...simply rest.

…simply rest

angie tipton

actnow ministries

6.30.2012

It’s been unseasonably hot here in Arkansas for the past few weeks, actually shattering records for high temps for the month of June.  That hasn’t stopped me from riding my bike.  But, what I observed about myself is that as I was out and about on my rides (20-27 miles), I found that I was getting extremely stressed on the big hills that we have here and the heat was compounding that stress.

One day as I was in the midst of a huge hill at the end of my ride, I felt the Lord impress upon me to “simply rest.”  I knew that I had the willpower to make it up the hill, but I was making it much harder than it had to be because of the way I was approaching it.  In analyzing myself in this moment, I wasn’t breathing properly.  I was gripping the handle bars as if I were dangling from a cliff, hanging on for dear life.  And, as I would occasionally glance at my destination, the hill seemed to grow bigger and bigger as my pace continued to slow down…not a good thing!

I then made the decision to “simply rest.”  In doing so, that meant to breath properly, relax and stop gripping the handlebars so tightly, and quit looking at my destination.  Those were the things I did physically to change.  I had to make a conscience effort to “rest” in what I knew.  I knew that I had the physical capability to make it up the hill as I’ve done it more times than I could count because if I want to make it home, this is THE only way to get there…there are no short cuts!

One of the most important decisions in simply resting, was my mindset.  I had adjusted myself physically, then I told myself, “You’ve done this plenty of times…rest in the abilities that you know you already have.”  At that point, the ride went much better.  I had been wasting precious energy before…actually spending more energy to get up the hill than was necessary.

I find that this scenario parallels our walk with the Lord.  Do you ever find yourself stressing in your walk with the Lord?  It doesn’t have to be that way!  All we need to do is simply rest.  Rest in what Jesus did for us on the cross.  When He died on the cross, He said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) He didn’t say that just because his physical earthly life expired.  He said it because He had taken on every sin for every person who has ever been…made a way for every person to be healed and delivered…and made a way for every need that every person who has ever been might ever need.  Yes, it’s true…SO true!  The problem is that we, all too often, don’t tap into what Jesus did on the cross for us.  Once we come to the realization of ALL He did for us on the cross, it makes it easy for us to “simply rest.”  When we’re faced with circumstances that seem so great that we cannot make it, because of what He did on the cross for us, we can rest in Him, knowing that He already has it all worked out.

Now, I’m not implying that we don’t have a role to play in this.  We must do what we can do and then God will do what we cannot do.  He will not do our part of our situation and we cannot do His part.  So, we definitely have a responsibility in whatever our circumstances are no matter how simple or difficult they are.  Simply resting in our part of it will make it much easier.  It will take the stress, anxiety and foreboding out of the task at hand. 

God loves us SO much that I believe sometimes it’s difficult to comprehend!  Do you know how much God loves you? (John 3:16)  Oftentimes, I pray for those around me, including myself, that the strongholds that are keeping us from knowing this truth…His love, will be torn down and that God will open our eyes and ears so that we are capable of seeing and hearing just how much He loves us.  God is not some bully sitting in Heaven just waiting for us to make a mistake so that He can beat us over the head with a baseball bat…NO!  On the contrary…He already knows every mistake we  have made or will ever make…and yes, even knowing that, He still loves us with an everlasting love…TOTALLY AMAZING!!

Now, just because we have accepted Jesus as our Savior doesn’t mean that life is going to be easy. (Acts 14:22) In fact, at times, life is quite challenging as a Believer.  But, if we see this gig through to the end, no matter how difficult, we will make it home…“Home” being Heaven.  With that in mind, there is only one way to the Father in Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6)  And, just as in my bike ride to get to my home, there is only one way…no shortcuts!  It’s the same to get to Heaven…only One Way…no shortcuts!  Don’t accept ANY imitation!

So, when life gets tough, remember to simply rest in what God accomplished for us on the cross.  Remember that He is not surprised by anything that we’ve done or anything that has happened to us.  He already knows.it.ALL!  He has already made a way for every situation…yes, every situation in our lives. (1 John 3:19-20)  Be adamant about remembering that He knows everything there is to know about you and how so very much He loves you so that you can...simply rest…the way God intended when He gave up His life (John 10:18) on the cross for us…simply rest.  

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.    Philippians 4:6-8

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock,
and established my steps.  He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God;
many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.         Psalm 40:1-3

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.      Isaiah 40:31

Grace, The Man Healed at the Pool and the U.S.

Grace, the Man Healed at the Pool and the U.S.

By::  angie c tipton

actnow ministries

5.23.2012

For the past few months or so, John chapter 5 has been on my mind.  In verses 1-9, Jesus has come into Jerusalem for a Jewish holiday.  Inside Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with 5 covered porches.  Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches and one of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years.  When Jesus saw him, He knew he had been ill for a long time and asked him, “Would you like to get well?”  The man said, “I can’t sir for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up.  Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”  Jesus said to him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”  Instantly, the man was healed!

There are SO many items of interest in this passage…the numbers, the Sheep Gate, the meaning of the name Bethesda and even the meaning of John.  What was the purpose for mentioning the porches and is it of importance that they were covered?

Numbers have always intrigued me in one way or another, although I’m no math whiz!  As I began looking at John, chapter 5 with 5 covered porches…and in vs. 5 it states that the ill man lying there had been sick for 38 years…the difference in 3 and 8 is 5.  The abundance of 5’s could not be ignored and it didn’t take long to find out that the biblical meaning of the number 5 is grace.  That’s A LOT of grace in the first 5 verses of chapter 5 in the book of John...which, by the way, John means, “Yahweh is Gracious!”   

I looked up the meaning of the name Bethesda and was not surprised to find that it means, “House of Mercy.”

Now, in vs. 2 it mentions that the Pool of Bethesda is near the Sheep Gate.  The Sheep Gate is the gate where the sheep were brought into the city to be sacrificed in the temple.

So, why were there 5 porches and why were they covered?  The definition of Porch is; a covered shelter…or in this case they were porches at “the House of Mercy” covered with grace. 

The man who had been ill for 38 years had been lying there for a long time.  I found that the number 38 is found in only a few places in the Bible and refers to slavery.  Yes, slavery…the man was in slavery to his illness…unable to function normally in everyday life.  Anyway, Jesus approached this man and asked him if he wanted to be well.  Notice that Jesus approached him…an act of mercy and grace. And, even though the man made excuses for  why he couldn’t get into the pool to get his healing, Jesus, graciously, looked past all of that and healed the man anyway.  He told him to pick up his mat and walk!  In an act of faith and obedience, the man got up, picked up his mat and walked. 

I find all of these things so very amazing!!  Here is Jesus, THE ultimate Lamb, slain for the sins, deliverance and healing of all in the world…near the Sheep Gate…at the “House of Mercy”…that is covered with grace.  He has approached a man who is in “slavery” to an illness that has left him lame, most, if not all of his life and graciously heals him. Because the Pharisees were causing a ruckus about the man being healed and carrying his mat on the Sabbath, Jesus slipped away into the crowd.  He later caught up with the man He had healed and told him not to sin any longer or something worse may come upon him.  There is an abundance of truth in that statement!  When we are made aware of sin in our lives, it’s very important that we turn away from that sin and make better choices for ourselves.  Don’t let that sin back in!  Luke 11:24-25 says this; ^“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’  When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” This is not just true for the man in this story; this is true for us in the 21^st century, as well!  Close that gate and keep it closed!

Now, I want to go back to the number 38 after the man was healed.  Jesus told him to sin no more…basically, don’t add any more sin to your life.  If you add (sin) 3+8 you get 11.  The meaning for this number is judgment and disorder.  Like I stated earlier, if you take away (sin) 3 from 8 you get grace.  I think this is very significant to this story!  I also want to point out the meaning of the numbers 3 and 8 separately.  The meaning of 3 is resurrection, divine completeness and perfection.  The meaning of 8 is new birth, new creation or new beginnings. With this continued sin in his life, it meant disorder and judgement for this man.  With the sin gone it meant resurrection, divine completeness and perfection…a new life, free from slavery! 

I don’t believe that any of these numbers, names, places or meanings are in this story are by coincidence.  Nothing that God does is by coincidence! He IS in control of all things and causes all things to work for good for those who love Him.  Romans 8:28   And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Like I said earlier, John chapter 5 had been on my mind for some time…I really wasn’t sure why God kept bringing it back to me.  I kept praying, asking Him to open my eyes, ears and heart to what He wanted me to get from it.  Well, in the midst of Him revealing it to me, He also brought a book to me to read…”The Harbinger” by Jonathan Cahn.  I had known about the book for several months and had even watched a couple of programs about it, but had not read it yet. (Reading IS NOT one of my favorite things to do!) Well, I suddenly felt compelled to buy the book and read it.  When I read it is when I realized why God was showing me all of these things in John, chapter 5.  In the book, “The Harbinger” there is a place where a brief reference to the pool of Bethesda in John chapter 5 is made.  “The Harbinger” is a book about the tragedy of September 11^th and how there are warnings (to Israel in the past and the US currently) all through the happenings before, during and after the September 11^th tragedy.  This is when God showed me that our nation is the “lame one” lying beside the Pool of Bethesda.  That’s right…our nation…the United States.  We (currently) are beside the “House of Mercy,” covered with grace and Jesus is standing there offering to heal our land.  But, instead of the leadership of our country…our Government officials…repenting and reacting in obedience to God, they are turning away from Him…ultimately rejecting His offer of healing, mercy and grace.  Even as our officials look to many other things to “fix” our country (i.e. education, healthcare, military, MONEY), Jesus is still standing there, waiting for us to “pick up our mat and walk.” 

Now, in John 5:22-23, Jesus says;  ^“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,  that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”  WOW!!  With that said, I don’t believe that our Government is being very honoring (nor have they been for quite some time) to Jesus…the One who is entrusted to judgment by the Father.  I don’t say these things to cause fear.  Unlike the enemy, God Almighty does not use fear to control people.  God does, however, send warnings to let those He loves know that they are on the wrong path…case in point…our country!

Grace:: A ~ unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification

B ~ a virtue coming from God

C ~ a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace

God wants to continue to bless our country with His grace.  He is waiting patiently for us to respond.  He is love.  He loves us ALL so very much and He wants the best for us…if that’s what we choose.  He is also holy which means that He CANNOT tolerate sin…which is why the warnings are here…now.   I don’t want to think about what judgment will bring to this nation if it doesn’t, as a nation…the leadership of the U.S., turn from it’s ways and come back to God.  This I do know; we, the body of Christ, ARE His!  Even if judgment does come to this country, we have the security of our Savior.  We are His, He is ours…He will NEVER leave us or forsake us.  Choose to pick up your mat and walk…He’s waiting patiently for us to choose.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 Receive Him, receive His grace.

By the way, the date this was written was 5.23.2012.   (5).2+3=(5).2+0+1+2=(5)   Grace