Good Day Dear Friend, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NKJV)   Don’t know why these thoughts come to mind sometimes, but it did, so here it is. Think for a moment, if you will, about the Bible being for us a shoe… a shoe Divinely and Lovingly crafted specifically for each of us, to enable us to not only walk our journey as the Lord unfolds our paths before us, but to run the race we’re called to finish. The sole consists of the prophets, the patriarchs, God’s chosen people Israel, and actually all those depicted in the OT, but not just the heroes. The sole is made up of all those who tread this earth before us, the good and the bad, about which God has made certain their story is here for us to hear, know and learn.   The body of the shoe would be the NT- the God Incarnate’s arrival, His Ministry, His Amazing Sacrifice and His Glorious Redemption. The Gospels form, envelop and give support to the Church. And then, there are certain writings that are the laces, the part of the shoe that ties things together, like the Book of Romans and of course the finishing bow-the Book of Revelation. The Book of Hebrews is definitely also one of those laces kinds of Books, which helps to hold the body and sole of the shoe to the child of God as they walk with Him… This was just a thought about the Holy Word of God. Do you have your walking with the Lord shoes on; have you laced up your best running shoes for today’s race; have you spent time in His Word for you today?   “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for  forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, “They always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways”; as I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest.”’” (Hebrews 3:7-11 NASB)   Here we find one of those many examples where Hebrews ties the OT to the New Testament. Out of Egypt, but not yet in Canaan; chances are you’ve heard this expression before about how this ancient story relates to us today-hence the quote “Today”. Christ has broken the bondage of sin for Believers, He’s freed us from Egypt and opened the path for us to the Promised Land. The Holy Spirit calls on our hearts and many of us have Believed in Jesus as our Saviour, which gets us out of Egypt, but then we struggle with our unbeliefs. Just like the Israelites, we get to the threshold of Canaan, but, instead of being like Joshua and Caleb, we can’t get into our inheritance in Christ because our doubts and unbeliefs hold us back from committing to Jesus as Lord of our lives. Some may consider Canaan to represent Heaven in this story, but a much better understanding may be that it represents the Promise of Rest through this life- the Peace and Joy that only can be found when we cross the River Jordan in Faith, and truly accept Christ as our LORD.   There’s a great message that follows the above passage, and we must not miss it. “Take care, brethren [sisters and brothers in the Faith], that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the Living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the Beginning of our assurance firm until the end.” (Hebrews 3:12-14)   As sisters and brothers in Christ, we are responsible to one another, to help each other through the difficult challenges in this life, when our Faith may falter and we fall into the deception of sin. We are called to encourage one another, to edify one another in Faith through the family struggles, the financial woes, the illnesses, and the tragedies, so that we don’t lose out to despair and desperation because of our doubt in Him. Every Believer’s inheritance in Christ is to walk in His Promised Land today- not that it doesn’t have many battles and trials, as again evidenced in the OT. But when we Believe in Jesus with our whole heart and have accepted Him not only as Saviour, but also as our Lord and King, then we are not left stuck travailing in the wilderness living restless lives of doubt and unbelief.   Let’s lace up our shoes in His Word, and if we find someone struggling to tie their own shoes in Him, let’s give them a hand, so that we may all run into Jesus’ open arms, for His Glory! AMEN Tom