Sabbath Worship

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy….. the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” Exodus 20:8, 10a

Did you know that every person on Earth is a worshiper? The word worship simply means to adore or exalt. Not everyone worships God, but everyone worships something. You have something that you consider most important in your life. It could be a good thing–like your family, your health, your personal finances–or a harmful thing–like an addiction or other sinful lifestyle choice.

Regardless of what that thing is–good or bad–God says that it is unhealthy for you if it garners more of your attention than He does! He explicitly says in the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). In the Sabbath commandment, we not only see rest, but we see worship. God gives us the Sabbath to help us keep our focus on Him. Each week, we are to stop and worship. We are to keep the Sabbath holy; it’s for the Lord, not for us. For Jews, that involved a whole series of regulations that determined everything from how much firewood they could gather on that day (none) to how far they could walk (about 1/2 mile). We’re not under those same restrictions, but the principle of Sabbath worship is no less important.

To stop and worship causes us to take our focus off of ourselves and place it on God. This brings much needed balance. We are quickly overwhelmed by all of the cares of life when we’re constantly looking at ourselves and our own resources. When we look to our powerful, loving God, however, we are reminded that our lives are in His hands. Stop and worship.

-Pastor Mike