Discover what it means to truly rest as a believer and explore the spiritual invitation extended to us through Hebrews. Alan takes us through the significance of maintaining a Sabbath rest in the hustle of modern life and offers practical applications for making daily Bible reading a fulfilling practice. Explore the rich themes of grace, mercy, and the active presence of God’s word in our lives.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
SPEAKER 04 :
Today we are in Hebrews chapter 4. One of my favorite verses is in this chapter. As we listen, see if you can guess which one it is. We’ll also learn about the rest of God. Let’s listen to Faith Comes By Hearing’s reading of Hebrews 4.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hebrews 4 Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as He has said, as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Although his works were finished from the foundation of the world, for he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way. And God rested on the seventh day from all his works. And again in this passage he said, They shall not enter my rest. Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, today, saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 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. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
SPEAKER 04 :
Did you hear it? Did you identify that favorite verse of mine in Hebrews chapter 4? Let’s see if my journals reveal it. In 1993, I wrote after reading chapter 4, Rest. What a concept in an overly busy life. Believer’s rest. Sabbath rest. God’s rest. The rest that comes from completion. Being complete. like when God rested after creation, and Jesus sat down, rested at the right hand of the Father after his complete redemptive work. We can experience the rest now in peace of mind when we accept the final completion of our being, a relationship with Jesus Christ. There’s nothing we can do for our eternal salvation other than accept the complete redemption of Jesus. When we do that, it is finished. There is no more for us to do. We can rest in Jesus Christ. our final rest will be complete upon our death when we will then rest forever at the throne of god in heaven until then rest here in this busy life through jesus well that verse wasn’t revealed there let’s go on to two thousand five In 2005, you might remember, I was in Thailand. At the time, I was doing international work for the Gideons International. That’s a ministry of Christian business and professional men who place Bibles in hotels in various places around the world and try to help people come to saving faith in Jesus. In Thailand, on this trip, I was there starting a couple of new camps. Here’s what I wrote on the day I read Hebrews chapter 4. Did it! Another camp in Thailand! Thirty now. Praise God. Seven men joined last night. We have opened eastern Thailand to God’s word. I leave for Bangkok today and home tomorrow. Concerning Hebrews 4, I wrote, Please do that now in Thailand. You are granting me rest now, rest from international work. I thank you over and over for the privilege given me. Thank you for being my high priest, tempted and without sin. Thank you for inviting me to your throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in my times of need. I love you, Jesus. Well, that favorite verse wasn’t revealed in that journal either, so let’s go on to 2013. After reading Hebrews 4 that year, I wrote, God’s rest is for the believer, not the disobedient. We should strive to enter Sabbath rest by being obedient. God’s word exposes our souls and the thoughts and intents of our hearts. our obedience or disobedience. Nothing is hidden. Jesus is also our high priest, tempted as we are yet without sin. We are invited to draw near to the throne of grace to find mercy and grace and help in time of need. Hallelujah! What an invitation! Well, there was a slight reference to that favorite verse in this journal entry, so let’s find it as we look at chapter 4 of Hebrews. First, there is a magnificent principle of rest. Do you feel restful in this busy, turbocharged life? God promises us His rest. As Christians, we should be restful. If we look as busy as those in the world, why should they become Christians? So I believe in the principle of rest. It’s scriptural. I also believe in the principle of Sabbath rest, trying to rest 24 hours each week. How does that principle apply to your daily lives? Yes, there’s more than heavenly rest. We’re going to rest when we get to heaven. But I believe we can experience the rest of God right here on earth by living according to his word. Practical application number one, incorporate rest into your Christian life. Now let’s find that favorite verse. It’s verse 12. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. What a power verse about the word of God. I often use this verse in my Ezra Project messages to churches. Here’s what I say. Where is the place between your soul and your spirit? Where is the place between the thoughts and intents of the heart? I don’t know. But this verse tells me the Word of God will go there. And I want to put it there every day of my life. I want something between my day and the world that I’m going to live it in. And that’s the Word of God. It is living. It is active. it lives between my soul and my spirit and between the thoughts and intents of my heart that’s why i read it every day of my life application number two allow the word of god daily to pierce between your soul and your spirit and your thoughts and intentions. Let it be a barrier between your life and the world around you. And let’s finish with this chapter as the author does, thanking Jesus, our high priest, who opened the throne room of heaven to us. Therefore, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. As I wrote in one of my journals, what an invitation. If Jesus is your high priest, you have an invitation to the throne room of God. Hallelujah. Through Jesus, I know I go there every day. I lay my petitions at his feet and I receive mercy and grace in my times of need. Thank you, Jesus, for being my high priest. Thank you for opening God’s throne to me. Thank you for offering me rest in you here on earth. And thank you for putting the word of God between my soul and my spirit and between the thoughts and intents of my heart. Hallelujah, Jesus. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. You know, sometimes we need a plumb line, a true north, a solid basis of truth to live life. We’re not going to find it in the media or in social media or Google or your friends, but it is available right at your fingertips. Pilate asked Jesus in John 18, 38, what is truth? The chapter before, Jesus had answered the question in his prayer to God for his disciples. In the 17th verse, Jesus pleads with the Father, Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. So what would it be like if everyone, everywhere, read the Bible every day? Wow, it might be heaven on earth. What would it be like if every Christian read the Bible every day? Would we be better ambassadors for Christ? What would it be like if everyone in your community read the Bible every day? Would we have greater impact in our communities? And what would it be like if you personally read the Bible every day? Could you use a closer walk with Jesus? Could you use a light unto your path and a lamp unto your feet to walk through this life? Could you use a spiritual power surge in your life? Matthew 22, 29, Jesus speaking to the Sadducees said, You are mistaken not understanding the Scriptures or the power of God. Yes, the Scriptures can give us power to live this life. So I’m going to give you three easy action steps to make the Bible worth your time each and every day. Number one, commit to daily Bible reading. Commit to seek God and His Word daily, every day. And if you miss a day, start again the next day. Change your belief about God’s Word to behavior in God’s Word. Use any of our Ezra Project resources to help you. Visit EzraProject.net to get an Ezra Project Bible reading journal or one of our day-by-day through the Bible books. Commit today and visit EzraProject.net for easy-to-use resources for your daily time in God’s Word. Number two, be intentional. Decide what you want out of your Bible reading. I got to visit the headquarters of Back to the Bible once in Lincoln, Nebraska. And in one hallway down one side, they had scribbled all the reasons people say they don’t read the Bible. On the other side were all the reasons people do read the Bible. And I want to give you some of those to encourage you. On that wall, it said, God wants me to. Yes, God wants you to read the Bible. Do you want to meet with him daily? Because he’ll meet with you every day through his word. Number two, it changes me. Where could you be in one year with more Bible reading in your life? Number three, it improves my outlook on life. Yeah, turn out the bad news and saturate yourself with good news from the Word of God. Number four, it keeps me grounded. Yes, when the storms of life come, and they will, can you stand? Yes, you’ll stand better and more solid because you’re in the Word of God. Next, it keeps my heart soft. Yeah, Nehemiah 8, when people heard the Word, they wept and they worshiped. You will do the same as the Word softens your heart. Lastly, on the wall, it said, it keeps my daily focus on God. Yeah, that’s a great reason to read the Bible. You’ll gain the spiritual power to live life in our secular world. And then thirdly and lastly, feed your soul. Let God minister to your soul. Hebrews 4.12 says the Word of God pierces between your soul and your spirit, between joints and marrow, and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of your heart. Nothing else goes that deep. I don’t know where the place is between my soul and my spirit, but I want to put the Word of God there each and every day of my life. I hope you do too. God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word.
