Joel Burton | July 29th

Romans 8:18-19 (TPT)

18I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us. 19The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters!

Hebrews 4:1-11 (TPT)

1Now God has offered to us the same promise of entering into his realm of resting in confident faith. So we must be extremely careful to ensure that we all embrace the fullness of that promise and not fail to experience it. 2For we have heard the good news of deliverance just as they did, yet they didn’t join their faith with the Word. Instead, what they heard didn’t affect them deeply, for they doubted. 3For those of us who believe, faith activates the promise and we experience the realm of confident rest! For he has said,

“I was grieved with them and made a solemn oath,

‘They will never enter into the calming rest of my Spirit.’ ”

God’s works have all been completed from the foundation of the world, 4for it says in the Scriptures,

And on the seventh day God rested from all his works.

5And again, as stated before,

They will never enter into my calming place of rest.

6Those who first heard the good news of deliverance failed to enter into that realm of faith’s rest because of their unbelieving hearts. Yet the fact remains that we still have the opportunity to enter into the faith-rest life and experience the fulfillment of the promise! 7For God still has ordained a day for us to enter into called “Today.” For it was long afterwards that God repeated it in David’s words,

“If only today you would listen to his voice

and do not harden your hearts!”

8Now if this promise of “rest” was fulfilled when Joshua brought the people into the land, God wouldn’t have spoken later of another “rest” yet to come. 9So we conclude that there is still a full and complete “rest” waiting for believers to experience. 10As we enter into God’s faith-rest life we cease from our own works, just as God celebrates his finished works and rests in them. 11So then we must give our all and be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief.

Psalms 95 (TPT)

1Come on, everyone! Let’s sing for joy to the Lord!

Let’s shout our loudest praises to our God who saved us!

2Everyone come meet his face with a thankful heart.

Don’t hold back your praises;

make him great by your shouts of joy!

3For the Lord is the greatest of all,

King-God over all other gods!

4In one hand he holds the mysteries of the earth

and in the other he holds the highest mountain peaks.

5He’s the owner of every ocean,

the engineer and sculptor of earth itself!

6Come and kneel before this Creator-God;

come and bow before the mighty God, our majestic maker!

7-9For we are the lovers he cares for and he is the God we worship.

So drop everything else and listen to his voice!

For this is what he’s saying:

“Today, when I speak,

don’t even think about turning a deaf ear to me

like they did when they tested me at Meribah and Massah,

the place where they argued with me, their Creator.

Your ancestors challenged me over and over with their complaining,

even though I had convinced them of my power and love.

They still doubted my care for them.

10So for forty long years I was grieved and disgusted by them.

I described them as wicked wanderers

whose hearts would not follow my ways or keep my words.

11So I made a vow in my anger and declared,

‘They will never enter the resting place I’ve planned for them!’

So don’t you ever be hard-hearted or stubborn like they were!”