Breathe Bible Study

For quite a few years the Dorminy SUNDAY School ladies have participated in summer Bible Study. One was called “Duty or Delight?” Another was “James: Mercy Triumphs.” I believe “Gideon” was studied one summer. We studied the Psalms of Ascent last summer in “Stepping Up.” And this year we are working through “Breathe” by Priscilla Shirer; It’s an invitation to enjoy Sabbath rest.  

 Special thanks to Charity for snapping a picture of these precious ladies!!

There were 33 ladies in my house last night!  I believe the invitation is enticing—Lord, teach us what it means to honor You through honoring Sabbath rest.  In this day when there are no boundaries around anything, it’s scarily easy to just go with what comes our way. And before we know it, life is utterly out of control. 

Josh uses a quote by Ron Dunn often. So often, in fact, that I have memorized it. 

“God always reserves something for Himself in the physical realm where man obtains his living to show that He is sovereign owner of it all.” 

He was telling the kids about this the other night and taught them about how this was true from the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden. There were Adam and Eve in this gorgeous place, perfect temperature, having named all the animals and enjoying life. It could have been a possibility that Adam might begin thinking that maybe he did something great to get here…I mean, maybe these animals were his; he did name them afterall. Or maybe this whole garden was his. BUT God set up a way to remind them that He was sovereign Owner of it all. How?  He told them not to eat of one tree–The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam could be walking around and spot the tree and be reminded that indeed this was God’s Garden. God reserved that tree for Himself alone. 

God has done that for us through the tithe and The Lord’s Day, among other ways. God is the Source of all my resources, and one way I can acknowledge that and honor God is by giving my tithe, at the least. It’s a reminder. It’s a blessing. 

Sunday is The Lord’s Day. Josh and I have been talking about ways we can even better honor God by reserving this day as set apart. One day of the week that looks quite different from the rest. It’s a reminder. It’s a blessing. It’s teaching our kids that The Lord is worthy of honor, and He alone meets our needs. Not Josh’s job…that’s why he doesn’t work on Sunday and needs to put even more boundaries around that time to ensure it is clear to us and our kids. The extra time that is unscheduled after spending time under God’s Word can be used to reflect on what we’ve learned, allow for time to talk to our kids about what they’ve learned. And rest for our bodies! We love Sunday naps around here. I’m sure to many it sounds legalistic, but I can assure you, we’re far from legalistic. I’m not concerned about that. 

Here was one of my favorite quotes from my time this morning:

  
Margin creates opportunity and options!  That goes against this modern-day way of thinking. We think we or our kids will miss out and miss opportunities if we don’t participate in this or that or everything (!).  We think somehow their options are limited by not doing certain activities in certain ways, but we’re taking God out of the equation when we think this way. It’s toxic. God supplies any opportunity and any option we need when we honor Him. 

I’m super-excited about learning how to honor God in sabbath rest…not because I think He will “get me” if I don’t!  But rather, because I want to honor Him, hear from Him and experience the blessing of the rest He created!  For me and my family.