One Sabbath, Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. ... And he also gave some to his companions." Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
Last I wrote you, I shared about people in the Bible that had a new start. When my computer isn't working I unplug it for awhile, and then plug it back in. This is one reason I only do a five day Blog. I unplug over the weekend and do something else. When I come back on Monday I am ready to go at it again with a fresh start.
So, let me ask you do you ever unplug? The bible tells us in what I refer to as the "Top Ten" (also known as the 10 Commandments) we are to keep the Sabbath. We read in Genesis that even Jesus took a day and rested after working 6 days. If you are not unplugging is it possible that you are saying, "I've got more energy and strength than God." "I have needs that God can't take care of so, I have got to work more than God did." These all sound ridiculous when I put it this way, but how else do you put it? God said, if we love Him then we would obey Him. Not unplugging is not obeying.
So, let me ask you do you ever unplug? The bible tells us in what I refer to as the "Top Ten" (also known as the 10 Commandments) we are to keep the Sabbath. We read in Genesis that even Jesus took a day and rested after working 6 days. If you are not unplugging is it possible that you are saying, "I've got more energy and strength than God." "I have needs that God can't take care of so, I have got to work more than God did." These all sound ridiculous when I put it this way, but how else do you put it? God said, if we love Him then we would obey Him. Not unplugging is not obeying.
FORGIVENESS BRINGS HOPE
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.”
Hope is not wishful thinking or a toss of a coin into a wishing well.
Hope is a certain, assured, confident anticipation.
Hope is relying on the unchanging word of an unchanging God.
Hope is taking God’s promises at face value.
The hope that God gives does not disappoint us as does earthly “hope.”
Hope gives solid ground upon which to stand when the storms of life strike.
Hope is light at the end of the tunnel and we know it is not a train!
Hope enables us to try again when everyone and everything says it is useless.
Hope eliminates discouragement and depression.
I recall reading a book written by a former minister of the Hinson Memorial Baptist Church in Portland who went into a deep depression; so deep he needed hospitalization. He thought his world had ended. How could he continue to minister to others when he was so broken himself. None of the medicines or procedures seemed to work. Sitting by himself one day, he was approached by a janitor who said with confidence, “You are going to get better.” “Get better?” None of the doctors or other medical staff ever told him that. “Get better? There is hope?” And from that moment he did get better and eventually fully recovered.
Hope had done what medicine couldn’t. Hope is still the healer of our souls, the dispeller of darkness and the linchpin of our faith.
“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:19 (NLT2)
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.”
Hope is not wishful thinking or a toss of a coin into a wishing well.
Hope is a certain, assured, confident anticipation.
Hope is relying on the unchanging word of an unchanging God.
Hope is taking God’s promises at face value.
The hope that God gives does not disappoint us as does earthly “hope.”
Hope gives solid ground upon which to stand when the storms of life strike.
Hope is light at the end of the tunnel and we know it is not a train!
Hope enables us to try again when everyone and everything says it is useless.
Hope eliminates discouragement and depression.
- Trapped animals die when they lose hope.
- Marriages die when there seems to be no hope.
- People who might have survived, succumb when they lose hope.
I recall reading a book written by a former minister of the Hinson Memorial Baptist Church in Portland who went into a deep depression; so deep he needed hospitalization. He thought his world had ended. How could he continue to minister to others when he was so broken himself. None of the medicines or procedures seemed to work. Sitting by himself one day, he was approached by a janitor who said with confidence, “You are going to get better.” “Get better?” None of the doctors or other medical staff ever told him that. “Get better? There is hope?” And from that moment he did get better and eventually fully recovered.
Hope had done what medicine couldn’t. Hope is still the healer of our souls, the dispeller of darkness and the linchpin of our faith.
“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:19 (NLT2)
ACTION STEP: Don't let yourself get so tired that you loose hope. Unplug. Keep the Sabbath holy. You are not God, so quit trying to do His job and let God be God.
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