happy holy sabbath

i've been thinking a lot about the sabbath lately. i had a few friends in college that kept the sabbath holy by doing no homework on sundays... at all. i never tried it, knowing i'd have trouble passing my classes. but i really believe that if you put God first, all other things fall into place. we used to demonstrate that at camp with a fish bowl, sand and ping pong balls. the ping pong balls represented God's stuff and the sand represented our stuff. if you fill the bowl with sand first, the ping pong balls don't fit. putting my stuff first leaves little room for God. but if we filled the fish bowl with ping pong balls first and then sand, the same amount of stuff that wouldn't fit before now fit perfectly. putting God first leaves room for all the other stuff i need to get done too.

so this week i "stumbled" across jeremiah 17:21-27. here's an excerpt from the passage:

"but if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the sabbath, but keep the sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, then kings who sit on david's throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials."

when i'm thinking about something and then God brings it out in scripture, it's always confirmation the calling i perceive is actually real. in this case i believe God's message for me is clear: keep the sabbath holy and He will bless His ministry in my life and bring people though the city gates, expanding His territory.

school starts for me in less than a month. sundays are typically a big homework day, especially since i have little or no time to do homework during the week. this year i'm going to try keeping the sabbath holy, though. i feel it's something God has called me to do and i'm confident He'll make everything else in my life fit accordingly.

be still

the following story is toward the end of chapter 4 in mark:

when evening had come, Jesus said to the disciples, "let us go across to the other side." and leaving the crowd behind, they took Him with them in the boat, just as He was. other boats were with Him. a great wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. but He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him up and said to Him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "peace! be still!" then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "why are you afraid? have you still no faith?" and they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

it's interesting that the people closest to Jesus, His own disciples, were afraid even in His very presence. and after Jesus stills the wind and waves His disciples turn to one another questioning His identity. if creation listens to Jesus and heeds His call, certainly we who have ears can likewise listen and respond.

pause

no phos posts until i return. God bless!

always love

"by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." john 13:35.

my prayer is to be known by my love and to be identified with Christ because of my love. what a fun responsibility.