Living on Sabbath Time: Day 18/31
- “Good health is not the absence of symptoms but the beating of a thankful heart.” David A. Redding, The Miracles of Christ, p. 80
Leviticus 22:29-30 (NKJV) 29 And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it of your own free will. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the LORD.
Happy Sabbath Monday!
Today I’d like to draw your attention to the same verses that we looked at on Saturday. Notice the expression, “On the same day it shall
- A little Christmas in July!
be eaten.” I want to remind you that Sabbath is not about “saving up” all week so that you can be thankful, cheerful and have fun on your Sabbath day.
If we’re not careful we will turn “Sabbath” into a type of Christmas. You know how we are. We may go all year and it not occur to us to
buy people gifts. Many families can go weeks and months at a time and not call or visit each other. Many seldom have special family meals where the entire family sits around a table and enjoy a good meal and conversation. Many families can go all year without church and faith being a major priority. And then comes Christmas and like Salmon killing themselves to get back to their place of birth, we go crazy buying gifts, attending parties and church, decorating our homes, sending cards, traveling to visit family and the list could go on.
Why do we do this? Why do we get into the “I-can’t-wait-for-the-weekend” mindset? Don’t join the “Mondays are bad” club or the “Terrible Tuesday club” or any other club that says certain days are bad because they are work days. Let’s practice Sabbath living by remembering to be thankful every day. God says, choose – by your own freewill – to be thankful and to enjoy life; and furthermore He says, “Don’t wait! Do it now.”
I say, “Shame on us!” if we fail to celebrate God’s goodness today. Laughs can’t be saved up for a more opportune time – laugh now! Fun moments can’t be bottled up for later; they must be enjoyed in that moment. Telling the special people in your life that you love them three or four times each day is far better than one big “I love you” on a birthday or anniversary. Giving one rose today is far better than giving a beautiful spray of flowers at someone’s funeral. Bottom line – do it now!
Let’s scrap the “living-for-for-the-weekend” strategy and enjoy life today. Let’s stop counting the days until Christmas and have Christmas in July. Why wait? God says to not even wait until the next morning – do it now!
Wishing you a marvelous Monday,
dlkemp
