“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”
A plethora of studies show that the brain requires alternating periods of structured work followed by unstructured rest in order to maximize function. When God made remembering the Sabbath the fourth commandment, he asked us to make the day holy and set apart. And when Jesus came to earth as one of us, he set us free from the law of how Sabbath should look. The commandments are still relevant today because truth never changes; it is always and eternally true. However, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins changes the rules of Sabbath to a day of grace. He is waiting for us to be with him and to trust that his commandments are good. No matter what day or how much time we choose to give him, Jesus is Sabbath. When we make the day different on his behalf, holiness inhabits our intentions.
Reflect:
Read Exodus 20:8–11. How do you tend to think of this commandment? As a strict rule? A longed-for gift? An unreachable ideal?
Pray:
Reflect with God on your gut reactions to the Sabbath commandment. Invite God to deepen your understanding of Sabbath this week.
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
As my doubts about his teachings grew, so did a secret fascination with Jesus.
How groups like Hillsong learned to let go of the literal in favor of creative collaboration.españolPortuguês
