Teaching, Learning, Resting

As I was thinking about the Sabbath today, it occurred to me that it is more than just resting. I can imagine that on that first Sabbath, God took some time with Adam and Eve. It was family time. They were new and probably had many questions. God would have been telling them more about who they were, what the creation was all about, and on and on. They probably laughed together as well. The Sabbath is all of these to me, and more. We see Paul speak of this in his letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

Here the word rest means literally to colonize. God stopped creating and spent time with His kids grouping them together. In this chapter there are three different words used for rest. Most of them mean to repose down like what we would do today on a chase lounge chair. This one for what God is doing is used once. Then the other one appears in verse nine.

Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Here the word for rest is actually Sabbath meaning the seventh day of the week. When we put these all together we see that We are to relax, spend time with God gathering us together, and do this on the seventh day of the week. God still wants to spend time with His kids (even though there are many more of them today) teaching, explaining, and hearing us praise Him.

Let’s do that today on this Sabbath.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as our King. Bring Your kingdom to the earth. Help us and pick us up when we fall. Show us Your ways. Help us put aside the ways of the harlot we see in the book of Revelation. Show us Your truth and help us to walk in it. Send today Your healing, deliverance, and overwhelming provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Sabbath Is For Safety

As I was thinking of the Sabbath today, it occurred to me that it may have yet another aspect for us as believers. We all know it is called a day of rest. But I suggest perhaps it is even more. Let’s look at it’s first mention in Genesis.

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

The scriptures state that God rested from His work. The word means to put down, to repose or kneel down. God essentially took the day off to be with His kids, Adam and Eve, that He had created. Here is what I saw today. If God wants to spend time on the Sabbath with His kids, as a Father He would certainly make certain everything was safe for Him to do this. He would certainly make certain that His kids would be protected from harm while He spent time with them. There are no scriptures I know of this that say this straight out. But as a father myself, I can say that all fathers look to the safety of their family first. God is a far better Father than I could ever hope to be. Does it not make sense then that He would ensure the safety of His kids when He spends time with them even more than I would.

Today, as we spend time with our heavenly Father, we can know He has our back and we are safe.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. We want Your kingdom here. We want to spend time with You and we trust You to keep us safe. Please forgive us our sin, and cleanse us. Please send today Your healing, deliverance, and abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Over All The Earth

Today as I was enjoying the Sabbath I noticed how green everything was in the backyard and forest. It made me think about how God has given us the earth to watch over.

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Interestingly enough man was created from the beginning to be like God. Here He gave us charge over everything. Sometimes when I look at the world like the creation of God that it is, I can get a sense of this direction given to us from the beginning. It is as if I can sense the responsibility we have to watch over it all. When Jesus returns, I believe we will all have areas of the new heaven and earth to watch over and take care of just as we have had here. It is like a training ground here for that day. Just some interesting thoughts on a Sabbath day.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. Please forgive us when we mess up Your creation. Help us to be better stewards over all You give us. Please send us today Your healing, deliverance, and abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Traveling Conditions

Many of us will have opportunity this summer to travel. Some do it for work and some for pleasure. If we have loved ones that will be traveling separate from us, we can find ourselves missing them and praying for their happiness and safety on their journey. As my daughter goes off for the summer to spend time with her dad (I am her step-father), I find myself in this frame of mind. My wife and I worry for her and hope that she will be well taken care of during her absence. As I thought about that this morning, I was reminded of a scripture about traveling.

Luke 9:3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

Jesus was sending His disciples off to preach. But the one thing I think about here is how they had to trust Him. They had to believe that God would take care of them. They had to know that they would be okay. I think we can learn from this.

Jesus is the Lord of life and the Lord of the Sabbath. On this Sabbath day we can rest in the knowledge that we and our loved ones will be safe and cared for on the roads we travel, together or separately.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for watching over us and our loved ones, both at home and on the road. When the paths we choose do not line up with Your paths, please forgive us and help us get back on Your path. Only You are worthy of our trust. Please send us Your deliverance, healing, and overwhelming provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

When We Rest

There was a time when I thought that resting on the Sabbath meant we were to just sleep in and take it easy. There is a certain amount of benefit and truth to that, but the Sabbath is more. Jesus addressed this in His ministry here on earth.

Mark 2:23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

The Pharisees rebuked Jesus and His disciples for doing what they deemed unlawful on the Sabbath. Jesus responded by giving an example of David eating what would not have been lawful for him and his men to eat. What the Pharisees missed was the point of the law. It is true that we are not to work on the Sabbath. Harvesting crops would therefore be unlawful because that would be the customary work that a farmer would be doing. However, that is not what Jesus and the disciples were doing. They were taking enough corn to eat what they needed for that day. This was a matter of sustaining life. Our God is all about sustaining life. In fact, God never stops sustaining us, ever, whether it is the Sabbath or not. The law was and is always about life. That is why Jesus said He was also the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is the Lord of life.

Today, as we rest on the Sabbath, we are to experience life. We are to reflect on the ministry of our Messiah. We are to spend time with our God, assuring that we keep ourselves in relationship with Him.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as our King. You are our ever watchful provider of all we need. Please forgive us when we get off track. Please help us to always be mindful of You and Your ways, especially on the Sabbath. Send us today Your precious mercy and truth. Please send us Your healing, deliverance, and over flowing provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Full Life, Full Living

In many ways we choose the life we live. The psalmists wrote often of how they interacted with God, and what God’s response was. This is also many places in scriptures. So how does this apply for us today, this day? I think most of us would want to live a full and happy life. We would want God to be there to protect us from our enemies. We would want to go into old age knowing that we will be provided for not because of who we are and what we have done but because of who God is. This we can do, and the pattern has been set.

Psalms 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
4 For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
5 O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
8 But thou, Lord, art most high for evermore.
9 For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
11 Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
15 To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

David wrote this song to reflect on who God is and what He does for us, to be sung on the Sabbath day. Perhaps this would be good for us to remember, and sing parts of this to God today, letting Him show Himself strong on our behalf.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You the Most High. We ask today for Your mercy and truth in our lives. Please forgive us when we make mistakes. Please show Yourself strong on our behalf today Father. Please send today Your deliverance, healing, and abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Slowing Down

Some cultures move at a very fast pace. America is like that for many of us. In other countries it is more customary to move a slower pace, taking time to observe and interact with the people and places around you. Perhaps that is yet another reason God made the Sabbath. Every week we can all get back to the same starting point if every week we take a day to rest and just spend time with God.

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

When we rest from our daily work, we have time for thinking and praying. We have time to spend with God, thinking about our lives, seeking forgiveness, praying for others that need healing, and all those things that are good for our growth in the Spirit. This message is repeated throughout the scriptures as if God was and is repeatedly trying to tell us that we are to be walking on this path. To get to the end in victory, we all must take the time to spend with our Father, seeking direction and comfort. He alone can provide these things.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. Thank You for a day of rest. Help us to learn to slow down. Help us to remember to spend time with You, seeking Your face. We struggle at times, and please forgive us when we fall. Help us Lord, to be more like You. Send us today Your deliverance, Your healing, and Your abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

On The Journey With God

Have you ever taken a long trip with someone and were eager to get to the destination? Growing up we lived in central Illinois and every summer traveled to the east coast to visit with my dad’s family. Many times my dad would drive straight through with a stop for a few hours sleep in the car. Recently I thought about those vacations and there were definitely good times there. But I also remember the driving, going through the tunnels in the mountains, and the games we would play together as a family – license plate, I see something that starts with… and so on. These were good family times. And it was always good to get back home, making that same drive. This morning I saw these trips in a different way. The trip was not just arriving out east, it was the entire experience that was fun. There was the waiting in the car for hours while we were getting to the next point on the journey. Then there was an experience. Then more waiting. This is like our journey with God.

John 1:15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

John was talking about the arrival of the Messiah, saying that we moved from the grace in the law to the grace brought by Jesus. Clearly we see events in the scriptures where there were periods of waiting and then events. It is interesting what John says next.

John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John says that Jesus declared the Father. The word “declared” here is quite interesting. It means the originating point of action with authority. Both by His actions and His speaking, Jesus was declaring the Father. We have that same opportunity to declare God in the world. In fact, Jesus directed us to do just that.

Matthew 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Here Jesus told them to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This word “preach” means speech only. However, they were to also bring wholeness to people. And they were to go from place to place. The time in between, and the events. Their journey with God was declaring the kingdom of heaven. Our lives do declare something, by our actions and our speaking. As I reflect on God today, I ask myself, what is my life declaring?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You truly are the Most High. Thank You for being in our lives. forgive us when we declare something with our lives other than You. Please help us, by our words and our speaking, to declare You to the world. Please send us today Your healing, deliverance, and abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

The Gifted Walk

Last night at church we were discussing the Sabbath and what it is about for us as believers. Today as I was meditating on God I was thinking about all the good He does for us. He has a plan for every human on the earth that has ever been and will ever be. Our job is to believe Him and His promises, and to use the gifts He gives us.

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

The Sabbath is a good time to reflect on God. Every week God gives us time to remember who is the Creator and that He is with us and not against us. This can be challenging for us at times because life does not always go as we would like. Truly there are some unanswered questions for many of us. But in the end, God will prevail, our questions will be answered, and we will have overcome our enemies.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. We thank You for all that You are. We know that may sound odd, but You are our everything. You gave us life, and then life again. Please forgive our transgressions. Please send today Your healing, deliverance, and abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

My mother was constantly doing things in the kitchen and around the house when I was growing up. She would make me a cup of tea and one for herself. I would be sitting at the kitchen table looking out the window and she would come sit down. One of her favorite sayings was, “All in due time. All in due time.” I would ask her what she was talking about and she would just smile and say she had a lot on her mind. These days, being older, I understand more of what she was saying. And now I also know it applies to our lives in God as believers.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Peter was talking to leaders and people in general about how we interact as believers. The word exalt here has many meanings. Of course it can mean an elevated position amongst our peers. However, it can also mean being in a better state, whether that be health, deliverance, and even prosperity. God will always watch over us. Today, on the Sabbath, it is good to stop and reflect on God and His provision for us. And as to when He will do this… all in due time.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. We thank You for all You have done and will do for us. Help us to be patient and forgive us when we are not. Help us to learn to spend time with You. Please send us today Your healing, deliverance, and provision in abundance. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.