This week we’re reflecting on The Ten Commandments. You can read about it here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020%3A1-17&version=NIV
Let’s think about the first five commandments today. In summary:
The first five commandments are about our relationship with God. A covenant of what God expects of us, if you will. Personally, the first four commandments are fairly easy. It’s the last one that’s the hardest. Before the pandemic, things were open and accessible almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which means we could get just about anything done at anytime. This is beneficial especially for folks who work shift work or flex hours. Since the pandemic, however, I’m finding stores are closed a little earlier and some that were open 24 hours a day now close for 6-8 hours through the night. Community sports were happening day, night and weekends, meaning we had to work our employment, studies, and church life around recreational schedules. I’m very thankful that we can offer church online now, being able to satisfy our spiritual needs at a time that works best for us, even as things return to normal. Though, I am concerned that we won’t take a sabbath.
That one day of rest is not just about our relationship with God, but it’s to restore and renew ourselves for the new week that’s coming. In some cultures, one day of rest means exactly that. No cooking or cleaning. No reading or playing. No singing. Nothing. It’s time to rest your body, mind and soul. For other cultures, it’s about going to church and visiting with friends and sharing a meal with family.
I wonder what has been the tradition through your ancestral lines about the sabbath? I wonder how you observe the sabbath? Or do you struggle with setting a full day aside? Take time to define or redefine what sabbath looks like for you, in a feasible way and see if you can make it happen, especially if you haven’t been able to.
Today’s video is a song titled “Sabbath Rest” (We Set Our Work Aside) as sung by a group in the Netherlands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xc2j1HHQ8g
We set our work aside. We leave our cares behind, on this day of Sabbath rest.
On this holy day, we come to give You praise, on this day of Sabbath rest.
Sabbath rest. Holy rest, on this day He set aside, hallowed, blessed and sanctified;
Sabbath rest, holy rest, out of all the week the best, we have come to be blessed,
On this day of Sabbath rest.
A prayer for today:
Creating God, we thank you for the gift of life and all the blessings that come with it. We give thanks for family and friends, for food and shelter, for purpose and meaning in our lives. We give thanks for our calling, employment, education and so much more. Help us, O God, to find time to rest our bodies and souls. Help us to make the time to quiet the chaos that may surround us or be within us, for just one day a week. Help us to be mindful that our connection to you can be easily reset from just one day of rest each week. Be with us as we challenge ourselves to make this happen. And help us to be graceful and patient with ourselves if this is something new we’re doing for ourselves. Be with us this day and all our days to come. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020%3A1-17&version=NIV
Let’s think about the first five commandments today. In summary:
- I am the Lord thy God;
- No other gods before me;
- No graven images or likenesses;
- Not take the Lord’s name in vain;
- Remember the sabbath day
The first five commandments are about our relationship with God. A covenant of what God expects of us, if you will. Personally, the first four commandments are fairly easy. It’s the last one that’s the hardest. Before the pandemic, things were open and accessible almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which means we could get just about anything done at anytime. This is beneficial especially for folks who work shift work or flex hours. Since the pandemic, however, I’m finding stores are closed a little earlier and some that were open 24 hours a day now close for 6-8 hours through the night. Community sports were happening day, night and weekends, meaning we had to work our employment, studies, and church life around recreational schedules. I’m very thankful that we can offer church online now, being able to satisfy our spiritual needs at a time that works best for us, even as things return to normal. Though, I am concerned that we won’t take a sabbath.
That one day of rest is not just about our relationship with God, but it’s to restore and renew ourselves for the new week that’s coming. In some cultures, one day of rest means exactly that. No cooking or cleaning. No reading or playing. No singing. Nothing. It’s time to rest your body, mind and soul. For other cultures, it’s about going to church and visiting with friends and sharing a meal with family.
I wonder what has been the tradition through your ancestral lines about the sabbath? I wonder how you observe the sabbath? Or do you struggle with setting a full day aside? Take time to define or redefine what sabbath looks like for you, in a feasible way and see if you can make it happen, especially if you haven’t been able to.
Today’s video is a song titled “Sabbath Rest” (We Set Our Work Aside) as sung by a group in the Netherlands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xc2j1HHQ8g
We set our work aside. We leave our cares behind, on this day of Sabbath rest.
On this holy day, we come to give You praise, on this day of Sabbath rest.
Sabbath rest. Holy rest, on this day He set aside, hallowed, blessed and sanctified;
Sabbath rest, holy rest, out of all the week the best, we have come to be blessed,
On this day of Sabbath rest.
A prayer for today:
Creating God, we thank you for the gift of life and all the blessings that come with it. We give thanks for family and friends, for food and shelter, for purpose and meaning in our lives. We give thanks for our calling, employment, education and so much more. Help us, O God, to find time to rest our bodies and souls. Help us to make the time to quiet the chaos that may surround us or be within us, for just one day a week. Help us to be mindful that our connection to you can be easily reset from just one day of rest each week. Be with us as we challenge ourselves to make this happen. And help us to be graceful and patient with ourselves if this is something new we’re doing for ourselves. Be with us this day and all our days to come. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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