God is
holy.
Holy Time.
God in
time.
Time set
apart for holy use.
Time set
apart for God.
Whether
you acknowledge God in time, He is there- and He is there in this time for us.
God made this time for us. God did not
make the holy time and add us to it as an afterthought. God made us and then
made holy time for us. A gift of time, a blessing of time.
Recognizing
time.
We all
know what it means to recognize the importance of events in time. We have what
we call milestones in life and we celebrate milestones. We celebrate these
markers of time in our lives. We
celebrate the day of our birth each year. We celebrate traditions we've placed
on a set date in time, we make that particular day worthy of celebration. We
have anniversaries of various happenings in our lives and choose to recognize
these times. We do comprehend the importance of time. We note the passage of
years placing more and more importance upon the length of the years we live. We
mourn those who no longer have time and will never celebrate time with us. We
are not ignorant to time set apart for particular use- we all do it for our
various beliefs. You may only have a single day you set aside not considering
any other in the year important. That doesn't mean you don't comprehend others
choosing to set aside several days in a year for their important activities.
You may get caught up in a whole country's idea of important days and mail
service, trash service, banking services, government offices all these may set
these days aside whether you are a part of them or not. Just because you choose
not to celebrate the Christmas holiday doesn’t mean a country that chooses to
celebrate this tradition will bend to your choice. You will live on that day
unable to do things you normally might because the time of the celebration is
taking place. Just because you are existing in the time of this celebration
doesn't mean you are a part of that celebration. You would need to choose to
take part in the celebration in order to be involved.
God set
aside time, making that time holy and He did this for us out of the great love
He has for us. We need to choose to celebrate this time because in doing so we
are celebrating God's love. God set aside weekly time, that's how much He loves
us!
How
important is time? We often say we have too little time, or too much time.
We've heard it said, or even have said it ourselves that we don't have time to
do this, that or the other thing. We've wished we had more time. We wish others
would spend time with us- this indicates a caring, doesn't it? And if others
can't spend time with us- if they even say they want to spend time with us but
circumstance prevent it, that helps too. To hear I don't want to spend time
with you indicates a lack of interest, and a lack of interest indicates a
dislike of being with you. A dislike of being with something when you are
supposed to love that something, indicates dysfunction. And we all have a lot
of dysfunctions in our lives. As an introvert, I know I can love someone and
not want to be with them, physically. I do want to be with them in a
relationship of mutual caring and love, knowing there are good thoughts being
shared, knowing that person exists who cares for my well-being. I have family
that live thousands of miles away from me and I love them though I can't be
with them. I have family that lives less than a mile away from me and because
of my own introverted nature I love them even though I choose not to be with
them often. I know they are there, I know they love me and they have only good
thoughts for me.
Time.
Will I
choose to keep the time God has set aside for me as holy time? I will if I
truly desire God in my life. He is closer to us in that holy time than at any
other time. If I love God and He has carved out a period of time- twenty-four
hours from every one-hundred sixty-eight hours- to meet with me spiritually I
would be a fool to ignore that very special time that is holy, and made so for
me! While my life might be a mess of chaotic thoughts and feelings, as I fight
the demons of disaster threatening to destroy me on many, many levels, I know
there is a special time set aside for me to recognize my Creator, my Redeemer,
to let go of my self-pursuits and self-focus and strive to focus on all things
GOD.
Gen
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
them.
Gen
2:2 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.
Gen
2:3 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.
Exo_16:30
So the people rested on the seventh day.
Exo_20:10
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do
any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy
maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo_20:11
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.
Exo_23:12
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest
Exo_31:15
Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to
the LORD
Exo
31:17 … for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the
seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Exo_34:21
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest
Exo_35:2
Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an
holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD
Lev_23:3
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an
holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in
all your dwellings.
Deu_5:14
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do
any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy
maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy
stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may
rest as well as thou.
Heb_4:4
For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did
rest the seventh day from all his works.