Day 315 | Thursday, 28 January 2021

Day 315 - Audio Version

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Day 315 | Thursday, 28 January 2021 
9 more deaths reported yesterday due to Covid

 Most of us who read this daily epistle remember a time when retail stores, malls etc. were closed on Sunday.  Restaurants were still opened for the Sunday worshipping crowds, which back then were much larger than today.  That was a time in our history when people, whole families, would attend worship together and then spend the day together.  Family meals were even around the dining room table – imagine that.

        Along came the fast-food revolution.  I can remember serving my first church in Sheridan, NY.  The fast-food establishments in Fredonia consisted of Carol’s (remember that?); Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips; and Burger King.  I do not remember when McDonald’s made its entry into the area.  Now there are many more fast-food establishments and “we get to have it our way.”

        Have you paid attention to how impatient we have become when driving through the drive thru at a fast-food place?  We have become an “I want it now” society.  We might even say that we are a society that is out of breath.

        In our present world, Sunday is still a time of worship although Saturday evening services were added in some denominations.  This became a service of convenience.  A number of youth sports teams began practicing on Sunday’s and having competitions on Sunday as well – this took families away from being together for worship.

        Is there a day of rest anymore?

 Deuteronomy 5:13–15 The Message
 13 Work six days, doing everything you have to do,
14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath, a Rest Day - no work: not you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid, your ox, your donkey (or any of your animals), and not even the foreigner visiting your town. That way your servants and maids will get the same rest as you.
15 Don't ever forget that you were slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there in a powerful show of strength. That's why God, your God, commands you to observe the day of Sabbath rest.

When God told the Israelites to keep a Sabbath, He added an important reason: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt” (Deuteronomy 5:15). There they’d been forced to work ceaselessly under Pharaoh’s excessive time constraints (Exodus 5:6–9). Now freed, they were to give themselves a whole day each week to ensure they and those who served them could rest (Deuteronomy 5:14). Under God’s rule, there were to be no flush-faced, out-of-breath people.

How often do you get impatient with people who keep you waiting? (Some of us may becoming impatient with the waiting for the vaccine which is rightfully ours to receive.)  Let’s give ourselves and each other a break. As God’s children, we do not have to contribute to the culture of rush.  Take a deep breath and hold it in for a while.  Let it out slowly.  Didn’t that feel good?
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Lord, help me with my impatient moments and do it right now!  Hear our prayers.  Amen.