sabbath [part three] ...so what does it mean to keep the sabbath?

So what does it mean to keep the Sabbath?
This is something that I did not know until even this past year, which is why I want to share it with you. For most of my life, I thought that the Sabbath meant going to church on Sunday, eating a big lunch, napping, watching football and then doing any last minute work for the week. In fact, I thought that was a pretty good definition, I was getting a lot of physical rest and I was getting some spiritual food as well. But this past year, the Lord has taught me that it is so much more.

It is not a day just to rest from work and activities, but a time to rest IN Him. In fact, how many Sabbath’s have I spent only thinking about God when I am at church? That is hardly resting in the Lord. Keeping the Sabbath holy does not mean being a Pharisee and locking yourself in a room with a Bible, not doing or even thinking about anything else. But I think we have to look at our time and our activities and really examine to see if there is a day set aside where we are truly resting in Him. A day set aside to spend with him!! The Sabbath is something the Lord created to remind us that we belong to Him and that we are sustained by Him alone. We need this! It is not just a good suggestion.

I think it looks different for each person and I do not think I have the perfect prescription, but I will use a few examples from my life in hopes to help you find some ways to rest in the Lord. First off, Sunday is not my Sabbath. There is no resting in the Lord on Sunday for me; working at a church has ruined that. So I set aside Fridays. I do not check my work email. I screen most of my calls. And I usually do not make any plans until late Friday afternoon and if I do they are just with a few select people.

So what do I do with my time? For starters, I sleep in. No alarm sleep is the best! Then, I get up and have breakfast. Once I am awake, I get out my Bible and journal and dive into time with the Lord. It usually ends up being for a couple of hours. And it is sweet. It takes me a while to clear my mind of all the things I need to do, people I need to call, and everything else my mind wonders about. I try to spend a good chunk of time reflecting on the Lord’s faithfulness that week and I thank and praise Him. Then I spend some time reading the word. I may read a Christian book as well, but time in the word essential. It is amazing how when I do not have anything planned or anything to get ready for, I can spend so much undistracted time with the Lord. I am not getting through my time with him to get to something else.

I usually go for a run or walk outside too. It is good for me to be out in creation when thinking on the Lord. It is also common for me to take a nap or crawl back in bed just because I can. I feel more rested when I am not distracted by the things of this world. I can be more aware of his presence and can converse with him throughout the entire day. I have really grown to LOVE this time with Him and can say that I long for it.

I am going to be honest; sometimes it is really hard to spend an extended time with the Lord. I think this is because we are so busy in life that it is hard to sit still that long. Also, we do not see our need for the Lord. We know in our head that we are sustained by his hand, but our hearts still think we can do it. Rather than grasping for this time with him, we often find ourselves dreading it, not knowing what to do. My encouragement is to fight this. Claim that you know that the nearness of God is our good and that better is one day in his courts than thousands elsewhere! Ask the Lord for help. Ask him to meet with you, to guide you and to lead you.

So, I write all this to say, please find a day that you can set aside to Sabbath, if you are not already. Spend some time repenting of your lack of Sabbath and for misusing it. Then pray about when you should Sabbath and fight for it! It may not be Sunday for you because you go to church, are in a gT class, volunteer somewhere, have tons of studying or work to do or have meetings. Maybe it is Saturday for you. The hard part is that to set aside a Sabbath, you are going to have cut something out (work, social stuff, trips, unnecessary serving, etc). I would encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you what you need to do to protect your Sabbath. It will always be hard, but remember that the things of this world are always enticing but none of them satisfy.

sabbath [part two]... why is not taking a sabbath a sin?

Why is not taking a Sabbath sin?
Well, aside from the fact that it is a commandment, when we do not take a Sabbath we are being prideful. Let me explain. I know for me there are usually three reasons I do not Sabbath. One, I have too much to do and if I take a day of rest, it will not get done. Two, I do not think I need it. And three, I do not proactively plan for it and protect it, so I may have all intentions of resting, but I cannot. All three of these reveal sin in our heart on some part.

Let's start with the first reason. If we think we do not have time to Sabbath, we are guilty of being a part of more than we are supposed to and need to step down from some commitments or we think God needs us to get something done. Both are rooted in pride. Somewhere along the way we bought into the lie that I am needed for something to take place or happen. That if I don’t answer that call or email or have that meeting that it will not get done. We do not work for God, He does not need us to accomplish his work. By continuing to work, we are essentially saying, that we do not think God is control. That by commanding us to Sabbath, he does not know how much we have to get done.

Secondly, if we do not think we need it, we are essentially telling “God thanks for the offer, but I think I know what I need and rest with you is not it. These other things are more filling.” Often we do this without realizing it. We think something else is what we need. If had this one thing or could do this one thing, it would bring me so much joy and rest. But Paul puts it best in Romans 1.

21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. … they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Romans 1:21-25

Lastly, we often fully intend to have a Sabbath, but something else always interrupts. This used to happen to me all the time. It was so frustrating. In theory, I really wanted to Sabbath, but something always came up. Be it work or something fun. I could not make it happen. Then I had a wise woman tell me that I had to be proactive and protect my Sabbath. Say no to things. Do not check your email. Screen your calls. Don’t schedule anything for that day. Don’t make plans. Do whatever you have to do. It took my awhile to get where I could do this. What I found was happening was that I knew I should Sabbath, but in my heart, the two other reasons I mentioned previously were still in full force, just hidden a little better.

One more thing, I think if we were to take a step back and look at what we look like when do not Sabbath vs. what we look like when we Sabbath, we would be amazed. When we are well rested in the Lord (not just physically) our whole perspective and response to life is different. When we are not Sabbathing, we get tired, worn down, start to think we are entitled to feel better and then get irritated with anyone who steals our precious time. It is much harder to reflect Christ when we are not being sustained by him and spending time with him. Our burdens are much heavier when He is not carrying them.

Stay tuned for one more blog on what sabbathing looks like.

sabbath [part one] ... why do it?

So I want to write a few blogs about the Sabbath. I know for me, I did not know really what it meant to Sabbath, much less what it means to keep it holy. I just knew it was a commandment and that we went to church on Sunday. But the Sabbath is so much more than that, something I did not know until I came on staff here. And i wanted to take some time and share with guys what the Lord has been teaching me about the Sabbath. Also, if you have any input, points to add, or questions, I welcome them. I think we could all benefit from learning about this.

Why Sabbath?
The idea of a Sabbath day comes from the creation account. On the seventh day, God rested. He did not rest because He needed it. Remember he is all powerful and scripture says he never grows tired or weary. So why rest on the seventh day? Because he was creating rest for us. He knew that we would need it. We need to be reminded that we are sustained by Him and him alone!

This is not just a tool He suggests that we use, but it is a commandment. And not just any, one of the big ten!

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11

I know for me, I fight more to keep the other nine commandments more than I do this one. It is easy for me to look down on a murderer, adultery, a thief, a liar, an idolater, but someone who breaks the Sabbath, well it just is not a big deal. God will understand right? I think his word makes it clear that that is dead wrong.

I plan on writing 2 more blogs about this. Be on the lookout for them...