Day of Rest

Genesis 2:1-2
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

 Exodus 20

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ 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. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Why no post yesterday?   For me Fridays are my day off and a day of rest.   Does this mean that I do not read the scriptures on Fridays or take a day off from being a Christian?  By no means.  But being a pastor often one has to discern between what is church work (my job) and what is the normal Christian walk.  Sometimes it’s not always crystal clear.   For in many ways this post is both.   But pastors need a day off from church work, just as their parishioners do.  After all, God took a day of rest, so why would I think I do not need to do the same.  I get stressed thinking that I should do more work though.  After all there’s always more work to do.  Always more people I could visit.  Always more books I could read.  More meetings to attend.  More church events to plan.  (After all this weekend is the McLain service, so could I do more planning on that event?  Yes.) 

 In the scripture in Exodus we hear the commandment to remember the Sabbath.  (This is one of the Ten Commandments.  And when pastors are asked to list all ten, this is the one they often forget about.)  We ask our parishioners to remember it though and not to work 7 days a week.  We want them to remember to take time for worship and with our family.  As Pastors we should model this then for others.  Something I admit I am still challenged by.   God rests because God knows we need rest. 

Why is this important?  If we do not take it we will not only get worn about but we will also put more trust in ourselves than upon relying upon God.  

Questions to consider..

Do I take a day of rest?  Do I attend worship? 

When I’ve work every day of the week and have not taken a Sabbath what does that do to my relationship with God?  Does it cause me to forget to rely upon him? 

Remember to rest and worship this weekend.