Day 67: Honor the Sabbath

Scripture to Memorize:
Her children arise and call her blessed,
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."
Proverbs 31:28-29
Passage to Read:
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.
Hebrews 4:9-11
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for creating the Sabbath to give your people rest. Left to our own devices we would exhaust ourselves pursuing things and stuff. But you know what we need and therefore created a day to be set aside for rest. Help me to not only be grateful for the day of rest but not consider it simply a duty or inconvenience. Holy Spirit help me to realize that the Sabbath was created for me not something you demand of me. You were not punishing yourself when you took time to rest and neither is it a punishment when you ask me to rest. It's for my good and the good of my family. Therefore with your grace help me to make every effort to enter into that rest. In Jesus Precious Name Amen.
Personal:
Today Donna stresses the important of physical rest. Not because of the law and not because God will hit us over the head with a hammer if we don't rest but because it helps us regain our strength and puts life back into perspective. She states that "I'm not going to give you a specific prescription, but I'll give two simple guidelines for the Sabbath: If it's work-related or stressful, don't do it. If it's restful, do it." Next Donna shares some of her family's Sabbath traditions. Once a month they have the whole extended family over for Sunday supper. Also around 7:00PM they have communion. "We gather in our family prayer chapel (formerly dining room/school room) and talk casually about the previous week. The we read a Scripture passage and share a brief teaching. We take turns confessing our sins and offering a word of encouragement to each person. We have two simple rules. We can confess our own sins and point out what everyone else did right. We cannot brag about or defend ourselves and point out what someone else did wrong. These rules apply to everyone and have proven 100 percent effective in ensuring that communion is always a powerful, spiritually uplifting time for each of us."
Next Donna encourages us to make our Sabbath celebration something that is restful and meaningful to your family. She stresses that we "put somethought, prayer, and preparation into it and let the Holy Spirit be your guide. I believe one of the greatest blessings you can give to your children is the tradition of honoring the Sabbath."
Affirmation: I honor the Sabbath.
Practical:
For me the way I make the Sabbath special is that it is a day that is marked by church services and Sunday School and then the afternoon is spent in Bible study or listening to special messages. If not that then some other activity that is not related to work and is not stressful. Sometimes I'm not always able to do this. Sometimes there are tasks remaining that must be done of Sunday afternoon. But as often as I can I mark Sunday as a day of rest.