So Much Better: A Right Perspective

Colossians 1:15-23 (NLT)

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.    He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else,  and he holds all creation together.

18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

21 This includes you, who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

Connect The Dots

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.’
Isaiah 46:10 (NIV)

Shabbat: Sabbath isn’t just a day off; it’s a participation in God’s rest, a weekly to the truth that God, not us, holds the world together.

QUESTION: How does this definition change your perspective on Sabbath?

Sabbath is not about what we cease doing; it’s about who we our lives on.

• “His devotion is the basis for our devotion. The Shabbat is the time when we remember, discover, and experience God’s devotion to us.”

• “Sabbath is that uncluttered time and space in which we can distance ourselves from our own activities enough to see what God is doing.”-Eugene Peterson
  
• “Sabbath is that uncluttered time and space in which we can distance ourselves from our own activities enough to see what God has done, is doing, and wants to do.”

The Right Perspective of God Changes

“Through Him and for Him all things were created… and in Him all things hold together.”

If Jesus reigns over all things, how does it change…

Take some time this week to look at this statement through different things in your life. (Family, Work, Health, Etc.)

Matthew 6:25-34
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Rest is not just about taking a break—it’s about trusting who God is each day.

Let’s talk about laziness…

Rest is Not Laziness — It’s

The Sabbath command… “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy… On it you shall not do any work…” (Ex. 20:8–10)

How to Know What Laziness Looks Like…

1. Laziness avoids responsibility

2. Laziness makes excuses

3. Laziness neglects purpose

4. Laziness leads to spiritual stagnation

5. Laziness resists discipline and growth

“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” Proverbs 13:4

Laziness loves dreams but hates .

Sabbath participation is a spiritual : “I am not God. I am not the center.  is.”

What Trust Looks Like When Jesus Holds All Things Together

Active Trust Is:

Resting without — “I’m not in control, but I’m still called.”

Obeying without — “I’ll do my part, and Jesus will hold the rest.”

Surrendering — “Even if I don’t see it yet, I trust His sustaining power.”

Let’s remember that God is in control, we are not, and that’s not just okay—it’s good.

“Holy Spirit, where am I living like it all depends on me?”

Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord