Tuesday 7/29/14 The Old Road Map 5

Dear Father in Heaven:  I love You, Lord.  Please clean me of my sins this day, Lord.  Thanks for saving Kristi and Kolt.  Lord, please watch over Dolores, Patsy, Burt, Bob, Sharon, Eleanor, Dan, Barbara, Ruby, Vicki, Ken, Pastor Dan, and all others who we have been praying for.  Praise You, Lord, for healing Bobbie of cancer.  All honor and glory to You.  Please help me now with the message.  Please help me stay awake and please help me dispatch the message.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, please read Genesis Chapter 2 as we move on with the creation story.  Let me get right to the message.  I am very tired this evening.

Tuesday:  July 29, 2014, The Old Road Map (Day Five)

Genesis 2:1 - Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.  2 By the seventh day God has finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day He rested from all his work.  3 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.  (NIV)

Okay, here is where I get into trouble.  What is the seventh day?  If we go by our calendar, Saturday is the seventh day of the week.  As a pastor and like all pastors who are active, they work on that seventh day.  Then there are others who must work.  Farmers must feed their livestock and take care of them.  Someone needs to cook at home.  When do the Christians get to rest?  In fact, when do others get to rest?  Now look, The Bible tells us that God rested from His work, it does not say He went to bed to sleep for 24 hours.  The Bible said He rested from His work.  Okay, let's give the cook at home a break, like so many Christians who go to church, after church they head out to dinner, and not one complaint about all the restaurant staff who had to work.  What if all those restaurants would close on Sunday?  I think we need to  know what resting really is.  Maybe a short nap on Sunday afternoon, or what about those people who love golf?  To some, that is resting.  I like to watch some sports, but that means I expect someone to be working.  What about those who love to be in their garden, so on a Saturday or Sunday you find them pulling weeds or picking the fruit.  I agree that we need to rest, and I think all of us rest in different ways.  If you are a person who must work on Saturday or Sunday, or your Sabbath, I think you need to rest on another day, in fact, I think we need to be resting our bodies and minds when they get tired, which means we need to do daily resting and getting some sleep.

Now about making the day Holy?  I think it is great, on that day we are to keep it "Holy."  I vote for making all days Holy.  Holy is not just a term for a "religious day" or associated with divine power.  Holy also means to be held in "high esteem" (The American Heritage Dictionary).  Now using it with a day of the week, I for one think that all days should be held in "high esteem."  Let's face it, if God gives us another day, we should keep it "Holy."  We need to keep all days holy and we need to respect and love all people.  Holy is a great word and it fits really nicely with "Love."

So what do I suggest for all of you?  Live each day to please God and love Him dearly.  Love your neighbor.  Respect one another and help each other.  Look at the good things each day, talk to God a lot, and take time to listen to Him.  If you do these things, in short you day will be "Holy."

Now go forth and share your blessings, and if you choose to have a cheese sandwich for lunch, make it Swiss Cheese, for it will help with the "Holy" part.  Love ya.  Please share my love with others.

Pastor Dan

P.S.  Tomorrow, what really happened in the "Garden of Eden."  Who is to blame?