Keep The Sabbath

 Ex 20:8-10
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy… Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:..But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.

A lot has been written concerning the keeping of the Sabbath day. There are many who feel very strongly that the Sabbath should be kept to the letter of the law as described in the Old Testament, and others who feel it is no longer relevant to the dispensation of Grace. That Christ's death made the OT law obsolete.  I do find it relevant that the Ten Commandments include this law as part of God's standard of holy living. We know that Jesus says that, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” It was not to be a law that was a burden to keep. It was meant to provide a time of rest from the labors of life, a time set apart to focus our attention on worshiping God. A holy day to focus our time and energy on resting in the presence of Jesus. This law is different from the ceremonial laws given to us in the OT. The sacrifices required by God in the OT were fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross, once and for all. But, Jesus said to keep His commandment if you love Him. What laws were we to keep? The Ten Commandments were not done away with, but Jesus summarized them into two: “Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself.” To keep the Sabbath day is to rest in Jesus, and make Him Lord of our life.  The commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy is fulfilled in Christ, who is the Lord of the Sabbath. If He is the Lord of our life, we have perfect rest in Him. We set aside this 7th day to put aside the labors of life and the cares of life to rest in Christ. I don’t pretend to know in our current culture what labor is and not labor, and I will not judge people in regard to this, but I know that God is pleased when we take time to rest from the labors of the week and praise and worship Him, and to break bread with other believers. I believe that it is good to keep the Sabbath day special and use it to administer good works towards our neighbors and those who are needy. For those that need to work to provide income, I trust that God will open the doors and provide a way to meet your needs and let you take time to rest in Christ. He is the Lord of our Sabbath, and daily we can rest in Christ to meet our needs.

What is in Your Hand?

 Ex 4:2
​​And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

The things that seem to be of no significance are often the tools God uses to get His work done. What kind of “rod” do you hold in your hands can God use? God asked Moses to throw the rod down. Moses obeyed and Moses saw the power of God. This is not the last time God demonstrated His power through the rod that Moses held. Like Moses, we may feel inadequate for the work He calls us to do. We see so many others with innate talent that could do the job so much better. “Who Am I?” Moses is not the only one who has spoken those words. It has been said that God is not asking if you are able, but if you are available. He is asking us to give our best effort. “Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;”- Ecc 9:10. Do our best, and let God do the rest. We may or probably not be the best qualified person to do what needs to be done, but God is calling us to fill in the gap, make up the hedge and take what is in our hand and use it to the glory of God. Jesus took ordinary men from ordinary occupations, and they did some very extraordinary things. He has put something in everybody's hand, it is time to throw down the rod, and see God at work.

Rain Bread From Heaven

 Exodus 16:4

…Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you,..
Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide (Gen 22:14) the promise given to Abraham and now given again to the people of Israel as they make their way through the wilderness. Like Israel, we are making our journey through life in this world. Navigating are way through the difficult circumstances, traversing across unknown territory. We all face different unknowns and wonder how we will make it through our situation. The needs are different for each one of us. Some needs are material, others emotional or spiritual. The reality is that Jesus is all we really need. He is the bread that is rained down from Heaven, He will supply all our needs according to His riches in heaven. When we seek first Him and His kingdom all the things that we really need are added to us. God knows what we need and how to supply it. It is not always in the way we think, but our needs are met and His name is glorified, for He knows what is best. It is about to rain bread from heaven, start gathering your baskets for He is Johovah-Jireh, He is enough.

The Sabbath Day

 Exodus 16:26, 30, 20:8
 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none…So the people rested on the seventh day…Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
My Bible journaling is an attempt to read scripture and look for meaning and application to the way I believe we should live as Christians. The sabbath day, its meaning,  implication and observation is a topic that many have written books about. From the OT sabbath to the NT sabbath, there is no question that the sabbath is a vital part of scripture. It is one of the Ten Commandments written by the hand of God on the tablet of stone given to His people. It is set apart from the ceremonial law that foretold the coming of Christ and the shedding of His blood. The law in the OT was clear that man would work 6 days and rest on the 7th day. A day of rest from the labors of the week. Additional laws written by man have been added to detail what was laborious. The coming of Jesus shed new light on the sabbath and its meaning. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Because Jesus rose on the 1st day of the week, conquering the grave and death, and the disciples soon after practice meeting together on the 1st day of the week it established a new day to worship. This day over time became the Christian Sabbath. For centuries, the laws and practices of the OT in keeping the Sabbath have been made part of the Christian faith. It is argued that Jesus’s death did not do away with the keeping of a day of rest and worship. The coming of Jesus did not do away with the other nine commandments. Why was it important that the keeping of the sabbath be one of the ten commandments? This is not an attempt to tell anyone what can and cannot be done on this special day, but it is an attempt for us to examine our hearts and ask God, how does He want me to keep the Sabbath day holy? It is a special day, how do I honor Him on this day? Examine the scriptures, ask God to reveal His word to you, and how it should be applied. The Holy Spirit is faith to lead you and me into the way He wants us to live. Ultimately, in everything we do, we are doing it for the glory of God.

Here Am I

 Exodus 3:4
God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here Am I.

It has been said that God does not want your money, He wants you! If He has you, then He has everything you possess, including your money. Some people are OK with just giving their money, but are not willing to say, “Here Am I.” When Jesus asked the rich young ruler to sell all he had and follow Him, He did not ask to give all his money to the synagogue, but wanted the heart of the rich young ruler. Yes, the young man was sad because He was not willing to sell out completely to the will of God. The call of God is made for every man, woman and child to listen to the voice and God to heed and do His will. When we say, “Here Am I”, we are surrendering everything to Him. The songwriter writes “All of my ambitions, hopes and plans I surrender into your hands.” This is the response that God desires to hear. Are we willing to open our hearts and say, “Here Am I”