Wondering why there's a sense of emptiness in their hearts and marriage.

Malachi then finishes by telling us what God DOES want: "And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart, remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 'For I hate divorce!' says the Lord... so guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife." (15-16)

We all make mistakes and wander from where we want to be, but let's renew our commitments to our wives and God. Even if you've been divorced, start today the journey of keeping your vows.

God help us men have enough strength, courage, and honor to be faithful to our wives. Help us to guard our hearts and remain loyal to our vows. Help us to love our wives with the same intensity and unconditional love that You show us. Raise up a generation of men who will again honor our words and vows and experience the incomparable blessing that comes from being right with You!

The Power of God

"For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God's power. Which do you choose?" 1 Cor. 4:20

I'm amazed at how easy it is to appear to have God's power, but not have it at all. We've seen so many examples of people who seem to have it all together, who's speech is compelling, who's lives seem so spiritual, etc. but it was just a bunch of talk.

I so desperately don't want to be that person. What's the point of the Christian life if God's power is not in us? Why claim to follow Jesus, without having His power flowing through my hands, my mouth, my life... To choose to live that pretentious life is to cause "the cross of Christ t0 lose its power (1 Cor. 1:17).

Followers of Jesus should have His power flowing through us: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you" (Acts 1:8). Though I've experienced this power so many times, in answered prayers, in healings, in salvations, in real miracles... I still feel like I'm not even close to having God's intended measure of power for my life.

I'm determined to have more of this power. I want my words to be His words. I want to hear his voice and speak life into people's lives. I want God's power to flow through my hands when I touch people. I want His power to flow in my family. I want Him to use me to bring restoration and salvation to people's lives, marriages, etc. I want my life to count.

• Who's lives has God changed through me?
• When was the last time I clearly heard from God's Spirit?
• How powerful is God's Word in my life? How much of it is in my heart?
• Do people see Jesus in my daily life? In my talk, walk, work, play...

Father, remove from me everything that stops your power from flowing. Forgive me for often settling for ordinary living and not pursuing the Holy life. Use me Lord. Fill me Spirit. Make my life Glorify Your Name Jesus.