Make Sabbath Sticky
As we are wrapping up our teaching on Sabbath, I am challenged with how to make this spiritual practice “sticky” in my life. It is easier to practice when Sabbath is top of mind, but how will we balance Sabbath as we also look to incorporate generosity.
To that end I read an interesting article 7 Sabbath Tips from 15 Years of Practice. I encourage you to go read the article, and consider applying some of these very practical tips to your Sabbath practice. The hook the author Austin Gohn used in the article is moving and I would like to offer it to all of you here.
In a recent interview with former senator Ben Sasse, who is dying of Stage-4 pancreatic cancer in his fifties, he was asked, “Is there advice that you would give to someone who is the Ben Sasse father of three at age 40 or age 35, when the kids are young and everything’s stressful and chaotic? In light of where you are now?”
“No. 1, honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. Man, I wish I’d treated the Lord’s Day differently over the course of my life. I’ve always known it, believed in it and thought: Maybe next week we’ll get better. We’ve been at Sunday worship every morning forever, but man, am I tempted by 12:45 or 1:30 in the afternoon to get back to work or, to an addictive level, work about the N.F.L. Boy, I would treat Sabbaths differently — and especially digital intrusions into the Sabbath.”
So, brothers and sisters, we are challenged to consider our own mortality and seize each Sabbath day with delight! Let us not forget this practice as we endeavor on in our abiding practices. Let us worship God in Sabbath practice, not out of obligation or duty, but out of reverance for God. Trusting that He will bring the blessing for our faithfulness.
Steve Poole
Pastor of Youth & Young Adults
