JACOB'S LADDER

“Sabbath’s Rest Revealed”

This morning a wonderful man posted an article on my wall about the Sabbath. There was a time that I believed as many today believe, that we should set aside one day a week, stop everything, and at the very least go to Church. I even went through the phase of debating within myself what literal day that really was. All of this caused such grief within me. It put so much pressure on me. And when I was finally released from these thoughts, worries and fears that bound me, I saw the Sabbath as one of the most beautiful things there is. Not a single day, but a moment when we give up our “works and self effort” and trust that God is in control of all things. This frees us to truly LIVE for the moment. This GIVES US HOPE! This keeps us from fear and worry, doubt and unbelief. Entering into the understanding, as Jesus understood, “I can do nothing of myself”, you are free.

As Jesus understood that the people who had power over him, only had that power because it was PRE-ORDAINED by God. Meaning, he had no choice in being handed over to Pilate. And Pilate only had the power to do to Jesus what Pilate was born to do. Pilate thought as many of us think, that WE HAVE POWER to do what we want to people, but when you enter into the understanding that God is in complete control of all things, you understand that no one can harm you unless it is meant for your good, and the good of others.

John 19:9-11
10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

Now think of the alternative. If Jesus didn’t know that what was happening to him, HAD TO HAPPEN TO HIM, he would have lost all faith in God. But instead he understood that God had written this Book of his Life, and Pilate was another page in that book. He rested in the faith that there was a good reason for it all. And even explained to Pilate, “Look man, you have no power over me, you simply are being used by God to bring about something great in my life and the lives of others.”

This is the Sabbath rest people.

A quick side note: Yes the Sabbath Rest and entering into it, is one of the Ten Commandments… But I would like you to look at this a new way. I wrote an article on this in depth here, just don’t remember the name, Duh! LOL.

Many believe the “Commands” are a list of do’s and dont’s. That is the very reason people can’t enter into the Sabbath to begin with. The COMMANDMENTS are not a check list, it is A PROMISE OF GOD. Just look at how they are worded.

“Thou shalt not __________” or “Thou Shall__________” – These are promises people. What God commands is part of the plan, and what he plans he brings to it’s fulfillment.

Why do you think Moses broke the first set of tablets. Israel had turned over to idolatry. Now you would think if it was a list of do’s and dont’ Moses would have come down and pointed out the law where you SHALL HAVE NO GOD BEFORE ME… but he didn’t. WHY?

The reason is those COMMANDMENTS are PROMISES… THAT ONE DAY WE WILL NOT STEAL, KILL, COMMIT ADULTERY, HAVE GOD’S BEFORE GOD, AND OF COURSE WE WILL REMEMBER TO KEEP THE SABBATH HOLY!

This is the Gospel, God is in control, and what he commands he brings to pass. Understanding this, is the first step to entering into the Rest we are predestined to enter into… (now back to the essay) 🙂

The Sabbath’s rest is coming to a place in your life where you know, everything that has been and everything that is happening, is for your good and the good of everyone around you. And when you TRUST this, when you enter into that REST, you don’t have to worry if you have done wrong, or worry about your fate, because you KNOW that it is FOR YOUR GOOD!

Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

This is NOT A LITERAL DAY, it is WISDOM. You give up the wheel, and let God drive. And in so doing you don’t need to hate others for what they do to you, you don’t need to fear the future, or worry about your past, you simply LIVE IN THE MOMENT!

Now, for many people this article will be as honey at first. Meaning it will be sweet to be able to give up all your worries and works, and simply “BE STILL AND KNOW I AM” BUT FOR YOUR CARNAL EGOTISTICAL MIND (you belly) it will be BITTER. There will be many of you when reading this that won’t want to believe it. You won’t want to receive it, because it will cause your EGO to go nuts. Because your EGO (which is, and is not, and yet us) wants CONTROL and believes itself is god.

But our story has been written, predetermined, and the END is VICTORY, no matter how you slice it.

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Ephesians 1:11
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will

Notice the word EVERYTHING. God doesn’t work some things according to God’s will and leaves some for your EGO to figure out… NO! ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER!

Every SINGLE bible story, is a page taken from the Book of your Life (Book of Life), just as your traits are written code in your DNA, so our spiritual and emotional journey through this world is also written. For many who can receive these words, this is great news, because it means “The story is already written, and it is finished” (although we haven’t finished experiencing it). We may only have the past as our witness, and hope as our future.

I am reminded of this wonderful thing my friend Sam Couch said to me yesterday. “Each day is like having a new page and we discover what’s written.” And that is the way we feel it. We feel as if everything is new, and exciting, even though our present can only be what it is meant to be. That is the good news!

Isaiah 46:9-11
9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned, that I will do.

Now of course I am not saying we are a bunch of mindless puppets that are going around from one thing to the next without making choices or decisions. I am simply saying our decisions and choices are always the exactly what they are meant to be. And our environment, interaction with others, the media, the elements, illness, accidents, and millions and millions of other things are placed in our path to help us make the decision we are to make. (As well as thoughts that flood our minds at times)

Now of course many of you will say, NO! God wouldn’t do that to us. God wouldn’t make people get angry, lie, curse, wouldn’t send us hard times, put us in situations where we would be led to choose wrong… And I completely understand why many wouldn’t.

Let me be clear about this however, scripture is CLEAR that God does indeed bring all of this on us and more.

The students of Paul had a problem with this concept. They couldn’t understand why God would have a problem with his “vessels made to wrath” doing the very evil things he predestined them to do. They questioned, why would God hold them accountable if they are simply doing what God willed?

Romans 9
11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)… 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Notice the next line, where we see that Pharoah who did all sorts of horrible things to Israel, was raised up to do those VERY THINGS.

17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Paul understood people couldn’t grasp why God would make people do evil to one another. I’m sure the perfectly trimmed bushes don’t understand why they are pruned, and the stone doesn’t understand why the chisel and hammer is applied to make a statue. People have a problem believing God would use tribulation and torment to bring us where we all long to be.

19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

A good question. But if you consider that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER for the GOOD! That everything, even terrible dictators, murderers, thieves, liars, backbiters, rapists, (the list goes on of the evils in the world), everything is working to bring about so great a plan that when it is revealed, we will see and know ONLY LOVE! We will not be able to see or think of anything but Love.

Paul simply replied, all of these things are happening so, God’s Glory (Mystery of who we are) can be revealed. In addition, notice that these vessels which God is preparing, and molding as a potter molds clay, are ALREADY BEEN PREPARED for this great glory.

23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Now with all of that being said, I know many will still have a problem believing that God would ever put us through hard times, bring nations against nations to war, would ever have man kill another man… People want to blame another entity for all the bad stuff, forgetting that God created Man’s Devilish Carnal Ego for the very reason of bringing what we consider horror to pass… SO ONE DAY WE WOULD OVERCOME IT AND BE ONLY LIGHT. But for those that have a problem with believing a God that is in control of every single word written of our lives and the lives of others, I would direct you to the Old Testament.

Some will say, oh well God has changed, he doesn’t do that anymore. BUT GOD IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW.

Malachi 3:6
For I am the LORD, I change not

Believe it or not, this is all good news! I know in the natural man’s mind it doesn’t seem like good news. No one wants to see another suffer. If I were to have things “my” way, there would just simply be blanket peace, there would be no struggle, there would be nothing to accomplish, nothing to overcome, there would be no need for forgiveness, no need for charity, no need to give a rip about anyone because everyone would be perfectly at peace. “My way” would never teach you how precious each individual is or how fragile and fleeting each moment is. “My Way” would have no surprises, if I were to have “My Way” then indeed we each would truly feel NOTHING, nothing at all. Because we would have nothing to gauge our feelings to. We would never know hate, so we would never know how wonderful acceptance feels. We would never know suffering, so we would never know how wonderful charity feels. We would never know war, so we would never be able to rejoice over peace.

This in a nutshell is why we have problems TRUSTING GOD IS IN CONTROL! Because of the “My Way” thinkers. In our “way” (which is ignorant to begin with) we think, oh if I was God I would never allow bad things to happen…. So then the “my way” thinkers say, “I get it, God created man and wanted total peace and harmony for, God never wanted man to learn anything (as mankind would already know everything). So since this “god” created everything perfect the “My Way” thinkers go on to say, God then took his hands off the wheel of creation and gave it to us. Oh and yes, he also created that tree and that snake to mess his creation up, but the “My Way” thinkers say, well God told man NOT to eat from the TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL.

So since the “My Way” thinkers can’t possibly believe God can do harm (even though the entire scriptures point that out, “Job” he made suffer, “Jonah” he forced to do his will, “Jesus” he was pleased to bruise him and kill him. (Of course this is allegory, but I am hoping you will get my meaning). You see the “My Way” thinkers don’t believe in the spirit of the scriptures, they believe in the letter (literal). And since they believe that way, they blame a “devil” or some outside force, giving power to one of God’s creation instead of the creator. You see the problem with the “My Way” thinkers is, they are worshipping a God they made in THEIR IMAGE. One that wants to bless them, keep them healthy, wealthy, wise, and also torture endlessly anyone who doesn’t believe the way they do.

HOWEVER, “our ways are NOT GOD’S WAYS!”

Romans 11:33
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

We can’t possibly understand the mind of God. In fact, the verse before 33, states…

32For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

We have all been made to be ignorant, so mercy could be upon us all. We learn mercy only one way people, by seeing those who are merciless.

So why have I spent an entire paper pointing out that God is in charge of every aspect of our lives, including the most horrific? The reason is HOPE!

This is what we must NEVER FORGET, we are infinite BE-ings. As energy can never cease to exist, our spirit can never cease to exist. In the flesh (literal flesh) and in the flesh (carnal ego) we may suffer, but it is so we can learn, so we can grow, so we can become one with our creator.

So once you understand that EVERYTHING that happens in your LIFE is meant to happen FOR YOUR LIFE, you can have peace about it, learn from it, and not continue to mourn it.

The Eastern Philosophy is “Non-attachment” on the surface makes sense. As the Buddha figured out “life is change and suffering” so don’t get attached to anything. But if taken literally what a cold, cold world this would be. I believe attachment is as important to our lives as the air in our lungs, but with that attachment we must also understand the first principle, LIFE IS CHANGE.

People, possessions, pets, etc, come in and out of our lives. We buy homes, we lose homes. We get jobs we lose jobs. We have health, we get sick. As the book states, there is a time and season for everything. We MUST understand that! We MUST understand that the MOMENT is so precious and it may be gone tomorrow.

This is why life is the way it is, but people aren’t waking up to this great and noble truth. THERE IS NO YESTERDAY OR TOMORROW there is ONLY NOW! There has never been a yesterday or tomorrow, there has ONLY BEEN NOW! Which is why we must ENTER THAT REST that God has promised!

And what is that REST you asked? Is it simply ceasing all work on Sunday, or Saturday? Is it going to a man-made church? I say to all of this, NO, NO, NO!

To enter God’s REST is to CEASE from YOUR WORKS… simply put, it means YOU STOP THINKING YOU ARE IN CONTROL, AND CAN CONTROL ALL THINGS. It has nothing to do with not lighting a fire, or pulling an ox out of a ditch, Jesus showed us, the SABBATH REST has nothing at all to do with Man’s works.

Luke 13
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

The WOMAN that was bound up is a symbol of mankind’s thinking/soul. The infirmity was the woman was BOUND… and what binds people? THE LAW OF BELIEVING MAN IS IN CONTROL AND MUST DO THIS OR THAT!

Romans 7:6
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

On the Sabbath, our Thoughts/Soul is set free from this line of thinking. Mankind bound us as “beasts of burden” to STALL our spiritual growth. SATAN (Mankind’s carnal ignorant Ego) binds us all with the belief that WE have to somehow make this world and our lives work ON OUR OWN! The Carnal Ignorant Monstrous EGO (who we believe ourselves to be) will have us to believe we are in control, we are to blame, and when I state “we” I mean the “ego” (which doesn’t even exist, it is the FATHER OF ALL LIES, it isn’t real, it’s an illusion that we have believed was us) – The EGO is the OLDER BROTHER that was meant to keep us, but KILLED US as Cane killed Abel. But on the SABBATH (when we enter into the rest that GOD IS IN CONTROL OF ALL THINGS) WE ARE released from our infirmities (ignorance).

Mark 2:27
Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath

This REST and WISDOM was made for mankind… Not Mankind having to work for it. They simply need to enter into it, but people refuse to enter in. Because to enter into the Sabbath Rest, means you understand YOUR EGO HAS NO CONTROL!

Hebrews 4:6-7
6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

You see the day, is not a literal day, not Saturday, not Sunday… it is the DAY YOU HEAR THIS TRUTH and DON’T HARDEN YOUR HEARTS TO IT. And what does it mean to harden your heart?

Ephesians 4:18
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

It simply means you are ignorant to this great truth.

This is the GOSPEL (good news) – as written by Shakespeare “All the worlds a stage, and all men and women merely players, they have their exists and entrances, and mankind in his time plays many parts” – This wonderful quote from “As You Like It” – sums up our lives perfectly. And this is why when we enter into the understanding that “Of Myself/ego I can do nothing” we will find a peace that passes our understanding (of why things happen or not).

Proverbs 15:24
The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

So … Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy

And all one needs to do to find out how to keep the Sabbath Holy is read this next passage.

Isaiah 30:15
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…

Be Holy even as God is Holy. As God rested from all he created, it’s time for us to rest from all we created and realize it is already finished, now just go along with hope and excitement for the ride.

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Peace to you and yours,
Jacob
http://jacobisrael.org
“the Truth Will Change You”