"So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."
On the Sabbath day, Jesus rested in the tomb. The guards were posted and the tomb sealed shut but they didn't know what was happening within. They weren't necessarily trying to keep men out but to keep one in. But for all the Pharisee's clever planning, they are no match for what would happen next. How could they have known?
But for now, everything is quiet, normal, and unsuspecting as all creation groans in anticipation for what is to come like a child on Christmas Day. But Jesus's fight has not stopped at his death. While all is quiet on Earth, in the spiritual realm a war is being waged. Jesus has infiltrated the enemy base under the guise of sin and death. He has begun to set the captives free as war rages on beneath. Satan can not hold out much longer (much like the Philistines when they took the Ark of the Covenant) and will soon release his prisoner.
But as for the rest of us, it's just another uneventful Sabbath while our Champion lies in wait, ready to come back at any moment. Are we prepared to welcome home our hero when he comes against all odds in all his Glory?
Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Genesis 2:3
"And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done."
The Hebrew word qadosh is used so many times in the Scriptures to describe something that is holy, that is set apart for God's purpose. Do you know what the first thing is to ever be called holy by God? It occurs here in the verse above. It's not a person or an object, it's time.
God who stands outside of time has set up time in such a way as to make it holy, in a cycle of work and rest. However, nothing was left untouched by sin's reach, and soon this holy arrangement was broken. Most people, when asked what they would do with an extra day of the week, said they'd use it to get ahead on work. The pace of the work week is stressful and our bodies bear the brunt of it because we aren't designed that way. I don't need to tell you how bad stress is for your health.
But how do you use your time? Do you carve out a day devoted to God? Can you set apart a day as holy for God? We can be good at taking days of self-indulgence and just slapping the word "Sabbath" on it after the fact. That's not what I'm talking about. A day meant to be with God, set apart for Him for your own good.
The Hebrew word qadosh is used so many times in the Scriptures to describe something that is holy, that is set apart for God's purpose. Do you know what the first thing is to ever be called holy by God? It occurs here in the verse above. It's not a person or an object, it's time.
God who stands outside of time has set up time in such a way as to make it holy, in a cycle of work and rest. However, nothing was left untouched by sin's reach, and soon this holy arrangement was broken. Most people, when asked what they would do with an extra day of the week, said they'd use it to get ahead on work. The pace of the work week is stressful and our bodies bear the brunt of it because we aren't designed that way. I don't need to tell you how bad stress is for your health.
But how do you use your time? Do you carve out a day devoted to God? Can you set apart a day as holy for God? We can be good at taking days of self-indulgence and just slapping the word "Sabbath" on it after the fact. That's not what I'm talking about. A day meant to be with God, set apart for Him for your own good.
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