Today (although it's Tuesday) is "Website Wednesday."
We figure that most people have the new issue in hand, and it's on store shelves, so it's time to post it online. We'll put some extra articles up, like a Stavesacre interview, an expanded Cornerstone Festival review, and the Summer Gadgets review.
"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done."
(Genesis 2)
I remember as a young boy or a young teen not being very fond of hard work. This, in effect, spoiled recreation for me a little bit. Something about a hard day's work even makes a Coca-Cola taste better. Putting out on the job, on the football field, at the skatepark -- whatever it is -- makes for better rest and relaxation. Because I had this attitude of not wanting to work but just lazy around all the time, I missed out on some character development and some rewards that hard work would have brought. I also might even find it harder to believe that God blessed the seventh day, making it holy.
God really wants us to kick back and chill on the Sabbath. It's actually a holy thing. It's cool that God Himself rested. He didn't do this because He was tired. He did it because He was finished! At least that's what I see in these Scriptures. That helps me understand what He's talking about when He brings up the "believer's rest" in the book of Hebrews. We are to enter a "Sabbath rest" in our spiritual walk with Christ. We can rest from our striving, our works for acceptance and forgiveness of sin because Jesus accomplished that work and He finished! We can take that mentality and rest in our souls, knowing that God's favor has now been given to us. We don't have to earn it.
Imagine if we had to earn God's favor. We could kill ourselves trying to. And think about how intense athletics are. You've got football coaches trying to outdo one another in film study and game preparation. You've got players training and lifting weights more than the next guy, trying to get an edge. Imagine if we were believing that we had to earn God's favor and we took it seriously. It could get very competitive and we'd probably end up maxing ourselves out trying in vain to accomplish something that's already been done and handed to us freely.
I love how military people show gratitude and respect. They often don't take their freedoms and liberty lightly, because they know a price was paid. That's the kind of respect and admiration and gratitude we should probably have for God and His mercy and grace. He's showed us so much kindness -- and with a price, a terribly high price.
I'm enjoying a DVD documentary on skater Christian Hosoi's life. I love seeing the old skate decks and gear on the screen. It brings back some great memories.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at August 29, 2006 09:21 AM