Devotion - A Day Of Rest
A Day of Rest
Then He said to them “The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27
As Jesus and His hungry disciples passed through the grain field, they picked heads of grain to eat along the way. Now, according to Deuteronomy 23:25, it was lawful to pick heads of grain by hand from a man's grain field, but the Pharisees demanded to know why they were working on the Sabbath. “Six days you shall do your work, but on the 7th day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.” Exodus 23:12.
The law of Moses (Deuteronomy 5:14) commanded them to keep the Sabbath, but the question was not how to keep it. The Jews added a burdensome number of manmade laws designed toward this end. But as usual, Jesus had a response that cut to the truth and skipped the superficial blame game. He reminded the Pharisees that David and his men, who were also hungry in their flight from king Saul, ate the showbread, which only priests were allowed to eat. Sure, David technically broke the law of Moses. But under certain conditions of need Jesus demonstrated that the violation was allowable. The true needs of humankind were more important than following religion laws to the letter.
God created the Sabbath as a day of rest from their toil. The Sabbath day is meant to be a blessing to us, a time of rest and restoration, and a day of worship and rejoicing in the Lord, Who made us.
+++
We live in a world which loves rules and hates rule breakers. What is true in our society is also true in the church, and it has always been this way. The previous devotional message testifies to the Grace of God rather than the Law.
Yes, the Law of God is pure and holy, but the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had turned what was to be a blessing into a ridged set of rules by which you were either acceptable to God or rejected by Him.
The church of today is guilty of the same error. We make rules on how we are to dress, act, speak, participate, etc. We set a standard and in doing so we forget about Grace!
Jesus never met a person He did not love. God the Father never looks upon a person in this world He does not want as His child. Jesus came into this world precisely because God loves everyone equally!
God does not just love the “good” people! Jesus died for all people because all of us are sinful and we all stand in need of forgiveness. Jesus accomplished this on the cross and we come to God purely by His grace through faith.
The Law of God given in the Old Testament was intended to guide God’s people on how to live as the people of God. It was not given to establish them as God’s children, but rather to bless them in their life as the people of God.
There is not a one of us who is holy by our own merits to stand before God. The next time you feel the urge to judge someone because of how they look or what they are doing, stop and think for a moment. The old phrase, “There but for the grace of God go I” is a fitting thought when you are tempted to judge. Then instead of being filled with indignation, make the choice to love and pray for the person you are watching. Let your heart feel what God’s heart is feeling at that moment. Let God’s love in you flow through you to bless and just possibly that person will be able to see Jesus in you!
Blessings on your week,
Pastor Russ
Then He said to them “The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27
As Jesus and His hungry disciples passed through the grain field, they picked heads of grain to eat along the way. Now, according to Deuteronomy 23:25, it was lawful to pick heads of grain by hand from a man's grain field, but the Pharisees demanded to know why they were working on the Sabbath. “Six days you shall do your work, but on the 7th day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.” Exodus 23:12.
The law of Moses (Deuteronomy 5:14) commanded them to keep the Sabbath, but the question was not how to keep it. The Jews added a burdensome number of manmade laws designed toward this end. But as usual, Jesus had a response that cut to the truth and skipped the superficial blame game. He reminded the Pharisees that David and his men, who were also hungry in their flight from king Saul, ate the showbread, which only priests were allowed to eat. Sure, David technically broke the law of Moses. But under certain conditions of need Jesus demonstrated that the violation was allowable. The true needs of humankind were more important than following religion laws to the letter.
God created the Sabbath as a day of rest from their toil. The Sabbath day is meant to be a blessing to us, a time of rest and restoration, and a day of worship and rejoicing in the Lord, Who made us.
+++
We live in a world which loves rules and hates rule breakers. What is true in our society is also true in the church, and it has always been this way. The previous devotional message testifies to the Grace of God rather than the Law.
Yes, the Law of God is pure and holy, but the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had turned what was to be a blessing into a ridged set of rules by which you were either acceptable to God or rejected by Him.
The church of today is guilty of the same error. We make rules on how we are to dress, act, speak, participate, etc. We set a standard and in doing so we forget about Grace!
Jesus never met a person He did not love. God the Father never looks upon a person in this world He does not want as His child. Jesus came into this world precisely because God loves everyone equally!
God does not just love the “good” people! Jesus died for all people because all of us are sinful and we all stand in need of forgiveness. Jesus accomplished this on the cross and we come to God purely by His grace through faith.
The Law of God given in the Old Testament was intended to guide God’s people on how to live as the people of God. It was not given to establish them as God’s children, but rather to bless them in their life as the people of God.
There is not a one of us who is holy by our own merits to stand before God. The next time you feel the urge to judge someone because of how they look or what they are doing, stop and think for a moment. The old phrase, “There but for the grace of God go I” is a fitting thought when you are tempted to judge. Then instead of being filled with indignation, make the choice to love and pray for the person you are watching. Let your heart feel what God’s heart is feeling at that moment. Let God’s love in you flow through you to bless and just possibly that person will be able to see Jesus in you!
Blessings on your week,
Pastor Russ
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