I love Snow Days! On a snow day, when routines are suspended and life comes to a standstill, perhaps there is an invitation. We are invited to enter into a Sabbath time. We are gifted with the time, the space, and the quiet that are necessary to be with God and family. We can take some quiet time and not feel like there is something more worthwhile we should be doing. The snow day invites us to experience the gift of Sabbath but it is up to us to engage it with intention. Once we have tried it a few times and begin to appreciate the value of it, then we can promise ourselves that we will go against the culture and regularly give ourselves the gift of Sabbath. It may take a lot of planning and preparation. We might have to be determined. We might have to say no to other invitations. We might have to miss out on other enticing opportunities. We might fail. But I believe the gift of Sabbath is one that contributes to health and happiness in life. Sabbath can help us to engage the rest of life with more energy and enthusiasm. Sabbath transforms our busy lives with a touch of that peace that passes understanding. Sabbath is a very worthwhile discipline and practice. This is age old wisdom that has been neglected in our culture. Perhaps it is time to recapture it. Let’s thank God for this very real Snow Day and give him thanks.
Genesis 2: 3: “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made,” “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exod. 31: 17).
Alison and I will be spending the morning in a time of family worship with our kids, you can join us in your own home with your own family. We will sing a few carols and our readings will be from the following advent scripture. Be Blessed.
Sun. Is. 11:1-10
Mon. Zech. 6:12-13
Tue. Mic. 5:2-4
Wed. Mal. 3:1-6
Thu. John 1:1-8
Fri. John 1:9-18
Sat. Mark 1:1-3
Sun. Luke 1:5-13
Mon. Luke 1:14-17
Tue. Luke 1:18-25
Wed. Luke 1:39-45
Thu. Luke 1:46-56
Fri. Luke 1:57-66
Sat. Luke 1:67-80
Sun. Is. 7:10-14
Mon. Luke 1:26-35
Tue. Is. 9:2-7
Wed. Mt. 1:18-25
Thu. Luke 2:1-20
Fri. Mt. 2:1-2
Sat. Luke 2:21-35
This Sunday we learned about the level of commitment that God longs to see in our lives toward him. We took a deep look at the difference between a life lived out of mediocrity or a life lived out of deep responsibility, where we can offer and experience the best of the best. The choice is ours; the responsibility is ours the challenge is to remove the distractions. Distractions are the things in our lives that remove god from being the source of our significance and happiness. The bible has another word for distractions, “idols”. When we think of idols immediately images of golden calves dance in our heads, but anything in our life that distracts us from keeping Jesus the one thing that is our source of happiness and significance becomes an idol. When we keep our focus and make Jesus the one thing then our lives will be a pleasing sacrifice to him and we will offer and experience the best of the best. So where do we begin? Here are some suggestions:
- Keep a log of how your time is spent all week long; chances are you’ll discover some unhealthy patterns that could use changing.
- Log how much time you are spending in personal time with God.
- Begin a list of everything that might be a distraction both good and bad in your life.
- Look to create some alone time each day, you’ll soon discover the distractions.
God’s promise to us is that if we draw near to him then he will draw near to us. In other words if we begin to remove the distractions he will be the source of our significance and happiness and he promises joy unspeakable!
Pastor Anthony
Sermon Series: The Letter of James
