Finding Calm in the Chaos – Holy Day

Holy Day. Sabbath. Sunday. Day of Rest.

When you hear the word Sabbath, what images come to your mind?

For me, I see images of Israel. Rabbi. Torah. The Bible. The Ten Commandments. Church. People. Community. Praise. Worship. Jesus.

13 “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,
14 then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 58:13-14 (NIV)

IF…Delight. Honorable. Honor. Joy. Triumph. Feast. Inheritance. The Lord has spoken.

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. Genesis 2:3 (NIV)

Blessed the day.  Thank You Father.  And rested! I’m ready to rest…in His Word.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Exodus 20:8 (NIV) 

Remember.  Oh, Father, forgive me for I have forgotten.  Often.

Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. Luke 23:56 (NIV)

In obedience. To the commandment. Again!

For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” Hebrews 4:4 (NIV)

FYI — EYE OPENER! This definition of Sabbath come up as I searched and is shared to enlighten all of us – A supposed annual midnight meeting of witches with the Devil.

I had no idea! God teaches in the most amazing ways and revelations continue to come. The devil perverts everything holy and of God to unholy and ungodly, even the meaning of Sabbath.

Why does that amaze me? I know the devil is a liar out to steal, kill and destroy. Is it for lack of knowledge men perish as it is written in Hosea?

Forgive me for I have failed to hear, see and obey Your Word regarding Sabbath, Your Holy Day. Your Word states I have despised Your holy things and desecrated Your Sabbaths. I am guilty. Forgive me.

Then, in the New Testament, the Pharisees ask Jesus, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” to which He answered, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

On another Sabbath, Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus when He healed the man’s hand and made it whole and did many other healings by Jesus on the Sabbath.

Help me, Lord, to not judge—myself or others. Teach me Your ways, Lord, to help me find calm in the chaos of life.

The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.” Nehemiah 8:11 (NIV)

The Levites. Rabbis. Priests. Preachers. Pastors. Calmed all the people.  The same ones who accused Jesus of breaking the law? Humans, capable of human error, just like me.  You too? Yet they calmed all the people.

Thank you Father for giving us Your godly pastors, preachers, priests, rabbis, to share Your Word and to calm us.