Publisher's Synopsis
The spiritual law of rest was designed by God to develop our dependency on Him, and the side effect was to promote health and greater personal success. We don't have to understand why His laws work in order to be blessed by them any more than we have to understand how the TV works to enjoy it! But as in human relationships, if things aren't going as we'd like, it's time to do some investigating work and take appropriate steps for improvement.Spiritual laws always work. They are either the force that enables us to enjoy life and please our Heavenly Father, or they are like a destruc¬tive enemy hounding our every step. The devil gets blamed for some of the stuff that can be traced back to our own transgression of God's laws of righteousness. For sure, our adversary was no doubt the snake prodding us to take the forbidden apple, but when we know better, we can't hide behind his slimy carcass! We have a clear warning to not give him any opportunity (Ephesians 4:27). To walk in abundance, we must stop blame-shifting to "his ugliness" and quickly resist all hazardous input, taking every thought captive to Christ, and immediately refocusing on Jesus. The abundant life results from walking in right relationship with Jesus, not in bogging down in demonic wrestling matches.If we fail to discern the devil's temptation thoughts and end up beating on our self or others, we will be a dismal failure in life. Equally true is the fact that if we spend too much time resisting the devil and fail to go on to "drawing near to God" (James 4:7,8) we will likewise end up in a pile, exhausted and exasperated. When Jesus said we could avoid temptation by "watching and praying" (Matthew 26:41), He was giving us the easy way to walk in continual spiritual abundance. We don't have to be devil-minded to walk in victory-just seek first God's Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to us (Matthew 6:33). Spiritual prosperity comes from enjoying the mind of Christ! Finding out how God designed His kingdom to operate becomes, therefore, much more than religious rigmarole. Exciting, abundant life is the reward!When you see people apparently "floating" away from the consequences of breaking God's righteous standards, remember the astronauts. If the erring ones do not draw closer to the Source of righteousness, they will waste away in space. The Bible is very clear that the scales will be balanced one day. Every flesh counterfeit will be justly compensated. The hiding place of scoundrels will be exposed, the guilty will be punished, while the righteous will shine forth as a bright light. The misunderstood will finally be exonerated. God-lovers who were mocked by earth's society will be compensated beyond measure.Flesh-worshipers may ridicule the thought that there is a day of reckoning coming, but listen to them as they hug trees and decry the impending doom for "mother earth" because of the rape of the planet. They believe a day of reckoning is coming! Even mobsters hold "get even" over those who might dare think of crossing them. Everyone knows that there are consequences to our actions. Try as we may, mankind has not been able to successfully escape the gravity of the knowledge of some of God's righteous laws, i.e., the law of sowing and reaping!As we look in particular at God's law of rest, keep in mind that His intention with this law is to bless you, not to make you miserable. In choosing to go His way, we reveal the kind of stuff we are made of. Our life, therefore, be¬comes part of the evidence by which we are judged (Romans 2:14; 2 Corinthians 5:10,11). Our right relationship with the Lord becomes both our source of enjoyment for life as well as our confidence in the day of judgement!For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6