Ramblings from Retirement: Finding Rest in a Fearful World

Ramblings from Retirement: Finding Rest in a Fearful World
By Lee Hemen
October 8, 2020

The dictionary defines alienation as “the state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved.” If furthers goes on to state that there can be a loss of sympathy and an estrangement that occurs. This is evidenced by those who stay away from worship for any length of time and why the writer of Hebrews would state: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV)”

When we stay away from those that we are told to fellowship with we become alienated from them. When we stay away from the One we are supposed to daily talk with we also become alienated from Him. And if fact the longer we stay away the more alienated we become. This is why those who desire to keep you from worship through fear or other means are to be ignored. They tacitly know that the longer they keep you from the fellowship of the saints the easier you are swayed to follow unbiblical ideals. Why dear believer do you think Satan uses every trick he has at his disposal to keep you from your daily devotions with the Lord?

Alienation can happen in relationships like marriage or friendships when we do not take the time to strengthen the bonds we have with one another. This is true for our relationship with our church and with our Lord as well.

Determine right now to get yourself back into church with fellow believers so that you are not alienated from them. Determine today to spend time with the Lord, actually reading the Bible, and talking with Him and listening to what He desires to share with you.

Can it be a scary thing to start anew with something that you know you should be doing in the first place? Yes, but you need to do so for your own spiritual and mental health. As Hebrews reminds us that if you truly want to find rest: “…as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, “Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.” So I declared on oath in my anger, “They shall never enter my rest.”’ See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:7-12 NIV)” and that “Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ (Hebrews 4:7 NIV)”

Come back to worship, come back to church, and come back to your fellowship with the Lord today, this week, and find rest from a fearful world.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Have Faith in God - Mark 11:22-26

Have Faith in God - Mark 11:22-26 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 24, 2010 AM We find that what many people believe about their spirituality is often influenced in unorthodox ways. Sadly, in the movie “Hereafter”, we find one such view concerning life, death, and the afterlife. It centers on three people touched by death: a reluctant physic who supposedly communicates with dead people, a woman who has a near death experience with a tsunami, and a London schoolboy who loses his twin brother in a freak accident. People often wonder what happens to them after they die it is one of life’s ultimate questions. People also long to communicate in some way with deceased loved ones. While mourning is different for each person, and thinking we can communicate with the dead can help some folks cope with loss, these misconceptions often allow folks to consider anything as valid. It has also created a lot of false teaching concerning faith. Christians have allowed the world to define faith f
Read more
Father’s Day – Ephesians 6:4; Hebrews 12:7-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 18, 2023 Did you have a good father? I had a pretty good dad. He took us fishing, camping, and spent as much time with us as he could. He taught us to be moral, believe in God, and what marital devotion was all about. I still can remember him showing us boys how to cast a salmon egg just right in order to catch the bigger trout in the river. I also remember he was firm on his word and discipline. Sometimes children can think their parents are unfair or that they do not understand but what I have learned is that parents, especially fathers, do understand and that is why they often have to take the firm stand they do. Too many fathers in our day are AOL (absent without leave) either physically or emotionally or both. Proverbs reminds us that “Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul. Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the
Read more

2 Chronicles 7:13-15 - Building a Strong Church -- How to Pray With Power!

2 Chronicles 7:13-15 - Building a Strong Church -- How to Pray With Power ! By Pastor Lee Hemen April 17, 2011 AM We live in a day and age where the church has become pretty much irrelevant, why is that? I believe it has become irrelevant because the church has immersed itself and adopted the ways of the world instead of changing society. When Jesus came, he did so to bring the kingdom of God back into creation. Jesus established his body in the world, the church, in order to change the world one individual at a time. When an individual gives their life to Christ, they then can experience and know the power of God in their lives on a daily basis! How? It’s simple--through prayer. Sadly, most people do not experience a powerful prayer life and then they begin to look for outside experiences to satisfy the spiritual void they have. There are reasons why so many have never experienced powerful prayer, one is the simple fact that they never learned how to pray with power! When S
Read more