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CHAPEL IN THE PlNES BRARY
PEACHTREE PUBLISHERS, LTD. ,
I
Published by PEACHTREE PUBLISHERS, LTD. 494 Armour Circle, N. E. Atlanta, Georgia 3 0 3 24
Copyright © 1983 Carolyn Shealy Self and William L. Self
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in connection with reviews, written specifically for inclusion in a
• magaztne or newspaper.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Text and Cover Design by Cindy McDaniel
ISBN: 0-931948-47-9 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 83-61913
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DEDICATION
Dedicated to the congregation of the Wieuca Road Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia our fellow travelers through the deserts and oases of life.
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Wha ed in Sinai's Shadow
•
A Devotional Guide
Carolyn Shealy Sel and William L. Sel
Ministerial Association General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
•
Most Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, Neu; International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
A portion of Scripture is credited to The Living Bible. Copyright © 1971, Tyndale House Publishers. Used by
• • permiSSIOn.
Copyright© 1998 Ministerial Association General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Originally published by Peachtree Publishers, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1983. All copy has been reset and repaginated. Several short portions have been edited to conserve space.
PRINTED IN U.S.A. Pacific Press® Publishing Association Nampa, ID 83687
ISBN 1-57847-019-6
'
Dedication
Dedicated to the congregation of the Wieuca Road Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia-our fellow travelers through the deserts and oases of life.
1983 Peachtree Publishers, LTD. [Iglesia Bautista]
1998 Ministerial Association General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (Asociación Ministerial de La Conferencia General de Los Adventistas del Séptimo Día)
117
Requirements for Commitment
59. Remember the Sabbath (Commandment IV)
Éxodus 20:7,8,9,11]: Exodus 20:7, 8, 9, 11
('Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 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. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Cecil Meyers, pastor of Peachtree Road Methodist Church in Atlanta, tells a story about an expedition going into the heart of the deepest jungles of Africa. The men were anxious to get to a place that reportedly had great treasure. The expedition looked like a scene out of a Tarzan movie, with the great white hunters up front and the African men carrying the burdens behind. Finally, after they had pressed on and on, day after day, the laborers refused to carry the burdens. When asked why, the response was, “You've pressed too hard, and they say now that they want to rest and let their souls catch up with their bodies.” That's a parable for us in our day. Somehow, along the way, we have confused God’s gift of the Sabbath with all kinds of rules and regulations. The Bible says that it took God six days to create the world, and then He rested. God created us like Himself, and, after a period of work and stress, we need to have a time of rekindling our inner selves. So God gave us the Sabbath.
God never intended for the Sabbath day to be a burden. You may recall the incident in the life of Jesus when He was caught in a Sabbath controversy. He was so disgusted with the way the Sabbath had been weighted with rules and regulations, that He said, “Man was not created for the Sabbath; the Sabbath was created for man.” God created us as a holy people,
Requerimientos Para El Compromiso
59. Acuérdade del Día de Reposo (IV Mandamiento)
Éxodo 20:7*,8,9,11]: 8 Acuérdate del día de reposo para santificarlo. 9 Seis días trabajarás, y harás toda tu obra; 10 mas el séptimo día es reposo para Jehová tu Dios; … 11 Porque en seis días hizo Jehová los cielos y la tierra, el mar, y todas las cosas que en ellos hay, y reposó en el séptimo día; por tanto, Jehová bendijo el día de repos] y lo santificó.
Cecil Meyers, pastor de la iglesia Metodista Peachtree Road en Atlanta, cuenta una historia sobre una expedición en el corazón de las selvas más profundas de África. Los hombres estaban ansiosos de llegar a un lugar que al parecer tenía un gran tesoro. La expedición parecía una escena de una película de Tarzán, con los grandes cazadores de blanco en el frente y los hombres africanos con la carga detrás. Finalmente, después de que habían caminado incesantemente día tras día, los obreros se negaron a llevar las cargas. Cuando se les preguntó por qué, la respuesta fue, "has presionado demasiado y ahora dicen que quieren descansar sus cuerpos y almas. Es una parábola para nosotros en nuestros días. De alguna manera, en el camino, hemos confundido el don de Dios en el día de reposo con todo tipo de normas y reglamentos. La Biblia dice que tomó Dios seis días crear el mundo, y luego descansó. Dios nos creó como él, y después de un período de trabajo y estrés, necesitamos tener un tiempo de reavivar a nuestro yo interior. Así que Dios nos dio el Sábado.
Nunca fue el plan de Dios que el día de reposo fuese una carga. Usted puede recordar el incidente en la vida de Jesús cuando fue atrapado en una controversia del día de Reposo. Estaba tan disgustado con la forma en que el sábado había sido ponderado con las reglas y regulaciones, que dijo, " El sábado fue hecho por causa del hombre, y no el hombre por causa del sábado”. Dios nos creó como gente Santa,
. *[Note que esta es la versión católica que usan porque el cuarto mandamiento aquí comienza en el versículo 7, y no en el versículo 8, como debe ser.
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and then He gave a holy day. This holy day is significant. It was a day of rejoicing, a gift of God, a day of no work. The word "Sabbath" does not mean seven; it means cessation, the quitting of work.
Today, in the Arab section of Jerusalem, there is business and commerce on the Sabbath, but in the Jewish section, almost everything is boarded up. There are times when you're not allowed to go through these sections, because it's a violation of the Sabbath. There is strong feeling against anyone who would desecrate it.
The early Christians were obsessed with the fact that they came out of a Jewish background. Yet God did something new and real for them in the Easter experience, so they would have the Sabbath, and so they would gather together as the Christian sect on Sunday morning and celebrate the resurrection.
But there is a difference between the Sabbath and Sunday. You work until the Sabbath, and then you rest. Sunday is the day that gives you strength to work the six days in front of you. The Sabbath is the end of the week; Sunday is the beginning. The Sabbath is from sundown to sundown, but Sunday is from midnight to midnight. The Sabbath is a day of rest, but Sunday is a day of worship. The Sabbath has a penalty to it, if you break it; Sunday has no penalty, except that you shortchange yourself.
The Christian draws his strength from Sunday. It's a time to let God talk to the inner man. It's a time when we make real that practice which says, in effect, "Be still and know that I am God." The Christians took the value of the Hebrew Sabbath and added to it the great joy of the Christian resurrection. We have a marriage of the two in the Christian community.
The commandment said, "Remember the Sabbath Day.” So we come together as a body of Christ and remember what God has done. It's a sacrament. Worship and Bible study make Sunday a day when the soul is rekindled, as well as a day when the body is rested. You may miss a dinner party or
y luego le dio un día santo. Este día es significativo. Fue un día de regocijo, un regalo de Dios, un día de no trabajo. La palabra "Sábado" no significa siete; significa cese, abandono de trabajo.
Hoy, en la sección árabe de Jerusalén, hay negocios y comercio en el día de reposo, pero en la sección judía, casi todo está detenido. Hay veces que no se le permite pasar a través de estas secciones, porque es una violación del sábado. Hay un fuerte sentimiento contra quien quiera profanarlo.
Los primeros cristianos estaban obsesionados con el hecho de que salieron de una descendencia judía. Sin embargo, Dios hizo algo nuevo y real para ellos en la experiencia de la Pascua, para que tuvieran el día de reposo, así que se reunían como una secta cristiana en la mañana del domingo y celebraban la resurrección.
Pero hay una diferencia entre el sábado y el domingo. Trabajas hasta el día de reposo, y luego descansas. El domingo es el día que te da fuerza para trabajar los seis días siguientes. El sábado es el final de la semana; El domingo es el comienzo. El día de reposo es de la puesta del sol a la puesta del sol, pero el domingo es de medianoche a medianoche. El Sábado es un día de descanso, pero el domingo es un día de adoración. El Sábado tiene una penalidad, si lo violas; El domingo no tiene ninguna penalidad, salvo que faltas a ti mismo.
El cristiano saca sus fuerzas del domingo. Es un momento para dejar que Dios hable con el hombre interior. Es un tiempo cuando hacemos real esa práctica que dice, en efecto, "Estad quietos y conoced que yo soy Dios". Los cristianos tomaron la esencia del día de reposo hebreo y agregaron a él la gran alegría de la Resurrección cristiana. Tenemos una Unión de los dos en la comunidad cristiana.
El mandamiento dice, "Acuérdate del Día de Reposo”. Así que venimos juntos como cuerpo de Cristo y recordamos lo que Dios ha hecho. Es un sacramento. La adoración y el estudio bíblico hacen del domingo un día cuando se reaviva el alma, así como un día cuando el cuerpo está en descanso. Usted puede perder una buena cena o
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a trip to the beach by observing the Sabbath, but you won't miss heaven. Your life won't disintegrate. It just depends on how you want to spend your time. You'll have thousands of Sundays in your adult life; how will you spend them?
Prayer: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. You are my God and I will give you thanks; you are my God and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever (Psalm 118:24, 28, 29). Amen.
un viaje a la playa por observar el sábado, pero no te perderás el cielo. Su vida no se desintegrará. Sólo depende de cómo usted desea pasar su tiempo. Usted tendrá miles de domingos en su vida adulta; ¿Cómo los pasará?
Oración: 24 Este es el día que hizo Jehová; Nos gozaremos y alegraremos en él. 28 Mi Dios eres tú, y te alabaré; Dios mío, te exaltaré. 29 Alabad a Jehová, porque él es bueno; Porque para siempre es su misericordia. (Salmos 118:24, 28, 29). Amén.
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Requirements for Commitment
60. Holy Day or Holiday (Commandment IV)
Exodus 31:12,13]: Exodus 31:12, 13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, (You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”
Society has gotten caught up in a seven-day, twenty-four hour-a-day week. Some of you work in a business where you have no control over what you do on Sunday. Some of you are managers of businesses with policies set by someone else in a distant city, and you're caught. You can't get Out of it, and you don't know what to do; but you know it's wrong and it violates everything you are.
Thoreau said if you want to destroy the Christian faith, first take away Sunday. He was right; it's a holy day. For those who know Jesus Christ as Savior, it cannot be a holiday. For those of you who have gathered around the cross and have been saved and washed clean by His blood, it's a sacrilege to do anything else on that day except to celebrate what God has done.
If we abuse Sunday, we're going to destroy something beautiful that God has given. No Sunday means no church; no church means no worship; no worship means no religion; no religion means no morality; no morality means no society; no society means no government; no government means anarchy. That's the choice before us.
So, what do you do with the day? Do you sit around and read the Bible all day long? That might not be a bad idea for some of us. There are always those people who say, "I can worship God out on the golf course." Golf is a great sport, but it isn't worship! Those people who want to get out into God's great outdoors
Requerimientos Para El Compromiso
60. Día Santo of Día Festivo (IV Mandamiento)
Éxodo 31:12,13]: Éxodo 31:12,13 Habló además Jehová a Moisés, diciendo:, “Tú hablarás a los hijos de Israel, diciendo: En verdad vosotros guardaréis mis días de reposo, (porque es señal entre mí y vosotros por vuestras generaciones, para que sepáis que yo soy Jehová que os santifico”.
La sociedad está atrapada en una semana de siete días, veinticuatro horas al día. Algunos de ustedes trabajan en un negocio donde usted no tiene control sobre lo pueda hacer el domingo. Algunos de ustedes son los administradores de empresas con políticas establecidas por alguien más en una ciudad lejana, y estás atrapado. Usted no puede salir de ella, y no sabes qué hacer; pero sabes que no es correcto, y eso viola todo lo que tú eres.
Thoreau dijo si uno desea destruir la fe cristiana, primero hay que quitarles el domingo. Él estaba en lo correcto; es un día santo. Para aquellos que conocen a Jesucristo como Salvador, no puede ser un día de fiesta. Para aquellos de ustedes que se han reunido alrededor de la Cruz y han sido salvados y lavados por su sangre, es un sacrilegio hacer otra cosa más ese día excepto para celebrar lo que Dios ha hecho.
Si abusamos del domingo, vamos a destruir algo hermoso que Dios ha dado. No Domingo significa no iglesia; No iglesia significa adoración; No adoración significa no religión; No religión significa no moralidad; No moralidad significa no sociedad; No sociedad significa no gobierno; No gobierno significa que hay anarquía. Esa es la elección que tenemos delante de nosotros.
Entonces que, ¿qué vas a hacer con ese día? ¿Sentarte alrededor y leer la Biblia todo el día? Esa podría no ser una mala idea para algunos de nosotros. Siempre hay quienes dicen, “Yo puedo adorar a Dios hasta afuera en un campo de golf.” El golf es un gran deporte, pero no es adoración! Aquellas personas que quieren salir y disfrutar la naturaleza con Dios
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are God's great blue-domers. They're going to worship under the blue dome. But that isn't worship; it's recreation. Worship is when you're with the body of Christ.
Don't ever negate public worship, for something flows between us when we're togetl1er. Those who are full give to those who are empty; those who are thirsty come to get their cups filled. God is here; God's presence is among us, even though you don't hear thunder and lightning. Here are some suggestions for the use of your Sabbath. Worship: Real worship is not optional. You do not have to decide each Sunday morning whether or not you'll worship; it should be programmed into your life.
Good conduct: It's a time when you should do things that are holy. If you do a little planning, you don't have to do your shopping on Sunday. There can be time to do things like that on otl1er days. Remember that every day is His. We are not to give Him one day and do as we please the other six. Be aware of your witness: What about your neighbor? Can the set his clock by the fact that your car pulls out of the driveway at a certain time on Sunday morning, and you're on your way to the worship of God? Don't forget the power of your witness; no man lives to himself, or dies to himself.
It's a day for family: A lot of families don't want this much time together. Many fan1ilies are caught up with working and strained schedules. It needs to be a day for family and prayer and thinking. However you handle it walking in the woods, doing something together as a family, or whatever—this should be done after you worship.
Prepare yourself: Do you pray for the pastor, your teacher, and the choir before you go to church? Do you prepare your mind and body ahead of time so that your spirit will be ready? God blesses in relationship to our preparation.
This is the day of rejoicing. Take this day as a gift from God and use it. It's not a burden to be imposed upon the people of God. It's a joy. It's God's answer to the mental health struggles of our day. This is God's great gift for us. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
son los grandes aventureros bajo el cielo de Dios. Van a adorar bajo la cúpula de cielo azul. Pero eso no es adoración; es recreación. La adoración es cuando estás unido con el cuerpo de Cristo.
Nunca rechazes adorar en público, porque algo fluye entre nosotros cuando estamos en grupo. Aquellos que están llenos deben dar a aquellos que están vacíos; aquellos que tienen sed vienen a llenar sus vasos. Dios está aquí; La presencia de Dios está entre nosotros, aunque no se escuchen truenos y relámpagos. Aquí están algunas sugerencias para el uso de su día de reposo. Adoración: La adoración verdadera no es opcional. No tienes que decidir cada domingo por la mañana si adorar o no; esto debe ser programado en su vida.
Buena conducta: es un tiempo cuando haces cosas que son santas. Si haces un poco planeamiento, no tienes que hacer tus compras el domingo. Puedes sacar tiempo para hacer cosas en otros días. Recuerde que cada día es de Dios. No solo debemos darle un día a él y hacer lo que queramos en los otros seis. Usted debe estar consciente de aquellos testigos que le observan: ¿Qué pasa con tu vecino? ¿Puede él programar su reloj con el sonido de tu coche al arrancar cada domingo en la mañana cuando vas a adorar a la iglesia? No olvides el poder de esos testigos; ningún hombre vive para sí mismo, o muere para sí mismo.
Es un día para la familia: muchas familias no pasan mucho tiempo juntas. Muchas familias se encuentran atrapadas con los horarios tan cargados de trabajos. Este debe ser un día para la familia, la oración, y el pensamiento. No importa lo que hagas, caminar por el bosque, hacer algo juntos como una familia, o lo que sea— esto debiera hacerse después de la adoración.
Prepárate: ¿Oras por tu pastor, tu profesor, y por el coro antes de ir a la iglesia? ¿Preparas tu mente y el cuerpo con tiempo para que tu espíritu esté listo? Dios bendice en relación a nuestra preparación.
Este es el día de regocijo. Toma este día como un regalo de Dios y úsalo. No es una carga que impuesta sobre el pueblo de Dios. Es una alegría. Es la respuesta de Dios a las batallas mentales de nuestros días. Este es el gran don de Dios para nosotros. Alegrémonos y esperemos en él.
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Prayer: Dear Father, could it be that my depression and fatigue is my body demanding a Sabbath? My days are filled with stress, and I'm anxious about so many things. This week I will stop and catch up with myself Even You, 0 God, rested after working six days. Why do I think I can defy Your plan for me? Quiet my soul as I prepare for the Sabbath—a holy day. Amen.
Oración: Querido padre, ¿podría ser que mi depresión y mi fatiga es mi cuerpo exigiéndome un día de reposo? Mis días están llenos de estrés, y estoy ansioso por tantas cosas. Esta semana me detendré y me pondré al día conmigo mismo, e incluso con usted, O Dios, fresco después de trabajar seis días. ¿Por qué creer que puedo desafiar su plan para mí? Aquieta mi alma como me preparo para el sábado, un día santo. Amén.
•
'
A Devotional Guide
Carolyn Shealy Sel and William L. Sel
Ministerial Association General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Dedication
Dedicated to the congregation of the Wieuca Road Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia-our fellow travelers through the deserts and oases of life.
•
Most Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, Neu; International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
A portion of Scripture is credited to The Living Bible. Copyright © 1971, Tyndale House Publishers. Used by
• • permiSSIOn.
Copyright© 1998 Ministerial Association General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Originally published by Peachtree Publishers, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1983. All copy has been reset and repaginated. Several short portions have been edited to conserve space.
PRINTED IN U.S.A. Pacific Press® Publishing Association Nampa, ID 83687
ISBN 1-57847-019-6
'
Requirements for Cotntnitment
• emem e a~ '--"" _amman ment
Exodus 20:7, 8, 9, 11 ((Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 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. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
ecil Meyers, pastor of Peachtree Roacl Metl1odist Church in Atlanta, tells a story about an expedition going into the heatt of the deepest jungles of Africa.
The men were anxious to get to a place that reportedly had great treasure. The expedition looked like a scene out of a Tarzan movie, with the great white hunters up front and the African men carrying the burdens behind. Finally, after they had pressed on and on, day after day, the laborers refused to carry the burdens. W11en asked why, the response was, "You've pressed too hard, and tl1ey say now that they want to rest and let their souls catch up with their bodies." That's a parable for us in otlr day. Somehow, along the way, we have confused God's gift of the Sabbath with all kinds of rules and regulations. The Bible says that it took God six days to create the world, and then He rested. God created us like Himself, and, after a period of work and stress, we need to have a time of rel{indling our inner selves. So God gave us the Sabbath.
God never intended for the Sabbath day to be a burden. You may recall the incident in the life of Jesus when He was caught in a Sabbath controversy. He was so disgusted with the way the Sabbath had been weighted with rules and regulations, that He said, "Man was not created for the Sabbatl1; the Sabbath was created for man~" God created us as a holy
117
people, and then He gave a holy day. This holy day is significant. It was a day of rejoicing, a gift of God, a day of no work. The word "SalJbath'' does not mean seven; it means cessation, the quitting of work.
Today, in the Arab section of Jerusalem, there is business and cormnerce on the Sabbath, but in the Jewisl1 section, almost everything is boarded up. There are titnes when you 're not allowed to go through these sections, because it's a violation of the Sabbath. There is strong feeling against anyone who would desecrate it.
The early Christians were obsessed with tl1e fact that they came ottt of a Jewish background. Yet God did something new and real for tl1em in the Easter experience, so they would have the Sabbath, and so they would gather togetl1er as tl1e Christian sect on Sunday rnorning and celebrate tl1e resttrrection.
But there is a difference between the Sabbath and Sunday. You work until the Sabbath, and then you rest. Sunday is the day that gives you strength to work the six days in front of yotl. The Sabbath is the end of the week; Sunday is the beginning. The Sabbath is from s1.1ndown to sundown, but Sunday is fron1 midnight to midnigl1t. The Sabbath is a day of rest, but Sunday is a day of worsl1ip. The Sabbath has a penalty to it, if you break it; St1nday has no penalty, except that you shortchange yourself.
The Christian draws his strength from Sunday. It's a tin1e to let God talk to the inner man. It's a time wl1en we make real that practice which says, in effect, ''Be still and know that I am God." The Christians took the value of the Hebrew Sabbath and added to it the great joy of the Christian resttrrection. We have a rnarriage of tl1e two in the Christian community.
The commandment said, "Remember the Sabbath Day. So we come together as a body of Christ and remember what God has done. It's a sacrament. Worship and Bible stud) make Sunday a day wl1en the soul is rekindled, as well as a day when tl1e body is rested. You may tniss a dinner party or
118
a trip to the beach by observing tl1e Sabbath, but you won't miss l1eaven. Your life wont disintegrate. It just depends on how you want to spend your time. You'll have thousands of St1ndays in your adult life; how will you spend them?
Prayer: Th'is is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. You are my God and I will give you thank!:>~· you are my God and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endttres forever (Psalm 118:24, 28, 29). Amen.
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119
Requirements for Commitment
_om man Exodus 31:12, 13 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Say to the ls1r-aelites, (You must observe my Sabbaths. Tbis will be a sign between me and you .for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. ))}
ociety has gotten caught tip in a seven-day, twenty-fourhour-a-day week. Some of you work in a business where you have no control over what yotl do on
Sunday. Some of you are managers of businesses with policies set by someone else in a distant city, and you 're cat1ght. You can't get out of it, and you don't know what to do; but you l{now it's wrong and it violates everything you are.
Thoreau said if you want to destroy the Christian faith, first take away Sunday. He was right; it's a l1oly day. For those who know Jestls Christ as Savior, it cannot be a holiday. For those of you wl1o have gathered around the cross and have been saved and washed clean by His blood, it's a sacrilege to do anything else on that day except to celebrate what God has done.
If we abt1se Sunday, we're going to destroy something beautiful that God has given. No Sunday 1neans no church; no church means no worship; no worship means no religion; no religion means no morality; no morality means no society; no society means no government; no government 111eans anarchy. That's the choice before us.
So, what do you do witl1 the day? Do you sit around and read the Bible all day long? That might not be a bad idea for some of us. There are always those people who say, ''I can worship God out on the golf course." Golf is a great sport, but it isn't worship! Those people who want to get out into God'
120
great outdoors are God's great bltle-domers. They're going to worship under the blue dome. But that isn't worship; it's recreation. Worship is wl1en you're with the body of Christ.
Don't ever negate public worsl1ip, for something flows between llS when we're togetl1er. Those who are full give to tl1ose who are empty; those who are thirsty con1e to get their cups filled. God is l1ere; God's presence is among us, even though you don't hear thunder and ligl1tning.
Here are some suggestions for tl1e use of your Sabbath. Worship: Real worship is not optional. You do not have to
decide each Sunday morning wl1etl1er or not you'll worship; it should be programmed into your life.
Good conduct: Ifs a time when you should do things that are holy. If you do a little planning, you don't have to do your shopping on Sunday. Tl1ere can be tin1e to do things like that on other days. Remember that every day is His. We are not to give Hin1 one day and do as we please the otl1er six.
Be aware of your witness: What about your neigl1bor? Can l1e set his clock by the fact that your car ptllls out of the driveway at a certain time on St1nday morning, and you're on your way to the worship of God? Don't forget the power of yotlr witness; no man lives to himself) or dies to himself.
It's a day for fa1nily: A lot of fatnilies don't want this much time together. Many families are caught up with working and strained schedules. It needs to be a day for family and prayer and thinking. However you handle it walking in the woods, doing something together as a fatnily, or whatever this should be done after you worsl1ip.
Prepare yourself: Do you pray for the pastor, yotlr teacher, and the choir before you go to church? Do you prepare your mind and body ahead of tilne so that your spirit will be reacly? God blesses in relationship to our preparation.
This is the day of rejoicing. Take this day as a gift from God and use it. It's not a bt1rden to be imposed upon the people of God. It's a joy. It's God's answer to the mental health struggles of our day. This is God's great gift for us. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
121
Prayer: Dear Father, could it be that my depression and fatigue is my body demanding a Sabbath? My days are filled with stress, and I 'm anxious about so many things. Tbis week I will stop and catch up with myself Even You, 0 God, rested after working six days. 'Why do I think I can defy Yoz,tr plan for me? Quiet my soul as I prepare for the Sabbath--a holy day. Amen.
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