Word study: “Rest”

Hey there BCU Fam!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • We are wrapping up our word study series we started last month by looking at the Biblical definition of a word or phrase.
  • One Greek word for “rest” is anapausis, which means to cease from movement, intermission, or tranquility of the body and/or mind, even when there is chaos all around us.
  • The people of God should be resting on a regular basis as God did, and as Jesus said.

Scripture references

Luke 19:13
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Genesis 2:2

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Mark 6:30-32

30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.

31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

Are you operating in the primarily in the chronos time zone? If so, you may not be resting properly.

BCUFam, our bodies and minds need to rest on the regular in order to hear God and to function optimally. While we cannot deny that we have situations here, if we know Jesus in the pardoning of our sins, we can take our concerns to the Lord in prayer and leave them there without the situations consuming us with rest-stealing worry and anxiety.

Also, let’s commit to practicing taking time away from the hustle and bustle of our lives on a regular basis and get to a “desert” place where Jesus is, so we can operate more in the “kairos” time zone.* In doing so, we will find that although the situations have not changed, our yokes are easy and our burdens are light. Amen? Amen! Let’s pray about it!

Father, in the name of Jesus, as we come before You, we thank You for the Word of God that has refreshed our souls! Thank You for reminding us, that when we are overwhelmed, we can go to the Rock that is higher than ourselves, just as David did. We can come to You in prayer with all of our concerns, situations, thoughts and feelings, and leave them with You, so we are no longer consumed, but feel peace and experience rest as only You can give.

Please remember those of us who are really in the thick of the worry struggle. Some of us are not resting because of situations going on our our families, on the job, with our children, our spouses, friends, our desire for a spouse, our physical and/or mental health, past trauma, or any number of things. We ask Lord, that your Spirit touches all who are going through even now, Lord Jesus——–bless them to feel Your presence, and to hear Your voice as You speak over their situation and work things out according to Your will and way. Bless everyone listening to remember that You are able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can ask or think according to the power that works in us. 

Thank you for blessing someone today to repent, be baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost so they can experience the rest that comes from You, Jesus. We thank You for answering our prayers today, in Jesus name, we pray, Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Also, if you so inclined, join us for our Thursday Night Bible Study––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform BCU is available on. Some of those mediums include Amazon Music, AnchorFm, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, and many more of your favorite podcast platforms!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! May God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

* Check the BCU Facebook page for my “rest” video.

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Enjoy the present.

Hey there BCU Family!

For this post, you have the option of listening to our podcast (click the BCU avatar below to listen), reading the notes or BOTH. In any case, we pray the podcast blesses you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy your study!

This “adulting” thing I have to do keeps me pretty occupied. I praise God and am grateful that I have a full-time job, church, family and the BCU ministry (essentially run pretty full time). In between all that, I like to see friends and family, minister to people, keep house, eat, read and especially rest and sleep.

In fact, I look forward to the holidays and precious few and far in between days off to just. do. nothing. I’m the kind of vacation person that LIKES to stay home, with no plans, no clock to punch, no set time do, be, or go anywhere. I call that, “the slow hurry.” Those are my million dollar days.

It just so happens this year, I have a week off coming up and while a couple of those days are already spoken for, I can rest in the remainder of the time being mine. As I was talking to my friend Kenya about it, I started to lament about my life AFTER my time off was finished. It would be MONTHS before my next big block of time was coming up! I started thinking about how long those days would be and how hard it would be to get through them. During those days, there was nothing to look forward to, until the next vacation. The Lord checked me on that.

“Enjoy the present.”

We have a habit of saving the anticipation-filled phrases like, “I can’t wait…” or “I am looking forward to…” for special occasions, while saying, “I’ll be glad when this day is over”, or “it is Monday…already”, or “I wish this day would hurry up and come…” with dread and disdain. We wish away the days, complain the about the time we have to spend at work, going to and from work, doing chores, shopping, cleaning, running kids around—we even complain about the time we give God. Why does the message take so long? He prays too long! A second service? Why?

When we FINALLY get to the free time we couldn’t wait for, how are we really spending it? Looking our loved ones in the face, studying their words and actions—conversing intently? Or are our faces glued to our devices, while we catch snippets and fragments of what is being said? I’d venture to guess that many of us do the latter. Keeping that in mind…

What if….we were intentional about rejoicing in the day the Lord made (which would be all of them, including Monday)… See Psalm 118:24 

What if... instead of complaining about our jobs and wishing the day away, we payed attention to the people we work with for an opportunity to bless, encourage or be a witness to them—even if it’s demonstrated through our attitudes and actions. See Matthew 5:16. 

What if.. rather than complain about the job God blessed us with, we take all the tasks, including those those mundane meetings, the clean-up, the less glamorous parts that have to be done, along with tasks we enjoy, keeping in mind, that we work unto God as not as unto men. See Colossians 3:23-24. 

What if… we practiced being content..even if things are not where we want them to be at the moment? The spouse you prayed for? Thank God. The kids you asked God for? Thank God. The spouse you are waiting for? Thank God.  Struggling to pay bills? Thank God. We have the money to pay the bill? Thank God. It’s important that we live in the state of contentment. See Philippians 4:11. 

What if…we prepared our hearts, minds and bodies for the services we attend—looking for the Lord to bless, heal, deliver, save and set free in a mighty way? What if we arrived rested, full, prayed up and ready to see what we can do to be a blessing—and excitedly anticipate what God has for us? See Psalm 133:1. 

What if...prayed fervently (rather than half-way and sarcastically) that the Spirit of the Lord rest upon the hearts of the people during service, so much so, that people walk out differently than how they came in? And rather than complain about the time, we rejoiced in the fact that people are being blessed? See James 5:16 (b). 

BCU Family, whether we like it or not, our days are numbered. In Psalm 90:10, Moses said that we the days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years. Threescore is 60, add another 10 and that’s 70. So, fourscore is 80. Of course, some live longer and some shorter—that’s all in God’s hands. No, we don’t know when we’ll leave here- but what we can do, with the help of the Lord, while we are living for Him, is to enjoy our days to the fullest.

Ecclesiastes 5:18 reminds us, “it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of labor that he takes under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives, for it is his portion.”

Enjoy the present. Amen? Amen.

BCU Fam, I really have to be intentional about not rushing through my days and wishing my time away. I had to catch myself just this weekend–I was thinking “I need to hurry through this chore to get my free time”. Rather than rush through my schedule, the Lord reminded me to take my time. I confess, I was blessed in the process, and got home in plenty of time to rest.  We often miss how we can be a blessing and God blessing us, because we are operating in chronos time  (keeping a schedule), versus being present in kairos time (God’s opportune moments). So, how do you do in this area? Is the struggle real? Let me know in the comments section so we can continue our chat.

In the meantime, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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BCU Q&A: Effective ministering in tough situations.

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

As usual, you have the option of listening to our podcast (click the BCU avatar below to listen), reading the notes or BOTH. In any case, we pray the post blesses you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

So BCU Fam, a wonderful listener sent in a question this week, that I was led to post about this week. Here it is:

Q. “How to you minister to someone who has been Holy Ghost filled, yet they don’t feel free after walking in the Lord a while?”

How do you help them, when the scripture, if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36), does not help them or somehow they find it hard to rest on that scripture?

  • Do we put them down and call them faithless?
  • Do we tell them they don’t believe God [take Him at] His word?
  • Do we make them feel less than?
  • Do we avoid them all together and say “I’ll leave them to God!”
  • All these things [knowing they need to do what God says], the person may be well aware of.. so, how do they really get help?
  • Or is there any help for them?

Wow, I thank God for the individual who sent this question in! First, let’s deal with the person who is ministering.

In any situation Holy-Ghost filled believers encounter with believer or non-believers, we should be walking in the Spirit versus walking in the flesh (Galatians 5:25). As we walk the way Christ is directing, we’ll remember that all we come in contact with is our neighbor (see Luke 10:27-37),  and we are to love them as ourselves (Galatians 5:14).

That said, in this case, love may come in a loving rebuke/correction as God directs us,  but operating in the love God gives will never set out to intentionally make someone feel badly,  ignore them or self-righteously say, “God will deal with them!” Those attitudes and treatments are rooted in pride.

Pride tells us to manipulate people by name-calling, avoiding, side-eyeing or half-hugs thereby “punishing” the individual who isn’t behaving how we would like. What that does is discourage the individual, besmirch your Christian witness and sets you up for chastening for mishandling someone made in God’s own image (see Genesis 1:27 and James 3:9).  Let’s be prayerful and ask God to help us to react the HE wants us to, versus spouting off cutting remarks and behaving unscripturally.

Next, let’s understand the individual we’re ministering to more and look at the Scripture referenced by the listener in a bit more context. In John 8, Jesus was talking with the Jewish people, of whom some believed, but many did not–and they were questioning Him. Take a look at the conversation.

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin.
35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abides ever.
36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

We see here that Jesus came to set the servants of sin (all of us) free from sin. So as we look at the question posed, it sounds like this Holy Ghost filled person may not be continuing in the Word of God (verse 31) and choosing truth (verse 32). Rather this individual is choosing to be in bondage and enslaved to sin (verses 33 and 34), and voiding abiding in the Son and the freedom Jesus provides.  ‘

Did you notice the emphasis on the word “choosing?” Does it sound harsh? Or maybe you’re thinking, “He can’t help it” or “But, she’s been through so much already”. I agree, he can’t help it. She sure has been through some serious tests. That’s why we need Jesus down on the inside (the Holy Ghost) to help us help it, and to comfort and  guide us as we go through.  This, along with good biblical teaching, study, prayer, fasting and Christian fellowship, helps us we to hear and recognize the voice of the Lord and continue in (hearing and doing) His Word.

Please note, having the Holy Ghost does not automatically stop us from sinning, we will always have free-will to make whatever choices we desire. God wants us to love Him more than the sin, so we should choose to obey Him. In this case, either the person is willfully and actively choosing to walk in bondage to sin, or passively allowing the sin to take over and yielding to it. Either way, it’s a fleshly choice contrary to the will of God and there is a consequence (verse 35a). Now that we understand that better, let’s look into ministering effectively.

Really, we can loop back to the first paragraph where we should be prayerful, listen and respond with exactly God is telling us to say at the time (walking the the Spirit and on kairos mode). This is done without expressing your opinion, being puffed up, or being guided by your emotions. If the person doesn’t respond immediately to what was said, or turns back to the bondage, we still want to LOVE them. Love doesn’t mean you agree, condone or support what the person is doing/ not doing, yet love continues to treat the individual with long-suffering and kindness (I Corinthians 13), as we pray until the Lord works on the heart of the person in His way and on His timing.

Bottom line: God’s love and mercy was and is still continuously extended to us in so many areas, as His disciples, we are admonished to show that love and mercy to others, along with correction, as prescribed by God. This way, God is glorified, the person is edified, the enemy is horrified and you, BCU Family member, gratified to continue in the Word of God as a good and faithful disciple and servant of our King. Amen?! Amen!

Let’s talk: What’s your reaction to our reader’s question? What advice would you give? Please drop us a line in the comments section below and we’ll continue the conversation!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and now YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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BCU podcast-100 celebration chat: Stewardship & timing.

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the interview, please tune into the podcast recording. We pray the post blesses and encourages you.  If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

The BCU 100-podcast celebration-conversation continues where I answer your questions, fielded by my fellow teacher, sister and friend, Jewel Taylor.  In our 100th podcast, among other things, we talked about the start of the  BCU ministry and what it takes it keep it (and any other ministry) going.  In our last podcast, we talked about what was difficult about the keeping the ministry going and started talking about the dispensations. 

In this third segment we ended up talking/teaching about how precious the time is that God gives us, and how we are to steward over it properly, as it’s a commodity we often realize (in many cases, too late), that we cannot get back. The teaching series Jewel refers to is on Periscope under the BlenCouragesU moniker and have “stewardship” in the title.

As a reminder, we are planning to answer all questions, so please, keep BlenCouragesU.com close by notification-wise, as we’re planning to continue this series throughout the month of October.

Click below for the podcast and drop us a line give us your thoughts on the podcast content! Also, please stay tuned to the BlenCouragesU social media accounts (located below) for our giveaways the week of October 23-October 27, 2017.

So, are you a part of the BCU family? All you need to do us subscribe to BlenCouragesU.com. Subscribing is free and this is a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, and  YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and iTunes!

Thank you SO much for stopping by and being a part of the celebration!  God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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