So the revelation is coming far faster than my ability to write it which always seems to be the way! I love when God sweeps you up in a whirlwind of His heart. It is like He has been waiting with baited breath for us to finally be quiet and ask "so how does it work?" or "what is your way of doing things?". At that moment of questioning, of finally wanting simply to learn, God pours forth revelation, ideas, new insight, fresh perspectives and things we never thoughts possible. An upside down kingdom. If we would just remain learners, not people with agendas, maybe we would experience the overflowing bubbly excited teaching of God more often...I know I would.

As soon as I really started asking the question about a rest lifestyle and gave God room to actually speak about it, I have been finding keys everywhere! The keys of freedom, sovereignty, grace and listening. And the fact that every key to a rest lifestyle is exactly the same as the one for a life of freedom in Him. Whatever binds us and makes us captive, whether it be thought, perspective or behaviour, instantly pulls us from the place of rest and peace.

How can you be at rest when your thoughts shout their expectations at you? When you are trying to live a certain way, be a certain way, fight a certain thing or are governed by behaviour, other people or your circumstances? However tiny the infringement may be, anything that has crept in and taken even the tiniest piece of your freedom...has by natural extension, also stolen your rest.

This Sunday one of our church leaders spoke on God's goodness, on the message of grace, on freedom and identity. It was stupendous and worth a listen (http://www.citylife.org.uk/Groups/92536/City_Life_Church/Downloads/Audio/Audio.aspx) but basically she was speaking about what we believe determining how we live. Everything and anything we believe about ourselves from the huge (I'm worthless, I am a control freak, I am ugly) to what could be viewed as the smaller (I am afraid of spiders, I am not good at speaking, I am a terrible cook) etc ALL are us defining ourselves, our identities based on labels and values and perceptions of others and ourselves we have built up over the years. We carry so much of this that we probably don't even notice most of them. Most of them, if not all...are lies.

Maybe we have thought we are sinners, that we have to earn our way out, that our self effort is necessary, that our identity labels are well earned and that this is "just who I am". Read this next bit slowly and carefully...it is important:

"Contrary to what we often think - our beliefs affect our feelings, thoughts and actions. If we believe wrong, we will feel wrong, think wrong and do wrong! Many of us have believed the Good News is something to live up to and not something to live by. Many of us have believed our actions can destroy our relationship with God. But we are either children of God through Jesus or we are sinners, we cannot be both! There is no such thing as a sinful child of God (although there are children of God who sometimes sin because they’ve forgotten who they are!) We can either live by grace or by self-effort, but not by both (although this unfortunately is what I and many others have tried to do). We can either believe God wants to reward us and bless us as his children or believe that he only rewards our best efforts and withholds blessing from us if we fail to meet the standard, we cannot do both. Which will we choose today?

When we see and believe that Jesus loves us so much that he went to the cross to make us sinless and righteous like him – we will live like it and sin no more. We will be the happiest people on the planet, and we will have a great reputation with others."

- B.Webb

In true freedom there is true rest. Jesus said on the cross "It is finished" and He said to His disciples: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27 When Jesus came to this earth, two incredible gifts He gave us were; total freedom and total peace.

There is a reason that every tormented, broken, injured person He healed He sent away with the words "go in peace". His gift to us, the sign of our true freedom...

...is peace...and the ability to rest.

Definitions

Peace

of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is

Rest

1) to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labour in order to recover and collect his strength

2) to give rest, refresh, to give one's self rest, take rest

3) to keep quiet, of calm and patient expectation