Who are you listening to??

Listen here:  https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/27f1e4b6/who-are-you-li...

Who calls your cadence?

Most of my life I lived in military towns - Navy for the first half,1 Marines for the latter. When I lived in San Clemente2 we regularly heard artillery practice at Camp Pendleton and saw Marines all around town. Picture in your mind’s eye the scenes of young cadets called to attention, ready for inspection, and then to “maa-rch . . . right, left, forward, halt!” Sound off . . . and march again. Why do the cadets respond as they do? Because their cadence has been called.

Who calls your cadence? 'Ever thought about it? I mean there must be some reason you do what you do. Do you allow your cadence to be called by what's happening around you, shifted here and there by this and that, and then the culture at large?

As we turn to Luke chapter six, we see quintessential Jesus, who though being scrutinized by the Jewish leaders, shows himself to be the Lord--in this case, of the Sabbath. Jesus will not allow his cadence to be called or determined by the Jewish Law. Now this is a loud example of new wine not being poured into old wineskins!3

Luke writes: One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him. Luke 6.1-11

Hang on a second - what about Sabbath today? Where did the whole notion of Sabbath originate? At.the.beginning. Genesis chapter one records the six days of creation; chapter two starts with "So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed.  On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation."4

Friends, God did not rest because he was tired... he rested to give mankind the example of six days' work, and then ceasing work to rest. And when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the fourth one said to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days for ordinary work, "but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God..."5

That is the reason Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sunday; that is the reason Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday. Though it costs both companies millions of dollars, each has made the decision to honor God > honor their employees > by giving them a day of rest, which allows them to also honor God on the Sabbath. Hmmm...

The commandment/value of resting and honoring God on the Sabbath has not gone away; rather, it is we who have moved away from/or forgotten it. But here's the thing: God did not give us the commandment to 'honor the Sabbath' to enact a harsh law; not at all! God meant for us to stop, honor him, and also rest because that is what is also best for us!

So how might you recalibrate things in your life - in order to worship God on the Sabbath - and then, even after you attend/participate in a church service, rest on the Lord's Day? Come on. Be countercultural - go against the grain and unplug, recharge spiritually . . . be fully present for your life. It is the Best. Choice. You. Can. Make.

Shabbat Shalom, Friend.

Wait - Shabbat Shalom? Yeah, don't get me started - that is a whole 'nother thing: Sabbath Day, Shabbat with the Jewish people or Israelis . . . whoa.

Consider keeping the Sabbath for yourself,

Christine

PastorWoman.net

Hey, listen: FIRST THINGS FIRST, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ZkmMH7Ipk

Luke, #25!

1 - Alameda, California - across the bay from San Francisco

2 - South Orange County, California

3 - Stretching and Growth, https://conta.cc/4hZEHLp

4 - Genesis 2.1-3, NLT

5 - Exodus 20.8-10b