Sabbath

On Saturday He Rested

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised  Matthew 16:21 ESV

We all know what happened on that first day, that terrible and blessed day on the cross. On the third day it is very clear that Jesus rose from the dead. But in spite of many ideas and even elaborate tales no one truly knows just what occurred on Holy Saturday. So can we ask the question, “What if Jesus simply rested? What if when Jesus said, “It is finished!” and gave His spirit into his father’s hands He just rested – without sorrow, suffering or demands of any kind for that day. What if after three and a half years of ministry in which it was said that he had nowhere to lay his head and scarcely time to eat that Jesus chose to rest in His Father’s ability to do all that needed to be done for the day.

close up photo of sleeping baby

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What if Jesus rested because it was the Sabbath? What if the same day on which the creation of the heavens was completed Jesus just paused to see everything that was good in the new creation now begun? What if there are times in our own lives when there is nothing more holy to do than nothing? What if on this Holy Saturday we could quietly reflect and rest in the completed work of Jesus Christ. What would our lives be like if for even one day we simply trusted God to do all?

 

The Sabbath is an Adventure!

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

If you turn your foot from the Sabbath from doing your own pleasure on my Holy day and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable, If you honor it, not going about your own ways or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord… Isaiah 58:13-14a ESV

Ever hear the expression “Sunday driver”? That was someone who driving too slowly and just enjoying the scenery. If you are like me maybe sometimes you flash your lights or mutter under your breath about how they are holding up traffic. But how about making time next Sunday to take a slow drive in the country after church? If your schedule is too full to do that, maybe you need to boldly wipe it clean. It isn’t a sin to slow down.

boy running in the hallway

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Do you remember walking out of school for the first day of summer vacation when you were a kid? The idea of months of unscheduled time ahead felt like an adventure. In our childhood imagination and the sky was the limit as to what was possible. The same holds true for the Sabbath. There are endless possibilities as to the blessings that God will fit into it when we launch out into the adventure in faith of what God gave His Sabbath to be!