Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

The Holy Spirit inspired me to write about the Sabbath rest today.

Today’s scripture, Hebrews 4:9-11 (NIV) says…
[9] There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; [10] for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. [11] Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Consider…
AI says…
In the Bible, the Sabbath (from the Hebrew word shabbat, meaning “to rest”) is a day of rest and worship, established at creation as a holy gift from God. Instituted in the Ten Commandments and given to mankind, the Sabbath is a time to cease from labor, remember God as Creator, and celebrate His work.

And Merriam-Webster defines sabbath as the seventh day of the week observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening as a day of rest and worship by Jews and some Christians.

The fact that the Sabbath is observed on today inspired me to make some observations about it in today’s post.

First, God established the Sabbath for Himself. Genesis 2:2-3 (KJV) explains…
[2] And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. [3] And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

This is a crucial point because humans tend to focus on the rest, and overlook the worship expectation of the sabbath. That means, the Sabbath was never meant to focus on resting from our work alone, but instead to focus on pausing to reflect and appreciate all that God has done, and allowed us to do.

That makes me think of David in Psalm 8:3-6 (KJV)…
[3] When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; [4] What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? [5] For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, And hast crowned him with glory and honour. [6] Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet:

Oh that we would pause, reflect and appreciate God’s greatness and graciousness routinely.

That brings me to the next observation, which is God ordained the sabbath. Exodus 20:8-11 (KJV) commands…
[8] Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9] Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: [10] but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: [11] for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

A couple of spiritual gems the Holy Spirit gave me from this commandment include…

• First, finish all of your work. God rested after He finished all His work. The Holy Spirit is emphasizing we must work diligently as unto the Lord!

The Holy Spirit referenced Colossians 3:23-24 (NLT), which exhorts…
[23] Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. [24] Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

Accordingly, we must honor God in our work before we can honor Him in our rest.

• Second, let/help others rest. Growing up I remember my mom preparing Sunday dinner Saturday night. Besides the blessing of the food being more delicious because the seasoning had time to settle in and rest overnight, we didn’t ask anyone to serve us on our observed day of rest. Unfortunately, that’s a tradition that I haven’t followed since my youth. Yet, in the commandment God wanted everyone associated with His follower to be allowed and encouraged to pause, reflect and appreciate Him too.

The Holy Spirit led me to Hebrews 10:25 (ERV) to emphasize God’s desire to pause, reflect and appreciate Him with fellow believers…
[25] We must not quit meeting together, as some are doing. No, we need to keep on encouraging each other. This becomes more and more important as you see the Day getting closer.

• Lastly, the Holy Spirit is emphasizing the sabbath day is extremely special to God. I believe the day is so special because it’s time an acknowledgement of who He is.

It wouldn’t surprise me if God loves when we sing along with Judith Christie McAllister…

Oh give thanks unto the Lord. For He is good yes He is good.
(repeat 4X in Unison)

For He is worthy, worthy. For He is good, yes He is good. (repeat 2x)

Although God knows He’s good, I am confident He enjoys hearing the beneficiaries of His goodness acknowledge it.

Like the Psalmist in Psalms 107:8-9 (ERV), we should pause, reflect and say…
[8] Thank the Lord for his faithful love and for the amazing things he does for people. [9] He satisfies those who are thirsty. He fills those who are hungry with good things.

You see it’s easy to take for granted that God is the source of everything good in our lives.

Like James 1:17 (ERV) explains…
[17] Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.

Still, I think we take God’s kindness for granted, because He’s always good to us. No doubt God knew we would forget, like He told His chosen people in Deuteronomy 8:11-14 (ERV)…
[11] “Be careful. Don’t forget the LORD your God! Be careful to obey the commands, laws, and rules that I give you today. [12] Then you will have plenty to eat, and you will build good houses and live in them. [13] Your cattle, sheep, and goats will grow large. You will get plenty of gold and silver. You will have plenty of everything. [14] When that happens, you must be careful not to become proud. You must not forget the LORD your God. You were slaves in Egypt, but he made you free and brought you out of that land.

That hit play on the Donald Lawrence’s choir singing…

Don’t forget to remember where your blessings come from
Don’t forget to give honour where honour is due
Don’t forget to give thanks to the One who put you there
Don’t forget where your blessings come from

When you get a little money
Get up on your feet
Why do we change?

Get a little fortune and fame
Sign a title to your name
Why do we change?

Just like the ten in the Bible days
Who were blessed by the Lord
And went on their way
Except one came back with gratitude
We’ve got to give honour where it is due

Remember the Sabbath weekly a great way to never forget where our blessings come from.

Perhaps God knowing we would be prone to forgetfulness and complacency is why He commanded us to intentionally set aside time dedicated solely to pause, reflect and remember Him.

It just occurred to that setting aside the sabbath-rest to pause, reflect and appreciate God aligns with His principal of tithing.

Think about it, God has given us six days to do everything we need to do, and all He asks for is one day to be given back to Him. The Sabbath is more than just an appreciation for what God has done, it’s also an acknowledgement of the time He’s given us.

That makes me pray like the Psalmist in Psalms 90:12-14 (ERV)…
[12] Teach us how short our lives are so that we can become wise. [13] Lord, come back to us. Be kind to your servants. [14] Fill us with your love every morning. Let us be happy and enjoy our lives.

We should seek to spend all of our time in a way that honors God, but at minimum remembering the sabbath weekly is wonderful way to demonstrate God’s importance to us. Giving God our undivded attention on one set aside day, is a recognition and appreciation of all the time He gives us.

So today, I encourage you to set aside time to keep enter God’s Sabbath-rest, by pausing, reflecting and appreciating all that God has done for you and given you, especially time! ⏳

Actually, the more I think about it, let’s not wait for the Sabbath to bless the Lord for His goodness, let’s pause, reflect and appreciate Him all the time.

Like David in Psalm 34:1 (KJV), let’s declare…
[1] I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Today’s song is…
I Will Bless The Lord

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)