Friday Scripture: Exodus 20
Six or Seven Suggestions
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And God spoke all these words:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
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God gave us ten commandments, but--after all--who can remember so many?
Our sound bite culture has pretty much whittled them down to six or seven suggestions.
I think the Sabbath was the first to hit the cutting room floor.
We can't slow down--we're movers and shakers!
We gotta go to Walmart!!!
But the Sabbath marks God's people.
Nobody is too busy to carve out sacred time for God.
Sabbath is necessary for our total health--body, mind, and soul.
Is it possible that 2020 is the year God is reminding the world to slow down and re-assess?
If we have time to hunker down for weeks at a time, maybe we have time for Sabbath after all?
Who knows?
Maybe we can put it back on the list of suggestions.
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Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
That calls me from a world of care
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all my wants and wishes known
In seasons of distress and grief
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter's snare
By Thy return, sweet hour of prayer