Today's Readings: New Testament -
Luke 12:35-48 / Acts 28:1-16
Old Testament -
Psalms 46 / Leviticus 24-25
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses: Leviticus 25:18-24
18 "Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. 20 You may ask, 'What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?' 21 I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. 22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in. 23 The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. 24 Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land."
Insight:
God promised to protect and provide for the Israelites if they would follow his commands. Part of those commands was to observe Sabbath rests, demonstrating faith in God's promise to provide. The commanded Sabbaths included: the seventh day of each week, special assembly days, and every seventh year. God reminded his people that they were stewards of the land, not permanent owners of the land. The use of the land was his gift to them, but the land itself belonged to God.
Response & Action:
I need to trust God to supply my needs. He knows what I need each day and he is able to provide for me. I can take time for rest and refreshment. The act of taking time to rest and be renewed is a witness of to my trust in God and is, therefore, an act of worship. I need to see my possessions as things God has temporarily entrusted to my care. I benefit from them and should use them to benefit others and bring honor to God.
The earth and all that is in it belong to you, O Lord. Help me to trust you when you say you will take care of me. Help me to depend on you, not on my own strength. Remind me that you made me with the need for rest, and that resting can be an expression and demonstration of my faith in you. Everything I have is from you, O Lord. Help me to be a faithful steward of the things you have entrusted to me, so that I might honor you and do your will. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: Matthew 11:28-30
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Resources:
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting
by Marva Dawn
