Tag Archives: sabbath

October 1, 2024 · 5:32 AM

Rest And Restoration

What do you think if when you hear the word “rest?” Most of us think of sleep or vacation, but have you ever woke up tired or returned from vacation needing another one? Rest comes in many forms because there are many types of rest we need. Yes, those two are big components of rest, but you also need mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, social and sensory rest. Taking breaks, being alone, doing a digital detox, sitting quietly and meditating on God’s Word are all forms of rest. Getting rest isn’t just a physical need, but all these other parts of you need it as well, because you are not just a physical being. I once heard someone say that you can’t have restoration without rest. Think about that for a moment.

The Bible is full of people who rested and received benefits from it. God demonstrated the need for rest at the very beginning of the Bible. When He was finished with creation, He rested. Then, on Mount Sinai, He commanded that we take a sabbath as well. The word “sabbath” means to stop or cease. God gave Adam rest and created Eve. When Elijah was depressed, God sent him on a journey and had him rest. It was while Jacob was resting that he saw the ladder to heaven. After a long day of teaching parables, Jesus rested in the boat. The Bible also mentions several times where He went away from the crowds to a secluded place and found rest while He got alone with the Father.

There’s even the time He taught the disciples to rest. Mark 6:31 says, “Then Jesus said, ‘Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.’ He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat” (NLT). Jesus knew there was still work to be done where they were, and He still took them away. They could have continued to make an impact, but it would be short lived without rest. Have you ever been so busy, you didn’t have time to eat? I’m guilty of that. Ever been so busy you didn’t have time to pray or read the Bible? Have you been glued to your phone or computer? It’s time to set boundaries and build rest into your schedule for the different parts of who you are. Spiritual, mental, emotional and physical restoration is available with rest.

Photo by Mike Newbry on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 6, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Stop And Look

Have you ever been sitting at a red light, or in traffic, and looked over and thought, “When did they build that?” It happens to me all the time. I take the same route to work each day, but sometimes the traffic patterns change. I’ll look over and see a building or something else and wonder how I missed it before. I’d driven by it a 100 times before, but somehow I’d never seen it. Was I too tired every other time? No. The difference is that this time I stopped and then looked around.

It makes me wonder how much of who God is, and what He says, that we miss because our prayer is just us talking. I wonder how much He’s trying to show us, but our lives are too busy. He created us to be industrious. That’s a great trait that He put in us, but He also knew that it would mean we need to be reminded to stop and breathe every once in a while or we’d miss Him. I believe it’s part of why He instituted the day of rest. We are so busy and have a tendency to make everything about us, that we lose sight of our creator. Stopping helps us focus on what matters.

In Psalm 46:10 God said, “Be still, and know that I am God!” (NLT) When we learn to be still in His presence, in prayer and in life, we begin to notice things about Him that we’ve never seen. Society has taught us that growth and advancement come from being busy, but God teaches us that they come from being still. Today, make time to stop and be still so you can see things you’ve never seen. God is waiting and wanting to reveal Himself to you. Are you willing to slow down and notice?

Photo by Edewaa Foster on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 10, 2020 · 5:54 AM

Taking A Break

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been a person on the go. I didn’t like naps then, and I don’t like them now. Instead of forcing me to take a nap, my mom would have me come inside each day between 1-3. It was her way of getting me out of the heat and forcing me to sit down. These days, that’s my wife’s job. She tells me when I’m too busy or when I need to take a break. I giver her push back like i gave it to my mom. Taking breaks and naps just seem so unproductive and and feel like a waste of time to me. The truth is that they are probably the most productive because they reenergize, refresh and refocus me. In the moment I can’t see that, but it’s true.

When I take what John wrote about Jesus saying that all the books in the world couldn’t contain all the things He did during those three years of ministry, and I read how the crowds constantly followed Him seeking healing, I know He was busy about His Father’s business. From sun up to sun down, day in and day out, Jesus was followed by crowds seeking something from Him. They followed Him in boats, walked miles around the Sea of Galilee just to meet Him on the other side. He was busy, busy, busy, but He also took time to rest. Even when the disciples came back after being sent out to preach, He made them rest. Mark 6:31 says, “There was such a swirl of activity around Jesus, with so many people coming and going, that they were unable to even eat a meal. So Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Come, let’s take a break and find a secluded place where you can rest a while’” (TPT).

When’s the last time you took a break? I mean a real break where you stepped aside, quit thinking and worrying about everything and just rested? If you can’t think of it, that’s been too long. God designed your body and your brain to need a break. Jesus constantly took them and He was still productive. God took a break after creating everything just to show us we need one. The word “Sabbath” means “to stop”. It’s not that the things you’re doing aren’t important. It’s that it’s more important to stop often. Your life and health are more important than the things you’re doing. If you’re busy like me, you’ll need to schedule your break and put it on your calendar. Taking a break is just as godly as being busy.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 10, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Don’t Miss It


A couple of years ago I watched a video where they asked you to count how many times a group of people passed a basketball. After counting the number of passes, I felt pretty good about getting it right. That’s when another question showed up on the screen that asked if I noticed the bear moonwalking through the group of basketball players. I didn’t believe it when they showed me, so I started the video over looking for the bear. Sure enough, I was so busy trying to count that I missed the person dressed as a bear dance through the screen as they passed the ball around him.

In Matthew 12, Jesus and His disciples were passing through a grain field on the Sabbath. Since they were hungry, they picked a few heads of grain and ate them. Some Pharisees saw them and got onto them quoting the law of Moses that says you can’t harvest on the Sabbath. Jesus’ response seems odd at first, but what He said to them, applies to us. In verse 7, He said, “And if you had only known what this statement means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION [for those in distress], AND NOT [animal] SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent” (AMP).

Jesus was saying, “Don’t get so caught up in the law that you lose compassion. Quit using the law to condemn, and start finding ways to help people.” Yes, God gave us the Law, but it wasn’t intended for us to use it as a means to condemn or to keep us from living. We can’t live our lives bound by legalism. The sacrifice Jesus made on the cross paid for our sins, not our ability to follow the Law. We can’t miss what Jesus was trying to say here. God desires that you and I show love and compassion more than living a legalistic life.

If you were raised to live a legalistic life, listen to the words Jesus spoke to the legalism elites of His day. There’s more to the Christian life than following a set of rules. God’s grace is greater than your worst sin. Your salvation is not dependent on your ability to follow a set of laws or to hold others to those laws. Jesus wants us to trust God’s grace, love people, and help those in need. Don’t miss the dancing bear in the screen because you’re too busy following the rules too closely. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 1, 2015 · 6:54 AM

Take A Break (Video)

40 But Martha, overly occupied and too busy, was distracted with much serving; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, is it nothing to You that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me to lend a hand and do her part along with me!
41 But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things;
42 There is need of only one or but a few things. Mary has chosen the good portion, that which is to her advantage, which shall not be taken away from her.

Luke 10:40-42

If you are having trouble viewing this video, click here.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,