December 27, 2018

Honor the Sabbath

“Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy.” – Ezekiel 20:12

“because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols.” – Ezekiel 20:16

“You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.” – Ezekiel 22:8

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.” – Exodus 20:8-10

How do you spend your Sabbath day? For most Christians, we have set apart Sunday for that day. But do you set it apart for God?

I know. There’s lots of reasons that doesn’t happen in your life. Some people work to feed their families and pay bills. Some people work to provide for the rest of us. These include doctors and hospital staff, police officers and fire fighters. But what about the rest of us?

In the area in which I live, baseball is huge. There are night games during the week. Saturdays are filled with ball games. And, increasingly, Sunday too is occupied with baseball.

Now, I love baseball. I do. But when it comes to kids and families I sometimes wonder if we’ve misplaced our priorities.

We talk a lot about putting God back into our schools and government. We’re adamant about our beliefs when it comes to what the Bible says about controversial subjects. But it’s difficult not to see the hypocrisy when it comes to how we view the Sabbath.

One parent explained that he always led a devotional for the players and coaches before the Sunday games. Besides, he continued, the kids enjoy playing so it’s not really work. My question was this: When do they rest? The hard truth he couldn’t deny is that they don’t rest.

We have become a land of busy people seeking God in all the wrong places. We make excuses when it’s something we want to do and we condemn others for doing what we think they shouldn’t do. We ignore God’s clear laws in order to chase after idols.

Please don’t try and tell me that baseball isn’t an idol. Anything – baseball, money, job, fishing, yard work – that comes before God is an idol. When you choose to ignore the Sabbath, you choose to ignore God.

Everyone needs a day of rest, whether that day is Sunday or another day of the week. We need a chance to recharge and to remember God and all that He does for us. We need time to refocus our priorities back on our Creator. It is from Him that we draw our strength, gain our wisdom, and live according to His calling on our lives.

So, what are you doing on Sunday? If the answer doesn’t involve worshipping God, you need to rethink your faith.

May 17, 2018

Be Still

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

– Psalm 46:10

We are tethered to technology. The cell phone is a friend that never leaves our side. We have Facebook, Instagram and all sorts of other ways to communicate. We are never disconnected and we are never really alone.

Society sure has changed and while I applaud some of the advances, I also cringe at some of those same things. Do we ever stop? Do we even realize that it’s okay not to answer the phone or respond to a text right away?

We use technology as a crunch. Have you ever watched people who are alone in a crowd? That phone pops out and we’re just so busy, so involved, so necessary. We aren’t really alone. Someone wants to check in on us. We’re important. That’s the message we’re trying to send anyway.

And there is God, patiently waiting for us to acknowledge Him. This is the God of the universe, the Creator of all things, Yahweh. He’s a big deal, you know. But we’re just so busy that we don’t have much time to spend with Him.

We’re too busy. Really. We are. Be still, God tells us. And know peace. And know wisdom. And know who He is. Really and truly.

Priscilla Shirer offered up the 14-minute challenge in her Breathe Bible Study. Can you rest for 14 minutes. Can you turn off the phone, turn off the television, and just breathe? Can you be silent with God for 14 minutes? Can you shut out the rest of the world and focus only on Yahweh? Remember it’s only for 14 minutes. Can you do it? Are you sure?

There was a time when we left work and went home, knowing we wouldn’t have to deal with work issues until the next day. There was a time when we could truly take a vacation without being bombarded by texts and e-mails. Life changes. I understand that. But some changes have shifted us around to a place that stresses us out and provides for no margin of rest.

God says it’s okay to rest. When God rested on that seventh day, it wasn’t because He was tired. Shirer pointed this out in her study. He’s God. He doesn’t get tired. Besides, it’s not like He was out doing something strenuous. God spoke everything into being. He said it and it was so. As amazing as that is, it wasn’t that hard for God.

So why did He create the Sabbath? Because God understood that we would need rest. He didn’t design us to go all out seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year. God wants us to work hard. He also wants us to spend time with Him, rejuvenating our soul and forming a deep relationship with Him.

But we’re just so busy. Do you remember when the Israelites were wandering around for 40 years? God provided manna from heaven for them to eat. And what did He say. On the sixth day, God provided enough for the sixth and seventh days so that the Israelites wouldn’t have to work on the Sabbath. If they gathered too much and tried to hoard extra, it spoiled and stunk badly. God wanted them to learn to depend on His daily provision. He wants us to learn the same thing.

The world will not fall apart if we sit down and rest. The world will not end if we turn off the cell phone and the television and just spend quality time with God. That’s been a hard lesson for me to learn. I’m accustomed to always working, always doing, always trying to get caught up. How about you?

Take the 14-minute challenge. Close the door and shut out the world. Give those 14 minutes to God. Be still. Remember who He is. Praise His Holy Name. Let His peace wash over you. Rest.

April 20, 2018

Embrace Sabbath Rest

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

– Hebrews 4:9-11

It’s a study I need. Desperately. It’s titled Breathe and it’s led by Priscilla Shirer. What’s the topic? Sabbath rest. Or, maybe I should just say rest. It’s about God giving us permission to rest.

Wow. There is power in that. Freedom. We know about Sunday. We talk about the day of rest. We just don’t think it applies to us. We haven’t earned a rest. We have too much to do. And don’t forget the kids. Their activities never cease, even on Sunday.

I’m not sure where I acquired the notion that it’s not okay to rest. Maybe it came from my parents, who questioned me pointedly if I sat down for even a moment to rest. I was expected to always be working, to always be serving, to always be doing their bidding. Few people realized how long my days were.

Now my parents are gone but their voices linger in my head. I don’t want to be lazy. I can’t be lazy. There are too many animals to tend, a farm to manage, and an income to earn. But I am tired. And I feel like I can’t sit down with a book or magazine and simply rest. Even on Sunday.

How about you? When do you rest? I know there are people who veg out in front of the television. We always hear about those people. I don’t personally know any of them. The people I know are too busy juggling life’s demands to sit down and do nothing, even for a short period of time.

I look at our children and wonder if they will ever understand the concept of rest or Sabbath. They attend school five days each week. They also have ball practice or dance or other after school activities. Even Sunday is now filled with dance competitions or ball tournaments.

I asked one mom, “When do they rest?” She looked at me as though I’d lost my mind. “Oh, they enjoy it,” she assured me.

Seriously? How can they not be tired? They never have down time to simply play and enjoy being a child.

It’s a vicious cycle. And we don’t want to set boundaries, for them or for us, because what would people think? Do we truly believe that the more we do the better people we become? Do we think we have to fill every waking moment with some activity?

I get it. I do. I’m there with you. I’ve only made it through one week of this study and my eyes have opened. It doesn’t mean I’ve changed my behavior. That’s a habit that will take some time to reprogram. But it really does reveal to me how destructive being busy all the time can be.

It also tells me that God never intended for any of us to be overworked and stressed all the time. He created Sabbath for us to rest and recharge. God modeled that behavior for us. He gave us the freedom to do nothing for a time. We have His permission. It’s time to embrace rest, to allow ourselves to be filled up again so that we might continue the work God has called us to do.