Hebrews 4:9-11 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
My wife had a realization the other day and wanted to share her thoughts with you in today’s devotion.
She says, “Being a perfectionist myself, I’ve spent much of my time and energy in this life making myself and my belongings appeal to the senses -- in other words, look perfect, sound perfect, feel, taste and smell perfect. I want my house to sparkle and smell fresh, my and my family’s clothing and hairstyles to be on the up and up, I want my words to sound intelligent and funny, my meals to be tasty and beautiful. I want my work in the ministry to be perfect too. And when I’m not busy making sure those things are all in place, I spend my time and energy wishing I had more time, energy and resources to make them so! I admit it is extreme and it’s a matter which I must daily submit to the Lord. But most of us have some element of perfectionism in our lives. What caused us to become that way is another story. But here is what I believe the Lord is showing me about the business of perfection. When we’re busy spending our time and energy “perfecting” ourselves and our earthly belongings, we miss out on a huge blessing. We miss out on gaining God’s perfection, not only for ourselves and our earthly belongings, but for our heart mind and soul. And when we miss out on that, we’re missing out on a piece of heaven.”
Charles Swindoll said “Business (busy-ness) rapes relationships. It substitutes shallow frenzy for deep friendship. It feeds the ego but starves the inner man.”
Let’s examine ourselves today. What are we busy doing? Let’s stop this weekend and enjoy Shabbat -- enter into a deeper relationship with Him! God is standing by, just waiting for us. He has so much to show us and so much to tell us, if we would only stop giving our time and energy to earthly (and often fruitless) things and give a moment of it to Him!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]This groundbreaking conversation took place at Caesarea Phillipi, which lies today in the modern day reserve of the Banias in the Golan Heights region of Israel. The city was established by Ptolemaic Greeks, a Hellenistic community where the worship of the god Pan was centered. Reviled by the Jews of Yeshua’s time and considered by them the most idolatrous place in the entire Galilee, to this day it remains a place of nature worship and deep paganism…
David’s faith and courage in volunteering to fight Goliath was an embarrassment to his big brother Eliab, an officer in King Saul’s army. I imagine his thinking went something like this; “If my little brother wins everybody will ask, ‘How come you didn’t go out and fight him?’” The Bible records that Eliab “burned with anger at David and asked, ‘Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is…’” These are devastating words from an older brother. Before David could defeat Goliath he first had to overcome the attitudes, accusations and words, of those close around him.
The noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was supervising the construction of a magnificent cathedral in London. A journalist thought it would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three and asked them this question, “What are you doing?” The first replied, “I’m cutting stone for a shabby 10 shillings a day.” The next answered, “I’m putting in 13 hard hours a day on this job.” But the last said, “I’m helping Sir Christopher Wren construct one of London’s greatest cathedrals.”
It is among popular “Christian” belief that an abundance of material and other blessings follow those whose hearts are truly after God and that those who seem to consistently struggle to that end, cannot possibly be in God’s perfect will. I want to submit to you a realization I had about this very thing. I think we might have it all backwards.
A National Geographic article published a few years describing a real celestial event which took place at the time of the birth of Jesus reminded me of Risto Santala’s explanation in his book, “The Messiah in the New Testament in the Light of Rabbinical Writings”. He wrote about a conjunction of major planets that took place which could have led the wise men from the east, to Israel.
The Shema is recited every Shabbat in Israel and throughout the world: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” The emphasis is on hearing—not just with our ears but our hearts. That same emphasis runs through the Gospels, where Yeshua (Jesus) repeatedly says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This isn’t just a phrase; it’s a life-changing command.
Many families across the U.S. are gathering today to celebrate “Thanksgiving.” But let’s take a moment to turn our hearts to the ultimate source of thanksgiving: God Himself. Psalm 100 is often called the “Psalm of Thanksgiving,” and it’s a perfect guide for how we should approach God—not just during Thanksgiving but every day.