MEMO: The Sabbath has been moved

Something occurred to me the other day...

I was feeling guilty about not reading my Bible more often. I know I should. I even have one in the bathroom! I began to consider WHY I don't read my Bible more often. I got introspective for awhile, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to me some sort of epiphany. Was I believing in lies about the Bible, that made me shy away from reading it? Was God mad at me for not reading it?

Then I got a pang of guilt (not the healthy kind) and a little voice whispered, "How can you expect God to just show you stuff out of thin air, just at random, when you haven't been reading your Bible? You MUST read your Bible, because THAT is how he will talk to you, not with you sitting there on the pot, trying to have some lazy conversation with him. You do your part, and only THEN will he do his. If you expect God's favor, you have to work for it, lady!" 

Okay.  Just typing that out makes me angry!  There are tiny fragments of truth in there, but they were twisted into a lie, right there while I was asking God to reveal lies!  Yes, God DOES speak through Scripture, quite awesomely. I ran across Hebrews 4:12, which says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." So of course, reading the Bible is quite an ideal way to hear from God, keep his truth straight in my mind, and let him reveal to me what's in my heart. 

But God has NO limits to how he speaks, or when. He revealed to me that I have avoided Him, tragically, out of guilt because I hadn't read his "love letter" lately.  I would find myself completely unsurprised that I couldn't seem to hear his voice. Of course he wouldn't talk to ME. Why should he, when I forget to talk to him?  Y'know what? That is such a lie.

He speaks to whom he will, in any way he chooses. 

It's not based on some pious act of seeking him with just the right formula of prayer and Scripture reading. He talks to me often, and I don't need to worry about him going silent when I forget to read my Bible.

I thought a little longer about it, and it dawned on me that I believed the Bible is boring. That's right, boring. Even those translations that change the "thou shalt nots" into "don'ts." Just being really honest here, but maybe you can relate: I could read a few verses to pass the time while sitting on the pot, but beyond that… meh.  When I do pick it up, it's usually to find something, or out of a sense of guilt or duty. 

The Holy Spirit interrupted this train of thought by bringing to mind the phrase, "the word of God is living and active..." but I had to Google it because I had already forgotten where I'd heard that lately… Yeah, guess where it was? Hebrews 4:12 again. Chills, anyone? 

Living. Active. That doesn't sound boring...

I ended up reading the entire 4th chapter of Hebrews (it's short enough to read while my 2-year-old bangs on the bathroom door, so you have time to go read it too!) and it just blew my mind.  It talks about the Israelites who, in their pride, refused to obey God and therefore didn't enter his rest. It directly correlates to the Sabbath rest that God declared for himself on the 7th day, and then there's a memo to believers: 

The Sabbath has been moved. It will now be celebrated on a different day... it's called Today.  

So if it's "today," then God has declared that I rest from my works. Not the laundry and dishes kind of works, unfortunately, but the spiritual kind of works. Like reading my Bible to make God love me enough to talk to me. Like praying more to earn his favor. If his new Sabbath rest is always TODAY, that means that if I work for my salvation, like, EVER again, I am in disobedience like the Israelites. God is not angered by my failures, he's angered by my prideful efforts to earn his favor and righteousness. Think of that! 

Then he goes on in Hebrews 4 to describe his word as being living and active... that is, Jesus the Word! (Check out John 1:1- "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.") Jesus is the one who brings the words of Scripture to life and gives them meaning and context. It's not just the Bible, it's Jesus! He is the one who divides even my soul and spirit, and shows my heart and thoughts for what they are. He is the great High Priest who empathizes with my every weakness. It is he who got me that great framework of grace to come before God and enter his rest. That is not boring, that is mind-blowing! Satan wants me to see THAT as a dusty, antiquated book that I "ought" to read out of guilt, when really it's the fabric of the freaking' universe!

I could go on, but I really need to absorb this right now. God showed up and really showed me,

"Not only am I not boring, but I am your living, active ANSWER! You already have my love and approval, so enter my rest!"