Monday, December 30, 2013

Consuming Fire



28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.


Hebrews 12:28-29(NKJV)


                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Dear friends of Come Rest,
As this new year of our Lord begins I keep hearing the Spirit saying “consuming fire.” 
I believe 2014 will be a year of grateful, godly fear before our God who is a consuming fire.
He will lead His people to enjoy joyful miracles and overcome frightening obstacles.
Make ready.
Renew this covenant He has made with you through His blood.
Get on your face.
Die to your fears of the flesh.
Rise in fear of your God.
Rest in His love.
Stand on His promises.
Walk in His Spirit.
He is a consuming fire.
What a year this will be.

Ever toward the Fire,
Richard Speight


COME REST MINISTRIES’
NEW YEARS’ AWAKENING OF LOVE
 THIS FRIDAY, JAN. 3RD!!!  630-930PM
At River of Life, Cedar Rapids
RENEWING COVENANT WITH OUR GOD, A CONSUMING FIRE!!
Come re-up with the Lord for 2014!
Register at the door; freewill offering; refreshments follow.

*****
Come Rest Ministries Personal Retreat
Wednesday January 15th 9am-4pm
“Preparing for Victory Upon Victory in 2014!”
Rehoboth House 2125 Bever Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Requirements: Pen, bible, notebook, your copy of our book
REAL FRUIT, and your wholehearted desire to come rest in Jesus!
Cost: Freewill Offering plus $18 for book which may be purchased at retreat
Space Limited-- Lunch provided
Those interested must apply at jkadlec@ImOnMail.com


This Weekend
Jan . 5          845am         Speights teaching “Come Up!” class in Room A at River of Life
                   7pm            I58 House Fellowship at Speights’ home (6pm Covenant Groups cancelled—will resume Jan. 12)

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Come Rest Ministries New Year’s Response Form
___My New Year’s prayer request is_______________________________________________________
___Yes, Lord! I will pray for CRM.
___Yes, Lord! I will financially support CRM. Today’s gift $________   My weekly pledge for $_______
Name_______________________________________________________________________________
Address______________________________________________________________________________
Email_______________________________________________Phone___________________________
****************************************************
In 2013 we have been privileged to minister more deeply
to more people than ever before—many of whom have very little
money to contribute. We deeply appreciate your continued prayers
and regular financial offerings to the Lord for Come Rest Ministries!
We pray abundantly fruitful
life for all the friends of Come Rest!

Love and blessings,
Dick and Kim Speight

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Night Light



 

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 22: 1-5 NKJV
               


In mid-December 2006 we moved into our home at the corner of 22nd and Meadowbrook. We toured many homes in our limited price range with Peg, our realtor. Finally, I saw Kim’s face light up when we toured what would become our home. She delighted in the simple charm of the woodwork, the spaciousness of high ceilings, the airiness of many windows, the coziness of the master bedroom sitting area. I delighted in Kim being delighted. That first year of founding a new ministry was both wonderful and stressful. I also had my eye on the beautifully shaped spruce tree in the front yard. It would look great with Christmas lights. Kim alleges I wanted this house because of that tree. I confess we moved in on December 16th and just after sundown on December 16th I finished putting lights on that tree—admittedly before most of our belongings were unpacked! Mea culpa, mea culpa! Actually, the confirming moment for me to buy the home came in the backyard of the next house we visited on our realtor’s tour. Kim and Peg were inside when I wandered outside and asked the Lord, “Is that house on 22nd the one You want for us?”  I heard Him say in my heart, “That is the home I have for you. You will bless many in that neighborhood and many in that neighborhood will bless you.” When I reported this to Kim, her bright green eyes sparkled in agreement.

Seven years later a woman came to a Thanksgiving renewal gathering we were leading in our city. I noticed she was deeply into worship and writing copious notes. One of her friends had invited her to come receive prayer and restoration from the Lord. When we prayed for her the look on her face was a bit worn, but resolutely hopeful. She wanted all the Lord wanted to give her. She believed every word of the Bible and every word He ever had spoken to her heart. There was great pain in her heart, yet greater faith. I learned later she was a wife, mother, and co-pastor. Her troubled husband had forsaken her and her children one year earlier. She came believing for a miraculous deliverance for her husband from his tormented ways and a restoration for her marriage, family, and church. For her husband had also been the co-pastor of the church. We agreed with her in faith that though he had forsaken his family and church, the Lord would not forsake him—or them! She left renewed in faith. So did I.

Before we parted, we discovered we also were neighbors, living only a block from one another. She exclaimed, “You are the tree people! We have prayed for you and thanked God for you for years. You have no idea what your tree has meant to us.” I certainly didn’t. She went on to tell us her adopted son had gazed earnestly upon our spruce and its lights each of those seven Christmases eagerly awaiting the lighting.  The first year we moved in and lit the tree he was small, frail, and racked by painful illness. From his bed in the second story of their house, he had a clear vantage point to gaze at the tree. She said the tree was sometimes the only thing that helped him get through the night. The Lord used the tree to help him get his mind off the pain onto something joyful and peaceful. Ever since that first year he always looked forward to the tree being lit. Wow. The Lord confirmed our decision every year to light up that tree in mid-November—even if it was just for one struggling little boy a few hundred feet away. Our tree has become something of a Christmas landmark and people around town often know us as the people with “the tree.” Throughout the year people will walk by and say things like, “Thanks so much for the tree at Christmastime and for leaving it up so long. It helps. I actually drive home a different way so I can see the tree.” You never know just what our Lord will use in your life to bless others when you surrender control to Him. If He had not helped me learn earlier in life to talk with Him in the secret place of His heart, I wouldn’t have asked and heard Him say, “That is the house I have for you.”

For me, it all began with my parents tucking me in at night. Either my mom or my dad would kneel down by my bed and would draw near my cheek as they led me in my nighttime prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless mommy and daddy and Stevie, and grandma,….and help me(whatever I needed help with)…in Jesus’ blessed name I pray. Amen.” It was sometime in those nightly prayers I first trusted Jesus with my life and beyond death. When I finished they kissed me and turned on the night light. It was just a simple little thing, but the single blue bulb in my night light was the same kind as Christmas lights and it often reminded me of Christmas as I drifted off in sleep. 

That first Christmas the angels shattered the night with light over terrified shepherds. The angels reassured them declaring the first coming of real Peace on earth—a real Prince who would release the Father’s good will toward men. The bible word “good” means “radically generous”.  It’s not a coincidence that lowly shepherds were the first to hear of the first coming of the Good Shepherd who would describe Himself as humble and lowly of heart. The Good Shepherd of the Good Will--who would willingly lay down his life on a tree so all we lost sheep might live forever with Him. At the second coming of our Good Shepherd, a new heaven and new earth will come. There will be no more darkness. Until then the world has a night light--the Holy Spirit shining through we “people of the tree”, the Tree of Life. Until the Lord returns to earth, the Lord wants everyone around you to return to Him.

When we put up the lights in mid-November the last couple years there is one guy who I have only seen walk by when we are decorating the tree. Each of the last two years he has said in a monotone yet passively grumpy way, “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.”  The first year I was upon on the ladder and simply said, “Yes, but don’t you think it’s better to put it up in good weather?” The Lord knew I wasn’t really responding from His heart, just my own indignation. The second year the guy came by and surpised me again as I was high up the ladder. This time I was able to say, “It’s ok.” He kept walking. I then called out “God bless you.” He just kept walking. The Lord keeps working with me concerning this guy. Who knows what all is going on within that man or his life. God knows. So I have asked the Lord to give me a divine appointment with him some day. Most importantly I have asked the Lord to help him draw close to Him, cheek to cheek. We’ll see.

It’s become fashionable for people, even we Christians, to gripe about Christmas and the way our tired old world celebrates it. But oh how every weary and heavy laden soul strains desperately the best way we know how to find a little light in the night. For the way of the world is ice. The way of the Lord is all-consuming fire. He is a River of Life, but often all our sinful nature sees is glaciers of death. All our griping comes when our heart that does not feel the warm comforting presence of our cheek-to-cheek Father. All our Grinchiness comes when we are not facing the Grin—the smiling countenance of the One took His own wrath for our sin upon Himself to spare us. So others feel our wrath whenever we hide from His well-lit path.  

But the Light for All Nights has drawn you to this present moment, this present truth—you never have to be without His warmth and light again. You have nothing to prove. You never have to be anyone else. You get to be the “you” He made you to be, if only you yield your will to the His Good Will.

Because you never know who is watching. But He does. He sees all who are straining to see through their pain in the dark. He died on a tree to become the Tree of Life for as many who will come to Him. His ways are higher than our ways. He is God. He gets to choose the way He saves the world and the way He works in it. We get to choose if we live with Him on His terms or die alone on ours. So He has chosen to shine in the Night through we who have come to Him. So you Tree People, shake off every false yoke of fearful griping and let the joyful grinning begin. Shine. The night will not last forever. Because of Him, you will. 

Merry Christmas,
Richard Speight

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Come Rest Ministries Christmas Response Form
___My Christmas prayer request is_________________________________________________
___Yes, Lord! I will pray for CRM.
___Yes, Lord! I will financially support CRM. Today’s gift $____  My monthly pledge $___
___Yes, I want the Real Fruit Special! 
___Please ship! 
___I’m local and will call ahead for pick-up at Speights!
                ___2 for $30 (plus $5 shipping)
                ___10 for $130 (plus $13 shipping)
___Please ship ___ copie(s) “Come Rest”  ($16+$4 ship; each additional copy add $1 ship.)
___Please ship __copies of CD “Meditations” & __copies of the CD “Reflections” ($8 or $12 for set+$4ship)
Name____________________________________________________________________________________
Address___________________________________________________________________________________
Email_______________________________________________Phone________________________________
***************************************************
We deeply appreciate your prayers and financial offerings to the Lord for Come Rest Ministries! 
Blessings,
Dick and Kim Speight
Come Rest Ministries
PO Box 11010 
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52410

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Take the Yoke, not the bait



“Take My Yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and lowly of heart and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29



Dear friends of Come Rest,

As this holiday season approaches, I believe I hear the Lord saying “Take the yoke, not the bait.”  Think of Jesus’ yoke as letting Him put His arm around you to guide and protect you from receiving and doing harm. If you surrender control to Him, He will fill your soul with peace no matter what comes at you from the outside.



During the holidays emotions run the gamut and we can quickly slip into doing harm by letting our relatives or friends push our buttons, or by pushing theirs. Don’t take the bait, take His yoke. Come rest in the secret place of Jesus heart when you are at family gatherings—or when you miss out on family gatherings. Shut out self- pity, self- centeredness, and self-righteousness this holiday season. I also believe the Lord wants many of you to make fresh contact in some form with relatives you may not have seen in a long while.



Ask Him to fill your soul on the inside with His heart of love in the present moment for the people with whom you are present! Love them from His heart, yours is not enough. You have nothing to prove, just love people where they are at. Ask the Lord to fix their lives and yours. Then love and enjoy people. It’s not your job to save people or to fix them. It’s His job.



If your relatives or friends do not love the Lord; or are not living according to the Bible; or have the opposite politics, philosophy, or doctrine; or keep reminding you of your faults and failures; or are just plain annoying—do not let comments become controversy; do not let dialogue become debate; do not let questioning become quarreling. Do not let anything come between you and them except the Lord’s restraining loving presence. In as much as depends on you, be at peace with them because  Jesus is your peace. Lower your expectations of your relatives to zero and raise your expectations of the Lord to the max. In taking Jesus’ yoke, His arm, around your shoulders, you must never compromise on trusting and obeying His word. But you don’t have to push hard against your relatives. You must not allow ungodly things to happen in your own home. Ask Him for wisdom and the Holy Spirit will bring to your mind just the right way to stay peaceful and tender when you speak His truth in love.



Your relatives who are either not-yet saved or who are saved but not-yet yielded to His Word do not need your condemnation. At some level, they know where you stand and may even have some measure of respect for  your stance. If they are not living with the Lord according to His ways, then they are already in condemnation toward themselves or under conviction by Him. They don’t need you pointing an accusing finger at them through your words, your tone, or your actions. They need you pointing them toward His open arms through your kindness you bring. And by the way, don’t go into the holidays expecting yourself to be perfect in all this. Expect the Lord to perfectly work through all things for your good. If you take the bait at some point, just turn back into His forgiving arms. From there you can quickly and deeply apologize to your friend and relative and tell them you love them and you’re not going to allow anything to come between you. That will speak volumes to them, regardless of how they may react immediately to you.



Thanks for reading this. It will be worth it. The Lord loves you more than you know. You are more secure in His love than you may feel during the holidays. Trust Him, not your emotions. Then watch how He floods you with all His wonderful emotions! Let’s pray for each other this holiday season that we will each rest in His arms and be a living invitation to our relatives and friends to do the same. Emmanuel lives. He is with us. His yoke never cuts into you or presses down upon your shoulders. As  you walk with Him, He lifts you up. His burden is light.



Take the yoke, not the bait.



Love and blessings,

Dick Speight

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Come Rest Ministries “God Rest Ye Merry!”
A Service of Christmas Awakening in Emmanuel’s Love  
Saturday Dec. 7th  630-830pm
At River of Life
3801 Blairs Ferry Rd. Cedar Rapids
Pastor Dick & Kim Speight & Come Rest Ministries invite you and your friends and family to rest and renew in the Lord’s truth, music, and power at Christmas! Emmanuel! God is with us! Have your best Christmas ever WITH Him! Joyous praise & prayers in the sanctuary followed by cocoa, cookies, canes & conversation in fellowship hall! Bring children for prayers of prophetic blessings! Bring the sick and depressed for miracles! “God rest you merry” means “God make you mighty”! Let Him. “Merry Christmas” means “Mighty Christ Going Forth”! Follow Him!
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Come Rest Ministries Personal Retreat
Wednesday December 11th 9am-4pm
“Being With God With Us—Emmanuel!”
Meeting with the Lord in the Account of His birth
Rehoboth House 2125 Bever Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Requirements: Pen, bible, notebook, your copy of our book
REAL FRUIT, and your wholehearted desire to come rest in Jesus!
Cost: Freewill Offering plus $18 for book which may be purchased at retreat
Space Limited-- Lunch provided
Those interested must apply at jkadlec@ImOnMail.com