And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. Genesis 2:2, 3.
The great Jehovah had laid the foundations of the earth; He had dressed the whole world in the garb of beauty, and had filled it with things useful to man; He had created all the wonders of the land and of the sea. In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished. And God “rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made….” God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All was perfect, worthy of its divine Author, and He rested, not as one weary, but as well pleased with the fruits of His wisdom and goodness and the manifestations of His glory.
After resting upon the seventh day, God sanctified it, or set it apart, as a day of rest for man. Following the example of the Creator, man was to rest upon this sacred day, that as he should look upon the heavens and the earth, he might reflect upon God’s great work of creation; and that as he should behold the evidences of God’s wisdom and goodness, his heart might be filled with love and reverence for his Maker….
God saw that a Sabbath was essential for man, even in Paradise. He needed to lay aside his own interests and pursuits for one day of the seven, that he might more fully contemplate the works of God, and meditate upon His power and goodness. He needed a Sabbath, to remind him more vividly of God, and to awaken gratitude because all that he enjoyed and possessed came from the beneficent hand of the Creator.109Patriarchs and Prophets, 47, 48.
When the foundations of the earth were laid, … then was laid the foundation of the Sabbath. Well may this institution demand our reverence: it was ordained by no human authority, and rests upon no human traditions; it was established by the Ancient of days, and commanded by His eternal word.110The Great Controversy, 455.
The Faith I Live By p. 31
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Prayer Requests
—-We are requesting prayers for our son Noah, who just returned from a year in the mission field overseas. We earnestly desire for as many prayers as possible for the Lord to lead Noah into a ministry that would keep him in the missionary mindset and service for the great commission. As of now, Noah is planning to move the first week of February; in with his brother Alex in KC, MO and work with a long-time friend of his and possibly attend the public college to get a degree. We, as his parents, believe this plan would be detrimental to his walk with the Lord. So if you could please join us in pleading with the Lord Jesus to show Noah the open door that He wants Noah to go through, we would greatly appreciate it. Jerry
—-Please pray for E and children that God will protect and lead. R
—-Please pray for the husband of my dearest childhood friend. All I know is that he has been in the hospital for 4 days. He had to have his legs amputated a few years ago, because (I think) of an infection or something like that.
They are not believers at all, but she accepts my prayers because she knows that I am! A
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Dear Friends,
Before I was retired, I worked in the court system. As I used to look over the forms that the defendants filled out when they came to our office, I would occasionally find that the person had a college degree but was working at a job that could easily have been done by a high-school dropout. They were often divorced and had little or no contact with their family. Their drinking or drug habit had ruined their chances for success, for happiness. Over the years of working at the courthouse, I had seen attorneys ruin their profession for the same reason. We shake our head and wonder how they could have allowed something to ruin their career, their future, their life.
Yet, do we not do the same spiritually? James tells us that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10 “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” therefore that puts us all in the same danger of ruin for “the wages of sin is death.” Rom 3:23; 6:23 Praise God! The last verse does not end there! “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Paul says, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:3-7
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 3:1 Think of it! Our Dear Saviour, the Creator of the Universe, left all the glories of His Heavenly Home and came down to this dark and sinful planet to live as a man and suffer all of the humiliation and abuse that the evil one working through evil men could heap upon Him, so that we could have eternal life in His Perfect Kingdom. He promises, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely.” “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Hos 14:4; Jer 31:34 Wonderful Saviour!
May we so live that His great sacrifice for us will not be in vain is my prayer.
Rose