Entering into His Rest

I haven't entered a new blog for weeks, because I didn't understand why all my posts did not have paragraph breaks like I typed them. I didn't want to post another blog without paragraph breaks. I finally found out how to fix it! You can tell I'm new to all this!

What I want to use this blog for is to share what is stirring in my heart from time to time and get feedback from others. What I've been mulling over in my spirit for a few weeks now is the following progression:
1. believing God leads to
2. abiding in His Word which leads to
3. obeying Him which finally leads
4. entering into His rest

I got this early one morning while reading the book of John and jumping over to Hebrews in the Bible. Here are some scriptures for each step:
1. believing God - In John 5:38, Jesus told the people that they did not have the Father's word abiding in them, because they did not believe Jesus, whom the Father sent.
2. abiding in His Word - In John 15:5, Jesus tells us that whoever abides in Him bears much fruit. Remember that Jesus is the Word in flesh just as the Bible is the written Word, so when we abide in the Word and study the Bible, it leads to us want to obey Him and thus allow Him to produce fruit in us.
3. obeying Him - Hebrews 3:18-19 says, "And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."
4. entering into His rest - Hebrews 4:3 says, "For we who have believed do enter that rest..." You may ask, "What does it mean to enter into His rest?" Well, ultimately it means being with Him eternally in Heaven where there is no sin, sickness, darkness, etc. However, it doesn't just mean that. It also means to enter into that place of abundance here on earth. This includes "peace that passes understanding" and "joy unspeakable and full of glory!" It also means to enter into the place where God has called you to do what He has called you to do. Nothing can bring more satisfaction than finding God to fill the void in your life and then experiencing that abundant life and living out the destiny He has planned for you!

I also got that the roadblock that keeps this from happening in our lives is when we look to people for approval instead of looking to God. In John 5:44, Jesus said, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" How often do we do that? This caused me to stop and do an evaluation on myself.

On the other hand, the catalyst to help us get there is being still and waiting on God. The more alone time we spend with God in prayer, Bible study, praise/worship and just meditating on Him and being with Him, the more we will desire to believe Him, abide in His word, obey Him and enter into His rest. He then starts showing us how we can still be aware of His presence everywhere we go! This also caused me to stop and do an evaluation. At times when I'm frustrated with the busyness of life, I need to pause, step back and thank God for His presence with me! That so helps! I call it a perspective check.

I challenge you to do as the Bible says in Psalms after some of the verses: Selah. I understand that this means, "Pause and think about that!"

Be Blessed Indeed!
Tammy

The Lord Directs Your Steps!

I have had such a full week full of God appointments! My daughter, Amy, made it to the nationals in our church's Fine Arts Festival for youth. We went to Charlotte, NC (along with thousands of teens from AG churches all over the nation) for her to sing with a small ensemble and a large ensemble from our church and play a french horn solo. What an awesome experience for her! She did very well in all three events. She made superior ratings and missed the call back by one point. Great for her first time out.

While in NC, I also had the opportunity to meet with many people from different churches to give them packets about my book and speaking. I call these God appointments, because I did not know I was going to do all that. I had a friend who was also going and knew contacts tell me to take packets, so I made the packets not knowing who they would go to. God knows my heart to go interdenominational. I was able to meet with people from different churches: Assembly of God, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist and Foursquare Gospel.

I came back Friday, and Saturday I had the awesome privilege to attend a writer's workshop at the East Metro Atlanta Christian Writers Group in Covington. Elizabeth Sherrill was the speaker. She is an incredible author and woman of God! She's written over 1500 articles and over 30 books including The Hiding Place, Cross and the Switchblade, God's Smuggler, etc. (Go to www.elizabethsherrill.com for more info on her.) I left with a renewed passion for writing!

As I look back over the week, the verse comes to mind: "A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." (Prov. 16:9) That is the desire of my heart! I want to keep doing what I feel God has directed me to do, but I always want God to have the final word in case I might miss something He wants me to do! I want to also remember that His plan for me unfolds one step at a time!

Introduction to this blog...

The world of blogging....oh yes! I have been meaning to enter this world for a while and finally did. I first started a blog on http://www.shoutlife.com/, but I didn't realize that the only ones who can read it are those that are members of shoutlife. Now with this new blog, anyone can read and comment.



For those of you who maybe stumbled across this and do not know me, my name is Tammy Melton. I am the wife (for 22 years) of Bill Melton (the BEST husband!) and mother of awesome daughters, Amy (8th gr.) and Amber (5th gr). I am a Christian speaker and author. My book, Loving God With All Five Senses, was published in 2007. It is great for inspirational reading or for a 6 week individual or group Bible study. For more information, go to my website, http://www.legacyministries.info/. There you can click on a link to see a 3 1/2 minute promo video about the book.



I am also the President of a new ministry Bill and I started called Legacy Ministries for Christ, Incorporated in the Peachtree City/Fayetteville area of GA. You can get more information on that at my website as well. In a nut shell, we have an Equipping Center that is for people from all different denominations in the community to come together to be trained and equipped in whatever area of ministry the Lord is stirring in them to do.



I will basically be using this blog to post things that God is stirring in my heart. I would love to get your feedback.



Be Blessed Indeed!
Tammy