John Markum

Tag: Sunday

Honor the Sabbath

Posted on by johnmarkum

In Exodus 20, God commands the people of Israel to “Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Ever since, there has been confusion as to what exactly He meant by that.

First of all, the word holy simply means “set apart.” And God even tells us in Exodus 20:11 the exact reason for telling us to “set apart” one day per week:

“For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day He rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”

Bottom line: Don’t try to out work God. Take time to slow down, recharge, and focus on the important things. Like God, family, health, and your sanity.

By the time you get to the New Testament, the religious leaders of Jesus time had created hundreds of laws regarding how to “Honor the Sabbath.” When they find Jesus doing everything from healing the sick and getting food on the Sabbath day, they totally lose it! Jesus points out that any of them would pull their ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath, but they cry foul when Jesus healed a cripple man. How does that make sense?

In our crazy-paced, American, consumerism mentality, it is so easy for us to use busyness as an excuse for everything:

  • Sorry I didn’t make it to your wedding. I had to work.
  • Sorry I was late for work. I had a doctors appointment.
  • Sorry I was late for my appointment. My babysitter took forever to get there.
  • Sorry I need you to watch my kids early, I have a bunch of errands to run.

I’ve heard the full gambit of reasons that people put God on hold. But God doesn’t just want you to make time with Him a priority. He wants you to make time for yourself.

Do you have a regular, weekly day to escape the crazy break-neck pace of life? If not, how long do you expect to make it at this pace? Even if it doesn’t kill you, how much are you actually enjoying life, and all the gifts of God has given you to slow down and enjoy from time to time?

“Man was not made for the Sabbath day, but the Sabbath day for man.” – Jesus (Mark 2:27)

Take one day a week even if it’s not Saturday. Slow down. Appreciate what you’ve accomplished in the past week. Prepare yourself for the next week. God wants you to chill.

Blessings,

John

Challenge #2: Pray for the church

Posted on by johnmarkum

 

Edgewood Challenge #2: Pray for the church one hour a week.

Ok, so earlier I talked about our first challenge as a church – to read through the entire Bible over one year. But this second challenge requires us to pray in addition to read the Bible. I already know what you’re thinking. And I totally agree! Read the Bible and pray?!? Man, some churches are so demanding!!! And not just pray for an hour a week, but to pray for an hour a week for the church. That doesn’t even include praying for other important stuff, like our food 3 times a day! So why are we doing this and how do we actually accomplish it instead of adding to a list of New Year’s resolutions that have already been broken?

Well we’re doing it because we understand the power of prayer. A praying church is a healthy church. We’re also asking the entire church to take this challenge because, as a church, we are dependent on the supernatural, Holy Spirit power of God moving among His people. That’s not something we have direct control over. So you and I better be in touch with the One who said He would build His church. In Acts 5:34-40 we read the story of Gamaliel warning the other Pharisees not to be to hasty in punishing the apostles who were preaching the Gospel and he made this observation in verses 39 and 40, “If this is of man, it will come to nothing. But if it is from God, you cannot stop it. You my even find yourself fighting against God!” The same is still true of the church today: If we attempt to do this “out of man” it will come to nothing. But as individuals, and as a church, if we become a part of what God is doing, we are unstoppable!

So pray for your church! 1 hour broken up between 7 days comes out to about 8.5 minutes a day. But let’s not count minutes with God and just round it to a nice even 10 minutes! How do you pray for your church for 10 minutes every day? Great question. Glad you asked! Here are some ideas to pray for 10 minutes for your church everyday.

  • Monday: The staff and our families. To see who we all are and what we do, click here.
  • Tuesday: Our Children, Teens, and Families.
  • Wednesday: The Sick, Elderly, Widowed, and Home-bound.
  • Thursday: The people in the Quad Cities who are far from God and need to know Christ.
  • Friday: Our Friday night program, Celebrate Recovery
  • Saturday: Saturday Night Service (The Awakening)
  • Sunday: Sunday Morning Service and the Youth Service (Elevate)

With each of these, try to get specific. So for Mondays, maybe focus more of your 10 minutes on a different staff member each week. On Thursdays, think of specific people that you are going to invite to a service with you this week. On Tuesdays focus on the kid’s program coming up, or the teen’s summer camp trip. You get the idea. You’ll find that 8.5 – 10 minutes is easy to fill. Aditionally, you’ll feel closer to God and your church family.

Where there’s little prayer, there’s little power. But with much prayer, there’s much power. Let’s be a power house in the Quad Cities!

Blessings,

John

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