A Sabbath rest for the people
This morning, on sunday, I was struggling and fighting with the idea of rest. I want to crack open my philosophy books and my history text book and study for my test on tuesday. The desire to work and study was very strong and discouraged I began to read my bible. The discipline of rest and the commandment of the sabbath is something I want to follow, but how can I when so many pressing assignments and chapters are squeezing me?
Promises come with obediance was my reminder, but my heart still failed me. "I can't do this! I need to read, I have so much to do and today is the only day left!" That is when the Valley of Vision hit me with joyful ecstacy on a prayer called "The Lord's day" below is the portion that hit me
"This is the day,
the heavenly ordinance or rest,
the open door of worship
the record of Jesus resurrection..."
These are the first four line of the prayer, but then I realized that today is a day of rest, and rest from our work but a day of celebration! A resting in the wonderful joyful completed work of JESUS resurrection, not to just be celebrated at easter! Now Hebrews 4 makes sense...we rest in him, we strive to enter the rest he provides!
What does this look like? How about "proclaiming the excellencies of him who called you"? (1 Peter 2:9 )Rejoicing in the resurrected Christ that this work is the foundation of all our faith so that we are not to be pitied above all people, for believing in a dead savior? (1 Cor 15). That by his resurrection we are raised with Christ, and that he has the power to raise even those who are dead in their sins..
So today is not a day to lament of not working, but rather to devot today for proclaiming his excellencies and praying for those who are still dead in sins. Praying that by his power he can raise them from the dead also.
To end here is a few lines from a song we often sing at church:
He rose from the dead, conquering fear, our prince of peace drawing us near...Jesus our hope, living for all the world to see, Lord we believe!
