“It is just as the Holy Spirit says, ‘If
you hear God's voice today, don't be stubborn!’” Hebrews 3:7, 8 (CEV)
We have a lot of
clocks in our house – every room has at least one. One in particular annoys me.
It’s the projection clock in our bedroom that casts a subtle blue light image
of current time on the ceiling. Diana loves it, but it bugs me. I imagine that
it penetrates through my closed eyelids, haunting me even though my eyes are
not open. I’ve tested it out but, like Diana says, it’s just my imagination! I
have to admit, though – all these clocks, these “time heralds”, have made me
much more conscious of the “now” of my life.
When God
established the Sabbath He had in mind a special day that celebrated creation
as well as His relationship with us. But He made us to be with Him all the
time, not just on the 7th day. Unfortunately, God’s people
throughout history have forgotten that fact. They have repeatedly fallen into
the error of seeing “Sabbath” as the day to do “God-stuff”. Too often we
approach it as the time during the week when we perform our religious duties –
like go to church, be nice to people, read the Bible, sing hymns, or take a
nature walk. God gave us six days to do our stuff and one day to do His.
Right?
The Israelites
who were freed from Egyptian slavery made this mistake, and it cost most of
them the realization of their dream: the Promised Land. They had lots of ups
and downs in their journey from Egypt to Canaan – but after the Golden Calf
Affair, they seemed able enough to get into the routine of prescribed worship,
including Sabbath observance. Problem is, they ignored the Sabbath “clock” – a
7th Day reminder to pay attention to the “now” of everyday. Turning
away from the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “Today”, they were fixated
on getting to the Promised Land. They were willing to go through the motions of
worship on the 7th day because that was the rule. But they refused
to hear the “Now” of God’s voice. And so, as Psalm 95 says (quoted here in
Hebrews 3 & 4), they never entered the Sabbath rest of God. They were
Sabbathkeepers who missed out on the joy of God’s true “Sabbath” because they
didn’t pay attention to God’s voice saying: “Today.”
God’s Spirit is
still speaking. “Today,” He says, “I’m inviting you into My peace. Today is the
day to experience Sabbath rest by trusting in Me, opening your heart to Me, and
following My direction in your life. Don’t wait for the 7th day.
Worship and love and work with Me now, Today.”
So I’ve decided
I don’t want to be a Seventh-day Adventist anymore. Instead, I’m going to be a Seven-day
Adventist Christian. Because “Today” God is speaking to me. And He’s calling me
to walk with Him in the “Sabbath” way of life.
T.B.
Think about it: Are
you listening to God today?
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