Yesterday, we left off enjoying the fruit of reconciliation with our Father. We repented from the poor stewardship of our time, resources, and life, and decided to turn away from all distractions. But repentance is not just turning away from evil, it is also actively moving towards the God. This is the only way that we are sure we will not circle back to what we are trying to distance ourselves from. Jesus’ parable below illustrates this clearly:

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” – Matthew 12: 43-45

Repenting is like cleaning the house and driving unclean spirits and habits out of our lives, but they will come back and be even worse if our house is left empty after the cleaning. Repentance is only efficient and long-lasting if we turn away from evil to move towards God! How then does that occur practically? How do we move towards God? What can we do to not be the seed amongst the thorns anymore? What can we do to bear fruit? What can we do to escape the temptations and distractions of this world?

Many years ago, a man named David asked himself these questions, and the Holy Spirit answered him, and all of us too: 

“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes.” – Psalm 119: 9-12

Meditating the Word of God, living according to God’s precepts, enrolling into His school, and accepting His teachings; The Word of God is the solution. Keeping the Sabbath gives us room for a reset, where we clear the past and all the useless distractions we had been adding to our lives and return to the default settings, the ones that our manufacturer, God, put in us when He created us. We were created by Him, from Him and for Him; not to acquire material possessions, nor to have a career or a family, but simply for His glory and pleasure. Resetting means recalibrating our lives according to God’s standards and not the world’s – standards that are found in His Word: Jesus.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:1-2

Jesus is the Word of God that became flesh and came into the world to save everyone who believes in Him; there is no Sabbath – therefore no reset – outside of Jesus. The reset occurs by changing our focus from fleshly ambitions to spiritual preoccupations, adjusting ourselves to the standards of Christ. For that, we need to reset the way we spend our resources, such as time, money, energy and reset the object of our meditation, that is, what we think and care about. For example, a reset in our time involves spending time with the Word of God, that is, Jesus, in prayer and worship, as well as through the meditation of scripture, which is inspired by the Holy Spirit to teach, correct, rebuke, and train us in all righteousness (II Timothy 3:16-17). A reset in our thoughts involves thinking of things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).

As we walk on this earth, it’s quite easy to lose our eternal perspective of life. Keeping the Sabbath prompts us to bear the fruit of resetting our lives back to their optimum and uncorrupted settings, in which we can bear fruit and be pleasing to our Creator and Father. Let’s pray together and meet tomorrow for a new facet of the fruit of the Sabbath.

Prayer:

Father Lord, we ask that today You will help us to break free of every darkness and conformity to this world. We invite Your Holy Spirit to come and pierce through the darkness through Your glorious light and reset our focus and attention towards You and Your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.