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Have you heard the expression “in the zone”? The time for Christians to get fully immersed in the zone is on the 7th day each week, known to us as the Sabbath. Imagine if we did not have the weekly Sabbath...that would be a scary thing indeed to imagine now, wouldn’t it? People would just keep on zooming along at the speed they want, careering head long into the next week over and over again with no defining barriers. Thankfully our Father has put in place one 24 hour period every 7 days to zone out completely from the hectic, fast paced world to enter into His rest where we learn to rejuvenate both physically and spiritually. There is nothing like it. While the rest of the world goes to work, plays sports, goes shopping, or does the chores around the home, we have “downed tools” (stopped work for those outside Australia) to fill up on the premium elixir of life...our Creator. This is one of the greatest blessings God has given to us.
To be able to sleep in without an alarm clock waking us up is such a joy and a great start to the Sabbath. Perhaps we have had a lovely meal the evening prior with our physical families or with brethren as the Sabbath began on Friday at sunset. There may have been plenty of time over dinner and afterwards to have iron sharpen iron as in Proverbs 17:9, while discussion ensued over passages in the Bible we have been reading and meditating upon. It is a treasure to have others expound on scripture while opening up to us from their personal perspective as it relates to their lives. We all have our own experiences to share and stories to tell. It makes for a lovely way most beneficial to us, God’s children, to get to know one another better.
Zoning in to God will never disappoint. That is what God is there for...to listen to us whenever we pray, to guide us through His word, and to help us develop, grow and learn from the example set by our older Brother, Jesus Christ. We joyfully attend Sabbath services knowing we will be reunited each week with brethren we can fellowship with before and after the service. Building one another up through edification or speaking words of Agape love is vitally important. We should be sharing in one another’s ups and downs, joys and trials, to create and maintain strong bonds for now and the future. It truly is a blessing and privilege to attend.
Zoning out from the world is one of the best things you can do for your health. After all, God is the Master Healer, and being in His Presence on the Sabbath is powerfully healing. Reading and studying in quiet time on the Sabbath restores a sense of well-being to oneself rather than rushing around trying to do so many things as we tend to do on the other 6 days of the week. For me, it is like a reset function, time to “breathe” and collect my thoughts, a restorative balancer, 24 hours of pure bliss in concentrating on my relationship with Father and with spiritual family. Such a contrast that reminds me every 7 days of God’s great purpose for all of humanity. There is nothing better than to be with those of like mind during this holy time when we can all get together. On the occasions when illness keeps us from attending the service and fellowship, it feels so dreadfully disappointing not to be able to attend with the congregation. Missing out on this togetherness feels like something is missing. And it is! At these intervals we can pray for the good health of all those in our congregation and those on the prayer list too. There are so many who are ill around the world and we need to keep up with heartfelt prayers for our brethren, our beloved spiritual family.
For all those who keep the Sabbath at home there is something to seriously consider. If you are infectious, please pray straight away for God to heal you via an anointed cloth that may have to come in the mail if you are so far away and in a remote region. Many of us only have to contact our Pastor via the phone in order to communicate our needs. The apostle Paul speaks about this act of faith in God to heal (Acts 19:11-12). Show your faith by being persistent...do not give up easily. Be like the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8 knowing that God is there for us in the good times as well as in the challenging times. Luke 18:1 specifically begins with the advice of “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart”. Did we hear that...it truly is a matter of faith, not giving up by going to our Father daily. He hears us and encourages us to keep on praying and asking (Ephesians 6:18; Matthew 7:7-11).
We should never forsake the assembling of ourselves with others as scripture tells us in Hebrews 10:24-25. Perhaps that is a prayer we can all contribute towards...for all those who do not attend services to be able to attend because God can provide for those with a blessing such as this. There are extremes such as infection, and no possible way to get to the service due to lack of transport or huge distances, but these can be overturned if you are willing. It just takes faith in prayer. Pray to be able to live near a congregation or pray for the transport whether it is by foot, bicycle, tricycle, horse, car, bus, tram or train. The point is we need to be willing. Perhaps you will be blessed by others who have transport and are able to provide for you as in John 13:35 and Galatians 6:10. God will put it on their hearts at exactly the right time. We just need to display the right attitude of “God, here I am, send me!” with the words of Isaiah 6:8 echoing down through the ages. He will! You will be attending services before you know it and marvel at how He made it all happen and work out for you. These are some of the best accounts of how God works in our lives! Most of them are so unlikely we could never have even imagined the way God could work it all out — remember God is in the business of miracles and He can do anything, ANYTHING (Matthew 19:26). Share them, giving Him the praise and glory always.
There is a situation that would be so awful to experience that I fervently pray it never happens to me — that is to be offended or take offence from another which would cause me to leave or stay away by watching the live telecasts at home rather than assembling with others of like mind on the Sabbath, which is a commanded assembly, a holy convocation (Leviticus 23:3). This is very dangerous ground and exactly what the enemy wants, separation and division. This is one of the very things God hates in Proverbs 6:16-19. If this is what is facing you at this very moment, you must resist and overcome this desperate situation. Do the exact opposite of what you feel like doing. Whatever you do, do not stay at home feeling hard done by, insulted or prideful. Christ would never do this...He would pray for His enemies and tell His Father that they do not know what they are doing.
The devil creates so much mayhem and chaos by broadcasting accusatory attitudes, thereby causing confusion with people behaving less than Godly at times. It is vitally imperative that you plead immediately with God — waste no time, not even another minute — to show you what to do in order to learn, grow, and be like Christ. Remove any pride and humble yourself by fasting and through heartfelt prayer. You need to get to the point of WANTING to change, DESIRE godliness, RESIST the powerful feelings of “it isn’t fair” which feeds into feeling sorry for yourself. That is a trap that is so easy to fall into. You do not want to be like the devil, who felt very sorry for himself, and then threatened God, engaging in warfare and taking one third of the angelic realm with him. Satan became insane, still is, and always will be. Anyone who fights against God, the most high, the author, creator and finisher of our faith is clearly completely insane. Hebrews 12 is excellent to read, review and glean from in order to put things into perspective.
If you decide to have your own will you are then saying to God, “I am rebelling against your will by staying home and doing the very thing You tell us not to do”, because you think you know better than God. This is exactly what Satan did — have his own will. This is insanity and you definitely want no part in it. Run as far away as you can from his maniacal influence and get close to God. Harsh words to hear, difficult to say, but you need a jolt to get you back to thinking clearly and to fellowshipping again despite the wrongs you may have experienced. Show God you have strength of character to overcome petty differences, even lies or deceit, and do the right thing especially when you don’t want to. If you do then you will have passed the test that our enemy the devil wants you to fail. Don’t be tricked into falling victim to his insidious, evil ways. He is laughing as he tries to take your crown away, because if he cannot inherit the Kingdom, then he surely does not want you to inherit either. Return to attending every Sabbath and give others the benefit of your words, your company, your Agape love, and your actions or works as aligned with our Father.
Like the persistent widow, while you are experiencing hardship in trials, you may need comfort and the refreshment of cool, still waters next to green pastures. God lovingly provides Psalm 23 here for you...
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.