November 3: Genesis 2 2-3

Key Verse: Genesis 2 2
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

Devotion:
Right in the beginning of our bibles we have God demonstrating the way things should be done in our lives; having a day of rest where we can escape from the hustle and bustle of our lives, put down the stress of work and just be with God is so important. It does not dictate a particular day to be the sabbath, but it does say at least one day a week. We have tended to congregate on Sunday (as a majority) as this day; but still we allow things to get in our way and spend that time pursuing other things instead of God.

As a working member of a congregation, you may be called to work on Sundays whether it is in making sure the day runs smoothly for others, preaching or whatever else you need to be doing for your church gatherings. Does this mean you don’t get to have a day off? It should not mean that at all – just because Sundays may be busy and non-stop for you does not mean you should not have a day to put aside work and spend time alone with God!

Take another day to be your sabbath where you can set aside the work you do and just try to spend it with God, resting in His arms and in His word. Take time to try and see what God wants you to be doing for the rest of the week and aim to do your best for Him. Take time to ask Him to allow you to have that rest and allow you to simply focus on Him for a day, to remember all He has done for you and all He has done for all of mankind.

If God Himself thought it important to have a day of rest, should we not be trying to maintain that in our lives? You will be surprised how many times God and Jesus remind us of this day of rest in our bibles. It is listed in the Ten Commandments because it is important, and God wants us to remember it. When Moses gain instructions from God about all the things the Israelites should and should not be doing, it was not just the Ten Commandments… but these ten simple commandments give us the basis for living a good life with God!

Points to Ponder:
How many times do you see people working 7 days a week?

Do they spend any quality time with friends, family and God?