spend time with God – Page 2

John 12:1-8 – Extravagant Worship

Read John 12:1-8

We are approaching the beginning of Holy Week 2023. During this time every year, we remember the sacrifice and miracle that took place because of how much God loves us. Beginning with Palm Sunday, we’ll walk together with Luke and the other gospel writers through some of the events of Jesus’ last week. It’s our special time to reflect on the immense sacrifice Jesus made to pay for our freedom from sin and death.

Our reading today sets the scene for what is to come and challenges us in our own worship practices. The Passover celebration was about to start, and little did the folks attending this dinner party know these were Jesus’ final days. Jesus knew, and his startling words about his burial must have shocked his friends.

Hebrews 4:1-11 – What A Gift!

Read Hebrews 4:1-11

God’s rest is meant to be a gift! This is especially good news if you are one of those people (like me) who have a hard time sitting still. You want to be doing something, always keeping your mind or body in motion. The gift of rest is meant to slow us down – spend more time in God’s presence. The Preacher even says we ought to “tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.”

This rest is so much more than the Sabbath rest mentioned here briefly. Do you find it difficult to cram everything you need to do into six days so that you can have your Sabbath on the seventh day? Having Sabbath rest is the ideal God intends for us. Consider how God offers us that day of rest as a gracious gift pointing to our ultimate rest in God’s presence. But often we fall short. That’s probably why when we read about Jesus healing on the Sabbath, for example, we have a hard time fathoming the seriousness of his actions.

Jeremiah 19:1-15 – Like a Smashed Pot

Read Jeremiah 19:1-15

I marvel again at Jeremiah’s obedience to God. Each time God uses him for a new teachable moment Jeremiah continues to listen and follow. Those are two great ways we can stay connected with God. We need to listen and follow!

The visual God used this time was a shattered pot. Part of the message was seeing Jeremiah smash the pot to make a point. God’s intention was to give the people a surprise hoping that would catch their attention. It would have been a bit of a spectacle to have a man ranting and raving and then breaking a jar. Whether people saw him as crazy or not didn’t seem to matter. Jeremiah obeyed God.

Jeremiah 17:19-27 – Keep the Sabbath Holy

Read Jeremiah 17:19-27

stone tablets with Exodus 20:8 quoted to Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Keeping the sabbath holy is an act of obedience, and obedience leads to life. God wants to be the center of our world and setting aside this one day for him is not too much to ask. Is it? You can read in Exodus 31:12-17 where God gave Moses instructions about the Sabbath.

As I was reflecting on today’s reading in Jeremiah, it struck me that the idea of honoring the Sabbath would be so foreign to God’s disobedient children. It doesn’t seem very likely many were keeping the Sabbath at all. Yet, this is God’s message, and it speaks as a reminder of his hopes for his people.

1 Corinthians 7:25-40 – Time Away from God

Read 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

abstract design of clock and words like schedule busy delay stress alarm

Paul seems to be fielding another question here in his initial response to the single ladies. Don’t you agree there is a definite bias here by Paul that being unmarried is the “better” option? Despite that, Paul wants to be clear that marriage is not a sin. That’s a good thing! Perhaps Paul didn’t understand going through the “fuss” of getting married when the end was near.

What seems to be most concerning to Paul is how we must divide our time if we’re married. God doesn’t get 100% of our devotion because we are called to love our spouses. While Paul doesn’t speak of it here, children are often born to married couples and the love and care of our offspring takes even more time away from God! But then, isn’t being a loving parent and raising children a way of serving God?