The Sabbath

The Sabbath is a day

to reflect

   to rejoice

to rest

Maybe it is just my imagination but it seems that on Sabbath the sky is brighter blue,
the birds sing more sweetly, and I sense a peacefulness.

        Perhaps the reason is because I am taking time to commune with God in nature.
                  As I walk along a country road or hike a woodland trail
       I reflect on God’s creative power as an awesome designer.

                                                     I think about His blessings and find reasons to rejoice in His goodness.
                                                                            Sabbath is to me a day of soul rest.

Sabbath is a day to reflect and remember.

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
Exodus 20:8, 11

I Reflect on

God's Love

God's Blessings

The Cross of Jesus

God's goodness and grace

Sabbath is a day to rejoice and praise God.

“O that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them make sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing.”
Psalm 107:21, 22

I Rejoice in

the light of God’s love manifested at the cross and given to me every day

hearing God speak to my heart words of encouragement and instruction

belonging to Jesus and knowing I am safe in His hands

the blessed hope I have because Jesus has won the victory over the enemy and death

Sabbath is a day of rest

“Thus says the LORD, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved.
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’”
Isaiah 30:15

I Rest from

the labors of my hands

the cares and concerns I carry

the hustle and stresses of life

The Sabbath is a memorial of creation.
God’s work was completed after six days of creating,
and God rested on the seventh day.
“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it,
because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
Genesis 2:3

The Sabbath is a celebration of redemption.
Jesus lived a holy and perfect life which He offered as a sacrifice for sin.
On the cross Jesus cried out, “It is finished.”
That Passover Sabbath Jesus rested in a borrowed tomb as the slain Lamb.
“Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God,
and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren,
who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”
Revelation 12:10

The Sabbath is a sign of my relationship with God.
Setting aside work and spending this day in worship is a declaration of my allegiance to God.
“Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me,
that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
Ezekiel 20:12

In reflecting I remember.
By rejoicing I'm renewed
As I rest I am refreshed.

Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.
Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27, 28