My daughter reminded me this Sabbath that lately I have forgotten to
implement some things I learned early on in Sabbath keeping. As soon
as our Friday Sabbath meal was over, she asked hopefully, “Is Sabbath
over now?”

Almost a year ago, my family started keeping Sabbath. We struggled to
figure out what our small children should be doing while my husband
and I spent time with God in prayer, reading and study. I wonder if
this is a common problem on Sabbath for parents of little ones?

My husband and I started taking turns to meet the needs of the girls
so the other one could focus for awhile. We also made sure to have
family time when we all eat, learn or play together. I ended up
making a list of activities that we could use for the girls. After
posting the list, many of you added wonderful ideas that you had done
with your kids on Sabbath.

My youngest daughter (15 months) tends to follow the example of her
older sister. My three year old daughter is struggling with feelings
of being limited.
That is something I want her to learn, though. We don’t always get to
do what we want and spending time with God is more important and
fulfilling than anything else we could do. This is a HARD concept for
a three year old!

I want my kids to learn to look forward to Sabbath, as I do. I am
reposting the list of children’s activities below and would be very
grateful for any further suggestions (particularly for small
children)! Thank you for your help and encouragement! I love
learning with you!

Until next week,
Lisa G.

Activities For Children:
Read their children’s Bible.

Read Bible-related books.

Listen to worshipful children’s cd’s.

Listen to children’s Bible radio programs.

Play Bible games: trivia, matching game, board game, etc.

God-related arts & crafts projects: draw/color pictures, print out
activity sheets, etc.

Have a Scripture Scavenger Hunt
 or any type of hunt that helps
them discover things about God (requires preparation before Sabbath
starts).

Praise Pail- write things you are thankful for during the week and
drop it in the pail, then take turns reading them on Sabbath.

Bring out “Sabbath” toys that are
 stored away during the week.

Friday Preparations For Children:
Have them help you prepare the meals on Friday for Sabbath (make
food that is from an area you are learning about that week).

They can help put out Sabbath decorations/dishes on Friday.

Last week I shared some of my Sabbath studies on humility. This week
I want to go a little deeper on the subject. How God uses humility
can be a controversial topic. Recently, I heard a radio announcer say
that God is love and would never allow anything bad to happen to
anyone. Other people say God cannot do bad things Himself, but does
give Satan permission to do things at times for His greater purpose,
which is always good. And then there is a quote I heard a few weeks
ago that says,

“It’s doubtful that God will use anyone greatly until He has hurt him
deeply.” A.W. Tozer

I venture to guess that a lot of people cringe when they read that
quote. No one really WANTS to believe it to be true. I know that I
don’t enjoy being hurt, much less deeply hurt. So, I am left
wondering . . . is this quote true? How does God humble people?

God’s Word is where I headed for answers. Examples of God using
humility to acomplish His purpose are abundant throughout the entire
Bible. Person after person is brought to a place where they are
willing to give everything over to God and allow Him to have total
control. I focus now on four different stories: Jonah, David,
Nebuchadnezzar, & Paul.

JONAH: Jonah 1:1-4:11
Being swallowed by a huge fish does not seem like a good thing. But
notice in Jonah 1:17 that it says, “the Lord provided a huge fish to
swallow Jonah.” God made the provision that Jonah needed to
accomplish the greater end result. At the end of the book, God
“provided a leafy plant” as shade for Jonah. Then He “provided a
worm” to kill the plant. It’s clear that Jonah would not have chosen
to be used by God if God had not humbled him first.

DAVID: 2 Samuel 16:5-14
David’s sin on the rooftop sent his life into a downward spiral of
consequences. At one of his lowest moments, an enemy throws stones at
him and curses him. When one of David’s men offers to kill the enemy,
David responds, “Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told
him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore
to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.” David had
learned that God restores the humble. It is found in verse after
verse. Had David not been so humbled, he might have responded
differently.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR: Daniel 4:24-37
Nebuchadnezzar was warned what would happen if he didn’t humble
himself. A voice from Heaven decreed that his royal authority be
removed and he be driven away to live with wild animals and eat grass
like an ox. “His hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his
nails like the claws of a bird.” He stayed like this for seven years!
That would be hard to handle! But it said seven years was what it
would take for Nebuchadnezzar to acknowledge God as “the Most High.”

PAUL: 2 Corinthians 12:6-10
Paul attributes his “thorn in my flesh” as given by “a messenger of
Satan, to torment me.” He begs God to take it away, yet God assures
him that He allows it to be there so Paul can be humbled and God’s
power can be perfected.

So it seems that Tozer was on the right track. Until we are willing
to surrender ALL to God, He allows us to go through things that help
us get to the place of full surrender. We all reach that place at
different times in different ways. And then we might try to take some
control back and have to go through the process again.

God’s ways are always good and always bring Him glory. We just can’t
always see the good at the time of our humbling and it doesn’t always
make the trials easier to go through. But God promises that His grace
is sufficient for us and when we are weak, then He is strong!

Being humbled will hurt, but God wants us to trust that His greater
plan is for eternity and He wants us to be a part of that plan. I can
chose horizontal thinking (worry how I will handle what is going on in
my life) or vertical thinking (look to God to see how He will handle
what is going on in my life).

Until next week,
Lisa G.

I have been working on a study of humility during some of my Sabbath
time. It is a quality that I find tricky to handle. It’s rarely
modeled in our world and often frowned upon. I looked up the
definition and did a Bible search on humility and was surprised by how
many verses deal with this topic! God knew what a struggle it could
be and gave many warnings and instructions.

HUMILITY: 1. the quality of being modest and respectful; 2. modest
opinion of one’s own importance; 3. lowliness, meekness,
submissiveness.

1. Respectful:
My human nature says, “Do what I want to do. Don’t worry about anyone
else. It won’t really make a difference if I speak to others or help
them.”

God’s Word says,
Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31 NIV)

‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’
(Matthew 19:19 NIV)

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another,
be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3:8 NIV)

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so
prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save
you. (James 1:21 NIV)

“Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who
are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”
(Isaiah 66:2 NIV)

2. Self-Importance:
My human nature says, “It’s all about ME! Who else will look out for
me if I don’t? I need to feel important, look good and make the world
notice me.”

God’s Word says,
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29 NIV)

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8 NIV)

God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change—he will hear
them and humble them, because they have no fear of God. (Psalm 55:19
NIV)

He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.
(Proverbs 3:34 NIV)

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10 NIV)

The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:11 NIV)

3. Submissiveness:
My human nature says, “Rules are just suggestions for other people. I
can figure things out on my own. I don’t need anyone telling me what
to do.”

God’s Word says,
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another
in love. (Ephesians 4:2 NIV)

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your
elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one
another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the
humble.” (1 Peter 5:5 NIV)

He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to
God what is God’s.” (Luke 20:25 NIV)

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble
themselves will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12 NIV)

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. (Psalm 25:9 NIV)

My thoughts can be in direct opposition to God’s ways. My biggest
struggle is thinking I can handle everything on my own-my way is the
best way! It is quite prideful and shows my lack of faith. How
thankful I am for a merciful God!

There is an abundance of Scripture concerning humility. Thank you for
allowing me to share some with you this week. This topic hits me hard
right now, so I hope to dig deeper with some thoughts and stories next
week.

If you have a verse on humility that speaks to you, please feel free
to share! I would also love to hear your greatest struggles in this
area and how you handle them.

Until next week,
Lisa G.

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the
Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28
NIV)

My focus this Sabbath was on the two verses above. Verse 27 is fairly
easy to understand. Basically, God designed Sabbath as a gift for our
lives. It is like a present. We are not the present to Sabbath.

I wanted to be clear on verse 28, so I looked through many
commentaries and articles and found differing opinions. I had to
think very hard about the meaning. There are several widely accepted
ideas on this verse that I don’t see backed up by Scripture. I don’t
begin to understand it all, but I will share a few of my thoughts by
the end of Sabbath.

It helped me to read these accounts of Jesus explaining Sabbath:
“One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and as his
disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The
Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on
the Sabbath?’ He answered, ‘Have you never read what David did when he
and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar
the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated
bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some
to his companions.’ Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for
man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the
Sabbath'” (Mark 2:23-28, NIV).

In this instance, the disciples were spending the day walking along
with Jesus. They were right where they needed to be, learning from
their Teacher. They could have gone home to eat, but chose to stay
with Jesus and pick the heads of grain.

In the case of David and his companions eating the consecrated bread,
they were in flight from King Saul. They stopped where they could for
food and ate what was available. The priest allowed them to eat the
consecrated bread.

“Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled
hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse
Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the
Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in
front of everyone.’ Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the
Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they
remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply
distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out
your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how
they might kill Jesus” (Mark 3:1-6, NIV).

Jesus makes it clear in the scripture that doing good is always the
right thing to do. It grieved Him that the Pharisees were so
inconsiderate and focused on being in control that they chose not to
see the needs of others.

Jesus is love and everything good. If He is the Lord of the Sabbath,
and the Sabbath is designed for us to be a blessing, then it stands to
reason that the Sabbath is intended to be filled with love and
goodness. If at any point we let something get in the way of spending
time with Him or reflecting His Ways, then it is no longer a true
Sabbath.

Jesus puts Himself at the center of Sabbath. When we do this, we can
receive the benefit and freedom that He intended. It is almost like
He is asking, “Are you spending time with Me? Come and enjoy the
blessings!”. True, we can receive those blessings any day at any time.
But He gave us Sabbath as a special time of refreshment because He
knew the value of a strong relationship with His creation.

Valuing Our Lord and everything He stands for creates the true Sabbath
experience!

Until next week,
Lisa G.

I was listening to a preacher on the radio this Sabbath talking about
something called vertical thinking. I’ve never heard this explained
before. He said that most people think horizontally. They see things
around them and only think how it affects them and their families.
When something unfortunate happens, they tend to think, “How will I
ever get through this?” or “I can’t believe they did that to me!”
People are self-centered by nature. It takes something greater than
us to see the bigger picture.

I want to share a humorous illustration this preacher gave about
things not always being as they appear. He shared how a plane was on
its way from Seattle to San Francisco when it had an hour lay-over in
Sacramento. The flight attendant told the passengers that they could
get off the plane or stay on the plane and wait. Everyone except one
lady got off. When the pilot came out of the cockpit, he saw the lady
and recognized her because she took this flight on a regular basis.
He said, “Hello, Kathy! How are you? Would you like to get off the
plane and stretch your legs?” Kathy was blind and had a seeing-eye
dog laying beside her. She replied, “No, thank you, but my dog could
use the exercise if you don’t mind.” The pilot agreed and proceeded
to get off the plane with the dog. The people outside the plane were
astonished to see the pilot leaving the plane with his dark sunglasses
and a seeing-eye dog! Several started asking to switch their flights
and others even switched airlines! Things are not always as they
appear!

When Joseph was thrown into the pit by his brothers or in the dungeon
by Potiphar, he could have had terrible horizontal thinking. Most
people would say that he had every right to feel sorry for himself and
throw a pity party. It looked hopeless, like no one would save him.

But Joseph was not a whiner or a revenge taker. In each circumstance,
he looked UP to see how God was moving. He waited to find out what
God was going to do to bring blessing to His people and honor to
Himself. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he said, “And
now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for
selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead
of you.” (Genesis 45:5 NIV) “So then, it was not you who sent me
here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire
household and ruler of all Egypt.” (Genesis 45:8 NIV)

After Joseph’s father died, his brothers started to worry again that
Joseph would take his revenge on them. They lied to try to keep
themselves safe. Joseph tried again to get them to understand that he
wasn’t bitter. He said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place
of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to
accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then,
don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he
reassured them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:19-21 NIV)

Both times Joseph said that God was responsible for everything that
happened to him, both bad and good. He decided that NO MATTER WHAT
WAS GOING ON AT THE TIME, GOD WAS STILL IN CONTROL. He had vertical
thinking.

People in the Bible like Joseph, Moses, David, Paul, etc. were all
human. They were not perfect. They made mistakes sometimes. But
what I admire about them is their vertical thinking. They made a
conscious choice to let God handle the hard times and thank Him for
the good times. They spent more time obeying God then opposing His
ways. Their goal was to bring glory to God, not themselves.

Vertical thinking is certainly an area I need to work on. I often let
my selfish nature get the better of me. Thankfully, I don’t have to
try to accomplish vertical thinking by myself. God is at the other
end just waiting for me to trust Him!

I enjoyed studying this concept on Sabbath. I would love to hear
about what God is showing you through His Word!

Until next week,
Lisa G.

About 30 minutes into the beginning of my Sabbath, I got a call that
one of my uncles had been found trapped under his tractor with no
heartbeat. Once they got him out they were able to get his heart
going again. They flew him to a trauma facility with broken ribs and
swelling in his brain. I went to bed that night with prayers and
tears. When I woke up in the morning I found out that he had left
this earth in the middle of the night.

Most of my Sabbath was spent praying for my family, talking with them
about funeral plans and just grieving. I thought of my Aunt’s pain.
She had no idea Friday would be her last day with her husband. I hurt
for her.

My husband asked me Friday night, before going to bed, how I would
feel if my uncle didn’t survive. I thought about my uncle for awhile.
I have to admit that he was my least favorite uncle when I was
growing up. I thought that he didn’t really like people. He was
usually grumpy and avoided being around the family. I developed a
habit of staying clear of him at family gatherings. I never tried to
reach out to him in love.

As the years went by, I noticed that he mellowed a little. And then a
couple of years ago there was a big change. My mom asked me one day
to be praying for my uncle because he was asking questions about
salvation and was open to talking with his pastor. I later learned
that he gave his life to Christ. After that, my family started seeing
a brand new man. I’m not saying he was perfect, but he definitely had
positive changes.

My sister told me how he took the time to get to know her sons and how
he sent them a gift just because he was thinking about them. It
seemed so out of character for my uncle. Then at our Fourth of July
family reunion I got to see my uncle for myself. I was amazed that he
sat down with my family and talked with us with true intentions of
knowing us better. It was strange how easy it was to talk to him and
how sweet he was to my girls. It felt like I was meeting him for the
first time and hoped we would have more opportunities with him.
Sadly, that will not happen.

I truly do miss my uncle and wish I had more time to know him. But my
heart rejoices that he knew Jesus as his Savior! I can’t be sad that
he is going to spend eternity in God’s presence! What a story his
life represents of how God can take away all anger, bitterness, and
hurt and replace it with love, joy, and peace!

I was thankful for the sense of stillness and calm that the Sabbath
provided during this time of loss. I would encourage you today to
tell your family and friends how much you love them. The old cliche
is true: We never know if today will be our last day, so live it well!

Until next week,
Lisa G.