Days 11 and 12 Plan Your Sabbath

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Days 11 and 12
Plan Your Sabbath
Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1, 2015
     Jeff Lampl

"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of
the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek
him in his temple."          Psalm 27:4 (NIV)

 Tomorrow is the Second Sunday/Sabbath in Lent!!!!  How will you plan your Sabbath?

Suggestions

o   STOP!  Don’t try to “get things done”.   You’ll never get everything done.  Your life isn’t about getting things done.   It’s about God.                    

o   Begin your Sabbath at 6:00 pm Saturday with dinner, lighting of candles or some other “marker” that Sabbath has begun.   Choose to rest from something for the next 24 hours. 

o   Choose a rest from something the consumes you the other six days of the week:  Possibilities include electronics, TV, Phone, Texting, Email, the radio, Ipad, Facebook, Instagram.   Those things make you tired and sap your energy.  Ever notice that when you watch TV as an escape that it doesn’t replenish you?

o   Create fun for others in your family.  Sometimes the best thing we can do is build relationships in a way that replenishes others.   Doing so is life giving.   If you are a parent who hates board games, play some with your kids.

o   Lectio Divina.   This is Latin for sacred reading.   It’s the practice of reading scripture slowly and reflectively, chewing on it to ingest all the nutrients it has to offer.  Ask God what he wants to show you about yourself or about the world he’s placed you in.  

The main thing is do something so that you can reset your life, have the time necessary for God to remind you why you’re here, what your purpose it and how loved you are.   

I’m praying for you.   In Christ, Jeff

 
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Develop a "Rule of Life" Day 5

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Next Step:  Develop a "Rule of Life" 
 Day 5
Friday, February 27, 2015
         Jeff Lampl

"He continued to pray just as he had always done."   Daniel 6:10

Begin
Silence, Stillness, and Centering before God (2 minutes)  

Scripture Reading:   Romans 8:14–17

  For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. The Spirit you received 
 does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received
 brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit
 himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we
 are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in
 order that we may also share in his glory.
 
 Devotional        
 Jesus constantly addressed the Almighty, eternal, infinite Yahweh as “Abba,” an intimate, 
 warm, familiar word a child would use––not unlike “Daddy.” The heart of the Gospel is that
 Jesus gives his disciples the authority to address God as Father. Through Jesus, we too, 
 are Abba’s child.
 
 Contemplative spirituality moves us along toward a more mature relationship with God. We
 progress from the “give me, give me, give me” attitude of a small child to a more mature
 way of relating with God in which we delight in being with him as our “Abba Father.” The
 progression of this movement can be broken down as follows:
 

•  Talking at God: This is simply parroting what our parents or authorities told us to pray. For example, “Bless me, Lord, for these thy gifts, which we are about to receive through Christ our Lord, amen.”  

•  Talking to God: We become more comfortable finding our own words to speak to God, rather than using the ready-made prayers of our childhoods. For example, “Give me, give me, give me more, O God.”  

•  Listening to God: At this point we begin to listen to God, and we begin to enjoy a two-way relationship with him.  

•  Being with God: Finally, we simply enjoy being in the presence of God––who loves us. This is far more important than any particular activity we might do with him. His presence makes all of life fulfilling. 86          

Questions to Consider

  What fears are you carrying that you can release to your Abba Father today?          

Prayer

  Lord, I believe that living a life in your presence is what makes all of life fulfilling. I am just   not sure how to get to that point in my spiritual walk. I want to grow beyond a “give me,
  give me” relationship with you. Fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I might learn to enjoy
  being with you and stop simply going to you for your gifts and blessings. In Jesus’ name,
  amen.          

  Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

 
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Develop a "Rule of Life" Day 4

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Next Step:  Develop a "Rule of Life"
 Day 4
Thursday, February 26, 2015
     Jeff Lampl

"He continued to pray just as he had always done."   Daniel 6:10

Begin
Silence, Stillness, and Centering before God (2 minutes)            

Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:27–32

  Cause me to understand the way of your precepts,
  that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.

My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.
Keep me from deceitful ways;

be gracious to me and teach me your law.
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

I have set my heart on your laws.
I hold fast to your statutes, Lord; do not let me be put to shame.

I run in the path of your commands,

for you have broadened my understanding.
 

  Devotional
  The most famous “Rule of Life” in the Western world is the Rule of St. Benedict, written in
  the sixth century. In a nonstop, distracted world like ours, a “Rule of Life” brings balance
  and simplicity, inviting us to a life which seeks everything in proper measure: work, prayer,
  solitude, and relationships.
 
  Benedict begins his Rule with a call to listen and an invitation to surrender to God:
           

Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice. The labor of obedience will bring you back to him from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience. This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all,

and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord. . . . .   

Therefore we intend to establish a school for the Lord’s service . . . . Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love. 83
 

  Question to Consider
  What would it look like for you to “run on the path of God’s commandments”?
 
  Prayer
  Lord, you know my world can be non-stop and complex. Help me to balance the demands
  coming at me today, remembering you while I work, and keeping you at the center of all I
  do. In Jesus’ name, amen.

  Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

 
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Develop a "Rule of Life" Day 3

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Next Step:  Develop a "Rule of Life"
 Day 3
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
      Jeff Lampl

"He continued to pray just as he had always done."   Daniel 6:10

Begin
Silence, Stillness, and Centering before God (2 minutes)  

Scripture Reading:  1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (NIV1984)

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will
for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not put out the spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.  Test everything.
Hold on to the good.  Avoid every kind of evil..
 

Devotional

     What makes a fire burn
     is space between the logs,
     a breathing space.
     Too much of a good thing,
      too many logs
      packed in too tight
      can squelch a fire,
      can douse the flames
      almost as surely
      as a pail of water can.
      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
      We need to practice
      building open spaces
      just as clearly as we learn
      to pile on the logs.
      It's fuel, and absence of the fuel
      together, that make fire possible.
      let it develop in the way that's
      possible when we lay logs in just the
      way the fire wants to go." 
                          --Judy Brown,  "Fire"       

Questions to Consider
What difference might it make if you were to practice “building open spaces” into your life?          

  Prayer

Lord, I need breathing space. I have too much going on in my life, too many logs on the fire. Show me the way to create space in my life, and may the fire of your presence burn in and through me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

  Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

 
Download the entire devotional for free
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Develop a "Rule of Life" Day 2

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Next Step:  Develop a "Rule of Life" 
 Day 2
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
         Jeff Lampl

"He continued to pray just as he had always done."   Daniel 6:10

Begin
Silence, Stillness, and Centering before God (2 minutes)           

        
 Scripture Reading: Acts 2:42-47        

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.          

Devotional

My central claim is that we can become like Christ by doing one thing—by following him in the overall style of life he chose for himself. If we have faith in Christ, we must believe that he knew how to live. We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in, by arranging our whole lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his Father.
 

What activities did Jesus practice? Such things as solitude and silence, prayer, simple and sacrificial living, intense study and meditation upon God’s Word and God’s ways, and service to others. Some of these will certainly be even more necessary to us than they were to him, because of our greater or different need. . . .

. . . . So, if we wish to follow Christ—and to walk in the easy yoke with him—we will have to accept his overall way of life as our way of life totally. Then, and only then, we may reasonably expect to know by experience how easy is the yoke and how light the burden.80

                                                                                                    —Dallas Willard

Questions to Consider

  What spoke to you when you read about the lifestyle of the early Christians in Acts and the
  way they sought to follow the life of Jesus?

Prayer

  Lord, you say your yoke is easy and your burden is light (Matt. 11:30), yet the life I live 
  often feels hard and heavy to me. Show me the activities, decisions, priorities, and
  relationships that are not what you want for me today. I submit my life to your lordship and
  ways this day. In your name, amen.          

  Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

 
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Next Step: Develop a "Rule of Life" Day 1

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Next Step:  Develop a "Rule of Life" 
 Day 1
Monday, February 23, 2015
         Jeff Lampl        

 

"He continued to pray just as he had always done."   Daniel 6:10

Begin
Silence, Stillness, and Centering before God (2 minutes)      

  
  Scripture Reading: Daniel 1:3-5, 8        
  Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service
  some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—young men without any
  physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed,
  quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the
  language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food
  and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they
  were to enter the king’s service.          

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.          

Devotional

  King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian armies conquered Jerusalem and carried off
  most of the city’s inhabitants as slaves. One of those taken was a young teenager named
  Daniel. Babylon had one simple goal: to eliminate Daniel’s distinctiveness as a follower of
  God and absorb him into the values of their culture––and their gods.          

How did Daniel resist the enormous power of Babylon? He was not a cloistered monk living behind walls. He had heavy job responsibilities and many people giving him orders. He had a minimal support system and, I imagine, a very long to-do list each day.  

Daniel also had a plan, a “Rule of Life.” He did not leave the development of his interior life to chance. He knew what he was up against. While we know little of the specifics, it is clear that he oriented his entire life around loving God. He renounced certain activities, such as eating the king’s food (Dan. 1), and engaged in others, such as the Daily Office (Dan. 6). Daniel somehow managed to feed himself spiritually, and he blossomed into an extraordinary man of God––despite his hostile environment.77  

Questions to Consider

  What is your plan in the midst of your busy day, for not leaving the nurturing of your interior
  life with God to chance?          

Prayer

  Lord, I just need to be with you—for a long time. I can see that there are a lot of things in 
  me that need to change. Show me one small step I can take today to begin to build a life
  around you. Lord, help me to develop an effective plan in my life for paying attention to you
  whether I am working, resting, studying, or praying. In Jesus’ name, amen.                   

  Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

 
Download the entire devotional for free
http://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/dailyoffice.pdf 

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For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl