Planning to Rest? – The Fourth Commandment

Planning to Rest?

Exodus 20:8

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

God has determined, in His infinite wisdom and steadfast love, to set one day of each week apart for the purpose of rest.  This day is to be sanctified–kept as holy–and distinct from the other six days.  On those days we pursue our work, all that God has appointed to us for the care and development of ourselves, our loved ones, and His creation.  We must devote ourselves, with a Kingdom focus, to do our work those six days as unto the Lord.

This is a matter of careful planning and seeking the Lord (Ps. 90:12, 16, 17)–not just for our work, but for our rest as well. The Lord’s Day can be easily gobbled up with all kinds of activities that do not contribute to keeping that day holy. But with a little planning, we might be able to do a better job at preserving the unique purposes of that Day.

With careful planning and diligent stewardship we should be able to ensure that, by the time Sunday comes around, we are ready to retire into the Lord, to remember His covenant and be refreshed and renewed in Him.  Begin preparing today for the time of rest God has set apart for you when your work for this week is through.

What kinds of things typically get in the way of keeping the Lord’s Day holy?  How might you be able to avoid these by a little more careful preparation each week?

Lord, my practice of keeping Your Day has been…

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

–

In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.