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Be Blessed by Embracing God’s Values and Relating with Him through the Lord’s Feast of Tabernacles
Believers in Messiah Jesus have an even greater opportunity to express gratefulness, celebrate the incredible love and awesome works of God with the community of faith, enter into His rest and anticipate His future glory!
The LORD’s peace is truly precious. It is the true antidote to fear and anxiety. To some, real inner peace and God’s shalom may be hard to comprehend. But, it is real. It is available to experience. How to find it? Don’t live in worry; but focus your thoughts on what is “true, noble and righteous” communicating with gratefulness to God, and “the peace of God which surpasses understanding” will keep you secure in God’s love. (Philippians 4:6-8 ) Through his labor and trials, Paul learned how to have contentment in the LORD. He confessed that, “I have learned to be content regardless of circumstances. I know what it is to be in want, and I know what it is to have more than enough — in everything and in every way I have learned the secret of being full and being hungry, of having abundance and being in need. I can do all things through him who gives me power.” (Philippians 4:11-12 JNT) Paul understood “follow-ship.” He, like Old Testament characters, followed after God. In a world that finds it hard to find satisfaction with the simple things of life, contentment in the LORD is to be greatly valued. He knew that the LORD is our source of sufficiency and peace. The early community of faith valued the peace and presence of the Holy Spirit. They followed after the LORD. They received revelation of God’s Word and maintained a rich kind of fellowship. Such dynamic follow-ship and fellowship enabled them to truly experience the fullness of God. These believers were convicted in their hearts that they needed one another, and needed to support one another through the trials and toil of life. They valued the different gifts, skills, and resources that God had given to them, and in turn, actively engaged in the practice of sharing and caring for one another. Their sense of community was real because the presence of the Holy Spirit was real to them. That presence gave them a sense of confidence and peace. Although external trials abounded, they were exhorted to rest internally in His rest. “For in him, bodily, lives the fullness of all that God is. And it is in union with him that you have been made full — he is the head of every rule and authority.” (Colossians 2:8-10 JNT) God brings us to the place where we are confident that prayer and patience work together to see God’s will and purposes accomplished. We experience His active presence. The more we do, the more we know He is in control and rest settled in His purposes.As we anticipate a time of entering a complete state of rest and wholeness in God, we realize we will never be totally complete this side of heaven; but knowing you are eternally found in Messiah Jesus brings a greater sense of peace that truly does surpass understanding.
REFLECTION, REALITY AND RESPONSE What blockages and constraints could be preventing you from experiencing God’s presence and peace? How might you be able to experience fellowship centered in the life of God and engage with God through the Holy Spirit in a real way?
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