[Jesus' crucifixion] happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath.
—Mark 15:42 NLT
We have lost almost all sense of a day of preparation for a holy day with God. Unfortunately, many Christians have lost their sense of the specialness of the first day of the week (Sunday) and let many other things crowd in and distort a day to be with God and his people. To challenge folks to spend Saturday preparing for this day is almost unthinkable to many in our busy world. Yet, no matter what else was happening, the Jews in Jesus' day took notice and made advance preparations to honor their Sabbath with God. There are two judgments rendered by this one short verse. First, ritual observance of days does not make us holy, because it is so easy to do the ritual and forget the righteous call of God — the horrible acts of the people directed at Jesus are proof of this truth. Second, in our day, we have lost the sense of holy because we have allowed all days to become the same — busy days to get done what we want to do and then squeeze our "God-time" in where it fits. How sad on both accounts.
O Father, please give me a proper sense of what is holy. I do not want to be a legalistic ritual keeper; yet, at the same time, I do not want to drain all of life of its spiritual meaning by secularizing all time. Teach me to know your will, your time, and your holy ways. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Ⓒ 1996-2020 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by ###. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., ###. All rights reserved.
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—Mark 15:42 NLT
Key Thought
We have lost almost all sense of a day of preparation for a holy day with God. Unfortunately, many Christians have lost their sense of the specialness of the first day of the week (Sunday) and let many other things crowd in and distort a day to be with God and his people. To challenge folks to spend Saturday preparing for this day is almost unthinkable to many in our busy world. Yet, no matter what else was happening, the Jews in Jesus' day took notice and made advance preparations to honor their Sabbath with God. There are two judgments rendered by this one short verse. First, ritual observance of days does not make us holy, because it is so easy to do the ritual and forget the righteous call of God — the horrible acts of the people directed at Jesus are proof of this truth. Second, in our day, we have lost the sense of holy because we have allowed all days to become the same — busy days to get done what we want to do and then squeeze our "God-time" in where it fits. How sad on both accounts.
Today's Prayer
O Father, please give me a proper sense of what is holy. I do not want to be a legalistic ritual keeper; yet, at the same time, I do not want to drain all of life of its spiritual meaning by secularizing all time. Teach me to know your will, your time, and your holy ways. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Related Scripture Readings
Ⓒ 1996-2020 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by ###. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., ###. All rights reserved.
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