River of Grace

                    “Come to me all that are heavy laden and I will give you rest” Matt: 11:28

St. Matthew record the words of our Lord Jesus as he stood among the down trodden people and proclaimed a powerful invitation to any and all who will but freely receive it.

“Come to me all that are heavy laden and I will give you rest” Matt: 11:28

This invitation is not just when we first come to believe, but it is for all our Christian life. There are times when the burdens which we carry become exceedingly great, and even we Christians can find ourselves struggling to carry our burdens in life.

St. Peter wrote to believers throughout the ages regarding our burdens, cares and concerns and how we should bring them all to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“cast all your cares upon him” 1Pet: 5:7

St. Peter is telling us that each and all that our cares should be given over in complete trust in our Lord's divine ability to deal with whatever we are or will face. Giving these cares to Jesus should be our first response when care arise in our lives.

The Waters of Grace

Our Lord Jesus is inviting each and all of us to give up our cares and concerns in this life and relinquish the burden to him and to allow ourselves to be plunged into the gentle currents of the river of his grace which flows forth from the alter of the cross and cascades into and through our lives.

We see this eternal living stream of God’s holy grace typified in a vision shown to the Prophet Ezekiel. The Prophet sees in the Spirit, the water flow which streams forth from the alter of the glorious Temple of God.

“and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple toward the east, for the Temple faced east. The water was coming forth from the south side of the Temple south of the alter. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around outside to the outer gate which faced east, the water was trickling out from the south side.

“As the man went eastward with a measuring rod in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits he then led me through ankle deep water. He then measured off another thousand cubits and led me through waters that were knee deep. He then measured off another thousand cubits and led me to water that was waist deep. He then measured off another thousand cubits, now the water was so deep that I could cross, because it was now deep enough to swim- a river that none could cross”. Ezk: 47:1b-5

This eternal flow of the Holy Spirit, who administers the grace of our God to each and all of us, we are told led the Prophet into this river of grace in a progressive ever deepening way, to the ankles which speaks of the early part of our Christian life, then the Spirit leads us deeper into the river of grace up to our knees, that is; we are led to pray. 

As we mature in the Christian life, we are moved to bring our needs, cares concerns and our praise and worship to God through times of prayer both private and corporate as fellowship. These times of worship immerse us into the river of grace and allows these healing waters to flow over us and refresh us and heal us.

By the Spirit

There are times in our lives when circumstances are such that our words prove to be inadequate or we have no voice to offer our cares before our God. There are times when we simply do not understand the conditions which unfold around us, it is in these moments when God the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.

St. Paul writes that the Spirit himself moves on and for each and all of our behaves.

“the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, for the Spirit himself makes intersession for us through groaning which cannot be expressed”Rm: 8:26

This tells us that we can come to our God and even in our silence that the Holy Spirit moves on our behalf and conveys our needs to our Father in Heaven. The Holy Spirit is proactive in this regard, he does not wait for us, he is always speaking our hearts need to the Father for us, even when we are unaware of his ministry in this regard.

Jesus Our High Priest

Our Lord Jesus in his role as the High Priest of God, acts for each and all, even in the dry seasons of life in which we find ourselves focused upon the weightiness of our burdens rather than upon him.

The writer of the Hebrews Epistle tells us regarding Jesus’ ongoing and active ministry on each and all of our behaves especially in times of hardship, despair, need or doubt on our part.

“for he ever lives to make intersession for them” Heb: 7:25b

 This means, that whatever your need, care or concern is this day or any day our Lord Jesus, as your High Priest, has brought your very name before the Throne of our God. Jesus has prayed for you this day and every day. Jesus stands there for us, each and all. Jesus immerses us into the river of Grace which the Holy Spirit conveys to us. 

Our Two Witness

With the unified voice of our Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, each as distinct, yet as one, intercedes for us. This should give us great assurances that our need will be addressed by our Holy Father in Heaven in such away which will be for our eternal best good and according to his divine will for each and all. Your prayer will be heard and your need answered for as the Scared word of God tells us.

“in the mouth of two or three witness a thing is established” 2Cor: 13:1

Whatever your need this day or your concern come unto Jesus and be immersed into the river of God’s eternal Grace and find rest in our Lord Jesus.

Benediction: May we each and all be ever immersed in the eternal River of God’s Grace, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen

Rev. Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma.