This week we continue our thoughts about Sabbath by looking at Hebrews 4.
Hebrews 4:1-13
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work."And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Why were the Israelites to observe the Sabbath?
Why was Sabbath keeping so important to God?
What is the "rest"that we strive for?
What is Sabbath–the seventh day–rooted in?
Does this apply to us today? Why or why not?
What is the importance of faith?
Why does the writer talk about the word of God in this context?
What else is on your mind this week?
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
36 comments:
Well, this is the last week of the blog in its present form. Sometime next week I will change the name and the format, due to my sabbatical. I hope you will jump in this week and really discuss Sabbath with me.
allen
looking forward to your change and glad you are planning to keep this active in some manner. i really appreciate and see value in the "community" and forum you have started here.
rr
Rest on the earth is short lived because our human bodies get up again and wear ourselves down. True rest will come in eternity even though we will be serving God there we will not tire from the service because our human shell will be done away with and our spirit will go on. I think God rested on the seventh day and left this example for us to follow. He is all powerful and eternal and bodily rest is not something God needs but He loves us and knows our shortcomings in our physical shell. He knows if we do not stop and reflect like He did when He finshed His creation, upon our place in His kingdom that we humans tend to slip from our foundation of faith. Sometimes I go to my little shed and listen to gospel music, Bible readings and write in my diary to reflect on the past week and on family and friends who are dear to me and pray. I do this at different times, not on any real schedule, but when I go back to the house, I feel refreshed and rested. I don't know if this is what He wants from me but it is where His spirit leads me. A time alone to step back and take it all in, this life and it's meaning not only to God but to those I am in contact with. I think the saddest thing in the world would be to know that rest on this earth would be all I could know because it is not complete rest. I want to enter into His eternal rest and I want to see others do that too. I listen to His voice within me in the day called Today because that is all we have promised here on earth, today. God bless you all as you enter this week. Glad the blog will continue. I learn from all of you and feel that I know your hearts better. Sherron
Good start. Thanks.
Yesterday's sermon seemed to provoke more thought than usual. That's a good thing.
For an article related to Christmas shopping and the concept of Sabbath click HERE.
Interesting article about animal sacrifice in Turkey:
Sacrificing animals vs sacrifice of image.
Does anyone see any parallels about how we sometimes treat biblical subjects that we think the world will find objectionable? Just curious.
Warning! The following has no point.
I was walking in BRMC to see little Trevor; it was about 12.30 and raining. There was an older lady in front of me walking fairly slowly with a cane. It was one of those deals, “do I pass or not pass; if I don’t pass, I’m going to have to slow down, way down.” Well, I remembered my words about Sabbath, so I decided to slow down, way down. I fell in behind her, but apparently she did not know I was there. [Stealthy I am; stealthy, not wealthy.] Anyway, I hear her talking; obviously to herself. She says, “Old man walking with a stick; old woman walking with a stick.” As she opened the door, she did not look around, so I just kinda snuck in behind her and moved around her to save both of us any embarrassment.
See, I told you there was no point.
When I came home this evening the TV had a report about Michael Vick being sentenced to 23 months in prison. Ben, Luke, and I talked about Vick’s future. I say he will play again; the boys disagree. Kedra had the best line. She said that the Pacers will probably pick him up, adding, “he’d fit right in.” Beautiful and funny. I am a blessed man.
I call it “mission creep,” but the article below calls it “trip chaining.”
Women make more complex car trips: Study
Kedra and I will have a trip planned to Sam’s, for example, but then as we are leaving I find out that we have to:
get gas
go by the bank
go by the building
stop at this store
stop at that shop
mission creep
or
trip chaining
It's a woman thing; I don't understand.
Whatever.
This has been a really good day, one of the best I can recall in a while, quite a while.
It started at 7 a.m. with a Capstone Ministries meeting. Darrin C., Joe M., and I met to talk about the ReGeneration Store and other aspects of our ministry. We have recently had 2 original board members resign (Jim P. and Bob M.), so we are planning our way ahead. We have a lot of really good ideas and dreams that we believe God is providing and will bless.
One of the ideas was inspired by Becky G. (Jon the country prophet’s lovely wife). We are exploring the idea of finding a single mom who faces road blocks to getting a good education, things like child care. What would happen if we would take such a person and provide funding for child care and gas for transportation to OCU-B, for example? A lot of single moms are OCU-B have their tuition paid through various funding sources. This person that we help would be placed in a community of loving Christians to help her out in various ways and to keep her encouraged (I am thinking of a group like Michelle and Kedra’s Wednesday p.m. ladies class). We would see her through until she got her degree and found a good job.
This kind of thing excites me. It is the dream I/we have of really making a difference in someone’s life and in the world. If it could be done for one, then why not many? All thoughts/ideas are welcome! We are just exploring and dreaming as the store is becoming a good source of revenue.
At lunch today I met with two men who are a deeply admired by me. One is fighting for his soul as he strives to free himself from the demons of drugs and alcohol. The other is one of my students who, through the power of Jesus, has overcome the very same demons. I brought them together and bought their lunch. I would have paid hundreds to witness what I saw today. One man pouring out his heart with words that must have come from the Spirit of God. The other showing hope in eyes that mostly have seen and shown nothing but hopelessness. It was amazing. Really. I felt so encouraged and blessed by what I saw and heard.
I went back to ReGeneration and met with Penny and Darrin. We are going to have a “customer appreciation evening” next Thursday. All clothes will be “buy one get one free” and everything else in the store will be 25% off. We are going to serve refreshments and have several people there to simply greet and visit with those who come in. I think it is going to be a really nice thing. The store is doing so well. Penny, Butch, and their family, along with a couple of other people have formed a nice community of service in the store. It feels good when you walk in.
I ended the day by doing some outside work with my chainsaw (working on a cross for someone to give as a gift) and helping out with the cattle. The vet comes tomorrow afternoon.
I am presently holed up in my office, as my house has been overtaken by Kedra’s Monday evening women’s Bible study group. I am ok with that, of course.
I am about get back to reading. See next post.
Yesterday afternoon David F. drove over to my house to return a couple of books and to loan me a couple of more. One of them is about the Orthodox church. The other one is the one I am presently reading. It is Mark Buchanan’s The Rest of God. I think it is going to be very good and helpful.
I don’t know why but this interests me:
Ahmadinejad, President and Blogger
From Mark Buchanan’s The Rest of God.
He compares the two versions of the 4th Commandment. This is very similar to what I said on Sunday, so I bring it as a reminder. But he adds a little bit that I find helpful.
Exodus grounds Sabbath in creation. Deuteronomy grounds it in liberation. Exodus remembers Eden, Deuteronomy Egypt. In Exodus, Sabbath-keeping is about imitating divine example and receiving divine blessing. In Deuteronomy, it is about taking hold of divine deliverance and observing divine command.
Exodus looks up. Deuteronomy looks back. Exodus give theological rationale for rest, and Deuteronomy historical justification for it. One evokes God’s character, the other his redemption. One calls us to holy mimicry–be like God; the other to holy defiance–never be slaves again. One reminds us that we are God’s children, the work of his hands, the other that we are no one’s chattel, not Pharaoh’s, not Nebuchadnezzar’s, not Xerxes’, not Beelzebub’s. [p. 87]
Later he adds this:
...We mimic God in order to remember that we’re not God. In fact, that is a good definition of Sabbath: imitating God so that we stop trying to be God.
Later he develops the Deuteronomy thought about freedom from Egyptian taskmasters, comparing them to the things that drive us: the voices we hear and the guilt we feel.
Taskmasters are masters of half-truth. They couch their language in just enough reality that the whole thing has the ring of authenticity. It’s true, in part, what they say: there is no end of things to do. I am a touch on the lazy side and disguise this with busyness. There is a crowd of people disappointed with me, who find me, by turn, indecisive, despotic, timid, rash, evasive, blunt, foolhardy, wise in my own eyes, foot-dragging, impulsive. I do procrastinate overmuch and at the same time make too many snap decisions. Most of my life is unfinished. Many of my efforts are slapdash and slipshod.
It’s true.
So? The lie mixed in here is that, because it’s true, I have no right to rest.
Actually, that’s true too. I have no right to a lot of things: my health, my home, my family, my salvation. May as well add rest to the list.
But thank God that God could care less about our rights. What God cares about, and deeply is our needs. And it’s this simple: you and I have an inescapable need for rest.
The lie the taskmasters want you to swallow is that you cannot rest until your work’s all done, and done better than you’re currently doing it. But truth is, the work’s never done, and never done right. It’s always more than you can finish and less than you had hoped for.
So what? Get this straight: the rest of God–the rest God gladly gives so that we might discover that part of God we’re missing–is not a reward for finishing. It’s not a bonus for work well done.
It’s a sheer gift. It is a stop-work order in the midst of work that’s never complete, never polished. Sabbath is not the break we’re allotting at the tail end of completing all our tasks and chores, the fulfillment of our obligations. It’s the rest we take smack-dab in the middle of them, without apology, without guilt, and for no better reason than God told us we could.
"the post of allen" continues!
ha ha. kind of funny as i scrolled down that allen sure has posted a lot today.
actually all very good stuff.
thought it was neat that you recapped your day and how if you look at it there is nothing there the world would call great or exciting yet it was a great day. one of those things that we do need to stop and enjoy. to me that is kind of a sabbath of sorts. we let our mind rest to the point that we taken in what we have and what we are experiencing not thinking about "what's next" and such. you have got to love jon and becky! what a great addition to our church family.
tell kedra i am very impressed with her humor. maybe while on your sabbatical she can work with your joke material some.
i read and interesting article that said no one will want vick as he is a pr nightmare. in contrast there are convicted velons playing in the nfl and two named by this article have done time for murder yet they play and teams want them. the irony is that in america we value our pets and dogs in particular to such a high level that crimes against dogs is more of a taboo than killing another human. what does that say about us as a society?
sorry to be rambling.
have a great one.
rr
http://www.newsweek.com/id/74380?GT1=10645
I am not as talented as Allen, but check out this article. "holy drinking water"
RR
Allen, as I drove to work this morning in the fog I noticed an elderly lady crossing the road as swiftly as she could and I needed to slow down considerably for her to complete the journey. She had her rain coat with the hood pulled up and was taking her morning walk, I assume, and as I came up beside her she looked at me with the most radiant smile that it made my day. She was genuinely happy in her soul to be out walking on a rainy, foggy morning. What an encouragement to me and what a wonderful way to begin the day. Sherron
I'm glad you are going to keep the blog. I love reading it,you all are such an encouragement, thank you for that.Allen, you and your family will be in our prayers have a great time. Jerry and I miss you all.
Cathy
Great to hear from you, Cathy! We miss you and wish you a very Merry Christmas!
If you are as interested in time as I am, then you may want to read this article:
How Super-Precise Atomic Clocks Will Change the World in a Decade
Time is very much related to Sabbath, and isn’t time simply fascinating?
I guess you should know that I have, let’s see, one, two, three, at least four atomic clocks. It goes with the workaholic, perfectionistic tendencies (these are bad things).
So what do you think about the snow possibilities for this weekend? Normally I would be so excited I couldn’t stand it, but my excitement this time is tempered with empathy for Jennifer and Chad. Their wedding is Saturday afternoon.
Here is the latest from Belski’s Blog.
HPC precip for Friday night and Saturday is for over 3/4 inch in our area. If that is all snow that's 8 inches. That's why this is a very critical and tough forecast.
The latest from the models....
GFS: snow may change to rain and back to snow
NAM: storm goes way south with heavy snow over SE KY and only light amounts here.
EUROPEAN: all rain....big warm up
JMA: mostly rain ending as a bit of snow
So the models are still all over the place with a warm tilt the the last few runs. We'll see if this trend continues. I always say you have to wait for the low to develop east of the Rockies to get a good idea of what is going to happen.
This could turn out to be a BFN (big fat nothing)...
I finished my work at OCU-B yesterday by giving my two final exams. I then stayed around and got everything graded and recorded. I felt a sense of sadness as I drove away. I won’t teach next semester, and the future is uncertain. We still don’t know who the new dean will be.
I felt really good about this semester. I believe God used me for his Kingdom purposes and that several students came to a new understanding of God. As usual I learned a lot about life and the thought processes of others and of the world.
Yesterday at OCU-B I ran into the admissions counselor, providentially I believe, and shared with her the idea that is mentioned above. She was very excited about it and said that childcare and transportation are huge barriers for a lot of people beginning their education.
Another idea that we (Capstone ministries) have had is to buy an small apartment building and get several good paying renters to take care of our monthly costs, and then try to leave an apartment or two open for people who find themselves temporarily homeless. There seems to be several people in this situation from time to time.
Now, back to Sabbath study...
From Barbara Brown Taylor in Leaving Church - A Memoir of Faith
I decided to take a rest from trying to be like Jesus too. Today I will consent to be an extra in God’s drama, someone off to the side watching the scenery unfold with self-forgetfulness that is not available to me at center stage. Today I will bear the narcissistic wound of knowing that there are others who can say my lines when I am not there, including some who can say them better, and that while God may welcome my willingness to play a part, this show will go on with or without me, for as long as God has breath to bring more players to life. Today I will take a break from trying to save the world and enjoy my blessed swath of it instead. I will give thanks for what is instead of withholding praise until all is as it should be. If I get good enough at this, I may even be able to include my sorry self in the bargain, O men and women everywhere, glorify the Lord, praise him and highly exalt him forever.
allen
interesting you bring up the apartment. last night after listening to the guys from river city love squad, i was thinking about how we have so many things or needs locally too and i was thinking about the homeless here. very interesting ideas. the more i think about the idea becky planted too i think that is super.
the weather could prove to be interesting this weekend!
rr
I think there is SO MUCH stuff locally, more than we know. Part of what Capstone is striving to do is to identify what needs to be done and then find a way to do it, heavily partnering with churches.
The only way true change will occur is through an incarnational approach, i.e., really getting involved with people’s messy lives, striving to fix problems that seem unfixable. It’s easier to hand them a bag of groceries and say, “I wish you well.” I am thrilled we giving bags of groceries, and I am more thrilled that we trying to move beyond on that to really engage in people’s lives. It will only be a few at a time, and it will be work, hard work, rewarding work, the work of God.
From Mark Buchanan’s The Rest of God (p. 49).
It’s true that some facets of God we glimpse only through motion. Only those who stretch out their hand and offer water to the thirsty discover, disguised among them, Jesus. Only those who trudge up the mountain, willing to grow blistered and weary on the narrow trail, witness his transfiguration. Only those who invite the stranger in to share some bread realize they’ve entertained angels unawares, sometimes even Christ himself. Often, God meets us along the way, as we go: he waits to see who will step out before he sidles up, woos us over, intercepts, redirects.
But other facets of God we discover only through stillness. “Be still and know,” the psalm instructs, “and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). Only those who wait on the Lord renew their strength. Only those who are quiet and watchful find God’s mercy that is new every morning. Only those join him in his love for the contrite and broken in spirit recognize him hidden among “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40).
Isaiah 30:15
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”
Isaiah 58:13-4
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD'S holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Allen,
Just wanted you to know that I really appreciate the time you take to share thoughts through this blog. I rarely actually get to look at it, but this week have really taken to heart the Sabbath ideas expressed through Mark Buchanan's book.
Jean
I think the snow/ice thing is going to turn out to be much less than what was discussed earlier. Anthony asked for us to pray for no snow. Wow, does he know how much that conflicts me? I love snow, but of course I love the Edwards and Embrees. Is it ok to abstain from prayer on some matters? “I’m going to recuse my myself in this matter, Lord.”
ha ha
More from The Rest of God (p. 126).
. . . to cease from that which is necessary. This is Sabbath’s golden rule, the one rule to which all rules distill. Stop doing what you ought to do. There are six days to do what you ought. Six days to be caught in the web of economic and political and social necessity.
And then one day to take wing.
Sabbath is that one day. It is a reprieve from what you ought to do, even though the list of oughts is infinitely long and never done. Oughts are tyrants, noisy and surly, chronically dissatisfied. Sabbath is the day you trade places with them: they go in the salt mine, and you go out dancing. It’s the one day when the only thing you must do is to not do the things you must. You are given permission—issued a command, to be blunt—to turn your back on all those oughts. You get to willfully ignore the many niggling things your existence genuinely depends on—and is often hobbled beneath—so that you can turn to whatever you’ve put off and pushed away for lack of time, lack of room, lack of breath. You get to shuck the have-tos and lay hold of the get-tos.
Manna from Heaven was dropped into my lap yesterday afternoon in the form of a delicious cherry pie from one of our vendors. Having guests almost every evening requires a treat when they come. Having had a sinus infection and cold for over a month now tends to drag me down and we were having our neighbors, Ed and Esther McElroy (she is part of our garden club at church) over for an hour or so. Ed is on oxygen and he was limited to one hour because that was the size of his tank. They were to be there from 7:00 to 8:00 and I needed to make a dessert. The plans were for a German chocolate dessert when I got home. I had gone to purchase the items needed at noon and was not feeling well but would have gone ahead and made the dessert when I got home which was going to rush me a little. The visit from English Construction and the pie was as Esther said 'Manna from Heaven' because it is Ed's favorite and he enjoyed a nice slice and we sent more home with them. What a fun evening we had together discussing our families and the holiday traditions each of us have. God has blessed us in so many ways and I know that seems like a small thing but He was looking out for us in all ways. I feel refreshed today as my mind reflects on Sunday evening with friends, Wednesday evening with friends and Thursday evening with friends and look forward to Saturday when my sisters arrive and we share our Christmas together providing the weather holds off. Ryan & Rhonna, you need to bring the girls over to visit with Bear and Odie since they have their Christmas haircuts and are decked out in their new Christmas scarves. They would love to see the girls and so would we. Just rambling on, have a great day everyone. Sorry to be so long winded. Sherron
Just in case you are wondering...
and my guess is that you are...
I have decided to tell you something.
Others would probably withhold this information, but I try to be truthful and transparent.
OK, here goes:
I am not on steroids.
Wow, what a relief for us all.
Post a Comment