Come And Rest in Me

By Tyrell L. Samuels

Why doth thou despair? 

Dost thou loveth thy life too much? 

Why hast thou not found Me sweeter than all life hast to offer? 

Why hast thou not called it dung in light of knowing Me? 

Come and rest in Me, and find your hunger safe at ease. 

What are these tears you drip so well? 

Why have you fallen to your knees? 

Have thou not found Me sweet? 

Sweeter than all your treats. 

Have I not made that too? 

That which you took to be so great...is it lovlier than I? 

How long wilt thou wait, till thou come and rest in Me?

God is Sufficient

If I was stripped of everything, and this fallen world gave me its worst, the Holy One of Israel would shout atop the highest mountain declaring "I AM SUFFICIENT!" In the worst times God is still sufficient to be your joy and your treasure. May He be exceedingly sweet in all your trials.

Tribulations Part 2

Hey guys, I hope this devotional finds you well. Looking at a lot of statuses, I think this is a little overdue...I know it is for me. Here it goes! Be Blessed and Stay Encouraged through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Devotional:
I knew a girl who was verbally and physically abused daily by her father. We will call her Sarah. Sarah had converted to the faith about 3 years ago and this brought much adversity to her in her home. Her mom and dad did not agree with her faith and Sarah suffered greatly for that. Though she knew that Christ promised persecution for his disciples this fact did not bring her comfort when faced with her various trials. She begged and cried out to the Lord at night for Him to deliver her from the tribulations in her home. She wondered why the Lord had not come for her. Eventually, this made her become bitter towards the Lord. Where was the Lord in all her trials? Didn't God promise never to leave us nor forsake us? Sarah simply needed to shift her perspective.

Two weeks ago we looked at Romans 5:2-5 and looked at the purpose of trials and how they should cause us to focus our eyes on Eternity. This week, we will look at the same passage and see how tribulations actually grow our character in Christ and help us to see two of God's attributes...His faithfulness and His Lordship.

Through our trials, we see God's faithfulness because He sustains us through them. We are never overtaken by the trials the Lord allows in our life. Our patience is produced in trials because we have to wait on the Lord. Though Sarah faced parents who mistreated her because of her faith it was the Lord who had kept her through it all. How come Sarah didn't just end her life? She had reasonable legitimacy to do so. It was the Lord who sustained her. This, my brothers and sisters is God's faithfulness. Other translations of Romans 5:4 say that Patience produces Experience, and experience results in Hope, and that hope does not disappoint. When we come out of a trial, we see that God is faithful. Each trial shows us how faithful God is, and over time we see a plethora of experiences where God was faithful. Our character being grown! Our trials basically show us who God is just as Christ knew who the father was. God's will is that we be conformed to the image of His son. It is God's will that we know Him. These experiences of faithfulness from Him give us hope not only for future trials, but it enables us to trust Him and His promises. We can know that this hope does not disappoint because we have a history of times where God was faithful.

In the book of Luke starting at chapter 9 verse 18 and ending at verse 26. Jesus questions his disciples on who He is. After coming to the conclusion that He is the Christ Jesus begins telling them the cost of becoming a disciple. It is by no coincidence that this passage is laid out in such a way. Jesus had to make sure that his disciples knew who He was before they could be His disciples and go out and do all that He commanded. Any man can give his life for a good cause, but the key here is not in what the cause is, but who Christ is. He is Lord! What's important here is that we know who Christ is. If He is God, and He has promised us an inheritance far greater than any pleasure we could receive on this earth, in a global sense it really does not matter what I face on this earth. In knowing who Christ is, I am willing to give up my life for Him and if I'm willing to give up my life for Him, then I am willing to suffer for Him...in what the Word says is a momentary affliction.

Memory Verse: For I consider that the present sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.-Romans 5:18

Tribulations Part 1

Hello everyone, Marie-Marthe Rousseau here and I am super excited to bring you guys the devotional for this week! I hope all of you had a fantastic week thus far and I pray that this devotional encourages many of you as you continue to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Devotional:
Where is your hope or where does your hope lie? Is it in this world? In the things of this world? Does the promise of success allure you? Do the pleasures of this world lead you to store up treasures on this earth? Why is it that so many people who profess to be Christian find their hope in this world when the very core of our faith demands that we find our hope not in this life but in the next. C.S. Lewis writes...

“Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.-Colossians 3:1-4

In order to hope in the next life and truly live in light of eternity, it's beneficial to change our perspective on how we view trials and tribulations. In order to see this, let's look at Romans 5:2-5.

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have[a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

We can rejoice in tribulations because we know that they conform us into the image of Christ. Tribulations produce perseverance in us which like fruits of the Spirit must be produced by being placed in situations that warrant that given action. For example, If I ask for patience, the Lord will allow things in my life that require my patience, and so on. The perseverance gives us the character of Christ which in turn gives us hope in the glory of God. (v.2) We must renew our minds in Christ when we face trials. We must look at the cross when we face trials because it is at the cross we see that YES! God does love us. Knowing that God loves us should tell us that God will save us from this hard life. Our hope is in His return, our hope is in the next life. We can rejoice in this hope knowing that it does not disappoint (v.5) It does not disappoint because the Holy Spirit has allowed us to see His love. The Holy Spirit has opened our eyes to see what Christ has done for us on the cross. He saved us! This assures His love, and assures us of a future glory and salvation from our sin and this wretched life. We can hope because of His love!

How do we arrive at this hope? We arrive at this hope by allowing tribulations to exercise our perseverance which can only be exercised by submitting to God's will in tribulations. Now submitting to God's will means that you do not fight against what the Lord is trying to bring about through the the trial (character) but surrender to it by striving to do what's most glorifying to the Lord in that circumstance and allowing the Holy Spirit to sustain you. That perseverance then produces character. Persevering through trials produces Christ-like character. Through trials, we become “approved”(James 1:12) or we further reach a place where we have the mindset of Christ. In having the mindset of Christ, we will focus on what Christ focused on which was the kingdom. Christ was all about Eternity and where mankind would spend it. He said repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. In other words, that character will produce in us hope...hope and expectancy of the Kingdom of heaven where these tribulations no longer exist. Tribulations should cause us to hope in the future glory in that Christ will deliver us from this life. Tribulations should cause us to yearn for the Kingdom of Heaven Tribulations should cause us to become detached from this world. Think of a baby who still feeds from her mother's breast. One day that baby has to be weened from the mother's breast and given a bottle or a cup. We must be weened from this world because we were not created for here. The harsh trials of this life should cause us to seek after heaven and ponder on it's mysteries and splendor. Hallelujah!!!

17For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!],
18Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.-2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (Amplified Bible)

If this world cannot soothe, because of the extreme adversity we will face in this life, there has to be hope for something greater. This hope is in Christ, who died for the sins of all mankind. Tribulations exist because of the sin that entered the world through Adam. All men fell under the curse of sin, and God utterly hates sin, therefore we deserve God's wrath. That wrath came in the form of physical and spiritual death. But now, through Christ we can have life in Eternity with God in paradise to all those who believe and place their faith in Him.

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.-Philippians 1:20

Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18-"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."


Written by Tyrell Lee Samuels and Marie-Marthe Rousseau, given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit!

Expanding with No Limit

Grace and Peace to all of you, it brings me great pleasure to write to you all again. May this be of great encouragement to you!

Memory Verse: John 12:27-“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

Devotional:

Jesus quoted the above verse on what we now call Palm Sunday...about a week before his death on the Cross. If you haven't already figured it out, He was speaking of His death. What a great and laborious trial to come for the King of the Jews, a trial in fact He would not physically survive. However pay close attention to the verse that follows it:

Father, glorify Your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” 

The Message Bible reads “Father, put your glory on display.”

When in trials, we shouldn't ask that God deliver us from the trial, but that God will help us not only get through it, but glorify Him in it! If we're rescued every time a troubling situation arises we will never grow in our faith in God. We live to seek His glory, and He is most glorified when our faith abounds in Him. If we do not grow, we'll always carry a wimpy, unstretched, unchallenged, superficial faith. So when the really tough and seemingly impossible situations come we'll crack under the pressure. God wills to use us in all situations. He wants us to function for His glory despite whatever is going on in our life. In fact, He's ready to equip us to do so.

Think about a rubber band, or better yet a balloon. It is wise to stretch it out a few times before you blow it up. That way, when you do blow it, it doesn't automatically pop at the first sign of stress, but instead it will grow larger with that extra endurance. You see, it was exercised beforehand. Our faith, like the balloon needs to be exercised so that we can become all that God has called us to be, endure all that He will allow us to endure, and glorify Him in every trial. But if we do not embrace opportunities to be stretched and tested we'll never reach our potential in Christ. We serve a big God, and we need big faith, so He can do Big things through us! Don't get me wrong, our faith can start small...remember the parable of the mustard seed? (Mark 4:30-32) But it is divinely designed to grow larger! When a trial comes, it's really a wonderful blessing in disguise, because here is the chance to actually put your faith in God to work! Here is your opportunity to really depend on the supernatural Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnibenevolent God! Yes! Get Excited!!! I know American Christianity has conditioned you to only trusting God in the small matters of life, but what about the circumstances that only the Creator of the Universe can bring you through? Don't fret, Be thankful in it! God calls us to be thankful in all circumstances (Ephesians 5:20). Is God not mighty enough to bring you through even “this” whatever “this” may be? Is His arm too short to save? (Isaiah 59:1). For this hour of adversity I have come...for a purpose! So that we would have faith that moves mountains, so that the Father may be glorified in us! So today, open up your perspective, renew your mind in Christ and walk confidently through knowing that God is preparing you for a greater glory...for His glory.

Don't believe me? Ask Jesus!

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” -Luke 22:42

With a gruesome death approaching, Christ sought the glory of the Father. He knew that in order for the Father to be most glorified, He had to die.

Albert Barnes writes “as the salvation of the world depended on it, he felt that it would not be proper to pray to be delivered from it. He came to suffer, and he submitted to it”

Christ reached His fullest potential on the Cross dying for every nasty, wretched, deplorable sin of mankind so that we could have a chance at heaven. Christ submitted to the Father even to death, so today and beyond let's embrace opportunities to be stretched so that God can use us to our fullest potential...to display His glory!


T. L. Samuels