Peace in Time

As this seventh day of this week began we were singing praise to God with some friends. Oh what a release and even joy to have the privilege of laying aside the multitude of the
everyday cares of my life for a twenty four hour period of time and in exchange receive the blessing of spending that special time, focused time with the God of Peace. Wow! How Awesome! So where do I get the idea I have the 'right' to or should even think of doing such a thing? Don't I have 'so much to do'? YES! And the God who created me knows even better than I do the need of peace in my life in order for me to 'really live'.
When Jesus lived here on this earth as a man He said the 'Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath'. So where did this Sabbath idea come from in the first place? From the God of Peace Himself. At the end of the week in which God created this world in the first place, God gave His example concerning the 'Sabbath'. "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.
Then, a little later in speaking again about the 'seventh day', God said: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, . . . For [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8-11
I haven't yet got to the place where I have learned how to get all my 'work' 'done', but I am learning the Peace that comes in laying aside 'my work' on the day God blessed and experiencing Him and the Peace He only is able to bestow into my life.
Somehow this seventh day 'peace in time' called Sabbath empowers me to face ever increasing challenges of life that will again face me after this Sabbath is over. I felt that 'release' and PEACE in particular last evening. Even though 'cares' tried to press in on the 'singing' I felt the 'right' to 'lay them aside' also. We often take our music keyboard with us but when we hooked it up it wouldn't turn on. That can be checked into later but for this Sabbath we sang hymns without the keyboard.
After the praise time was over and some folks had already gone, one of my friends asked what was appropriate to 'do' on the Sabbath. She was concerned that she might ask us to 'do' something that was against our 'sabbath rules'.
Even as recently as a year or so ago I might have referred her to some 'list' of 'do and don't' that someone had 'made' for 'proper sabbath observance'.
Praise the Lord, that is not God's idea of how to enable me to experience "Peace in Time" especially relating to His Holy Sabbath.
More recently I have been learning that the criteria for proper 'Sabbath activities' is simply: what will enable me to most efficiently experience God's 'PEACE' and to share that same experience with others in His way. I may still take time to eat for physical strength on Sabbath, but that is not my primary focus, therefore anything I can do to prepare food ahead of time means I have more time to spend with God during the special 'Sabbath' appointment He has with me. I still get dressed on Sabbath, but anything I can do ahead of time to have my special clothes ready to meet with the God of peace leaves more quality time to spend with Him. And perhaps the greatest block of time that can be cleared for this special Sabbath appointment is that which I would normally spend in work for myself and/or others. As noted above, God instructed me to get 'my work' done during the first six days of each week. On the seventh day of the week, also called Sabbath in the Bible, my 'work' is laid aside so that I can experience God's Peace by spending (what would have been spent any other day doing 'my work') the entire seventh day with Him.
How wonderful is my Creator God to give me this time, every week, to spend specially with Him. By the way, the same is true of 'mental work'. In the past I have often 'stopped' my physical work on the Sabbath but not the everyday 'thoughts' that were going on in my mind - but didn't give me much quality time with God on those Sabbaths.
Well, having done the above to 'clear' the seventh day 'time' of everyday activities, what might I 'do' during this 'Peace in Time'? Here are a few ideas I have been learning to enhance this "Peace in Time" .
"Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10
"A Psalm [or] Song for the sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep." Psalm 92:1-5
"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, [from] doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words: 58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it]." Isaiah 58:13

There are many more appropriate ways to experience God's love and peace in a special way on 'His holy day' the seventh day Sabbath, but for now I am going to focus on this Sabbath's blessing more fully.

Bringer of Peace