The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Hebrews 1-4
Act 3: God’s New Covenant People
Scene 4: Christ’s Church: God’s People Advance the Kingdom
Background Information: Hebrews 1-4
If God didn’t speak, we would be hopelessly ignorant and hopelessly lost. In his mercy, God has spoken in many ways over the course of human history. He has spoken through visions, dreams, historical events, prophets, angels, and direct revelation. His best, clearest, and final word to mankind is through his Son. Though Angel literally means messenger, angels were not enough. Though Moses mediated the law to God’s people, Moses was not enough. Jesus is the mediator, the go-between of the New Covenant. The only person who can serve as a mediator between God and man is the one who is both God and man. Angels were not enough, Moses was not enough, Joshua was not enough; only Jesus is enough. Jesus shared in our flesh and blood so that through his death he might destroy the power of death. This doesn’t mean that all God said in the past is irrelevant; it means that it was incomplete. God’s revelation in history has been progressing as any good story does. All God has revealed in the past pointed to God’s final revelation in Christ. The Bible is a single unfolding story where Jesus is the climactic conclusion. We will not find the thesis statement of this theologically rich book until more than halfway through it.
Now the main point of what is being said is this: “We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man.” Hebrews 8:1-2
The main point is that Jesus is the high priest who made the final sacrifice of his own life, and then he sat down because he was finished. Human high priests could not give rest; the sacrifice had to be repeated over and over. Now, Jesus offers rest. Rest is a beautiful word used to describe salvation. This rest is active, not passive; we cannot earn it, but we must choose to enter into it. In fact, we are told to make every effort to enter this rest. This is not a contradiction; it is a balance. The rest is the free gift of God, but we must turn from self-trust and self-righteousness and put our trust completely in Christ in order to enter this rest. The ongoing challenge for the Christian who has entered the rest of salvation is to live continually resting in Christ and not trying to control outcomes by worrying about them. Why do you strive and stress? You cannot add to what has been done for you. Why do you fail to live in his rest, restlessly worrying about things you cannot control? Jesus understands; he took on human flesh and all the corresponding human concerns and temptations. Take your restless worry to him, and you will find the grace to help you remain in, or return to, his rest.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for Persian young people who have become disillusioned with religion-that they would be drawn to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.