Sabbath Rest

Looking back over my somewhat busy work life and listening to my children talk about how busy they are, with work and family- I wonder?..

Did I allow time for sabbath rest?

Do I allow time now for sabbath rest?

Do our children allow time for sabbath rest?

*For me it is The Lordโ€™s Day- Sunday

While thinking about and researching for info on sabbath rest, I came upon an article written byย Tim Keller who is the Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New Yorkโ€ฆ Link to Wisdom and Sabbath Rest articleย ย 

I speak to many retired people and they are so busy that they wonder where they found time to work. I ask young working people and their schedule is โ€œflat out.โ€

โ€œOn the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and madeโ€ (Genesis 2:2, 3). Because God rested on the seventh day, he designated it a holy day to be remembered for all time. โ€œRemember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,โ€ He says in the fourth commandment. โ€œSix days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your Godโ€ (Exodus 20:8-10).

How do I/we reverence God in our sabbath rest? What does God expect and approve of in our sabbath rest?.

A work in progress..please feel free to send comments to stevewish2@gmail.comย 

Subject: Sabbath Rest- also let me know if I can add your comments to this article.

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Did I Mince Oaths

A few months ago I wrote an article on minced oaths. I had never heard the term before and only noted it when someone said โ€œdonโ€™t go mincing oaths.โ€

Today, we were down to my brotherโ€™s house, with his family and some of their friends. They celebrate a little different that we do and some of them enjoy a drink of wine, beer or some other alcoholic beverages. After, my wife and I dropped into their home to say hello and offer christmas greetings, I decided to stop into his garage/shed/party room and say hello to some of my relatives and meet some of my brotherโ€™s friends. Some of them I knew from my sporting days.

Most of them know about my Christian experience and some made a few comments which were in fun. One thing I am thankful for is their respect. We had some conversation about the past and some of the changes that have taken place in our lifetime. There were a few religious comments.

Being different in a room of seven or eight men and a few women can be challenging. As I am writing this, I wonder did I mince oaths in my conversation? The answer appears to be no as I sense no conviction from the indwelling Holy Spirit. I have learned, in my Christian walk, that if I do, say or think something that God does not approve of ย that I feel a prick (tormented) in my conscience or spirit.

The following is the article that I mentioned earlier.

A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo term to reduce the originalย termโ€™s objectionable characteristics.

You will find, below the questions, ย a link to a website that has a list of minced oaths and their meaning.

Throughout the Bible Christians are admonished to be very careful about their speech, especially when it comes toย  showing respect and reverence to God.ย  In todayโ€™s society, it is common for the secular world to use euphemisms such as โ€˜geeโ€™ or โ€˜goshโ€™, or acronyms such as โ€˜OMGโ€™ as a means of expressing oathsย in a mild or less offensive manner.ย  Unfortunately, many Christians also seem to think thatย using these terms is acceptable, and often use them without stopping to consider their real meaning.ย  For example, โ€˜geeโ€™ or โ€˜goshโ€™ are both used as substitutes for Jesus or God.ย  Some may use terms such as โ€˜holy cowโ€™ or even โ€˜holy crapโ€™ nonchalantly, or without any thought as to the impression it may leave.ย  Holy is a word which should only be used in describing something that is moral or ethical in the sight of God.ย  Christians are to be holy or set apart for God, and their language should always be such that will show reverence, and reflect an appreciation for the holiness found only in our triune God.

Isaiah 6:5 ย  โ€˜Thenย I said, Woe is me, for I am ruined! because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; forย  my eyes haveย  seenย theย King, the LORD of hosts.โ€™

Psalm 19:14ย ย ย ย  โ€˜Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.โ€™

Psalm 141:3ย ย ย ย  โ€˜Set a guard O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.โ€™

Colossians 4:6ย  โ€˜Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so you will know how you should answer every man.โ€™

Colossians 3:17 โ€˜And whatever you do in word or deed, do allย  in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.โ€™

Do you find yourself using โ€˜mild oathsโ€™ carelessly?

Do you think it is wrong for Christians to use such language?

How can one change or get rid of such a habit?

More examples of minced oaths

The Salvation Army Christmas Kettle

I have stood as a greeter, on The Salvation Army Christmas kettle, many times over the past forty years. My usual placement is the liquor store. During my early years as a greeter, I would meet a lot of my friends and those whom I played soccer or softball against.ย Most of them knew that I didnโ€™t drink alcohoolic beverages and the reasons why.

It always troubled me and still does when I see some of them who drink to access and some who have lost everything because of their addiction to alcohol. It bothers me when I see parents bring their children into the liquor store and when I see young people, who need to have their id checked, purchasing alcoholic products. The amount of alcohol, that some people purchase, still astounds me.

Two things stand out from my last placement. An aquaintance, who I had known years ago and whom I as well as others had tried to help, came in to buy his flask. He stood at the cashier and glanced my way and called me by name. I could see the sadness and the memories of what used to be. We spoke, from a short distance and he turned, looked back and walked away. He was unsteady as the alcohol had ravaged his body and his mind.

I had a short conversation with the gentleman, whom I replaced as a greeter, on the kettle. He was a few years older then me and I had never met him before. After we introduced ourselves, he mentioned that he had known my father. This is what he said, โ€˜โ€when your father and his good friend, would go moose hunting they would take the liquor store with them.โ€ A bit exaggerated but he spoke the truth.

The stories, related, are a couple of the reasons why I donโ€™t drink alcoholic beverages, There are many othersโ€ฆย  ..

Paulaโ€™s Christmas Story

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Throughout our daily living, we all have to make multiple decisions, however; sometimes they are not straight forward. ย This morning I have to decide on doing one of three things. They are all priority. One will take about three to four hours to complete and the other two will take two to three days to complete for each of them.

The first thing that I did was to ask the Lord to help me decide on which order to complete the tasks. The later two would require me to break a commitment that I had made to have a job completed or started on a certain date. The job completion task has taken me longer because of work that had to be done by another worker that pushed my finish date back. Unfortunately, I had to be there to help and instruct him with his work. In addition, a friend needs me to help him, with some work, that will take a day or two to complete. He is a new Christian who needs guidance and friendship.

Decisions, such as I have to make can cause stress and anxiety. My solution is as follows.

  1. Pray and ask God for direction in making the right decisions.
  2. Write on paper the things that I have to do and prioritize them.
  3. If ther are conflicting jobs, I will contact the people , explain the situation and see if we can work out a compromise that will keep everybody happy.

Decisions are madeโ€ฆI feel relaxed and at peace.. And I can smeel the baconโ€ฆbreakfast

Be Blessed

Steve

1 Peter 5:7New International Version (NIV)

7ย Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.