Sabbath-Breaker 1:9 - Do you copy?
Grand Sweep Daily Reading: Numbers 13, 14, 15
Numbers 15:32-36 (NIV)
32 While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Good morning!
Have you ever broken a law, bent a rule, or tiptoed around a tradition? There is something in our human nature that leads all of us to be little rebels now and then. Sunday morning worship was a challenge when our children were young. For many years, my husband led worship services at two different churches every Sunday morning, and he did his best to split his time equally between both congregations. Sunday school overlapped with one early morning worship, and I wanted our children to have an opportunity to attend Sunday school. There were many weeks when I didn’t get to attend one church because of Sunday school. In some respects, it was a good choice, especially for our young children; yet, I found it to be a difficult decision. I loved the people in both congregations and knew if I missed seeing them on Sunday, I might not get to visit with them for at least another week, maybe even longer. Life experience taught me that not everyone enjoys an early morning rush, and my children were no exception to this. Getting three Spaulding babies out of bed, fed and dressed, hair combed, teeth brushed, presentable and happy at 6am made getting to early worship an even greater dilemma. I think our family may have been direct descendants of our Israelites because we certainly seemed to have the corner on grumbling! Some of those blessed car rides to early morning worship permanently scarred my ear drums. When I close my eyes, I can still hear the unhappy bickering coming from the back seat of our station wagon. What a way to begin a worship experience!
Do you ever skip out of worship? I know many people who work in service professions find that their jobs require they be at work on Sunday morning. Personally, I am thankful we have churches in our community who celebrate worship services throughout the week, and even on Saturday. We need to take advantage of every opportunity to spend time together in the presence of God – it is essential to our daily walk. When we miss the corporate worship experience, regardless of our reason, our lives become imbalanced.
The man gathering wood on the Sabbath may have been hungry and needed a fire to cook food. Maybe he was cold. Maybe he was too busy to set aside the day to worship and praise the Lord. God instructed the people to stone this man to death outside the city gates for his obvious disobedience to God’s command. I’ve personally never been stoned for missing Sabbath worship, but I know how heavy my heart feels when I choose to put other things ahead of God. Sabbath worship has become the focal point of my life. I yearn to be in worship with Him. So much so, that I am drawn not only to weekend worship, but I find it is not enough to go once a week. I need Him every hour of every day. Making time to pray and praise Him every day is a joy and a gift that I cannot adequately describe. Have you ever sacrificed time during the week to worship the Lord? The precious moments fill my days with wonder and my nights with peace. Living worship is living joy. I long to worship my Lord not only on Sunday, but each and every day. If I miss this time, the rhythm of my life becomes bumpy. My happy attitude disappears. I find fault and become critical of the ones I love. I take my eyes off the prize for even a moment, and life just isn’t the same. Separation from God is a choice that can bring about a fatal error.
Fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters, spending time praising Jesus, praying together as the body of Christ, attending Bible study, and receiving solid, foundational teaching is our life breath. It is our food. It gives us the energy to get out there and share His love with others. We need this time together. During the next forty days of Lent, will you make Sabbath worship a priority?
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
www.songofdeborah.com
Pray for: the desire to spend time in worship each week. Make the Lord your number one priority. If you make time for Him, the Lord God Almighty will change the direction of your life. I’ll see you at church!
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© Copyright 2007, Deb Spaulding
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