Now therefore arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might; let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation and let Your godly ones rejoice in what is good. 2 Chronicles 6:41.
The Words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. Psalm 12:6.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
I have a sacred trust with you. It’s to love others as I have loved you. And how have I loved you? I so loved the world I gave you My Son Jesus. Go and do the same.
In Him you have forgiveness, wisdom, sanctification, redemption, righteousness—everything for life and godliness. He paid the judgment for your breaking of My Covenant. He put you right with Me.
You may be wondering just how you give people Jesus. My answer is in the same way I gave Him to you—make the Word become flesh for them in you. Everyone should see how kind you are. My grace teaches you to live godly. Imitate Jesus and in seeing Him you see Me. So you are imitating Me when you imitate Jesus. And you do that My walking in love, for I am love. I think, talk, and walk in love. That means you should not be a gossip, rude, obscene, disrespectful, or nasty to people.
Don’t be a commander, be a friend bringing all to the desired end. Wash others in the water of the Word. A bruised reed I do not crush, a smoldering wick I do not quench until justice comes.
But to be living the wondrous life of pure love and enjoying every moment of your days and nights there is something you need to become—My resting place. And it will become your place of delight within you that will spread out into every area of your life with the sweet anointing oil and incense of the Presence, My presence, in which they is fullness of joy and fruitfulness. A place of abundant, vibrant, renewed life.
When Solomon dedicated the House built for Me in Jerusalem, he brought in the Ark of the Covenant to set it in the Holy of Holies, and he prayed: “Now therefore arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might; let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation and let Your godly ones rejoice in what is good.” 2 Chronicles 6:41.
My resting place in My Temple. Now you are My temple, My dwelling place, you who are born again by My Word by your faith in My Son. 1 Corinthians 3:16 (“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”). But not all of you have given Me a resting place. You are filled with anxiety, fear, and thoughts that are not from Me. My Son said He had found no place to rest His head.
The first time I use the words “resting place” in the Bible are in the book of Genesis. When Noah first released the dove from the ark, the dove found no resting place, so she returned to the ark and Noah drew her back in to himself. Genesis 8:9. I sent the ark of the covenant in front of the Israelites in their journey across the desert to find them a resting place on every stage of the journey and I was leading them to the resting place of the Promised Land. But the first generation of Israelites out of Egypt never entered My rest, and even the generation that did, did not stay in My rest. The promise of rest still remains, but this time that place is within you. And it is the beautiful place to be. There you will have peace beyond all understanding. Let My Spirit rest in you. There is no peace for the wicked but great peace, a double shalom, have those whose minds are stayed on Me.
My Son told you that He knocks on the door of your heart, your own garden within, and if you will open that door, He will come in and dine with you and you with Him. A pleasant life of fellowship and counsel. The stability of your days and nights and a wealth of wisdom, knowledge, peace, and salvation.
How do you find this place of rest? My Son explained, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep (in Greek, the word used here is “tereo,” which means to watch over, guard, hold fast) My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode (in Greek, “mone,” which means an abiding, lodging, dwelling place, an individual mansion, and not a transitory dwelling) with him.” John 14:23.
I told Jeremiah, “My people have become like lost sheep.” Why? “They have forgotten their resting place.” Jeremiah 50:6. And Isaiah, “Then in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious.” Isaiah 11:10. That is, Christ in you, your hope of glory.
Who and what has first place in your life? That is where you are abiding. Why? That is the person and thing you have given place to in your heart. Your thoughts, words, ways, works show to whom and what you have given place to in your life. Jesus told you that the devil had no place in Him, “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing (oudeis in Greek, which means “no not one,” absolutely nothing, no part at all, it shuts the door and leaves no exceptions) in Me; but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.” John 14:30-31. Jesus was the Prince of Peace. He was a Man upon whom My Spirit landed and remained. He was My resting place on earth and now you who are His Body are also to be. You are to live in a place of divine rest. Jesus is LORD of the Shabbat. Rest.
How did Jesus remain in that rest throughout His life on earth? By keeping His heart pure. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see Me. Paul learned this too and even in prison he wrote that he was overflowing with joy. He had learned to be content in ALL circumstances no matter what his outer man was facing. Deep in his inner man he had found the resting place where he remained with Me as the branch resting in the vine. Like Noah in the ark as the flood raged around him while he just floated higher.
My Son asks you to come to Him and rest. Have you ever asked Me, your Father, and My Son and My Spirit to come to you and rest? Have you ever asked Me to make you My resting place? Not a cluttered place of turmoil and dissension but a garden enclosed filled with fragrant flowers and the incense of prayer? Offer Me a pure heart in which there is no guile, empty of the deceit of Satan. But how do you do that? How do you follow My beloved John’s advice, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3.
My Son told the disciples the night of the Last Supper that they were pure already because of the Word He had spoken to them. My Words are life to those who find them and health to all your flesh. Jesus purifies His Body the church by the washing of water with the Word that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:26-27.
How does a man keep his way pure? Learn from what David taught his son, whom I said would be a man of rest, 1 Chronicles 22:9 (“Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.”), “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.” Psalm 119:9-11.
Invite Me in to clean up your cluttered heart. How do I do that? The same way I purified and cleared out the dark void in the beginning when I spoke all into being: “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6. But then My apostle Paul goes on to tell you that, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7. And I can change your earthen vessel into the golden ark of the covenant that housed My presence in the first dwelling place, My tabernacle in the wilderness of old, by the transformation of your life when you renew your mind to My Word. For I have made you the righteousness of God in Christ. And that is pure gold over your vessel of wood.
I think now you will understand this passage of Scripture at a new level: “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” And now you will see how it joins up to the Sacred Trust I started this teaching today with, “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:20-26. The devil must have no place in you to disturb your resting place. And if you won’t give him place, he cannot.
But what turns those earthen and wooden vessels to gold? Pure gold? Have you never read that I am a consuming fire? Hebrews 12:29. The fire of love is in My Word, for I am My Word, as Jesus spoke My Word to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus their dark sad hearts began to burn and they went from fear to faith, sadness to joy unspeakable filled with glory and their strength was renewed.
I lit their lamp. “For the spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the innermost parts of his being.” Proverbs 20:27. David sang, “For You light my lamp; the LORD my God illumines my darkness. For by You I can run upon a troop; and by my God I can leap over a wall.” Psalm 18:28-29. And how did I light it? “As for God, His way is blameless; the Word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.” Psalm 18:30. My Words—”the Words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.” Psalm 12:6.
“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:11-17.
Let My Word burn all the impurities out of your heart. The cleansing power of Light. If you walk in the Light, as I am in the Light, the Blood of My Son continually cleanses you from all sin. 1 John 1:7.
I love you. Be My resting place and if you do, I will be your resting place too. We can rest in one another in perfect unity. Keep My Sacred Trust and you will have peace. Great peace have those who love My law. It is the perfect law of liberty.
“Now I will arise,” says the LORD, “Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up. You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire.” Isaiah 33:10-11.