Being Held, Being Secure

Being Held, Being Secure

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  John 6:37

 

Being insecure is like sipping sulfuric acid from a teacup.  What we drink in is corrosive and harmful, when we think it is ok.  We become saturated with anxiety and overloaded with doubt.  We feel very unsure about ourselves, and become introspective to a fault.

Somehow verses like John 6:37 don’t work or apply to us.  Such is strength of our hopelessness.  It is durable and strong.  Christians who struggle with “feeling saved” have a formidable enemy just within themselves, not taking in Satan’s attacks on their mind.

This verse helps us understand some things.  First, there is a “chain of custody” in regards to spiritual headship.  What comes to the Father, gets transferred to the Son.  To enable this, there is something like a magnetic pull that people become drawn to Jesus.  (Aside note:  Jesus is wildly popular and esteemed among unbelievers; it is the Church that gives people heartburn!)

When we are attracted to Him, the pull intensifies.  We grow sensitive and more sure.  When we pass over that symbolic line we discover that we have great assurance of His love.  The statement is made, “I will by no means cast out.” 

“Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go”. –John 6:37, The Message

“He holds on”!  He doesn’t let go!  This attachment of Jesus to us is strong  and sure.  Our issue comes when we focus on self and forget about Him.  Thinking exclusively about your sin, and weakness, and mental illness takes back to the “acid in a teacup” analogy.  But enough of that; let us live confidently, looking boldly on Christ and feeling His grip.  He can’t de-attach Himself.

Resting in God, Completely.

 
My soul rests in God

 The Lord my God hath given me rest on every side.
1 Kings 5:4

This was part of the preparation for the building of the temple. Times of quiet in one’s life should not be idle times. There is other work to do then. These are days for temple-building. 

True living is not all activity – struggle, conflict, gathering money, toiling with one’s hands. 

Building of character is the great work of life. This goes on best in the quiet. We ought not to wait for idleness to compel us to be still; we should get the quiet into our life even in our busiest times. We must have a restful spirit if we would build up the inner temple. There should be “silent times” in every day’s life. 

The secret of Daniel’s noble character, while carrying a great part of the burden of the kingdom of Babylon was that he never forsook the place of prayer. Not even fear of the lion’s den could make him neglect devotion. 

There is no other secret of a true and noble life amid the world’s strifes and trials. We must keep quiet within, that we may build up in our hearts the temple of God. -JR Miller

 

 

Journal Entry

There are so many things, small mostly, that we need to pass on.  Life is such a wonder, you can never guess what will happen next.  I think it is to our advantage to learn from each other.  I have found the Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiates to be rich ore just waiting to be dug out.  Get a Bible and see if I’m right or not.  You won’t be disappointed.

Oh, about Proverbs.  There are 31 chapters in that book.  I try to read a chapter a day, and at the end of a month I will have read through the book.  It’s a good habit I think and I’d like to challenge you to try it out.