Sabbath

Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. 

For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works,

 just as God did from his. Hebrews 4:9‭-‬10 CSB

The word Sabbath comes from a root that means to cease, desist or rest.  God created the Sabbath for us so we could cease from our own ways and find our rest in him.

I like these ways of talking about Sabbath:

Sabbath rest is thus a call to Sabbath trust, a call to visibly demonstrate in our daily living that we know ourselves to be upheld and maintained by the grace of God rather than the strength and craftiness of our own hands. To enjoy a Sabbath day, we must give up our desire for total control. We must learn to live by the generosity of manna falling all around us. ¹

The sabbath teaches us to trust in God’s strength. Sabbath keeping, therefore, is the perfect exercise to help us deal with anger. Sabbath forces us out of the role of God in our lives. Allowing God to take care of us, we relax and enjoy life. That is essentially what it means to rest. ²

When we come to the place where we can joyously "do no work", it will be because God has become so exalted in our mind and body that we can trust him with our lives and our world and can take our hands off them. ³

Rest. Trust. Surrendering control. These are the core elements of Sabbath keeping. ⁴

Sabbath is taking a break from yourself, from the worrying, striving and controlling and letting God be in charge. This is not just for a day a week, but a lifestyle of daily living in which we are released from our own ways and enter into trust in the provision of God. Let us make the choice every day to practice Sabbath, resting from our own works and trusting completely in God.

Work may be done for six days,

but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, 

a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work;

 it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live. Leviticus 23:3

¹ Norman Wirzba, Living the Sabbath, p.38 (Quoted in James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful Life, Kindle version, Location 1043.)
² James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful Life, Kindle Version Location 1049.
³Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, Kindle Version Pg. 174.
⁴ Smith, Location 1053

Relax

For anyone who enters God's rest

 also rests from his own work.

Hebrews 4:10 (NIV)

A lot of our problems stem from ourselves.  From the stressing and striving and worrying that keeps us tied up in knots.   What we need to do is relax. Trusting means relaxing.  Let go and leave it all to God.

As I am totally committed to His will for my life, He assumes full responsibility for me - for my own personal needs, for the outcome of the projects He assigns to me, for the effectiveness of the ministry, for the response of the people, for the fruit of the labor and for the permanency of the work.*

We can't solve the world's problems by stressing and straining.  We can't even solve our own. We can pray, then rest, leaving the results with God.

 Don’t worry about anything; 

instead, pray about everything.
 Tell God what you need,

and thank him for all he has done.
Then you will experience God’s peace,

 which exceeds anything we can understand.
 His peace will guard your hearts and minds

 as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) 

*Birkey, Verna. You Are Very Special, New Jersey, Fleming H. Revell, 1977: 138

Trust

Natural Bridges.  Can you find me in the picture?

  God is our sure foundation. 

 We are exhorted over and over again to trust in him.   

  O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.

       Psalms 62:8 (NLT)

Our peace depends upon our trust. 

 Whenever worries arise, replace them with trust. 

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

      Isaiah 26:3-4 (NLT)

He will provide all that we need as we trust in him.  

 In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Isaiah 33:6 (NLT)

Righteousness

Arizona Blooms

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,

 who has become for us wisdom from God--

that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 

 Therefore, as it is written: 

"Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

1 Cor 1:30-31 (NIV)

It has taken me some time to realize that what I perceive of as my own righteousness and goodness is not enough.  After so many years of struggling with guilt and trying so hard to be good and always putting myself down, I have realized that my own righteousness will never be good enough.

The only thing that counts is the righteousness of Christ.  His righteousness has been imparted to me so I do not have to strive in my own strength to be good or to be anything at all.  I rely only upon his perfection.  Therefore, I can rest.  Why is this so hard for me.  Somewhere the striving, the perfectionism, the myth that performance equals acceptance has been impressed upon me.

This lie needs to be replaced with the truth that I am loved and accepted just as I am.  As I rest in him, all he desires for me will be accomplished.  My work is not the work of striving, but the rest of faith.

God, grant me rest today as I trust in the righteousness of Christ. Yours is the only righteousness and goodness that I have. I trust that that righteousness has been placed upon me and is working in me. 

My only hope is that I shall be clothed with the righteousness of Christ.  Martyn Lloyd Jones

Fire

 We are pressed on every side by troubles, 

but we are not crushed. 

We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. 

We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

2 Cor 4:8-9 (NLT)

The devastating Waldo Canyon fire is raging in Colorado.  15,000 acres have been consumed by the fire which has destroyed 300 homes and caused 32,000 people to be evacuated.  It reminds me of the Oakland fire of 1989.  Watching the fire in the hills and wondering if was going to reach your house was a frightening experience.

At a moments notice things can change in our lives.  The apostle Paul was no stranger to difficulty.  He faced beatings, prison, shipwrecks, floods, all kinds of dangers.  He came to the conclusion that even though we may be pressed on every side by troubles, perplexed, hunted down or knocked down we will never be destroyed or given over to despair because we know God will never abandon us.

As we face difficulties in our lives of whatever kind, let us not give up, but put our hope in God who will see us through as we trust in him.

Lord, we pray for those in danger of fire today that you would take care of them.  Help the fire fighters as they work under extreme conditions, to extinguish the fires quickly.

Tests

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, 

even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 

 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. 

It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—

though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. 

So when your faith remains strong through many trials,

 it will bring you much praise and glory and honor

 on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT)

The most precious thing we have is our faith.  God tests us not to see how we will live or what we will do, but to prove our faith.

Those of us living today in relatively secure affluence don’t face the same kinds of severe life-threatening trials that Christians have faced in many times and places throughout history.  We face tests of a different kind.  

Our modern struggles involve our own self-centeredness, perhaps being overtaken with resentments or fears or falling into complacency to name just a few.  My severest tests come from my own sense of weakness and failure to be the kind of person I think God would want me to be.  In the face of these tests, the temptation comes to focus on myself, to think that if I just try harder things will change.  This strategy always ends in discouragement and despair.

In the face of trials, instead of responding with self-effort or self condemnation, God is looking for our simple faith.  He is not impressed when I agonize over my failures or promise him that I will do better next time. What he is looking for is childlike trust. Can I trust him that he understands the struggles I go through and that he has the power to transform me?  Can I wait on him and trust him even when I feel so out of it? Can I trust him to make my life significant, and to fulfill the plans he has for me?  

When all the people saw the things Jesus did, they wanted to do the same thing.  Jesus said it clearly, "The only thing God wants from you is that you would believe in me." (John 6:29).  We have no idea the power released as we believe in him moment by moment.  Even when we feel our faith is weak, it is still powerful because it connects us to the Powerful One.  Let us remember, when we think we need to try harder or are ready to give up in despair, to activate our faith. 

Lord, I believe that you have all the resources necessary to change me.  Help me not to dwell on myself, but to activate my faith muscle and put all of my trust in you.  I know I will be able to accomplish so much more and with such a better attitude when my eyes are on you.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.

 Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.

 But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 (NLT)

The Mystery of Prayer

I tell you, you can pray for anything, 

and if you believe that you’ve received it,

 it will be yours.  

Mark 11:24 NLT

We can ask for whatever we want and we will receive?!?  How can this be? - It is the amazing mystery of prayer. 

God tells us to ask and keep on asking and we will receive whatever we ask for in his name - that is, according to his perfect will and plan.  When we ask for good things for ourselves and others, God is delighted to hear our prayers and delighted to answer them.  We don't know how he will do it or when - he has all time and eternity at his disposal - but, we can be assured, because he has told us so, that he is working in every situation to bring our pray to fulfillment.

He asks us to pray without doubt. Doubt arises when we think too much, when we try to figure things out. We think, "How will he do it and when? It seems so impossible that it could ever happen."  When we doubt, we are focusing on ourselves.  When we believe, we are focusing on the one of whom it is said "nothing is impossible." (Luke 1:37)  He just asks us to present our requests believing and leaving all the how? and when? to him. 

Pray without ceasing. (1 Thes. 5:17).   Like breathing, prayer can be a constant and automatic part of our lives.  Prayer can be our first response to every event and circumstance. We can participate in God's work by praying for all people, people we don't even know. Prayer expands us. It helps us to get out of ourselves and pay attention to the needs of those around us.  Prayer opens us to the presence of God.

I know, Lord, that you have heard all of my prayers.  Prayers for myself, my loved ones and friends and those I have never met, for health and happiness, for strength and salvation and you will answer them all in your time and in your way.  Thank you.

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power

 and produces wonderful results.

James 5:16 (NLT)

So we have not stopped praying for you

 since we first heard about you.

Col 1:9 (NLT)

Opportunities

The New Driveway

When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

James 1:2-4 (NLT)

A storm is on the way!  Now we will see if our new driveway will stand the test.

Three Biblical writers (James, Peter & Paul) exhort us to look at the storms and trials of our lives with joy and to endure them with patience because it is storms and trials that provide opportunities for growth and spur us on toward maturity.  Our goal as Christians is to grow into maturity, to grow in love, to grow into his image. 

No matter what comes against us, what difficulties and disagreements we face, trials present for us opportunities. Every test is an opportunity to trust God or to trust in ourselves.  Tests can give rise to opportunities to assert self-will, to become resentful or angry, fearful or anxious.  But they also provide opportunity to throw ourselves completely on God and trust that he will work it for good. 

As we grow we come to realize that no matter what difficulties we face his love will win.  We see that difficulties are the breeding ground for new hope and new love. Every trial becomes an opportunity to surrender our way to God's, to present ourselves as vessels of his love trusting that his love will never fail.

There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT)

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials,

 for we know that they help us develop endurance.

And endurance develops strength of character, 

and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)