Day of Rest

What is a day of rest for you?  For me, I kind of feel like I do not ever get a full day of rest.  I set my intentions on resting for a day, but then I find that this needs my attention or that needs my attention, so my day of rest gets tossed out with the dish water, so I thought it would be a great time to really research what a day of rest means. 

In the secular world, we equate the day of rest with a day of being lazy.  Laying around on the couch all day watching tv.  That is the worldly way to look at the day of rest.  But, what is the spiritual way to look at the day of rest?  Many times we don't really divide up what exactly it means.  It does not mean doing nothing.  On the contrary, it means a day of worship. 

Knowing now that a day of rest means a day of worship, I thought it would be appropriate to look at a passage from the Old Testament.  In Exodus 20:8, the Lord says, "Remember the sabbath day, by keeping it holy."  so as we chew on this, here are a couple of definitions that are appropriate:

sabbath-- the seventh day of the week observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening as a day of rest and worship by Jews and some Christians; Sunday observed among Christians as a day of rest and worship;

a time of rest.  

 

holy--connected to a god or a religion; religious and morally good

 

So from that I pull that the seventh day of the week, we are to worship, rest, and keep connected to the Lord, practicing morally good behavior.  This has me thinking at this point, so what day of the week should my sabbath be?  The Lord did not say that Sunday has to be the day that we all practice the Sabbath, but he said the 7th day.  So my next question to you would be, what is the one day a week you can devote to the Lord?  It may be that you can devote Tuesdays to the Lord, then I would recommend doing that.  

 

Now, keeping in mind that you are worshipping, does this mean that you cannot do dishes, or feed your family, no it doesn't.  You can pray and whorship to the Lord while doing those activities.  In my opinion it means that we should unplug from the world and plug into the Lord.  Go off of social media for a day.  Plug into the Lord.  Start your day with prayer, praise and worship, dig into the word of the Lord (also known as the Bible), continue worshipping and praying as your day goes on.  End your day with more prayer and worship.  Really connect with the Lord.  If you feel that you are not knowing what to say to the Lord, perhaps he is telling you to be still.  

 

Psalm 46:10 says, "He says, 'Be still and know that I am God; I will be exhalted among the nations, I will be exhalted among the earth.'"

 

There is time for talking to him, and we all are really good at asking for what we want, but are we good at asking for what HE wants for us?  I know this is one area that I am not good in right now.  We are a needy world, and he wants to give us what He has for us.  Then there are times when we must listen because he has something for us.  He will speak to us in many ways, and that's all for another post, but just know that there are times when you must be still and listen for that voice of the Lord.  

 

Blessings!  

Have Faith like a mustard seed...

As I sit here really mulling over what the 5 letter word means, I can't help but thank God for allowing me to have FAITH!  So what does that mean?

Faith by definition is strong belief or trust in someone or something; belief in the existence of God; strong religious feelings or beliefs; a system of religious beliefs; allegiance to duty or a person; fidelity to one's promises; sincerity of intentions; belief and trust in and loyalty to God; belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion; firm belief in something for which there is no proof;  complete trust; something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially,  a system of religious beliefs; without question


What exactly does this mean?  Well in plain english, Faith is believing without seeing.  It's the belief in something without knowing the steps to get there.  For example, the pantry is almost bare, you have no money for 5 more days, you know SOMETHING will provide, but what?  How will that food stretch.  Fast forward, it's the night before pay day and you still have enough food for 2 more meals.  How did that happen?  THE LORD provided! 


As we get closer to our move, I'm finding that the Lord is testing our faith daily.  We have to learn to have faith that he will get us there in the right home in HIS timing.  I know he will provide all provisions to get us there.  I just have to be patient and have faith that He will deliver.  I have also done a lot of looking back over the last several years.  When I thought I was having faith, I feel now in hindsight that I was questioning his ability to provide for us.  This is a big thing, we must learn to trust in him fully and have faith and things will turn out. 

The verse for the day:  Luke 17:6-- "He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."

As you can see, if you have just a tiny bit of faith, you can and will do great things!  Praise the Lord!