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Category: Sunday rest 2024

  • Sunday rest and reflection: wise living!

    Dear Friends,   Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, the only wise God!  What a day to be alive and learning to know and love God!  The signs are everywhere of the last days and God’s Word tells us to live wisely and make the most of our time as we see the Day of Christ approaching. (Ephesians 5:15-16)  Those who are righteous will become more righteous and live by the Spirit, following Christ more closely.  Those who are wicked will become more wicked, following their own flesh and the evil spirits of this world more closely.  (Revelation 22:10-11)

    As we read Proverbs, we are exposed to wisdom for successful daily living.  The proverbs were wise sayings and nuggets of God’s truth that would help to discern the right path.  These truths were particularly helpful to youth and children who were beginning their walk through life.  Parents were to teach their children wise living.  They taught by impressing truth on the hearts of the young during daily meals, Sabbath day church gatherings, work, and sharing at bedtime around the fire.

    According to God’s Word, wise living always centered on loving God and obeying His commandments.  This wisdom has it’s beginning in a deep respect for God as Creator and giver of life!  The term used in Scripture is the ‘fear of the Lord’.  Parents teach the ‘fear of the Lord’ by their attitude towards God and God’s house.  Regular church attendance and worship is a good indication of a desire to live wisely.  Daily study of the Word of God and prayer are spiritual disciplines that indicate a desire to know God’s will in order to submit to it and obey it.  Wise living honors God’s Word as the rule of faith and practice.  We treat it with respect and believe it is truth–all of it!  When we cut out parts of the Bible because it doesn’t line up with what ‘science’ teaches or with what we want to believe, then we have lost our fear of the Lord and our ability to know truth.  This is a dangerous place to be!

    In the last days, men will refuse a love of the truth, believe a lie, and end up in damnation.  (2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12)  When we have no fear of God or His Word, a delusion of deception blinds us even further.  We lose our ability to discern right from wrong.  We end up delighting in wickedness and going to our destruction.    Now is the time to press on to know the Lord and live wisely in obedience and faith.  Jesus is coming soon!  (Revelation 22:20)

  • Sunday rest–“This is the Day!”

    Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ! 

    As we reflect on the readings of this past week, one of the psalms comes immediately to mind: Psalm 118.  The very center of the Bible, as far as number of verses, is Psalm 118:8: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man”. This really mirrors the theme of the entire Bible.  This chapter occurs between the shortest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 117, and the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119.

    This chapter is also the last of a series of psalms called the “Hallel”, which is the Hebrew word for “praise the Lord”!  This series from Psalm 111-118 was read during Passover week and Psalm 118 concluded the Passover meal as the final cup was taken and the coming Messiah was anticipated.  Jesus most likely would have read this psalm at the Last Supper with His disciples before He led them out to the Garden of Gethsemane. 

    The psalm begins with thanks to the Lord for His goodness and love.  The psalmist recorded his anguish of crying out to the Lord and the Lord setting him free. (Psalm 118:5-6)   He was convinced that the Lord was with him and that was all the help he would need in this painful situation.   The psalmist was surrounded by the nations on every side, but in the name of the Lord he cut them off.  They swarmed around him like bees, but he cut them off again. (Psalm 118:10-12)  He was about to fall, but the Lord helped him.  He became his strength and song, and ultimately his salvation.  (Psalm 118:15-16)

    The psalmist proclaims that he will live and not die, but proclaim what the Lord has done!  God had chastened him severely, but not given him over to death.  He cried out for God to open the gates of righteousness which the righteous may enter and thank the Lord for His goodness and salvation.  God, Himself, had become his salvation!  The Lord, Himself had done this–what a marvelous sight!  (Psalm 118:17-23)  The cornerstone that the builders had rejected had become the chief cornerstone!

    Psalm 118:24 declares that: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”  That Passover day was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ for our sins!  He was not given over to death, only chastened severely by the Lord!  The gate of righteousness was opened for all who would believe!  The Lord did it all!  It is marvelous in our eyes!  Hallelujah!

  • Sunday rest and reflection-Moses’ psalm

    Dear friends of Jesus,

    Greetings on this another day to rest and worship!  God’s praises have been sung throughout eternity by those whom He has created.  Our God is worthy of praise for many reasons!  He is creator, redeemer, sustainer, lover of mankind, life-giver, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, full of compassion for the hurting and weak, protector of widows and orphans, and ultimately the judge of all men and angels!

    The oldest psalm in the psalter comes from the pen of Moses, the man of God, who lived about 1500 years before Christ.  Indications are that Moses wrote this psalm during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.  Moses proclaimed God as man’s dwelling place from generations past, back to the very first man! (Psalm 90:1)  Moses knew and worshiped God as creator and the everlasting God Who sits above time and history. (Psalm 90:2-4)  God is in control of all life and ultimately judges all sin because He knows about all sin.  Man’s time on earth is short and full of trouble because of sin and death ends our stay here as a result of sin. (Psalm 90:4-10)

    Moses petitioned God for an understanding of our short time here on earth that we might have a heart of wisdom.  We need God’s mercy and compassion in our lives in order to understand life.  We need God’s love to know how to love and live effectively.  Moses asked for God’s blessing and favor on His people, particularly the children.  Passing the torch of faith was important to Moses.  We all long for lasting significance and fulfilled purpose, and  Moses was no different.

    As you rest this Lord’s day, thank Him for eternal life and the promises of God we have in Jesus Christ.  Moses was wandering in the wilderness experiencing God’s wrath and yet walking by faith.  We now have the Holy Spirit and the Word of  God and are blessed and favored people.  Moses’ psalm gives us food for thought and reason for thanks!  Have a great week in the Lord!  In His Love, Pastor John

  • Sunday rest and reflection–prayer

    Greetings on this day to rest and worship!  The Sabbath or seventh day was made for man to help him recover and center his life again on the source of life.  We have a tendency to center on ourselves, our work, our happiness, and to pamper our flesh.  This book of Psalms helps us to re-center our lives in the source of life, God Himself.

    We are designed with the unique ability to communicate.  We can talk to God and hear Him speak to us.  Many of the psalms are prayers that are written out as poetry or in the form of a song.  Music and rhythm help us express the depths of our soul.  In prayer we can share honestly with God our deepest feelings, hurts, fears, and longings.  We can express our frustrations and ask for help, guidance, or divine intervention.  Some of the psalms flow with troubles and needs.  Often, they conclude with a re-centering on God and His ability to save, heal or deliver.

    There have been some who advocate only speaking positive confessions about everything in our life experience.  They say that if we speak about our troubles or fears, we open ourselves up for Satan to bring us further trouble.  These psalms show us that we can be honest with God about our feelings, hurts and pains.  We must come back to a good confession of trust in God’s ability to guide and help us, however.  We should not live in negativity!  Casting cares on the Lord is the right thing to do for it helps us remember God’s great ability to help us and brings us peace and comfort.

    Psalm 42 is a great example of a prayer of centering in a time of trouble.  Join the psalmist in this prayer of honest sharing of his heart’s needs.   (Psalm 42:1-2)  Cast every care on Him, He cares for you!  (Psalm 42:5-6)  Pray about everything, worry about nothing!  (Psalm 42:7-8) May the peace that passes human understanding stand guard over your heart and life today and throughout the coming week!  (Psalm 42:11)  God bless you!  In His Love, Pastor John

  • Sunday rest and reflection–worship

    Dear friends, Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, the One worthy of all worship!  When many people think of worship, they think of singing hymns or spiritual songs.  Some people think of a church service with a choir, instruments, and people following a worship leader.  Whatever your worship ideal, spend time today honoring God in worship and gathering with His people.

    Psalms was the temple worship book of the Old Testament Jew.  This was compiled over one thousand years of time and represents a variety of authors and different worship styles.  Most are poetry set to music and were accompanied by instruments.  There were several kinds of musical instruments mentioned for worship. The sounding trumpet was to praise the Lord!  The harp was played by King David.  The lyre was a stringed instrument, similar to the guitar or mandolin. (Psalm 150:3-4) The flute and  resounding cymbals are also mentioned as well as the tambourine.  (Psalm 149:3; 150:5)

    During times of worship, people might kneel or bow down.  Sometimes they stood to honor the Lord and His Word.  Sometimes they would raise their hands or clap their hands.  They would sing the Psalms or they might sing a “new song” to the Lord that came from their hearts by the Spirit.  At other times, they would dance and shout or sing before the Lord with loud voices and passionate dance.  David was judged to have made a fool of himself by dancing before the Lord!  Sometimes the congregation would be still and simply recognize that God was God.  However you want to express your honor and devotion to the Lord will be accepted if it is done in a spirit of humility and true worship.   God sees the heart.

    May your life of worship, be blessed!  We gather with God’s people for worship, but go out to live a life of worship, honoring God in each day with every breath! We sing to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and make melody in our hearts to the Lord, doing everything to His glory!

    In His Glorious Worship,  Pastor John

  • Sunday rest–Forgiveness and Restoration

    Dear brothers and sisters,

    Greetings on this day of rest! Reflecting today on the trial of Job, we see that our Lord was and is good and that His plans to restore and bless His people are amazing. Job had lost everything over a period of time that is not defined for us, probably a year or more. He lost his children, in spite of praying and sacrificing for them regularly. He lost his wealth and possessions through theft, even though he was generous and did not worship his wealth or possessions. Then he lost his health and vigor when he should have been in his prime. In all this, Job did not curse God or accuse Him of wrongdoing.

    As he experienced this trial, he was abandoned by his wife, who told him to ‘curse God and die.’ His three friends did come to sit with him in silence at first. But as they began to speak, they took up the taunt of our enemy the devil, accuser of the brethren. They accused him of harboring some unknown sin and of pride and arrogance. They told him he was being punished even less than he deserved. Job told them that they were ‘miserable comforters’! The young man, Elihu, also tried to offer wisdom but failed Job in telling him that God was clothed in awesome majesty, but that no one could find Him, especially those wise in their own conceit (like Job)! (Job 3:24)

    But God does appear to Job and speaks personally to him out of a whirlwind. He questions Job and probes his lack of true understanding of God and His creation. Job repents of his own doubts and questions for God. God instructed Job to pray for his friends, forgiving them and blessing them. “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:10 This emphasized how important forgiveness is in our relationship with God and others who may wrong us. Job lived another 140 years and had ten more children and many grandchildren to the forth generation! God is Good! In His Love,  Pastor John

  • Sunday rest and reflection–suffering

    Greetings on this day of rest!   As we study Job, we come to understand that God’s ways are different than ours.  He allowed suffering even in the life of his finest servants.   God, Himself, had declared Job to be blameless.  God knew that Job was a righteous man who feared Him and tried to please Him.  Job sacrificed to God and prayed for his children. 

    Wouldn’t life be better and more satisfying if we never have to suffer?  What did Job gain from this gruesome experience?  We have many questions and few answers.   Jesus declared that trouble was to be part of life in a fallen world.  (John 16:33)  He told his disciples that if they wanted to follow Him, they must take up a cross, implying suffering and death.  (Luke 14:27)   He warned them that because of Him there would be division and strife in families and between friends.  (Matthew 12:51-53)  Jesus also warned of great turmoil and wars in the last days and that His followers must be watchful and prayerful  in order to escape and stand before the Son of Man.  (Luke 21:23-24)  (Luke 21:36)

    Jesus, Himself, faced sorrows, suffering and death while He was here on earth.  Although He was righteous and truly blameless, He was falsely accused and treated unfairly.  Peter declared that when Jesus suffered unjustly, He entrusted Himself to the Father Who would judge justly! (1st Peter 2:23)  He never retaliated or answered harshly to those who mistreated Him.   He simply fulfilled the purpose of the Father by offering His body as a sacrifice for our sins.  (1st Peter 2:24)  Peter stated that since Jesus suffered in His body, we should also be prepared to suffer with the same attitude.  (1st Peter 4:1)  When we suffer in our body, Peter says we cease from sin and focus on living for the will of God. (1st Peter 4:2)  We are to rejoice when we suffer because of identification with Jesus Christ.  He promises that the Spirit of Grace and Glory will rest on us!  (1st Peter 4:12-14)

    These thoughts on suffering run counter to the attitudes of the world we live in.  Job was suffering because of His righteous trust in God.  God’s grace sustained him and in the end he was truly blessed!  May we develop the attitude of Jesus Christ towards suffering!  In His Love,  Pastor John

  • Sunday rest and reflection: providence

    Dear brothers and sisters,

    Greetings on this wonderful day of refreshing!  Every day is a day of refreshing in Jesus Christ, but Christians celebrate a day of worship and rest on the first day of the week because that is the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead!  This supernatural event declares Jesus to be the Son of God with power!  (Romans 1:4)  He stands uniquely above any other person because of this event and their are many eye-witnesses that testified to this truth!

    I want to reflect today on the “providence” of God.  Providence is a word that seems to mean “chance” or “luck”.  But Christians do not believe in “luck”.  Our God is sovereign and has the power to bring about His purposes.  He alone knows all things.  He knows what will happen and how things will happen.  He also has the power to make things happen.  He is bound by His love and the covenant He made with man and by His own Word.  If He has said it, He will do it!  He has also decreed that He will hear the prayers of His people and act upon them in a way to bring about their forgiveness, deliverance, healing and prosperity in accordance with His own Word.

     In God’s economy, everything will work for good for those that love God and seek Him in prayer.  (Romans 8:26-28)  He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us to pray according to the will of God!  As we pray in the Spirit,  He can take that which was meant for evil and turn it to our good.  He can take evil men and turn the tables on them!  He can bring hidden things to light at just the right time to change the course of history!  Esther’s story with that of her Uncle Mordecai gives us glimpses into the miraculous providence of God released when His people pray!  Have a great day of rest and may the providence of our Lord fill you with joy and peace!  In His Love, Pastor John

  • Sunday rest and reflection: prayer

    Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, our coming King and eternal Savior!  “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24)   It is a choice to rejoice in the Lord each and every day!  Each day is a new day with new understanding of how great our God is!  As we begin another week, set aside time to reflect on God Himself.  Take time to commune with Him!  Take time to be with others of like-precious faith who gather to worship, study, and thank Him in community!  We especially need this as we see the day of the Lord approaching!  (Hebrews 10:25)

    We have been reading this past week about Ezra and Nehemiah, two great men in the history of Israel who relied on God and lived lives of prayer and obedience.  Ezra offered praise and thanks to the Lord for granting him favor to rebuild the temple.  (Ezra 7:27-28)  Ezra prayed for traveling mercies for his party with all the gold and silver articles for the temple. (Ezra 8:21-23)  After God brought them safely to Jerusalem, they met with others and offered sacrifices and thanked the Lord.  Ezra heard about the unfaithfulness of those who had married outside of the faith and he again humbled himself to pray and fast and confess the sins of his countrymen.  (Ezra 9:5-15)  Others gathered with him and they sought the Lord.  God brought repentance and cleansing as they prayed together.

    Nehemiah carried a burden for Jerusalem and it’s broken walls.  He began to pray to the Lord about his burden.  (Nehemiah 1:5-11)  God gave him opportunity to speak with the Persian king, Artaxerxes, and he prayed again.  (Nehemiah 2:4) God granted him favor and he was sent by this pagan king to rebuild the walls, along with materials and money as well as workers!  As he arrived, God gave him a vision to put the people to work by families, assigning them personal responsibility near their own homes.  Prayer was offered to combat discouragement and stop opposing forces. (Nehemiah 4:4-5)   Nehemiah armed the workers and encouraged them to work and fight for their own children, homes and families!  (Nehemiah 4:14)  He had a trumpeter near him at all times to sound a call to fight (or pray) when an attack might come.  (Nehemiah 4:20) 

    Take time today to praise the Lord, thank Him for Who He is.  Do this for yourself and for your family!  Meet with God’s people and worship in community!  He is coming soon! In His Love, Pastor John

  • Sunday rest and reflection: mercy!

    Dear Brothers and Sisters, Greetings on this day of worship and reflection!  God is to be praised for His mercy and long-suffering!  As I think back on the nearly 500 years of history in the Kings and Chronicles, God surely was patient with His people!  He suffered long with their stubbornness.  He waited patiently for them to respond to His prophets and Word.  He punished them, but still His mercy was extended to those who would listen and respond.  They endured wars, captivity, famines, internal bickering and strife while God kept continually offering them His amazing grace!  They only needed to turn to Him in repentance and call on His name and He would hear and answer!  How long our God bears with us!

    As I think about the day we live in, God is still offering the amazing grace of forgiveness!  He is still suffering long and ready to extend His cleansing grace.  All who call out to Him are heard!  He still saves and delivers.  He forgives sin, rebellion and strife when His people repent!  He has sent His people out with a message of good news!  God’s wrath has been satisfied with the blood of His own Son!  Whoever believes can get in on it!  What an amazing display of mercy available to all who will come to Him!

    After the trials and tests of this life are over, God promises us full life with Him forever!  This is extreme mercy!  We who were His enemies are now brought near and given a full inheritance!  The same God who foretold the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple, tells us of a new heavens and new earth where we will dwell in righteousness with Him forever!  Go and tell the Good News of God’s amazing mercy!  Have a great week in Jesus Christ!  Love in Him, Pastor John