April 28, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12.1)

“Then Jesus declared, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’” (Mark 2.27)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

But let me get back to “Which came first… the creation or the day?” When we come to the “end” of the the story (Genesis 2.2-3), the seventh day already seems to have existed. I hear the words of Jesus quoted in Mark 2.27, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.” For me, the days existed without form and void. God made them in the state of readiness to become much more than hours on a clock, days on a calendar or ages in the history of the universe. He made them as place holders in which the essence of life became tangible life. Words like an architect’s sketching rose off the page spread before the Creator and took form and shape and came alive. They moved together from place to place, space to space and time became measured and measurable. The foundation was laid and now the building blocks of life were gathered together in masterful order. As each one existed, another was called out as if God Himself was being revealed. The move of the conductor’s baton became the movement of the Spirit following each note perfectly building into a symphony of life itself totally, comprehensively, being fearfully and wonderfully made. The work which God had begun before the beginning was the answer to that question I mentioned before. The question? “Which came first the chicken or the egg?” The answer? “The thought of it all.” Indeed, the word became alive, the true introduction of incarnation as the music swelled to a crescendo. And carefully, God put things in their place to be remembered how they came to be- day by day. The measure of days was not in seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, years. Instead, the days were measured by meaning, function, purpose and blessing. Each day would bless the other, both past and future, yesterday and tomorrow. As creation would come into its being carefully knitted together and united in spirit and in truth, time seemed to slow down. The rhythm of its existence found its way and the weight of it became the force of reality. As they slowed, it allowed the eye to capture the intimate details of what was, what is and what can and will be. The angels marvelled having never seen such a thing. Their world was superlative but this one would defy description. What seemed like heaven now became heaven on earth. It was strangely similar and distinctly different. Songs of praise began to form among them and fill the heavens with such a sound as equally had never been heard as this creation had never been seen. The orchestration deftly move across the days like pages of the symphony itself were scripted and now appeared where before no one but God had seen them. And then came the turning of the page and all creation responded as in a well-rehearsed movement to present imago dei, the image of God. Such power. It was electric in anticipation of “next.” And as the sixth day slowed, like a curtain carefully drawn away from the stage, God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in our image let us create them- male and female.” In glorious expectation, heaven and earth held its collective breath as the spotlight of God’s love and favor begin to shine. There, center stage, was man and woman united- separately together. Between them came the crowning glory, made just a little less than the angels themselves. The angels exhaled as the music of creation rose. Together they professed, which David would capture to himself later, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name IN all the earth.” There they stood as the sun rose to its height in awesome wonder. Consider all that God had done and nothing would compare to this. God declared, and everyone and everything accepted it, “It is good and very good.” It was evening and it was morning and it was done. Peace ruled the day when the heavens and the earth were finally made. And God invited them in….

Jesus said, “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath thus the Son of Man is the ruler of the Sabbath. AMEN.” It was on that seventh day which God had made before the foundations of the earth were laid in the midst of all creation, God invited them in. He invited them in to that special place where no work would exist as God rested there from all His labors. He looked upon the six days and all they contained in a myriad of inventory. He smiled. He also shed a tear. The very expression of love opened the door to the very reality that love which found a way could find another way. So, God created the place where the way could be found, remembered, celebrated, engaged and adhered to. It was the way of worship. It was the way of worship in spirit and in truth. Whether neither on this mountain nor on that mountain, on this day or that day, by this work or that work, but this intention or that intention, by anything that was made which had been made, only the place which God had prepared for them to gaze upon the face of righteousness and thus find themselves at rest and peace could and would suffice. As in the words to Moses, “Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy; six days you shall do the works of God given you and on the seventh day you will rest.” Yes, we will find our rest in Him. We shall seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. We will rest in the promise of His provision for what is needed. Forgiveness, mercy, grace, hope, faith and love but the greatest of these will be love. No greater love is there than this, that a man would lay down His life for another. It would be on the seventh day that humanity would come to rest. To lay down their lives, their hold on it and choose another way than the one they had chosen which led to sin and the grave. Their choices led Him to take one their sin and their grave and make it His own. On the Sabbath, God invited Him in. He could only enter it for our sake by pouring Himself out in flesh and in spirit and become as the dust of the earth from which He in part and us in whole had come. Only when He found His true rest would come the rest. The angels above and man below praised and worshipped in sorrow. They prayed this was not the end but a lull that would be resolved in a glorious “Amen, so be it.” And when the sun sat on that seventh day where worship existed and no work would be done, the evening came and God rose up and did the most glorious work of all- RESURRECTION. Indeed, “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Saturday was here but Sunday continues to come.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.