Everything Starts with Faith
Did you know that you can please God? We often talk about the various commands and regulations that God gives, and we talk a lot about the good things God gives us. But have you ever considered the ways you can please God?
The first thing Hebrews 11:6 tells us is that we need faith to please God. Those who do not believe in God cannot please Him.
There is a difference between having a true relationship with God and performing religious tasks without faith. We don’t have to earn a relationship with God because it is something He gives us freely. Those who have faith can please God, not because we have to, but because we get to. When we have faith in God, our hearts are changed, and we begin to desire to please God through our words and actions.
Hebrews 11:6 also tells us that God rewards those who seek Him. This doesn't mean God will give us whatever we want in life, but rather, it means that those who genuinely seek a relationship with God will find it.
And in this passage, God Himself is the gift we receive!
“Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimrom, four. And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred. And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men. And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons. And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand. The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour; and were ...
Called to Contentment
Observing Sabbath-rest allows us to step into the same rhythm God established in creating the world. Scripture tells us when God rested from His work, it was because His work was complete (Genesis 2:1). God took joy in His accomplishment.
In Hebrews 4:10, the writer draws a parallel between God's rest and ours: "For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his." We're invited to delight in His presence and share in God’s divine contentment.
This rest isn't about taking a break from good works. It’s about surrendering the need to control by trusting in the completeness of God’s work. Our "rest" releases us from the burden of proving ourselves good enough to earn His love and approval. These things have been secured through Jesus’ finished work on the cross. When we step into this rhythm of rest, we can find contentment that spills over into every part of our lives.
Is God calling you to stop trying to do everything on ...