SWHW Bible Reading Plan: July 2021Sample

Top Takeaway from Michelle Myers:

I have gone through many different seasons in my life on how I've viewed the Sabbath.

At first, I think I saw it more as a rule of “Don't:” Don't work on Sundays, which included my job, laundry, exercise, mowing the grass, etc. Slowly, I began to add in more rules, this time under the realm of "Do:" Go to church. Worship among other believers. Take a nap when you get home.

But then, I became an adult and had real-life responsibility. Not surprisingly, the "rules" I had come to keep were just as easy to break. And between church ministry, multiple jobs, and being a full-time seminary student, breaking them was even easy for me to justify.

But the more I began to cultivate a relationship with the Lord, the more conviction I felt over my refusal to observe a Sabbath. So I committed to making a step of obedience to truly take a day away from work.

My first step was to see observing a Sabbath as a "time tithe." Basically, just like I give a portion of my income back to the Lord, observing a Sabbath was my way of saying, "God, I trust You with 1/7 of my productivity."

And while that was a step in the right direction, it wasn't until I dug into Hebrews 4 I realized that step, too, paled in comparison to what God has for us in His command to "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8).

Hebrews 4 first begins talking about God's rest. And when it refers to God's rest, the author is referring to heaven. So this is really a continued conversation from Hebrews 3 about salvation. It refers to how the Israelites heard the good news, but they didn't believe it. They chose not to trust God and they went their own way. 

In summary, these beginning verses plea for us to pay attention to what God says. Remember your salvation in Jesus. Don't allow your heart to harden. Have faith in His promises and fully trust Him so one day, you will enter heaven and spend eternity with your Savior.

Now, what does this have to do with a weekly Sabbath? Let's re-read a few verses from the passage we just read:

"For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all of His works." - Hebrews 4:4

Then again fixates on a certain day: "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." - Hebrews 4:7b

And finally... "So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience." - Hebrews 4:9-11

God rested as our example. He pleads with us not to waste another second of our lives pursuing anything other than Him. And once a week, He doesn't just tell you to take a break. Or not to work. Or to rest. 

A sabbath gives us a break from earthly responsibility to pursue Him fully so we have a reminder of what heaven will be like. It's our weekly reminder of what our future holds for us because of Jesus. 

The Sabbath is not an obligation; it's a gift. 

We don't know exactly what heaven will be like. but we do know a few things: 

1) We will be with God and He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. 

2) There will be no more tears and no more pain.

3) Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord. 

4) Everything will be restored, and everything will be renewed.

Here's the big picture: when you have a weekly reminder of what eternity will be like, it's a lot easier to live for heaven on earth. The "tension" of our dual citizenship as being both citizens of heaven and citizens of Earth begins to loosen. And even though the things of Earth don't go away, they become easier to see as merely temporary when consistently compared to the eternal.

And as you taste heaven on the regular, you get reminded to be grateful for your salvation, which will also create an urgency for the salvation of others. And while no, we can't save others (Jesus does that!), we can tell them about what Jesus has done for them. And instead of heaven feeling like a far-off, distant and unknown place,  it starts to feel like home and somewhere you long to be.

So let's refuse to see the Sabbath as anything less than it's meant to be: our weekly reminder of what God promises us in eternity that salvation through Jesus made possible. 

God, thank You for sending Jesus to live the life we never could, die the death we deserved and defeat the grave, so through our belief in Him, we can stand righteous before You. You are so good. Thank You for being patient with me. Thank You for Your promises. And thank You for the gift of the Sabbath. Transform my mind to put the Sabbath into practice as You intended it: to remind me of what my future holds with You. I love You. Amen.