THE GOOD NEWS MAGAZINE 16TH EDITION

A welcome Note

Greetings precious friends and readers, grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. This time round has been a challenging one and it looked as if we will be behind in sharing this Good News Magazine to you all as my computer malfunctioned after it was rained on. I wondered how I could share this beautiful message of the Lord and besides that my co-editor in this magazine also wasn’t feeling well. I thank the Lord that by His grace I am now able to write and share after my computer got repaired, praise the Lord for all His supplies to us! Thank you for your prayers dear partners.

Our theme in this 16^th edition of the Good News Magazine is ‘Rest in the Lord’. In our country Kenya, we have 1^st May set aside for workers. In this day the Kenyans get to rest after working so hard to build the nation. Especially the government workers don’t report for work as it is a public holiday where some workers might find favors and get promoted in their working places. It is called ‘Labor Day’. I believe all of us desire to rest after the day’s work. In any case, God designed us to work and rest. All these are necessary for living a successful life and neither is complete without God for promotion is from the Lord.

Jesus said in John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

 Therefore, we who have been called by the Lord to work in His field of harvest will work like never before for the night is coming when we will not work. At night we won’t be able to move around the streets to share God’s Word. At night most people are resting and deep asleep. We must be in our Father’s business when it is day time. We accomplish so much in Him when we do our duties during day time, Jesus knew how to do it better when it is day time. He knew that when the night comes we won’t accomplish much but rather stressed out that He must work the works of God while it is day. It is after work that we take our time to reflect on the day’s activities and start acknowledging the Lord’s doings, great and small.

 "Do we not see for ourselves in Genesis that even God Himself after creating the entire world as we know it, take a day to evaluate, rest and review on the seventh day all that He had created and found that it was indeed good?" And we believers include God in our times of rest. The truth is neither work nor rest is complete without God. The best rest requires His presence , God is the key to finding the purest and most satisfying rest.

As God finished His work, and then rested from it, so He will cause those who believe, to finish their work, and then to enjoy their rest in Him. I am not talking about any day here, I am talking about resting in the Lord. This rest is, a rest of grace, and comfort, and holiness, in the gospel state. And a rest in glory, where the people of God shall enjoy the end of their faith, and the object of all their desires. How I long for this day when the Lord would come to give us eternal rest! It is the rest we shall obtain when the Lord Jesus shall appear from heaven!

But then before that day comes, look what our Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30,  “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’’

The Lord is calling us all to Him. If we’re heavy ladden with yokes of sin, Lets go to Him. It is a message to us all, God wants to give us rest, free us from sin, free us from unbelieve. When we come to Him, He’ll cleanse us from all filth. He indeed wants us to find complete rest in our souls. But those who don’t believe, shall never enter into this spiritual rest, either of grace here or glory hereafter. God has always declared man's rest to be in Him, and His love to be the only real happiness of the soul; and faith in His promises, through His Son, to be the only way of entering that rest.

Do you ever feel that your heart is heavy and your heart torn down? Have you ever come to a point where you wanted to give up on life? Is your heart troubled?Could it be you that the Lord is talking to today? If so my friend, this is an open invitation to you: God loves you and cares for you always,don’t harden your heart. Jesus went to prepare a home for us all, it is in that place we will rest and before He comes, invite the Lord Jesus in your heart. Accept Him and give Him ALL your burdens. He is willing to give you rest which no man can give. His rest is eternal salvation, peace, love and joy in Him. May you find rest in Him!

"OUR FINAL REST IN THE LORD"

Death is a difficult concept for us humans to absorb.  That's because
so many of our emotions come into play.  We have the shock of the
passing of the one we knew and loved, ..and will always continue to
love, however we also have grief over  perhaps the circumstances in
which our loved one passed away.  Then let's not forget the loneliness
of knowing we'll be remaining here on this earth for the rest of our
time without that person we loved so dearly. 

However, its not quite the same to the person who humbles themselves before the Lord, acknowledges as in Romans 3:23 that ALL (including ourselves) have
sinned and come short of the glory of God, understands that according to 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sin before the Lord, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, we are then able to accept His free gift of salvation as in John 3:16 that He offers out of nothing but pure love for us; So much love, that He was willing to sacrifice His most precious Son to die for our sin so we would not have to, and then give us the most wonderful gift we could ever be given...eternal life with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! 

Yes, we still have all those emotions, however, we also have the ability to rest in the Lord in that He is by our side taking us through each day, one step at a time as the previous article encouraged us...but to the one who has passed away, if they knew the Lord as their Savior, they have found Eternal Rest!

Revelation 14:13 tells us, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."  Oh, what a blessed thought...eternal rest from all the labours of this world.  And the
labours of this earth are many...so much so, that many times, we can be tempted to become weary. 

Nonetheless, through Paul, the Lord gives us such encouragement.  In Galatians 6:5-10 - " For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."

So we see we're going to have burdens here on this earth...and they
will be many.  However, the person who sows for the flesh will see corruption.  What is biblical corruption?  According to the KJV Bible Dictionary, for this passage, the term corruption means, "...of material things, especially dead bodies, also of the soul..." .  In other words, don't fool yourselves, if you're not of the household of faith (belong to the Lord) you will NOT see eternal life with
Him...the opposite of eternal life with Him is eternal life in Hell...and you can believe there will be NO rest to be found in Hell once you leave this earth.

Can we rest in Him?  Absolutely.  Does that rest end once we leave this earth?  Not if we have purposely, humbly and completely yielded our lives over to Jesus Christ to rule, reign and live through.  So for those of us who are of the Household of Faith, we can find Rest In Him for now, and forever.  Amen!

BUSY BODIES

I am in my working place. I am quickly perusing through some contracts, but then  the telephone rings. A call is made. I have to receive it. It is a business call. I have to hurry up and meet the client. It is to and fro running errands, field work done and back to office. All this that the company’s targets might be reached. If distracted a little, I could lose a client.  Indeed it is a busy day! I am tired and desire rest from the day’s work. Oh, how easy it is to get distracted in our world.

Busyness is a modern illness from which many of us suffer. Rest is its opposite and of the things the Lord came to offer. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said it all... “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus Christ is the only one that can give rest to our souls. If your soul is in turmoil, if your soul is tired, exhausted and heavy laden, then you are not reading this Good News Magazine by accident. Jesus came to give you rest! He came to give us complete rest. We won’t get rest when our kids grow. We won’t rest when we get married or when our bank accounts become positive. We will get rest only when we meet Jesus!Only if we put our burdens in His hands and take upon us His easy and light yoke, only then shall we find rest.

Look at what Philippians 4:6-7 says, ‘Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’

Be anxious for nothing! Be careful for nothing!YES for nothing! Your kids, your job, your health, your wounds, your business, your finances, your other concerns are all here. There is nothing excluded from this statement. There is nothing that should make us anxious. Look, the peace of God shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ. To get peace you don’t have to finish the so called projects or to receive the so and so blessing but to be anxious for nothing and cast everything to the Lord through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving! It is the Lord’s job to care for us, while we rest in Him. And in resting in Him we have power!

The prophet of God Isaiah knew this long time ago. He knew that strength could be found in God! Isaiah 30:15, For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. Our strength is in RESTING in the Lord. In quietness and confidence. Jesus Himself taught us a very important lesson. He would get up very early in the morning and go to the wilderness alone to pray as expressed in Mark 1:35, And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. He needed quiet times with the Father. We need them too! We don’t need to fill our schedule with a hundred of activities to keep us going. We will not find strength in activities but only in quietness and confidence to God. It is at these times that our hearts are quiet and confident that the Lord can be heard by it.

We can have plans on how to rest after work. We can be busy all day long and make plans how and where to rest in the evening. You may have your own means and ways to do so. We may try hard and care all the day.Eventually our busy bodies will get weary. Do you know the price? Weakness, fear, anxiety and defeat. The more you trust in your own strength, the more weaker and dry you will get. The only way for strength and life and rest is to rest in the Lord. To be quiet and confident in Him. To be anxious for nothing and cast all our cares upon Him. This is the ONLY way!

In Jeremiah 6:16-17 we encounter this: Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.  But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet.  But they said, We will not hearken. Is there an area in our lives where we have become so insensitive to God’s things? Have we become so busy that we can’t hear Him when He speaks? Have we lost track? Let’s examine ourselves and see if we are in God’s line. When we find anything that displeases our God we can freely go back to Him and cast all to Jesus who will carry our burdens. Return to the old paths. Walk in the old straight paths and you will find rest, our God says. The LordJesus is our great Shepherd, our leader and He will give us REST and peace. It costs us nothing except our cares! We have to cast them ALL upon God and peace will be given unto us. What do you prefer: Busyness and distraction, or rest and peace? Dryness and weakness or fruitfulness and strength? Death or life? Really it is that critical. The matter of the rest in the Lord is indeed a spiritual fight! A battle between fruitfulness and unfruitfulness. As Psalms 37:7 again tell us:

 

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Let’s wait patiently in the Lord and rest in Him!

If you have been relying on visible things rather than on the invisible God then it is time to truly rest in the Lord and spurn these, to let go of these in exchange of plunging oneself at the feet of God, trusting completely in His mercy! It is time to believe that our God can help, save, and deliver in the MOST urgent need. It involves a REAL belief, so real you could almost touch and taste it. And because you truly believe, then you can trust, and therefore, you can rest. It is my prayer that all of us shall find rest for our weary souls and body. May our mind, will and emotions be at rest and free from all anxiety and stress that accompanies a performance based and driven lifestyle!

 

TESTIMONY

How The Lord Saved My Life Eternally

By Lynne Conklin

I realize that there are some who come to know the Lord at an early
age as a child, and others who come to know the Lord as an adult, some even on their death bed.  But the Lord used a Youth Rally to convict my heart and save my soul.

About the age of 14, once a month the churches in our area would have a youth rally.  It was held at a different church every month.  There was one meeting in particular where the Holy Spirit touched my heart and convicted me.  As the invitation to come forward to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior was given, that is when I answered that call and went forward. In my prayer to the Lord, I acknowledged that I was a sinner who couldn't "work" my way into Heaven or pay the sin-debt that I owed and that only Jesus could.  I realized that He accomplished this when He died on the cross for my sin, but then raised from the dead 3 days and nights later, then shortly returned to the Father where He lives today, waiting to return to the clouds to call all His children Home to be with Him.  I was raised in a Christian home, we were faithful in church, my mom taught the teen class and always had kids at the house for teen outings. But all this couldn't save me, I had to make that decision for myself.  No one can make that decision for you. So I did.

Because I was raised in a Christian Home, I can't say there were real
noticeable changes in my life as one might see from someone who didn't grow up in church and such.  Not too long after that, on a Sunday evening, I responded to the call of Baptism in obedience to His command that once we are saved, we are to be baptized as a public affirmation of complete yielding of our life over to Him.  It was such a special time for me...knowing, that I was pleasing the Lord through my obedience in Baptism.

As I look back, I'm so very thankful to my mom for being a Godly woman and example of true Christian love in our home.  Yes, I still fall short from time to time of what Christ wants me to be, but He's still working in my heart and life everyday as I strive to be more like Him.

Today, I still have a yearning, a hunger to know what my Lord and
Savior desires of me in everything that I do and say.  An unquenchable hunger to know more and more about Him.  I'm learning still that doing what's right in God's eyes through the gift of His word, the Bible, is vitally important.    I've also learned that exterior changes that the Lord commands of us are so much easier than the heart issues we struggle with every day; Bringing my heart and mind under subjection to His will and His way.  My prayer continues to be, "Change my heart, O God, make it ever true!”
I am what I am, because He is who He is!  Thank you for allowing me to share how the Lord saved my soul from eternal Hell to life everlasting.

CREATIVE WRITINGS

Sweet Rest in Jesus- By  L. S. Riggs

In Jesus I've found a sweet rest
From sorrow, from toil, and from care;
In Him I am happy and blest,
For He all my burdens doth bear.

I came to the Lord for release,
When burdened with guilt and with sin;
He cleansed me, and gave me His peace,
The Spirit to witness within.
Though many the troubles I meet,
He'll keep me, and help me along;
I'll sit at His glorified feet,
For He is my joy and my song.
All glory and praise to Thy name
For what Thou didst suffer for me;
For saving my soul when I came
And gave myself up unto Thee.

Oh, how happy am I,
With my Savior so nigh!
I have found sweet rest
On Jesus' dear breast.


THERE IS A PLACE OF QUIET REST- By Cleland Boyd McAfee

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.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
  Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
    Near to the heart of God.

My Heart Is Resting, O My Lord - Poem by Anna Laetitia Waring

My heart is resting, O my God—

I will give thanks and sing;

My heart is at the secret source

Of every precious thing.

Now the frail vessel Thou hast made

No hand but Thine shall fill—

For the waters of the Earth have failed,

And I am thirsty still.

I thirst for springs of heavenly life,

And here all day they rise—

I seek the treasure of Thy love,

And close at hand it lies.

And a new song is in my mouth

To long loved music set—

Glory to Thee for all the grace

I have not tasted yet.

Glory to Thee for strength withheld,

For want and weakness known—

And the fear that sends me to Thy breast

For what is most my own.

I have a heritage of joy

That yet I must not see;

But the hand that bled to make it mine

Is keeping it for me.

There is a certainty of love

That sets my heart at rest—

A calm assurance for today

That to be poor is best—

A prayer reposing on His truth

Who hath made all things mine,

That draws my captive will to Him,

And makes it one with Thine.

I will give thanks for suffering now,

For want and toil and loss—

For the death that sin makes hard and slow,

Upon my Savior’s cross—

Thanks for the little spring of love

That gives me strength to say,

If they will leave me part in Him,

Let all things pass away.

Sometimes I long for promised bliss,

But it will not come too late—

And the songs of patient spirits rise

From the place wherein I wait;

While in the faith that makes no haste

My soul has time to see

A kneeling host of Thy redeemed,

In fellowship with me.

There is a multitude around

Responsive to my prayer;

I hear the voice of my desire

Resounding everywhere.

But the earnest of eternal joy,

In every prayer I trace;

I see the glory of the Lord:

On every chastened face.

How oft, in still communion known,

Those spirits have been sent

To share the travail of my soul,

Or show me what it meant!

And I long to do some work of love

No spoiling hand could touch,

For the poor and suffering of Thy flock

Who comfort me so much.

But the yearning thought is mingled now

With the thankful song I sing;

For Thy people know the secret source

Of every precious thing.

The heart that ministers for Thee

In Thy own work will rest;

And the subject spirit of a child

Can serve Thy children best.

Mine be the reverent, listening love,

That waits all day on Thee,

With the service of a watchful heart

Which no one else can see—

The faith that, in a hidden way

No other eye may know,

Finds all its daily work prepared,

And loves to have it so.

My heart is resting, O my God,

My heart is in Thy care—

I hear the voice of joy and health

Resounding everywhere.

“Thou art my portion,” saith my soul,

Ten thousand voices say,

And the music of their glad Amen,

Will never die away.

Rest in God Alone - Poem By mabelhenry

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart,

Rest in His love and grace

Take no thought and have no fear,

Cast on Him your every care.

He loves you with a perfect love,

Your strength He will renew

Acknowledge Him in all your ways,

Wait, patiently for Him!

Lord, keep I pray me in perfect peace,

As I keep my mind stayed on Thee,

I trust You with all that I am

Every word from You is pure.

Your love for me makes me complete,

A shield You are to me

Ever will I relentlessly,

Put all my trust in Thee.

True Rest-  Margie Casteel

My dear child, I know you're weary

With nothing left to give.

You've worked long and hard

Now you feel frayed and worn.Come with Me to a quiet place

Away from all the noise and busyness.

Let Me wrap My arms around you,

Enfold you in My love.Let Me whisper peace to your heart's storm,

Soothe your troubled brow.

Listen to the love song

I composed just for you.In Me is true contentment.

In Me you will find what you long for.

Come with Me to a quiet place

And receive rest, strength, and peace.

Rest For The Weary- © By M.S.Lowndes

There is rest for the weary

And there's strength for the weak,

That is what God offers

To those who humbly seek

For it's only in the seeking

That we will surely find

Rest for our weary bodies

And peace for our troubled minds

And it's there in the asking

That we will come to know

God in all His splendour

With His wisdom, we will grow

And it's only in the knocking

That the door will open wide

So we can walk into

What He graciously provides

So maybe for a while

We can rest along the road

And put on Jesus yoke,

For easy is His load.