Thinking about the Sabbath

[quietthinker]

Well said, about flushing the pipes till there is clean water. That is a great analogy.
We don't realize how much noise occupies our mind until there is only quiet.
I know what you mean about wondering what to do next. But that's just a part of being occupied in the world all those other days. We have to have something to do in order to get somewhere else. Go to work to make a living. Make a living to pay bills. Pay bills to be free of portional debt until the next month. Budget the rest till next paycheck.

It's like what plagued me for the longest. I'd hear a song on the TV or radio in the car and then a part of the lyrics would loop in my head throughout the day. Sometimes for days. When I would try to practice to enter the Sabbath before my life's schedule permitted and to ready myself for that quiet period especially. Even when trying to get to sleep. It was like something was working to insure I could never still my mind.
But then one day, I noticed I could enter into silence, not even talking to people, nor running thoughts in my head, a little more every day.
Then when I got to the point of being able to enter Sabbath rest as I wanted, for that full day, it was easier to enter into the quiet. Not for the full day at first but gradually over time it turned out I could enter the silence all day.
Then I'd just follow the leading of what I call, that little voice. Hubby says I should consider it the holy spirit speaking, as Jesus promised would happen.
I believe he's right because every time I try to do things my way, because sometimes that voice is direct, sometimes it is a distant whisper making a suggestion I sometimes hear in parts, without exception I always regret it. Whereas conversely, when I listen to that little voice and follow its lead without exception everything turns out perfectly. No regrets.

I'd turn to candle making during Sabbath rest. Before I would make the candles , because lights were unplugged, during free time in the work week so as to have them ready for Sabbath.

When I ran low one month I thought, I'll just let it go and see how things work out. Sure enough, I followed where I felt led and started making the candles, beeswax candles. Much healthier to burn than petroleum paraffin.
Then I would notice during the week I'd feel led to think of pure essential oils to add to the candles. Like, I'd be online shopping for something. And though it didn't relate to what I was shopping for there would be this little window at the site that would have a header, you might like these....And there were pure essential oils.
I never shopped for the beeswax or candle making supplies online. I always bought those at the local craft shop so there was no search history related to candles at that shopping site.

It was great. I can compare it to being in a quiet place with my best friend and our just having a good time together. It is a relationship after all. The best relationships are those that have an open communication.

I have found the reduction of things to the point of no debt has been liberating. While there is debt one is on someone else's string.
I don't live any the poorer....in fact I have more than I need.....quiet miraculous really.
When it comes to the Sabbath, Friday is used for preparation.....my objectives are prioritised....my shopping is done, the place is cleaned. It's all very uncomplicated

 

[Alvertsky]

I recently read a book called the Subversive Sabbath by AJ Swoboda. The basic idea was that the Sabbath was not intended to be a legalistic thing, but a healing thing that you may take if you choose. After six days of creation, God, who does not require rest in the same way that humans do (God does not get tired) gave us the example of humility by resting himself on the seventh day. It us natural for us to be tired and need rest.

I am wondering lately, as the world tends to be more stressful, why we are not indulging in this more? Why are we not taking advantage of spending one day of the week with Christ? For those of you who are married, you would more than likely spend at least one day of a week with your spouse for a romantic date night or whatever, but it seems in these days, we'd rather argue about whether or not we should spend time alone in the quiet with Jesus. Talking to most people, they'd rather give all of the reasons we shouldn't because it's "too legalistic." That's a bit discouraging.

I haven't been doing this myself, despite a tight chest and feeling exhausted, and I have to admit that while I believe that I should my issue is pride. I am prideful about getting my housework done and I just can't give up the idea of the floors being dirty or the dishes piling up in the sink.

The other issue, I would think, for most people and I include myself, is distractions. There are constant distractions with social media, the news, cellphones, and whatever else. And it's all just so addicting it's hard to just stop and submit in peace and quiet.

I think I will try this weekend.

LOL I work three times harder on the weekends

 

[DuckieLady]

LOL I work three times harder on the weekends

Do you mean catching up on things from the week? It happens.

 

[Alvertsky]

Do you mean catching up on things from the week? It happens.

No I work at home typically on Saturday and Sunday and I also exercise as well. The people going to church on Sunday then going out for eggs and bacon are dying, sorry can't do that as suicide is a sin

 

[quietthinker]

We all have 24 hrs in any given day....I have not met anyone who has 25. We can arrange the time we have any way we choose. If the excuse is, 'there is not enough time' ....it's time to rethink.

 

[farouk]

Two movies from my youth encouraged my young impressionable brain to engage in witchcraft. One of them was Practical Magic, because I'm a romantic and really wanted love, and the other was The Craft because I was also angry. Well, that all turned on me eventually and I suffered for it. I think we have to be careful what we let our kids see. So I partly shut it off because of my own.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. - Proverbs 22:6

The biggest reason though is I remembered one of my teachers explaining to me the difference between a seven-year-old child's brain with television and without. The seven-year-old without has the potential of learning seven languages.

I noticed that my youngest had similar characteristics of Einstein Syndrome (basically she started reading at two- and she can memorize all of the flags of the world, will speak to me in Chinese, will write in Chinese, Thai, Hebrew, and so on.. and will spend hours studying different languages, pretty good at math, but with speech delay. (For her it was more an issue of conversation.) Similar characteristics of autism except it is not autism.

I read the book Reset Your Child's Brain by Victoria L. Dunckley, M.D, put her on probiotics, got a Bluetooth speaker to stream to, and started turning everything off. Practicing speech therapy. Now I have an enormous craft supply and lots activities, and my kids get excited to hear the radio. Her speech has improve significantly and she is doing much better. I can tell she's growing out of it now.

I tried to turn the television back on, but once you've had it off and you're no longer desensitized, you realize how awful it is and going back is so uncomfortable. Every once in a while I'll watch some documentaries on YouTube or a couple old British shows while crocheting but I can do without.

@FluffyYellowDuck So do you too speak Hebrew and Chinese?

 

[DuckieLady]

@FluffyYellowDuck So do you too speak Hebrew and Chinese?

Haha! I don't speak a lick of anything but English. There were times she came up to me saying something in Chinese and I had no idea what she was saying. Luckily, she has stopped doing that. I learned some Spanish, French, and a hint of Hebrew, but wouldn't be able to think of a couple of words of any of them off the top of my head. My memory just isn't good enough.

 

[Brakelite]

The exception is the believer is already in covenant rest with God through Christ. And it's not a rejection of the Mosaic Sabbath(s). Christ is the fulfillment of the Mosaic Sabbath.

Except you cannot offer any scriptural duppport for that idea. Yes, we rest in Christ. But that's as far as scripture goes. The rest of your post is presumption.

 

[mjrhealth]

Except you cannot offer any scriptural sorry for that idea. Yes, we rest in Christ. But that's as far as scripture goes. The rest of your post is presumption.

Neither can you for yours, its all presumption, assuming God will accept your sacrifice in place of the one Christ paid. He wont, it will never be good enough.

 

[BarneyFife]

With all respect towards the Seventh Day Adventists...

1 Timothy 4

Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

It is very unfortunate that the Adventist church lists, as part of its fundamental beliefs, abstinence from unclean foods. It has not always been so, and it should not be now. I personally do not partake in any unclean foods, but I think it is wrong to make it a test of fellowship. In the early days of the church, I believe there were fewer than a dozen things that had to be agreed upon to join the church by baptism or profession of faith, if already baptized. My baptismal vows even included acknowledging Ellen White as a prophet, which was wrong to do. I balked at it but my pastor assured me that the church did not expect me to accept this until I was fully convinced in my own mind, which is as it should be. And I was never pressured to acknowledge it. I think the operating principle that generally prevails in the church is that if you decide that you don't believe she was inspired, you should not make a fuss about it and try to dissuade others.

The more I think about it the more certain I am that Mrs. White herself held the same views I am expressing here. She also addresses what was being called "the old landmarks" and that she was not convinced there were more than a half-dozen items that constituted Adventist orthodoxy. I believe the substitutionary atonement, the second coming of Christ, the perpetuity of the 10 commandment law, including the seventh-day Sabbath, the state of the dead, and the sanctuary in Heaven were the most important. The trinity was not pushed, as well as a few other things that are now enjoined. The attitude of the pioneers was one of anti-creed.

 

[Truman]

I was just thinking about the Sabbath and it's intent.
It's like a little vacation, a time to re-create, to restore.
I'll rest on the day God made for me to rest on.
I'll rest in Jesus' purchase for me of my complete salvation.

 

[Truman]

One in five hundred, I was, who could graduate university, my parents told me when I was 18.
When I started kindergarten, my mother was the only one who could understand me.
After three years of speech therapy, I could speak well.
Most kids are square pegs and fit well into square holes.
I was a round peg.
For me, I think it is a genetic thing to do with being descended from Levi.

 

[kcnalp]

Sure they were, for the Israel OF GOD. Sure, "the Seventh Day Sabbath OF THE LORD GOD" was a Commandment OF GOD for ONLY the Israel OF GOD-- because "THERE IS NO OTHER GOD."

who's YOUR god? Forget it, it's conspicuous; he's starving on I-witness.

I'll stick with the NT. No Sabbath commands!

 

[kcnalp]

Anything and everything that God gave to Israel was to be shared.

So you believe in executing gays, adulterers, those who work on weekends?

 

[BarneyFife]

I'll stick with the NT. No Sabbath commands!

So, you have a particular aversion to the 4th commandment.

Too bad the new covenant was promised in the OT:

Jeremiah 31
31Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Timothy 3:16)

 

[kcnalp]

So, you have a particular aversion to the 4th commandment.

Too bad the new covenant was promised in the OT:

Jeremiah 31
31Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Timothy 3:16)

I'm Christian. I stick with the NT. What are you???

 

[DuckieLady]

I'm Christian. I stick with the NT. What are you???

Jesus quoted the OT.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/old-testament-important/
10 Reasons the Old Testament Is Important for Christians

 

[BarneyFife]

I'm Christian. I stick with the NT. What are you???

I'm a Christian. I believe what I quoted from the NT in post #115.
I see you're quite fond of the idea of eternal torment, too. Good for you.
I won't ask you what you are. That would be insulting, wouldn't it?

 

[amigo de christo]

I dont care what this pope says about ya fluffy duck , you know i loves ya .

 

[DuckieLady]

I dont care what this pope says about ya fluffy duck , you know i loves ya .

Haha aw thanks amigo love ya too