Family Times

Today was a wonderful day for me. My oldest daughter and her step son came to town and over to my place, which does not happen often enough. It was a great time of singing songs together, making food, and laughing. As they pulled down the driveway, leaving for the day, I was saddened that they were leaving. After waving until they were out of sight, I turned back into the garage, brushing the moisture from my eyes. It made me think of God and what the sabbath is about.

God is our Father. He longs to spend time with us, just as we do our children. He loves to hear us sing, like when I listened to my daughter and her son. And as I am writing this, I imagine Him smiling and laughing. I know that may sound odd, but that is what us father’s like to do. We like just being dad to the kids.

Days like today help me to understand God’s pattern for the sabbath.

Genesis 2:2 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.

It seems to me that God wants to spend time with us, like I did today with my family. He wants there to be time every week for us to be with Him and the rest of our family. He wants to relax and listen to what we have to say, see what we are up to, and enjoy our rejoicing. What a great pattern God has given us. He is the pattern of a true Father.

Prayer
Father, thank You for Your patterns of life. Thank You especially for showing us what a real Father is like. Thank You for Your pattern of rest and family time every week. Thank You for delivering our families from the trials of lack and sickness. Thank You for life. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Resting And Watching

In the Psalms this morning I found a number of chapters that included in the heading, “Song of Degrees.” In the Hebrew this can also be, “Song of Ascents.” It appears historians think this refers to the travel up the road to Jerusalem or possibly the stairs to the temple. As I read them I saw something additional.

Paul said we each are a temple.

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

And again in the letter to the Romans, Paul said,

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

According to John, we collectively are trying to become the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

As I read these fifteen Psalms, from 120 to 134, I could see these are also us singing about us to God as we become what God wants us to become. God wants us to collectively become the bride of the Lamb, His Son, Yeshua (Jesus). God wants us to be Zion, the place He chooses to dwell forever. Today, on the sabbath, it seems like a good time to praise and worship God with these Psalms, many of which have been made into songs in recent years. Today in our rest, let us draw closer to God.

Psalms 121 A Song of degrees.
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Prayer
Father, we praise You today. Thank You for our rest. Thank You for this day to reflect on You as our Provider King. We lift up Your people to You Lord, and ask that You reach out to them today. We ask that You be strong and mighty on our behalf. Deliver us today from those with sharp tongues, that only want to destroy and enslave Your people. Return Your people from their captivity Father. Make Your people free, raise them from the dust heap, increase their prosperity that all men may know that You alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

A Day Of Learning

Different sabbaths have affected me differently. Sometimes I just let my body and my brain rest. Sometimes I like to sing frequently throughout the day. And then there are days like to day when I feel like there is really something for me to learn or to know. It seems clear to me that God rested on the sabbath to show us something that we needed to learn. It is like a Father trying to get a child to imitate behavior so that going forward they would have a basis for other lessons to be learned. It was an image to try to resemble.

When we stand in that place of rest, we have opportunity. It may be just to have our lives refreshed. It may be to see God’s blessings come into our lives. Or maybe, on days like today, it is so we can learn something we do not know. For me, I was able to reflect an a bout of unbelief. For some reason yesterday I became overwhelmed with doubt for a period of time. Strange, really, as so many good things were actually happening. Hear is what I learned today.

We are all human. I know, I know, old lesson, right? For me, I think it will be the one God reinforces often. You see, for me, I always wanted to do things right for my dad, but usually he found issue with it. So now, I want to do the right thing for my Father in heaven. The difference is, our Father in heaven knows we will get it wrong sometimes. But He will continue to lift us up, dust us off, and cheer us on. I am so glad He is not like me.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for always lifting us up. Thank Yo for Your sabbath. Thank You for being a willing and understanding teacher. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Deliver The Poor And Needy

My wife and I were discussing what to do today on the sabbath. It was an interesting discussion because we wondered about things like cooking food. Is that an okay task for the sabbath? Neither of us were really certain what to say. One thing we are both certain of is God is for life. As I began to look into this I found there are many traditions about this one way or the other. As I read the scriptures, I came across a couple that for me helped put this in perspective. The first is Psalms 82. God is calling to us to deliver the poor and the needy from evil. He also says that there are those that are not judging things right.

Psalms 82:1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

Interestingly enough this is the scripture Yeshua (Jesus) quoted when He was accused of blasphemy by the leaders of the congregation of His day.

John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Jesus plainly talked about doing what God does. Would God not deliver the poor and the needy on the sabbath. Wasn’t Yeshua (Jesus) saying that they were the ones judging unjustly in Psalms 82? Jesus did the works of His Father on the sabbath like healing people and feeding people. He had healed a man by making clay from his spit and telling him to wash it off in a pool. Under the traditions that the congregation leaders had created, these things were breaking the sabbath. But that was the point Jesus was making. The leaders had made up those rules themselves from traditions. These rules were not in God’s commandments. There is one more scripture that makes this point.

Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

It appears to me that what we are to do everyday is the works of the Father. God still keeps everything alive on the sabbath. For me, I do believe Yeshua (Jesus) kept the real law perfectly – that which is contained in the scriptures. We are to imitate Him. I believe that is what God said to Moses about the sabbath – don’t do your own thing on the sabbath. Do what I am doing.

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You for all You do for us everyday. We thank You for giving unto us Your Son. We thank You for the sabbath rest. Please reach out to your people today, deliver the poor and the needy, give us what we need perfectly and give us rest. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Family Times Are Restful Times

This morning I slept in I guess in part because it is the sabbath. I was the first one downstairs, enjoying the view of the back yard and enjoying that first cup of coffee. As I thought I would settle in peacefully to type today’s post, my 10 year old daughter came down stairs, full of smiles and conversation. It was time for us to do our Saturday morning ritual of making breakfast. She loves frozen waffles because we get to cook them together.

We made her waffles, and she ate while we talked and I read a proof of a book I am writing. We had a good time talking about kid things like coloring, and puppies, and a book she wants to write. It made me think about how God likes to spend time with us on a sabbath, like the Father with the children. We can hope in our God because this is His world, He is the Master of it, and what He commands comes to pass.

When the week has been challenging, it is good to know we can rest. We can rest in God because we can know He will not leave or forsake us. We can know that He is our Guide and Protector, and nothing can harms us because it must get past Him to do so. Our God is a very great God!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. Thank You for providing for our rest. Thank You for making a way where there is no way. Thank You for keeping us safe. Thank You for Your perfect peace. Please reach out to Your people everywhere today, and give them rest. Keep them safe and make them whole. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Waking Up To Rest

This morning my daughter was knocking at our bedroom door. It was a little early, but she wanted breakfast. I told my wife to sleep in and I would make her breakfast. After getting things around and sitting down to type this post, it occurred to me that what we really do on the sabbath morning is wake up to rest. If the sabbath is the day of rest, then it is something we are to intentionally do. It is the purpose of the day.

It also made me think about all the years that I did not rest. For so many years I spent my time either working or just doing my own thing. It wasn’t like I sat down and consciously said, “I am not going to consider what God wants, I will just do what I want.” No, it was more like not being aware. Or maybe like being in a fog or something. No, it was more like being asleep. Then, I woke up.

When we wake up to God’s calling us, it can be truly amazing! God created us and calls us to be with Him and like Him. If we think about it, it makes sense that the Creator would certainly create on purpose with a purpose. We see this over and over again in scripture. Even Paul speaks of this in his letter to the Hebrews. In the first eight verses of Hebrews 4 we read,

Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
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.
5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

Paul cautions us to believe and trust in God. He is making reference here to the children of Israel when they were in the desert constantly complained and talked about how God had brought them out to die. They did not have faith (which includes trust) in God. God calls the rest that He is calling us to eventually a place in verse four. All of this is to tell us that there is a rest we have to get to by faith. But what is this talk of rest leading up to here? The answer is found in the next verse, which begins with “Therefore.”

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

Here is the interesting part. The word for rest in verse nine is not the same as the other places where the word rest appears. In fact, they are all the same except here. The word here for rest, in the Greek, is the word “sabbath”, or more accurately, “certain sabbath” referring to the sabbath that is the seventh day. Paul is saying that to get to the rest that we long for at the end of time takes faith, therefore keep the sabbath. In fact, he says we must make an effort to enter into that rest in the end by faith, which he has now tied to keeping the sabbath, when he addresses the effort needed in verse eleven.

Hebrews 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Let’s work as best we can at entering into that future rest by faith, by believing and trusting God that His statutes and commands are true. Let’s enter into the sabbath today on purpose.

Prayer
Father, we praise You as the Most High God. Thank You for taking care of us and for that promised rest that is coming. Please help us to learn to trust in You. Please help us to know that we will be with You. Please touch our hearts as we rest unto You in faith today. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Rest And Healing

Last night my family and I got to visit a home church that has grown large enough to move into a small recreation center. The group was going over the story of Abraham and it was very good. We had a meal first and really enjoyed our time of fellowship. It made me realize how much I enjoy the Sabbath day of rest.

Today when I woke up I had come down with a fever. While I am still enjoying this rest, I am having a challenge writing today. Perhaps this day I can ask my readers to pray for my health, and I will pray for yours.

Prayer
Father, You are our King. Please send Your healing power today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

What About The Ox?

Resting is a good thing. When God gave us His plan, it included one day of rest a week. It is the one day I allow myself to sleep in, to take it easy, and sometimes relax and drink coffee on the patio. Frequently I have discussions with other believers about the sabbath, and about what to do on the sabbath. The scriptures tell us to rest on the sabbath, but what does that include exactly?

Jesus (Yeshua) addressed this several times in His teachings. In Mark we read,

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 hungered, 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.

When the Pharisees challenged Him about the disciples picking corn to eat as they walked on the sabbath. He reminded them about David when he and his troops were starving ate the bread from the temple, which was against the letter of the law. His point was that was about life, and doing what is necessary to support life. This is also why He reminded them in Luke about the ox.

Luke 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

Here He was healing on the sabbath. Here again Jesus (Yeshua) pointed to the need for us as humans to preserve life. The sabbath was made to help us do that by resting. Jesus (Yeshua) also said He was the Lord of the sabbath. The law was meant to lead us to Jesus (Yeshua), teaching us how to live. But the law was never above Jesus (Yeshua) or above life. It was not an end in itself to be worshiped.

So, on the sabbath day, I do my best to rest, to promote the kingdom of God in the earth and to promote life.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Nothing is before You. We thank You for Your law and Your sabbath rest. We thank You for life. We ask that You watch over us and keep us today. Provide us and those around us with what we need for today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Cloudy Days, Clear Days

This morning I woke up to a very cloudy, gray day. It rained overnight, and is expected to rain more later today. Days like this seem to cause the colors to be more subdued as if someone had sprayed everything with something to dull the view. As I observed this in my back yard, it reminded me that at times I look at my life that way. It also made me think about clear days, and how we move from cloudy to clear.

Sometimes what we see depends on what we look for or from where we look. I am not talking about physical locations. I am talking about the heart. Jesus (Yeshua) spoke about this at various times, like Matthew 6:21-23,

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

It seems that what we value draws our heart to it. Since we are all human and may value the wrong things, what does it take to value the right things? And how do we change? Jeremiah said the heart was deceitfully wicked. But God knows our heart. In fact, He gave us access to a renewed heart through the new covenant when He wrote the law on our heart (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 10:16).

Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

This is the game changer, I believe. The law brings us to the Messiah according to Galatians 3:24-25,

Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Some say that the law is no more. But then does that make God a lier about the new covenant? Maybe, the law is an external thing that by attempting to keep it points us to Jesus (Yeshua), but at that moment that we confess our sins and accept Him as Lord and Savior, that faith transforms our hearts and God writes the law on it. It still is point to the Messiah, but it is no longer outside trying to show us the way. We can now pray and have God lead our hearts in the right way.

If we make God’s stuff more important than our stuff, we get access to Him leading us from cloudy to clear, through grace by faith.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for this day, and every day, and we ask You help us to remember the important things in life. We do not want to ever forget what You have done for us, or Your promises. On this Sabbath day, please help the cloudy become clear. Help us to help those around us. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Signs In The Sky

One of the drives that seems built into all men is the drive for peace. That may seem strange to say in a world that seems so prone to war. The peace that I am referring to here, however, is those moments when we are still, when we catch a glimpse of something like the turning of leaves in the fall, a fawn in the forest taking its first steps, the smile on the face of a child receiving a surprise gift, or fleeting thoughts of a joyous memory. In those little moments we can experience the joy of peace, the joy of rest. This is what our Father in heaven has in store for His people. Imagine an entire hour or day or week like that. This is what our Father in heaven has in store for His people. Imagine a point in time when we always live in those moments. This is what our Father in heaven has in store for His people. When He set up signs in the sky and patterns in the universe, it set in motion a constant reminder that He has this for us. Let’s look at some scriptures.

In Genesis at creation, God established the pattern of working for six days and then resting on the seventh. Later in Exodus, Moses is told that this seven day pattern is holy (Exodus 20:8). What drew my attention to this concept of signs was Jeremiah 33. Jeremiah was in prison, and God told Jeremiah to call out to Him, and He would show Jeremiah great and mighty things which he did not know. The message was about the restoration of the people, Israel. He foretells of the Messiah, the Lord our Righteousness, the voice of the bride and the voice of the bridegroom, and the return to things as they were at the first. Here is where it gets interesting. In Jeremiah 33:20,25 God twice makes the comparison to the possibility of this not being so to the ability for night and day to no longer exist. If there will always be a night and day, a sign in the sky, then the promises of God for restoration are true. Praise God for these signs! Praise God for the sign of the Sabbath rest!

You know, it makes me wonder what other signs are patterned into the universe…

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Thank You for placing signs in the earth and heaven that no man can change. Thank You for calling to us when we were yet imprisoned in darkness, and that you continue to call to us always to deliver us from daily darkness, and deliver us into You marvelous light. Thank You for the Sabbath. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.