11-15-14 Daily E-Votional

Saturday, Nov. 15

Nehemiah 13:4-22

I have to admit that I have not been a good keeper of the Sabbath. Taking Sabbath is different from living my day-to-day life. Sabbath is a time to quiet myself and just be reflective and to refocus on God. I’ve not kept Sabbath for some time.

God has given us the gift of Sabbath and also commands that we are keepers of the Sabbath. So, what does keeping the Sabbath mean?

To keep Sabbath means remembering the word, stop. It is so nice to stop the crazy hamster wheel of work long enough to step away from the constant motion and just say to myself, I don’t need to try to do all or be all. More often than not, I tend to stop one piece of work only to begin another piece of work. Sabbath means we just need to stop.

Even though it takes me a little bit, once I stop my regular routine, I look around and see beauty and my eyes are drawn to the little things that are amazing. Going to the water to fish takes me to a place of Sabbath.

As our First Presbyterian Church of Brandon readies itself for the Heifer Market we will be hosting this coming Wednesday night, I’m getting things ready for the booth where I will be helping. I probably don’t need to say that my booth is focused on fish and the way that we can buy shares of fish fingerlings and send them off to other countries and those fingerlings will grow and produce more fish. When the fish are caught, they will feed many.

When John and I fished in Arkansas in September, we visited the fish hatchery. It was lovely to see the little fingerlings and all the stages up to the time when they would be released into the streams. Actually there were some troughs filled with some majorly huge fish and they had a particular job to bring about more little fingerlings.

When the feeding truck went up and down the aisles at the hatchery, in the troughs ahead of and over from the truck, the fish would be jumping with excitement and eagerness to get the pellets that would be coming their way. They knew where their bread was buttered so to speak. So much those little fish learn and so much they have to re-learn when released into their new living environment.

It’s feeling like time to go stream fishing again, but that’s probably in 2015 before that’s going to happen. For now, it’s wonderful to be remembering the beauty we’ve been in, and are surrounded with in each day.

Thank you, God, for the gift of Sabbath. Sorry I forgot.

13:4 Some time before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of The Temple of God. He was close to Tobiah 5 and had made available to him a large storeroom that had been used to store Grain-Offerings, incense, worship vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil for the Levites, singers, and security guards, and the offerings for the priests. 

6 When this was going on I wasn’t there in Jerusalem; in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I had traveled back to the king. But later I asked for his permission to leave again.  7 I arrived in Jerusalem and learned of the wrong that Eliashib had done in turning over to him a room in the courts of The Temple of God.  8 I was angry, really angry, and threw everything in the room out into the street, all of Tobiah’s stuff.  9 Then I ordered that they ceremonially cleanse the room. Only then did I put back the worship vessels of The Temple of God, along with the Grain-Offerings and the incense. 

10   And then I learned that the Levites hadn’t been given their regular food allotments. So the Levites and singers who led the services of worship had all left and gone back to their farms.  11 I called the officials on the carpet, “Why has The Temple of God been abandoned?” I got everyone back again and put them back on their jobs 12 so that all Judah was again bringing in the tithe of grain, wine, and oil to the storerooms.  13 I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms. I made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their right-hand man. These men had a reputation for honesty and hard work. They were responsible for distributing the rations to their brothers. 

14  Remember me, O my God, for this. Don’t ever forget the devoted work I have done for The Temple of God and its worship. 

15   During those days, while back in Judah, I also noticed that people treaded wine presses, brought in sacks of grain, and loaded up their donkeys on the Sabbath. They brought wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of stuff to sell on the Sabbath. So I spoke up and warned them about selling food on that day.  16 Tyrians living there brought in fish and whatever else, selling it to Judeans—in Jerusalem, mind you!—on the Sabbath. 

17   I confronted the leaders of Judah: “What’s going on here? This evil! Profaning the Sabbath!  18 Isn’t this exactly what your ancestors did? And because of it didn’t God bring down on us and this city all this misery? And here you are adding to it—accumulating more wrath on Jerusalem by profaning the Sabbath.” 

19   As the gates of Jerusalem were darkened by the shadows of the approaching Sabbath, I ordered the doors shut and not to be opened until the Sabbath was over. I placed some of my servants at the gates to make sure that nothing to be sold would get in on the Sabbath day. 

20   Traders and dealers in various goods camped outside the gates once or twice.  21 But I took them to task. I said, “You have no business camping out here by the wall. If I find you here again, I’ll use force to drive you off.” 

 And that did it; they didn’t come back on the Sabbath. 

22   Then I directed the Levites to ceremonially cleanse themselves and take over as guards at the gates to keep the sanctity of the Sabbath day. Remember me also for this, my God. Treat me with mercy according to your great and steadfast love.

When Nehemiah returned to Judah, he discovered that some of the people were working on the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week. They were also buying and selling things on the Sabbath. God had ordered the people to rest on the 7th day and told them to allow their animals and their foreign servants as well. Nehemiah wanted Jerusalem to remain a holy city that pleased God. He prayed again and asked God to show God’s kindness.

When have you felt the most pressured to keep pushing on without taking a needed rest? What are the things that most keep you from resting? Do you ever find that you fill your down time with things that do not provide rest? If you just sat in a comfortable place in nature for an hour, and you didn’t have any electronic devices or books or anything other than nature, what are some of the things you believe you would think about?   Have a Day!

In Conversation with a child:    Ask a child to tell you if people can rest while they are awake

Prayers for our soldiers and others fighting for our country: Nick Steele, Sgt. Zach Fessler, Peter Davidson

Remember in Prayer:  Kelly, Christina, Mark, Judy, Jay, Bonnie, Earl, Nilkanti, Sue, Katie, Vivian, Jean, Frank, and for all those in need of God’s healing.

And those experiencing loss – family & friends of: Loisanne, Karen, Bill, Dee, Cindy, David

Prayer:    O God, we begin this day in thanks for the many blessings you have placed in our lives. We thank you for the gift of rest and the command for rest. Why do we continue to believe that we know what is best for us? May rest be ours in this day and may we be keepers of the Sabbath. Amen

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Lucia

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The Message Bible – contemporary translation

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