Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God . . . For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. ~ Exodus 20:9-11
READING: Hebrews 4
Church planting leader, are you taking a Sabbath Rest?
When God created the universe, He rested on the seventh day. Do you think that He needed to rest? No. God was not worn out from speaking the universe into existence! Rather, He set a divine example that once a week we are to rest our bodies, refresh our minds and renew our spirits in worship.
While we shouldn’t be legalistic in keeping the Sabbath, let’s remember it was so important to God that under the Old Covenant, the penalty for breaking the Sabbath was death! (See Ex. 31:14, 15.) Let’s not brazenly ignore what God has so clearly shown us is so important.
Under the New Covenant, it is left up to our discretion to choose which day to set apart for rest and worship. “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath” (Col. 2:16 ESV). Make your Sabbath whichever day works best for you and your family.
And don’t try to pretend that Sunday is a “day off.” It is probably your most exhausting day. Choose another rest day and guard it religiously. Your ministry will be more fruitful, your body more healthy and your family happier as you follow this Sabbath rest principle.
Lord, Help me to honor the Sabbath principle of Scripture. Help me to rest in You, trusting that You can do more through me in six days than by myself I can do in seven. Amen.
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