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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
“The LORD replied,” My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” Exodus 16:14 (NIV)
As a senior citizen, I find myself sometimes taking morning naps. Sometimes this happens out of necessity; other times, it just happens. Rest is important to us as human beings. We fortify our physical bodies when we have restorative sleep. It actually helps our bodies to heal itself.
When our children were very small, an afternoon nap gave them a chance to revitalize themselves and we were able to get somethings done that we could not do because of needing to tend to them. Mothers of newborns are encouraged to rest or even nap when their babies do.
REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY
As children of God, we learn the Ten Commandments; Exodus 20:8 states, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (NIV) Then God spells out how the Israelites were to abide by this.
All work was to be done in six days. The seventh day belonged to the Lord. They were to do no work on that day. No one in the households was to work. The reasoning was because God made the all the earth, seas, heavens, and all that is on it. Then God rested on the seventh day.
How do we honor the LORD in the 21Century? We might attend church; we may choose to do our grocery shopping, we may go to the race track, or we may work on a home improvement project. We seem to have forgotten God, supplanting Him with what we think is expedient.
Recently, a couple of friends and I were talking. One said she had fallen into the habit of going to the grocery store on Sunday—the LORD’S day. I explained to the other lady that the Book of Discipline (learning) of our former denomination stated that “no unnecessary work be done on the Lord’s day.”
I shared with them the idea of “cyber-Sabbath,” where a writer abstains from the computer on the Sabbath—either on Saturday or on Sunday. I state this principle as being observed on either of two days for the reasons of honoring God and spending time with our families.
Some businesses in our area close on Saturday because of their faith. We dealt with two of them in the past. Another one is a seasonal venture. However, these businesses stay true to their beliefs.
We have institutions that have to be open every day of the week—hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, penal institutions, fire stations, and police departments. Pastors have to preach on the Lord’s Day.
The healthcare industry has workers scheduled to work every other weekend. On the weekends they work, they get days off in lieu of the weekend days worked. Correction workers have a floating day off on a regular basis. Pastors take another day off to rest from their weeks and to maintain their strength—physical, mental, and spiritual. Those who work in church offices also need to have time away from their jobs to rest and attend to temporal things for which they are responsible.
As Christians, we need to return to the practice of honoring God and keeping His day as He intended.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.