Hebrews 4
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
1Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.[a] 3Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
"So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' "[b]
And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. 4For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words:
"And on the seventh day God rested from all his work."[c]
5And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest."
6It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."[d]
8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the Great High Priest
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[e] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Footnotes:
[a] Hebrews 4:2 Many manuscripts because they did not share in the faith of those who obeyed
[b] Hebrews 4:3 Psalm 95:11; also in verse 5
[c] Hebrews 4:4 Gen. 2:2
[d] Hebrews 4:7 Psalm 95:7,8
[e] Hebrews 4:14 Or gone into heaven
3 comments:
i heard a piece of a sermon talk about "rest"...basically they summarized it as saying by resting, you are able to set aside work and money and show how you are not a slave to these things, but rather are a servant of the Lord. said differently, if you do not rest, you are a slave to money and to work, and you are disobedient to God, who is our ultimate master. I was at a small group discussion last week and the topic went into "what is work" and as you can imagine it got very blurry. Resting on Sundays is so hard for me and in our society it seems counter cultural to truly spend a day in rest (focused on God). I get sucked into the so many things to do and not enough time and thus sunday ends up just like any other day. definitely something i need to work on. telling myself to rest probably wont make me change, rather, i need to say, today i will focus on God.
Heb 4
Pretty powerful
NLT 12For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. 13Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done.
The "it exposes us for what we really are part" is pretty amazing. When push comes to shove where are we? I know for sure that I typically do not respond how CHrist would. One of my deepest prayers is that God would temper my anger. Teach me to take a deep breath and respond as CHrist would.
Also pretty amazing
NLT 14That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. 15This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. 16So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
Father God, We can not thank you enough times for Your grace. Time after time you forgive us. An we continue to sin. Give us the strength to resist temptation more and more. We thank you ELC safe arrival and that mom and dad are doing well. Watch over JRS and the rest of our family and friends.
In Christ,
cas
Heb 4
cas pretty much hit it all on the head. I agree that lately my anger has regrown to be my biggest thorn. I've stumbled a little with raising my expectations to be too high, and feeling disappointed when I inevitably miss them, but overall, having two kids at home and working on a limited "time" budget, I get frustrated when other people slow me down at work, instead I should take these things as a chance to rest in God's Word and in prayer.
Father, continue to grant us the strength to resist temptations, those that cause us to sin and those things which don't help us to grow in Your image. Keep watching over our extended family that you have brought together and grant us the peace of mind to slow down regularly. In Jesus' amazing name,
Amen
crb
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