Thursday, July 23, 2020
Sabbath Presence “If we cite the Bible, and yet fail to live according to its codes, the Bible becomes just another book. But when we live it, it becomes powerful. If you believe it, the words of scripture say that we become living apostles in whose life others read the presence of God.” page 117 In Sunday’s sermon we heard that honoring the sabbath– resting from our work and turning to God in worship–is a way to show others to whom we belong. A gift of resting with God one day a week is that we can take that time to seek God’s purposes in our lives. We hear this echoed throughout the book of Isaiah. Through the prophet Isaiah, God calls people to repent of the selfish ways that they use their time, and to humble themselves to follow God’s way. We hear in Isaiah 58:5,
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?”
Sabbath Presence “If we cite the Bible, and yet fail to live according to its codes, the Bible becomes just another book. But when we live it, it becomes powerful. If you believe it, the words of scripture say that we become living apostles in whose life others read the presence of God.” page 117 In Sunday’s sermon we heard that honoring the sabbath– resting from our work and turning to God in worship–is a way to show others to whom we belong. A gift of resting with God one day a week is that we can take that time to seek God’s purposes in our lives. We hear this echoed throughout the book of Isaiah. Through the prophet Isaiah, God calls people to repent of the selfish ways that they use their time, and to humble themselves to follow God’s way. We hear in Isaiah 58:5,
“Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?”
Through the sabbath, God is inviting us to rest from excluding God from our lives to lean into the love of God that includes us even though we’ve done nothing to earn it. Pray that the spirit of God’s word would be an echo heard through your life and the life of Oakdale Park Church.
Question to Ponder: How can we as living apostles demonstrate the presence of God in the face of racial injustice?
This week’s devotions are adapted from the book, Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson. St. Martin’s Press, New York. 2017.
