“‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.’” Leviticus 23:3 (ESV) God instructed Moses to speak to the people of Israel about the appointed feasts that were to be proclaimed as holy convocations. The appointed feasts included: the Sabbath, the Passover, the Feast of First Fruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths. These holy convocations were intentional ways to express devotion, thanksgiving, gratitude, and worship unto the Lord. The Sabbath is the seventh day, which is Saturday. As Christians, we gather for corporate worship on Sunday of each week in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross on a Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday. We come together on the first day of the week to worship God with our fellow believers. How do we practice the Sabbath now that we operate under the new covenant of grace? God established the Sabbath and modeled Sabbath rest. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11 ESV). Practice a weekly Sabbath by setting aside one day each week to allow God to put you back together. Rest. Reflect. Refrain from producing and racing toward a deadline. Un-string your bow and cultivate a day of personal renewal. Choose a day each week to get off of the race track and pull onto pit road in order to make a pit stop. Allow God to restore you and to refill your tank. Riding HIS Wave, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Category: Sabbath
Categories
Recharge and Refocus
“‘Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.’” Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV) How do you recharge and refocus? In the Fourth Commandment, God reveals the guardrails that prevent burnout in life and in ministry. Here a few essentials to help you embrace the Sabbath God has designed for you. Essential #1: Assess your pace. One day a safari guide instructed his group, “We are going to rest today so our souls can catch up with our bodies.” Can you relate? It is possible to have so many irons in the fire that you put the fire out. Busyness becomes a tool in the hand of the enemy to distract you from God’s best and to deplete your energy meant for accomplishing God’s will. Is your current pace sustainable? Essential #2: Build life-giving relationships and enjoy life-giving activities. Seek out relationships that add value to your life and boast your energy. Build relationships with people who bring out the best in you. Carve out time for life-giving activities. What activities replenish you? Refresh you? Renew you? Exercise consistently, eat healthy, and sleep amply. Essential #3: Disconnect in order to reconnect with God. What do you need to disconnect from? What is your plan for creating space in your schedule to allow God to put you back together emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually? Learn to practice solitude. God invites you into His rest more fully so that you can know Him more deeply in light of eternity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Time for a Pit Stop
“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:11 (NIV) Do you have room in your life for rest? Of course not! You have too much to do and work is calling your name. “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go!” Work is demanding your time, energy, and attention. Work is biblical isn’t it? Doesn’t God expect you to work? Isn’t work God’s idea? Consider the reality that the Creator of the universe established a divine guideline for both work and rest. God was not tired after the six days of creation activity. God chose to model the value of working and resting. God established a pattern for us in order to keep life in balance and to do life God’s way. When your work becomes a space invader, your life is out of balance. God does not want your work to rule your life and to dominate your energy allocation. God wants you to set aside a day each week to cease creating, forming, fashioning, meeting deadlines, and pushing yourself through the performance trap. You need a day to allow God to put you back together. That’s why God created the Sabbath day. You need a day to allow God to re-create you. Transition off of the race track down pit road and allow God to change your spiritual tires, remove the debris from your spiritual windshield, and to refuel your spiritual tank. You need a weekly pit stop! Assess your energy allocation. Evaluate your schedule and your pace. Is your current pace sustainable? Are you positioned to finish strong? Ask God to show you the adjustments you need to make. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2 (NIV) Soul rest has come to mean more to me since entering my forties. For so long, I focused on physical rest and making sure I got ample rest each night. But soul rest is different. Soul rest has to do with how you are doing on the inside. Soul rest has to do with your relationship with the Lord and with others. Soul rest has to do with your level of morality, godliness, and purity. When your load exceeds your limit, you get tired physically and experience soul exhaustion. During these seasons, you will have nothing to give because your soul is empty. Spending time with people who replenish you and spending time doing activities that refresh you will promote soul renewal. Guard your daily intimacy with God. Practice His Presence throughout the day. Soul rest comes as you feed on God’s Word and as you enjoy unhurried time alone with God in prayer. Your soul will find rest in God. He is your salvation. He is your rock. Come to the Lord and experience a perpetual refreshing. Anchor your life to Rock of your salvation. You will never be shaken because God is your fortress. You can take refuge in Him. Are you caring for your soul? Do you seek to employ a weekly Sabbath? Are you creating margin in your life to be still and know that He is God? Incorporate a weekly pit stop into your week to allow the Lord to refuel your soul and to renew your vision for life and ministry. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.’” Leviticus 23:3 (ESV) God instructed Moses to speak to the people of Israel about the appointed feasts that were to be proclaimed as holy convocations. The appointed feasts included: the Sabbath, the Passover, the Feast of First Fruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths. These holy convocations were intentional ways to express devotion, thanksgiving, gratitude, and worship unto the Lord. The Sabbath is the seventh day, which is Saturday. As Christians, we gather for corporate worship on Sunday of each week in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross on a Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday. We come together on the first day of the week to worship God with our fellow believers. How do we practice the Sabbath now that we operate under the new covenant of grace? God established the Sabbath and modeled Sabbath rest. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11 ESV). Practice a weekly Sabbath by setting aside one day each week to allow God to put you back together. Rest. Reflect. Refrain from producing and racing toward a deadline. Un-string your bow and cultivate a day of personal renewal. Choose a day each week to get off of the race track and pull onto pit road in order to make a pit stop. Allow God to restore you and to refill your tank. Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 51: Leviticus 22-23) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Recharge and Refocus
“‘Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.’” Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV) How do you recharge and refocus? In the Fourth Commandment, God reveals the guardrails that prevent burnout in life and in ministry. Here a few essentials to help you embrace the Sabbath God has designed for you. Essential #1: Assess your pace. One day a safari guide instructed his group, “We are going to rest today so our souls can catch up with our bodies.” Can you relate? It is possible to have so many irons in the fire that you put the fire out. Busyness becomes a tool in the hand of the enemy to distract you from God’s best and to deplete your energy meant for accomplishing God’s will. Is your current pace sustainable? Essential #2: Build life-giving relationships and enjoy life-giving activities. Seek out relationships that add value to your life and boast your energy. Build relationships with people who bring out the best in you. Carve out time for life-giving activities. What activities replenish you? Refresh you? Renew you? Exercise consistently, eat healthy, and sleep amply. Essential #3: Disconnect in order to reconnect with God. What do you need to disconnect from? What is your plan for creating space in your schedule to allow God to put you back together emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually? Learn to practice solitude. God invites you into His rest more fully so that you can know Him more deeply in light of eternity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Time for a Pit Stop
“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Ex 20:11 (NIV) Do you have room in your life for rest? Of course not! You have too much to do and work is calling your name. “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go!” Work is demanding your time, energy, and attention. Work is biblical isn’t it? Doesn’t God expect you to work? Isn’t work God’s idea? Consider the reality that the Creator of the universe established a divine guideline for both work and rest. God was not tired after the six days of creation activity. God chose to model the value of working and resting. God established a pattern for us in order to keep life in balance and to do life God’s way. When your work becomes a space invader, your life is out of balance. God does not want your work to rule your life and to dominate your energy allocation. God wants you to set aside a day each week to cease creating, forming, fashioning, meeting deadlines, and pushing yourself through the performance trap. You need a day to allow God to put you back together. That’s why God created the Sabbath day. You need a day to allow God to re-create you. Transition off of the race track down pit road and allow God to change your spiritual tires, remove the debris from your spiritual windshield, and to refuel your spiritual tank. You need a weekly pit stop! Assess your energy allocation. Evaluate your schedule and your pace. Is your current pace sustainable? Are you positioned to finish strong? Ask God to show you the adjustments you need to make. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2 (NIV) Soul rest has come to mean more to me since turning forty-one. For so long, I focused on physical rest and making sure I got ample rest each night. But soul rest is different. Soul rest has to do with how you are doing on the inside. Soul rest has to do with your relationship with the Lord and with others. Soul rest has to do with your level of morality, godliness, and purity. When your load exceeds your limit, you get tired physically and experience soul exhaustion. During these seasons, you will have nothing to give because your soul is empty. Spending time with people who replenish you and spending time doing activities that refresh you will promote soul renewal. Guard your daily intimacy with God. Practice His Presence throughout the day. Soul rest comes as you feed on God’s Word and as you enjoy unhurried time alone with God in prayer. Your soul will find rest in God. He is your salvation. He is your rock. Come to the Lord and experience a perpetual refreshing. Anchor your life to Rock of your salvation. You will never be shaken because God is your fortress. You can take refuge in Him. Are you caring for your soul? Do you seek to employ a weekly Sabbath? Are you creating margin in your life to be still and know that He is God? Incorporate a weekly pit stop into your week to allow the Lord to refuel your soul and to renew your vision for life and ministry. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Finding Rest for Your Soul
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalms 62:1-2 (NIV) Soul rest has come to mean more to me since turning forty. For so long, I focused on physical rest and making sure I got ample rest each night. But soul rest is different. Soul rest has to do with how you are doing on the inside. Soul rest has to do with your relationship with the Lord and with others. Soul rest has to do with your level of morality, godliness, and purity. When your load exceeds your limit, you get tired physically and experience soul exhaustion. During these seasons, you will have nothing to give because your soul is empty. Spending time with people who replenish you and spending time doing activities that refresh you will promote soul renewal. Guard your daily intimacy with God. Practice His Presence throughout the day. Soul rest comes as you feed on God’s Word and as you enjoy unhurried time alone with God in prayer. Your soul will find rest in God. He is your salvation. He is your rock. Come to the Lord and experience a perpetual refreshing. Anchor your life to Rock of your salvation. You will never be shaken because God is your fortress. You can take refuge in Him. Are you caring for your soul? Do you seek to employ a weekly Sabbath? Are you creating margin in your life to be still and know that He is God? Incorporate a weekly pit stop into your week to allow the Lord to refuel your soul and to renew your vision for life and ministry. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, ‘It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.’” John 5:8-10 (NIV) What brings you personal comfort? What do you long for each day? Maybe you desire to be rid of relational tension. Maybe your idea of comfort is being nestled behind a good book. Perhaps you long for the mornings when you are winding up or you long for the evenings when you are winding down. The environment that brings you comfort may be that of peace and quiet or laughter and passionate verbal interaction. The invalid of 38 years received the comfort of instant healing when Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” And “at once” that man was healed. There was no delay. After 38 years, the lame man’s healing came instantly. The comfort of his instant healing was strained by the poison of legalism. The Jews were unable to celebrate the miracle of this man’s healing because they were so transfixed on the fact that Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath. Their legalism kept them from recognizing the Lord. Legalism bypasses relationship. God has not saved you from your sin and sealed you by His Holy Spirit so that you will live in the bondage of legalism. In Christ, God has saved you so that you can walk in the freedom of your new identity in Christ. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
“They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. ‘He put mud on my eyes,’ the man replied, ‘and I washed, and now I see.’” “Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.’” John 9:13-16 (NIV) Jesus placed the needs of others above the legalistic views of the Pharisees. He was willing to do something helpful and holy on the Sabbath. Yet, Jesus was criticized for his actions. What are you willing to do on the Sabbath? What kind of Saturday will you experience? Sometimes the most spiritual activity you can embrace on a Saturday is to disconnect from the rush and routine of your everyday life. Maybe a day of rest could be the healing that Jesus desires to give you. For you it may mean turning your cell phone off. It may mean carving out time to simply not be available or accessible for anyone. Jesus embraced the discipline of getting away from the crowds and the tugs of life. He frequently went up on a mountainside to commune with our Heavenly Father. Yet, Jesus was willing to seize the opportunity to extend personal touch ministry. Because of His willingness to embrace a Sabbath rest, He had something to give those in need. What does your day look like? Are you over extended or over committed? Have you said “yes” too much and not said “no” enough? May God give you Sabbath rest! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care