What are the things you are or have been making excuses for?
Confess them and stop using excuses.
Read Leviticus 23:28-32
We live in a world that never stops and never ever gives anyone a break. It’s a tough road for most. And sometimes we too tend to get on the treadmill and we think that we have to keep running, keep at it and keep going. More and more we are being indoctrinated that resting and having a break are equated with negatives. It’s even worse when we think about denying ourselves. The world is yelling at us that we must look after number 1, that we must protect ourselves and line our own pockets.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as we said earlier, is about the covering of our sins. In Christian thought it is the act by which God and man are brought together in personal relationship. The term is derived from Anglo-Saxon words meaning “making at one,” hence our English word - “at-one-ment.” Atonement makes us one with God. It presupposes a separation or alienation that needs to be overcome if human beings are to know God and have fellowship with Him. As a term expressing relationship, atonement is tied closely to such terms as reconciliation and forgiveness. God is seen as taking the initiative in man’s salvation; thus atonement is the work of God, who opens the possibility for sinful human beings to receive pardoning grace. For the sinner, who cannot know God, who cannot bridge the gap between himself and God, a “new and living way” is opened up by God.
As we read vs 28-32 we realise that atonement is closely related to rest and denial. In terms of rest, the entire day was set apart as a Sabbath to the Lord. Today’s generation knows nothing of rest. They can sit idly by and chill out but they don’t ‘rest’. Satan has so filled the heads and hearts of an entire generation that ‘rest’ in the Biblical sense is a no-go zone. They cannot sit and contemplate God. They don't’ seem to want to sit and contemplate God because their minds are so filled with music, video clip images, fears and so on.
Neither is denying oneself popular. Yet two times in these verses Israel is told to deny herself. It’s said in vs 27 as well, making a total of three times. The immediate context would suggest that denying oneself of work is what was, at least partly, intended. This prohibition of work is mentioned three times directly and once indirectly.
But why do we have such a correlation with atonement and self denial? Firstly, self denial allows us to focus on God, the only one that can provide a proper covering for our mistakes. Secondly, denial puts God in His rightful place. He really is more important than food and work and money and ….. Thirdly, self denial clears our mind so that we can focus on God and not be distracted by these other things. Denial is about focus - focus on God and the great work that He has done for us.
When’s the last time you really rested and denied yourself? Every Lord’s Day, every Sabbath is an opportunity to do just that. But when’s the last time you actually rested and denied yourself?
Prayer:
Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¥ Ask God to grant you peace of heart and mind. Tell God about the sins or past mistakes you are hanging onto and ask Him to free you once for all from these through the blood of Jesus so that you can praise and adore Him.
¥ Pray that you and everyone in your congregation would have opportunity to share the love of Christ in Word and deed this week. Pray that God would grow His kingdom through the witness of yourself and your brothers and sisters.
My Additional Prayer Points.
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