Whoa Nellie!!!

I just love my day of rest! Maybe I'm just the odd man out, but I'm thanking God for the Christian Sabbath. After a very busy week, with work, class, children, cooking, cleaning, writing, and researching, come Sunday I truly enjoy my day of rest.

When Christ said the Sabbath was made for man, all I can say is "Praise the Lord for that!" What better day than the Lord's Day to rest and rejoice with family and friends. Oh yeah, I do think that a good dose of fellowship with fellow believers is great on the Lord's Day.

Sometimes I get the sense that we don't want to slow down. It's so easy to schedule something on a Sunday and so hard not to. But we make the choice to run ourselves raggedy and all for what?

Now I'm not a strict Sabbath guy, if I feel like going to say to a resturant on Sunday - I'll go. But what I started doing was examining my own heart and motives. Do I need to go to that resturant, or to a movie? Couldn't I spend the time with my children or reading a good devotional, or taking a nice nap? Mind you this is all after I come home from church. I believe that the Christian Sabbath is a holy day for the Lord. You can glorify God by spending time with your children and not the TV. Or fellowshiping with other believers.

I think the focus for this one day should be off the outside world, and on our relationship with God, family and friends. The Westminster Confession of Faith states

This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employements and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy. (WCF, XXI.8)

Basically let's put this in horsie terms, "Whoa Nellie! - slow down!" We need to take advantage of what God has given us, a day of rest. I think he knows what we need, don't you?

Soli Deo Gloria