December 21: Necessitate Sabbath

Today’s Tasting: Hebrew 1-6

I often ponder, how do I really celebrate Sabbath as a New Testament believer? Have you questioned this also? In Hebrews 1-6, find solutions to this question:

“There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God…whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us strive to enter that rest” (see Hebrews 4:9-13).

How do we establish a repeated pattern of rest-weekly Sabbath?

Hebrews was written to focus on Christ’s supremacy, sufficiency, salvation, sacrifice, and Sabbath rest. Without Christ, the Sabbath wouldn’t be complete and would have little meaning, except for physical rest. Sabbath is about our spirit renewal that renews our souls and bodies.

Sabbath is not about worship in a building or about a day of worship, but about the One we worship. We were created for worship–we will worship something or someone. Do we need to worship on a certain day–how do we worship? What is Sabbath or Sabbath Rest?

“The Sabbath is a day when we enter a dance with God and others and experience a beauty that takes our breath away,” Dan B. Allendar in his book, Sabbath.

Shabbat (Sabbath) means:

Be Still
Reflect
Celebrate

Jesus honored Sabbath rest to exemplify to His disciples, “Now you rest.” Read Matthew 11:28-12:8: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light…your disciples are doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath…the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A yoke here is “a rabbi’s view of the law or God.” Jesus was saying to take his view of my Father and rest in knowing that He is your Father. Jesus also enjoyed the food, which he picked from the field and healed on the Sabbath at some religious groups’ bitter discretion.

God honored Sabbath rest to exemplify to His creation, “Now you rest.” There was evening and morning. The day begins with rest, not labor. On the seventh day God finished his work. He rested…God blessed the seventh day and made it holy…God rested (see Genesis 1:5; 2:2-3).

God set the rhythm of life in Shabbat (Sabbath); He rested in a sense of completion and satisfaction to enjoy the work He had completed.

We may honor the Sabbath rest to honor God’s Word and exemplify to those around us:

Be Still and hear (see Psalm 46:10; Psalm 131:2).

“Today if you hear His voice…the word they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (see Hebrews 3:7, 15, 4:2, 7).

Be still and hear God: Hear His voice–hear His Word: when we hear His Word to mix with faith, His Word produces life and rest. Sit quietly and ask the Lord to speak to you concerning a scripture.

Reflect and wait: Not to reflect leads to unrest and unbelief. Reflect on the good, which the Lord completed in your life today or this past week.

Celebrate and breathe: “The seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord…on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed” (see Exodus 31:15-17).

Refreshed means, “to breath, to be refreshed as if by a current of air.”

“As soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied” (see Numbers 11:25).

“Spirit rested.” rested means, “to settle down after drawing a good breath.”

“On the first day of the week…Jesus stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you…when He had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (see John 20:19-23).

Celebrate and breathe to enjoy life: The breath of God breathed life into man and continues to breathe life into us. Breathing, in order to relax, releases anxiety to enjoy God, others, surroundings, and life.

Hebrews 3:7–4:13 describes the art of rest for believers:

Hearing His voice: essential for spirit-soul-body health
Believing with your heart: encompasses everything about life
Uniting God’s Word with faith: not something we achieve on our own

Necessitate Sabbath for your own life and enjoy one day each week. I like to choose Sunday as my Sabbath, since that is the day we worship with other believers.

Lord, help me enter Sabbath rest as a day to enjoy life. Help me to worship the person of Christ, His creation, the beauty of His handiwork, the artistry of life with a joyful, celebratory, and heart attitude. You want to refresh my life, health, and joy! Help me to enjoy some down time and interaction with others, for my soul wholeness. I give myself permission to “Be still, reflect, and celebrate.”

Share with us the day you celebrate Sabbath and how you plan to