February 23, 2014 (Numbers 12-13; Psalm 90, Mark 2)
From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:
Scripture: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27 NLT
Observation: The Pharisees and leaders of religious law were so filled with pride and arrogance it blinded them to simple truth. They went through the motions of keeping all the rules and had forgotten what the rules were put into place for. They were careful to “obey” the rules, even if it meant they were breaking them by keeping them. Love was not their motivation for keeping the rules, neither was it their motivation for condemning others. Pride, and self-righteousness, had taken control of their minds and corrupted their actions. The Sabbath that was created for their benefit had become their stumbling block. Sabbath rules had taken the place of Sabbath rest. The Sabbath was not created for us to be lazy and do nothing, it was created as a time dedicated for physical and spiritual restoration. Not a suggestion, or an option, but rather a special time provided by God to restore us physically and spiritually on a regular and continual basis.
Application: How gracious of God to so carefully provide for all of our needs. He knows exactly what we have need of even before we ask, the Sabbath proves this. He knew we would need a time of physical and spiritual restoration each week. He knew we would become weak and discouraged if we neglected this time. He knew we would drift into all sorts of evil and turn from Him as a nation if we didn’t have an intentional time set aside to rest and focus on Him each week. He knew satan would make sure we’re too busy. He knew the cares of this life would become more important to us than Him. Oh how wise our God is! Oh how merciful and gracious He is to provide us what we need even before we realize we need it! But will we receive it? Will we heed the wisdom of God and take part in the provision He has provided? Will we accept His wisdom and be blessed by His provision? I sure hope so.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for this day. Thank You for all the blessings and provision You have provided. Thank You for looking out for me even before I knew I needed looked out for! Thank You for the day of rest and focus You have provided for us each week. Help me to heed this time and use it as You intended. In Jesus name, Amen!