Daily Verse

The Sabbath is a Gift

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27 ESV

It has been a delight reading all the comments about those, who, like me, have struggled with figuring out what to do with the Sabbath. Let’s remember that the Sabbath is more than just God’s design or one of the ten commandments, it was also God’s first gift to us. Today’s verse comes from a story about Jesus and HIs disciples walking through fields and picking a few heads of grain to eat. Though most of us have never heard a single message preached from these verses, Matthew, Mark, and Luke each considered this passage so important that they included it among their highlights of Jesus’ teaching. Our cooperate loss of understanding about the Sabbath makes me think of when we visited a village in Switzerland many years ago. It was Sunday morning and the family we were staying with wasn’t going to church, so I went out for a long walk. While climbing up through the steep hills surrounding our valley, I came upon an ancient looking stone church. There, as I paused to admire it and rest, a man drove up, parked his car, got out and unlocked the door. After, he went in a few minutes later the bells began to ring, and their lovely sound echoed out as they pealed over the valley. Once he finished his duties, the man, locked the doors behind him, got back in his car and drove away. His faithful ringing of those bells sometimes reminds me of how on Sunday, we ring the bells, remembering vaguely that it is God’s day, then pause only long enough to catch our spiritual breath, get back in our cars and drive off. In the story leading up to today’s verse, the Pharisees just didn’t get what Sabbath was either. They angrily criticized the disciples’ behavior on the seventh day, because they thought that picking a few ears of corn, was an act of harvest. But, Jesus made it clear that God’s purpose for the Sabbath was for it to be a day of blessing for man and not a burden. He reminds us that God did not create man so that a Sabbath could be observed, but He had created the Sabbath as a gift. Jesus wanted us to know that Sabbath rest is the wonderful gift of refreshing from which we can go out to do all He has called us to do. Remember also that enjoying God’s Sabbath, keeps its blessing pouring out, not only for us but for our children and grandchildren and every generation until Jesus returns and we enter His amazing eternal and wonderful day of rest!


A Month of Sundays

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Genesis 2:3 ESV

Keeping up with my grandmother’s brisk pace was indeed a challenging task, because whenever I would lag behind, she would exclaim, “At this rate we won’t get there in a month of Sundays!” Yet, if you think keeping up with my Grandmother was hard, think about trying to keep up with the Almighty! Consider that, in just the first two days of creation, God made light, planets, galaxies, oceans, and continents, and then He was just getting started!

Over the next three days, projects seemed to fly off of God’s workbench at an increasing pace and in ever greater detail. Then, on day six, God paused, stooped down, scooped up some clay, and began to form man with His own hands. This creation was not only more complex than anything He had done before, but it was also the only one that was a reflection of His own image. Finally, God bent down and breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and He named Him Adam. But, as God watched Adam, for the first time He noticed something that wasn’t good. Adam was alone. So, God caused Adam to sleep, and while he rested, God took one of his ribs and created Eve to be his companion. Then, in the crowning moment, after six fast and furious days, God came to rest so that His children could walk with Him. In spite of how He had rushed through creating the Heavens and the Earth, walking slowly with His children was no problem for God. In fact, God loved that seventh day so much that the Bible tells us that God gave it a special blessing and called it Holy! If it delighted God so much to slow His pace to walk with us, why are we always in such a hurry? Maybe, if instead of always anxiously rushing ahead to our next project, we slowed our pace to the “Month of Sundays” speed, we just might find out what delights God the most and be better prepared for whatever lies ahead!

Not a Very Good Waiter (Verse two)
By a well He waited at noonday
For the woman who thirsted for more
And He calls us to come when we’re weary and worn
For refreshing that He has in store
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Not a Very Good Waiter

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Exodus 31:15 ESV

It is amazing how resting, which after a long hard work-week, you might think would be kind of desirable and natural. And yet to those Israelites as much as with us today it was such a struggle that God had to prescribe the death penalty, in order to get everyone’s attention about obeying this commandment. And you might also assume that since I am now in my early seventies and still struggling through Covid, that I would be smart enough to listen to my wife and rest. But no! The lawn needed mowing, the weather was perfect, and no one was around outside. What could it hurt? Stumbling back inside a while later, I learned what it could hurt and that was my body! God has not only designed us to rest, and to rest in Him, but He has also made it so there will be consequences when we fail to do so. Since rest is something, I am still trying to learn after 50 plus years as a Christian, I hope that this upcoming series on rest may be of benefit to others as well. Today was just a teaser, but we’ll begin in earnest on Monday (I have to rest tomorrow!). I am looking forward to hearing your comments, feedback or personal stories on how you are learning to rest.

Not a Very Good Waiter
I’m not a very good waiter
Doing nothing seems simply a waste
But our Father who loves to walk slowly
Does nothing in hurry or haste!