BTR Weekly eNewsletter: Fear of Falling Short

Issue #743 ~ November 14, 2022

Dear Friends,

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Christ is All and in All,

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Fear of Falling Short

“Therefore, let us fear lest, a promise that is still open of entering into His rest, any one of you should seem to have failed to reach it."

Hebrews 4:1

"For indeed we are having had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word of the preaching did not profit them, because it had not been mixed together with faith in those who heard."

Hebrews 4:2

verse 1: "Therefore, let us fear lest, a promise that is still open of entering into His rest, any one of you should seem to have failed to reach it."

The big question we should ask ourselves today as we deal with these verses in Hebrews 4 is: Are we resting in the total adequacy of Jesus Christ?

Living in vital union with our Savior brings about a rest whereby we are increasingly deepening our relationship with Him, depending more fully upon His strength, disciplining our desires to do His will. The rest that results is the inner rest of well-being.

Isaiah 32:17: "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever" (NIV).

In these first 3 verses the author identifies with the reader. He says here in verse 1: "Therefore, let us." In verse 2: "For indeed we." Then in verse 3: "For we are entering...we who believed."

This command "let us fear" follows from the tragic example of Israel that Christians should also take warning. It is time to persevere and press on, not a time to quit.

The 3 S's describe our rest from the total adequacy of Jesus Christ: (1) surrender; (2) sovereignty; and (3) satisfaction.

Psalm 37:7: "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way" (NIV).

We have 2 alternatives here as life blindsides us: (1) Believe God's Word and enter the faith-rest life or (2) Doubt God's Word and be totally miserable until the day we die.

The Lord is saying: "Believer, lean on Me. Trust in Me. I have given you My word, the promises and doctrines from the Bible.

Verse 2: "For indeed we are having had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word of the preaching did not profit them, because it had not been mixed together with faith in those who heard."

We can be guilty of quoting promises without claiming them.

Brennan Manning said: "Whatever is denied cannot be healed. To acknowledge humbly that I often inhabit an unreal world, that I have trivialized my relationship with God, and that I am driven by vain ambition is the first blow in dismantling my glittering image." (Abba's Child, 40)

Could it be that now is the accepted time for you to enter into His rest?

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Praises & Prayer Requests

1. Pray: Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see. It was this kind of faith that won their reputation for the saints of old. Hebrews 11:1,2 ( Phillips)

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2. Pray: He said: "O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth - you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 2 Chronicles 6:14 (NIV)

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3. Pray: Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11 (NIV)

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4. Pray: Thanks to all for the many gifts to the Prison Ministry. We are receiving about 60 requests from inmates each month. The need is great to provide Bibles and biblical materials for inmates.

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I just love singing "Near to the Heart of God":

There is a place of quiet rest,

Near to the heart of God,

A place where sin cannot molest,

Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,

Near to the heart of God,

A Place where we our Savior meet,

Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,

Near to the heart of God,

A place where all is joy and peace,

Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

Sent from the heart of God,

Hold us, who wait before Thee,

Near to the heart of God.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Bible Teaching Resources

by Donald Anderson Ministries

PO Box 6611

Tyler, TX 75711-6611

903-939-1201 (office)