Cease from Labor

Dear readers around the world! This week I am heading back home after traveling for about 3 months for my job as administrator for the Foreign Mission. I have enjoyed visiting different congregations each week to raise awareness about the work that the Lord is doing around the world through the Foreign Mission of the ALC have toward the work in His Kingdom! These travels are done in hopes that even in this bad economy, the Lord’s people would be reminded to share of the Lord’s blessing to help the FM as it endeavors to be obedient to the word of our Lord when He said in Mark..go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.

On Monday of this week all the people in the United States celebrated a holiday called Labor Day. Naturally thinking, this can sound like a strange holiday. We are celebrating Labor, or work, but we all take the day off. In a way, one might think that if work is celebrated, then perhaps one should work?

This holiday did remind me however, that as Christians, we have also ceased, or have stopped from our own labor, and have entered in His Rest!

Hebrews 4:10 (KJV)
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

All work and labor for our salvation has been accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing more needs to be done! Our work has ended when we have died to self, when we have repented and believed the Gospel. 2 Tim. 2:11
It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:

It may be at first hard to understand how we become dead with him. Romans 6:4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The baptism spoken about here I believe is not only water baptism, but rather also baptism as a word in it’s original and literal meaning, which means to become one. If a person dyes a white cloth with red dye, the cloth is now red through and through. This is an example of what happens when we are buried with him by baptism into death. It is after we have repented, died to self, that then we have newness of life!!

When we have newness of life, we are in His Rest. Just like God rested after creating all things, we are able to have total rest after Jesus has created us anew! What a joy to have rest, to cease from our labors. What a wonder, how amazing, that we have been given such great blessings! Just think, NO more Labor for our Salvation. In the USA we had the one day off to celebrate with no labor, after which we all have to go back to work. In Christ’s Kingdom, our labor is totally over!

Does this mean we can just sit and do nothing? On the contrary! Remember the verse above said we are alive with HIM! Living Christians are not idle! Now that one is a believer, we understand that we are tools in His workshop. We have a desire that more and more lost sinners would be able to have this same peace and rest in Jesus Christ! We want our families, friends, and all we know to have peace and rest! This is no longer us laboring, this is us sharing of Jesus, and witnessing of Him who has given us HIS rest!

The scripture tells us that this glorious rest is not available for the ones that believe not..
Hebrews 3:18
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

This rest is available for all, but it cannot be attained until one repents and believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dear believers reading this, enjoy your rest in the Lord. Rest from now through all eternity in the perfect peace of our Lord!

To all non Christians reading this, may the Lord work a desire in your heart for His Word. May He allow you to come to understand that all are sinners and in need of repentance… Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We as people are no different; we must all come in through that straight gate, the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 7:14
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
May you be one of the few ( in comparison to the total people of the world) that find the Lord Jesus so you can also enter into His Glorious rest! John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Let us pray one for one another that we would be in the truth, and have His life and rest!

May the Lord Bless your week!