SOMETHING FOR SLUGGARDS (AND THE REST OF US) TO CONSIDER

 SOMETHING FOR SLUGGARDS (AND THE REST OF US) TO CONSIDER

¶ Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
Proverbs 6:6

It seems to me that when God wants something done, He calls a busy person to do it. There was a time, not that long ago, where most people were busy by default. All of their time and efforts from sun-up to sun-down were spent just trying to survive. But as our civilisation and its economy developed and we increasingly mechanised tasks done by people working manually. This advancement in an economy comes with many benefits. Rather than everyone simply trying to provide for the basics of life, they can now focus on those things that also advance and the well-being of a society. This includes education, the arts, leisure, health-care, and sport. It also allows for people to specialise and focus on, their trade, skill or profession so that they no longer have to grow their own crops or graze their own cattle for milk or meat. Theoretically, it therefore means that people have more time to do things other than work such as those just listed. Yet, rather than being less busy, many people are busier than ever and often these busier-than-ever people feel they are not necessarily getting much done. This general busy-ness has presented challenges for those of us who work in the not-for-profit volunteer sector who rely on the availability of volunteers to help run their organisations and think the Proverbial ant might have something for us to consider about this.

Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
Proverbs 6:7-8

 

TWO TYPES OF BUSY

I’m involved with a big project that involves leaders from other churches around our city. None of these people have time to spare and especially do not have time to waste. Each of them are busy people. They each bring a set of skills and a connection with a network of others that is enabling us to plan and manage one of the biggest city-wide Christian celebrations in the history of Launceston. In observing each of these leaders in this newly formed team, I notice that while they are each busy, and already involved in their own major projects, they are still able to manage to contribute their time into this joint effort. This has helped me to realise that there are two types of busy. We have already introduced the busy person who doesn’t seem to get much done, and now I have introduced a different type of busy person who does seem to be able to get done what needs to be done.

¶ Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;
Proverbs 30:24-25

 

PRODUCTIVE AND BUSY

Busy-yet-productive people are like ants in many ways. They have learned how to use their time efficiently and effectively. Like ants, they have learned how to work independently and with others. Like ants, in doing this they seem to be lift objects above their own body weight, and when they work with other similarly busy-yet-productive people, they can do so in ways that seem to defy the laws of physics. Nearly all (if not actually all) of these busy-yet-productive people are people who have been stretched and along that journey have come to realise two important things about being busy-yet-productive:

1. Focus on the important rather than the urgent.

2. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.

Busy-frantic people get caught up in the urgent instead of focusing on the important. Busy-yet-productive people nearly always commence their weeks with a plan — they carry a diary which contains their weekly to do lists and they hold themselves accountable to it. They seem to make time for the important as a priority over the urgent. This is why #2 is actually a restating of #1 — they sabbath. They make the setting aside of time from their usual activity to sabbath. They recognise the importance of sabbathing and what it involves – worshiping God with God’s assembled people, prayerfully surrendering to God, allowing the preached Word to wash and renew their soul, and physically/mentally resting.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10

 

CONSIDER ANTS

The Book of Proverbs warns against laziness and instructs readers to consider the ant (Prov. 6:6). In considering the ant we notice that they always live within a colony (a community). Within that colony they each have assigned roles (a purpose). Together they pool their efforts to achieve a common goal (a mission). They intuitively plan and prepare for the future so that they can leave a legacy. They go about their work methodically which seems to resemble good training (a work ethic). No wonder God tells us to consider the ant! Their example is a great benchmark for how a society, a community, and a church is to function. As we read through the New Testament instructions for Christian living we read some very “ant-like” directives for believers-

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:15-16

When we yield to Christ our desires and priorities are transformed. Just as the ant is created by God to “know” what they are to do, the believer finds himself or herself having their will shaped by God resulting in a desire to work for the benefit of others.

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13

The ant-like nature of a Spirit-filled believer is most evident in two ways: their attitude and their supernatural strength to serve. Note these two aspects of a busy-yet-productive believer-

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:23-24

 

GOD ALWAYS STRENGTHENS THOSE HE STRETCHES

There are those who look busy but are not very productive. There is a difference between riding a rocking-horse and riding a horse! There are those who are busy yet are highly productive because they’ve learned to work like an ant which involves managing that their time is focused on (i) maintaining their important relationships, (ii) taking regular sabbaths, (iii) prioritising the important over the urgent, and (iv) cooperating with others. These busy people have learned to recognise God’s open doors and have confidence that the Apostle Paul had – that it is God who gives them supernatural energy to toil, struggle and work to get things done when no-one else thought it possible. If you want to stop being busy and become busy-yet-productive, then learn these lessons from the ant!

For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.
Colossians 1:29

 

Your pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

NOTHING IS POWERFUL

NOTHING IS POWERFUL

How much do know about nothing? Usually not much is said about nothing, but today I am going to say a lot about nothing. After all, we are all acquainted with nothing. In fact, nothing is largely responsible for most of the good in this world. 

‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is You who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for You.’
Jeremiah 32:17

NOTHING LIKE WINTER GARDENING 

 As Autumn fast draws to a close, Kim and I are considering what winter vegetables we should plant. Winter is a strange time for gardening. In winter, most flowering plants are flowerless; all deciduous trees are leafless; and pruned roses look like thorny sticks. In winter, what looks for months like nothing — just bare soil or even, simply, grass — may actually be a hive of daffodil activity. Spring reminds me that what often what appears to be “nothing happening” in winter was not the case at all. In fact, this is one of the most valuable lessons we can learn from nothing: what we can see (nothing happening) is not always the true picture.

NOTHING LIKE RECUPERATING

My son recently had surgery. Kim went down to Hobart to collect him so that he could recuperate with us in Legana. He was in a lot of pain after his operation and was unusually tired. He spent a lot time resting which he found frustrating. For five of the seven days that he was with us, he did nothing. But if we asked his surgeon if Tyrone was doing nothing while he recuperated, the surgeon might respond with a medical lecture about how, after surgery, the human body is very busy rebuilding muscle tissue, reestablishing blood flow, repairing skin cells, and producing sufficient T-cells as part of it auto-immune system to prepare for any resulting early-stage infection. “Nothing?!” he might retort, “A person recuperating from surgery is hardly doing nothing!” This then, is our second lesson about nothing: inactivity is not the same as doing nothing.

NOTHING LIKE A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

A couple of years ago I was referred to a specialist pain clinic. The pain specialist examined me and gave me some not-so-good-news. But, he said, one of the best ways to reduce your pain levels is to get more sleep. Obviously he didn’t know how busy I was and just how impractical it would be for me to waste what little time I had in my day by napping and sleeping. Perhaps perceiving my unspoken reply to his suggestion, he went on to explain how therapeutic sleep was. While we are asleep, our body’s get to work repairing what it can, sometimes even rebuilding what it can, and helping stressed muscles trying to do what the spine is no longer able to do, he said. When you are always tired, he informed me, your body is having to divert its maintenance systems into sustaining you. This then results in further injury and pain. Despite my unwillingness to comply with this specialist’s directives, I soon found that my body was involuntarily complying (which is why my weekly Pastor’s Desk is now much later than it used to be). Since then, I have learned that despite sleep appearing like I was doing nothing it was actually an important part in my body’s recovery — not to mention that it was an invaluable occasional spiritual encounter (have you ever noticed how often God came to people in their dreams?). Thus, the third lesson we can learn about nothing is: sleep might appear as if we are doing nothing and that nothing is being achieved, when in fact, it is while we are asleep that we can sometimes see things more clearly and that some of our bio-systems are at their busiest.

It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for He gives to His beloved sleep.Psalm 127:2

NOTHING LIKE WAITING

 I have mixed feelings about waiting. There are times when I don’t mind waiting. I especially feel this way at the moment about supermarkets. With the current social-distancing restrictions in place, waiting in the checkout queue is now even longer. But I’m OK with this as I consider that there are parts of the world where they either don’t have supermarkets, or their supermarkets are nearly bare. (But there are times when nothing bugs me more than waiting on hold to business or government agency. A week ago I think I was on hold for two hours before I eventually hung up.)  It might surprise many though, who get to know me, to discover that I generally don’t mind waiting. This is especially the case when what I am waiting for has great value. I waited to get married. I waited for us to be able to have children. I waited seven years to complete my doctoral studies. Today I went into Koorong to find a book I need for some research I am doing. Laura told me that her store didn’t have it, but she could it from another Koorong store and sent directly to me. “How long would that take?” I asked. “About two weeks” she replied as her face resigned to the fact that I would baulk at such a wait. “Fine” I replied, “I’d like to order it then.”

I’m trying to teach Ruby how to wait. We bought her something for her birthday (at her request) which arrived a few weeks ago. When it was delivered she excited unwrapped the package and was interrupted by Kim who told her, “You’d better ring Dad first.” When she rang me she asked if she could start using it now as an “early birthday present” (her birthday was not for another two and half months). As any dad would who wants his children to develop sound character traits, I said, “No, you can’t have it until your birthday.” To which she replied, “But Dad!…” (you don’t need to know the … was). Because waiting for something is a measure of its true value, I know that when her birthday arrives she will appreciate it even more. This is the fourth lesson that we can learn from nothing is: it may appear that waiting is achieving nothing, but waiting fosters the virtue of patience and magnifies something’s value.

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

NOTHING LIKE GOD’S PLAN

There are times when it seems like God is doing nothing. The Psalmist expressed this frustration in Psalm 10 –      

¶ Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
Psalm 10:1

Even in the Law, it seemed like God was commanding His people to have sacred moments of nothingness –

Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.
Exodus 31:15

But the sabbath was never about doing nothing. The sabbath was about recuperating, resting, waiting, and worship. It is in the times when it seems that we can do nothing that the God who never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:4) is often at work on our behalf even though we cannot immediately detect His activity –         

The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Exodus 14:14

And perhaps when we tie all of these lessons about nothing together, we begin to realise that our very salvation is based on nothing –

• Nothing but the work and sacrifice of Jesus can save us (Hebrews 9:26)

• Nothing can we add, contribute to, or bring to, the salvation that Christ offers us (2Tim 1:9)

• Nothing did we do to merit, earn, or achieve this salvation that God offers us through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8)

• Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39)

• Nothing can be achieved unless the believer remains connected to Christ (John 15:5)

Nothing more needs to be said except to make a correction to the title of this post. Rather than Nothing Is Powerful, I should correct it to read, Nothing Is As Powerful As God, but now I think about it, both titles are equally apt for these few thoughts about nothing.

 Pastor Andrew

AN ESSENTIAL SOLEMN SABBATH

AN ESSENTIAL SOLEMN SABBATH

“to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.”
Second Chronicles 36:21

There’s a debate among some theologians about the relevance of Old Covenant laws for New Covenant believers. One of the most contested aspects of the Old Testament’s moral law is how we should understand the sabbath. On the one hand, there are those who point out that where an Old Testament law is not repeated—or is actually repealed—in the New Testament, it is not binding on the New Covenant believer, and the sabbath is not repeated in the New Testament (and arguably it is repealed). This also includes the Old Covenant’s food laws, Israel’s civil laws, and the priestly ceremonial laws. Added to this, it is pointed out that the Old Covenant was made with Israel, not other nations, and therefore it has never applied to non-Jews.

But on the other hand, there are theologians who point out that the Old Covenant was an invitation for other people from other nations to enter into which many did — we think of: Rahab (Matt. 1:5), Ruth (Ruth 1:1ff), the 600 Gittites who went with David from Gath (2Sam. 15:18), Uriah the Hittite (2Sam. 11:2), as examples of Gentiles who became proselytes of Judaism. Added to this, it is argued that the Old Covenant laws form principles for New Covenant believers to live by, and that Christians should not be too quick to dismiss them. How then should we regard the sabbath today? And could there be a divinely enforced global sabbath happening as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?

he said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’”
Exodus 16:23 (Given before the Ten Commandments)

THE SABBATH WAS A WITNESS

“to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.”
Second Chronicles 36:21

Ezra’s re-telling Judah’s history and its eventual downfall is described by him as the consequence of Judah not keeping the sabbath. There were at least two types of sabbath that God required of Israel. The first was a weekly sabbath, and other was a sabbath which occurred every seven years.

but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.
Leviticus 25:4

Ezra described Judah’s downfall and exile to Babylon a penalty for not keeping this every-seven-year sabbath. Judah’s forced seventy-year exile was a kind of catch-up for their missed sabbaths of which Israel were warned about in the Law of Moses –  ¶ “Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its Sabbaths” (Lev. 26:34).

“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.
Exodus 31:13

But why did Yahweh make such a big deal about the sabbath? It seems that the answer was both natural and supernatural. The supernatural aspect was to be a sign and witness to the nations (Exo. 31:13). In the natural, it didn’t make sense that 6-days-of-work-plus-one-day-of-rest could be as productive as seven-days of work. But God promised that it would be, if His people rested on the sabbath.

And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.
Exodus 16:28-30

By taking a day to rest and worship together on that day, it set Israel apart from all other nations and declared that God was worthy of their full attention, surrender and devotion. This was to be an integral component

Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.
Exodus 31:16

This is why the sabbath was so important to Jews and after they returned from the exile to Babylon it became even more important, as evident by the fuss that the pharisees made about it during the ministry of Christ.

“But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:2

Therefore, the question worth considering: Is this aspect of the sabbath — as supernatural sign to non-believers — a principle for Christians to apply today?

THE SABBATH WAS A GIFT

The natural aspect of the sabbath was a physical refreshment as people ceased from their ordinary toil. This is why Jesus told the pharisees that the sabbath was made for mankind (Mk. 2:27). Thus, the sabbath was Yahweh’s gift to mankind which gave the under-privileged such as the working-poor, slaves, and hired farm workers, some respite from their arduous toil at a time when this concept was unheard of among other nations. We should also remember that the sabbath was given to mankind at a time when the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt under cruel hard task masters.

And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27

Therefore, the question worth considering: Is this aspect of the sabbath — as gift from God for all people to have at least one day a week to rest from their ordinary toil — a principle for people to apply today? And if it is, what are the consequences for people if this principle is ignored?

THE SABBATH WAS A FORESHADOW

The sabbath was described by the writer to the Hebrews as a shadow of Christ’s atonement which would bring an end to the requirements of the Old Covenant’s ceremonial laws which demanded strenuous works to be performed. That is, by Christ’s finished work on the cross, there is now no requirement for us to ‘work’ for our salvation. The writer to the Hebrews sees parallels between Christ’s finished work of redemption with the sabbath. Firstly, he argues, there is a foreshadow of Christ’s redemption in the description of God resting on the seventh day from His creative work. Secondly, for the believer who receives the merit of Christ’s finished work, they too enter into a ‘rest’ achieved by God’s grace. 

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.
Hebrew 4:9-10

This makes Christianity unique among the world’s religions. While each man-made religion promotes the need for mankind to strive to be acceptable to God in the hope of entering into His heavenly paradise after leaving this dimension of life, only Christianity—established by God Himself—promotes mankind’s utterly helpless plight and reveals to mankind that God in His grace and mercy has reached down to us with a free offer of salvation.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

Because the Old Covenant sabbath was a foreshadow of rest that Christ would bring, it explains why Yahweh was so emphatic about its near-central role in His covenant with Israel. Again, I remind you, that God implemented the command for the sabbath before He gave Moses the Ten Commandments, or established the Mosaic Covenant to officiated by the Levitical priests. Its penalties were severe, and sound shocking to our 21st century ears. But as Moses discovered when he struck the rock (instead of ‘speaking’ to the rock as Yahweh commanded, Numbers 20:8, 12), disobeying God is never a trivial matter and sometimes carries unimaginable consequences—even when the command was ‘just’ a shadow of the New Covenant’s work of Christ.

And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in Me, to uphold Me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
Numbers 20:12

We now live in the reality of what the sabbath foreshadowed. This truth reveals the utter nonsense of any religious idea that elevates mankind to a level of divine moral purity—including any claim by misinformed Christians who may teach that a person’s salvation and reconciliation with God is made possible because they have: “made a decision”, or, “been water baptised”, or, “become a member of the/their church”, or, “sowed a financial seed into the (tax deductible) kingdom of God”, or, “received holy orders and been ordained”, anything that adds to the simple Scriptural injunction to “put your trust in the Saviour and His finished work on the cross.”

When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
John 19:30

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Romans 3:28

¶ Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1

I am writing this at a time when thousands are dying each day around the world from the COVID-19 pandemic. In such perilous times, the need for eternal assurance is now paramount and no-one should settle for some other man’s guesswork or philosophical fancies about the after-life — which all too often spouts some tripe about how we all go to heaven anyway — despite living in complete defiance to God’s command to repent from the deception our sufficient self-righteousness!

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luke 13:3, the words of Jesus  

Therefore, the question worth considering: Since the sabbath was a shadow of Christ’s finished work of salvation for mankind, how should respond to those who promote such religious nonsense that we are essentially good enough to earn our own salvation from God? 

THE SABBATH TODAY

Pastor Phil Hills often says, “We don’t rest from works; we work from rest.” Because the New Covenant is the rest foreshadowed by the Old Covenant sabbath, we now work from this rest. This is why the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians saying-

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10

We don’t work to be saved — we work because we are saved! These ‘works’ include acts of selfless service toward others who may have done nothing for us. These works of service are acts of grace and reflect what Christ has done for us by graciously saving us. Under the Old Covenant, the motive for obeying Yahweh’s strict requirements was to somehow earn merit with Him. But under the New Covenant, the perfect merit of Christ has been freely offered to us to be received by simply trusting (“putting our faith in”) Christ as The Saviour. And because the grace of God has been extended to us undeserving creatures so lavishly is the reason we know that it—and the God who initiated it— is the epitome of love. When those who surrender to God and admit their helpless state and accept His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation, they too are filled with God’s love toward others-

and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  ¶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:5-8

It’s worth now considering that from the day of Pentecost described in Acts 2, thousands upon thousands Jews accepted that Jesus Christ was indeed the promised Messiah and that the New Covenant spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31-33) had now been instigated. These Jews immediately transferred their cultural identity bound up in the sabbath, which had always been observed each Saturday, over to Sunday (the first day of the week, which speaks of ‘newness’ and coming ‘after’ the Old Covenant) since this was the day the Christ rose from the dead, and it was also the day that the Holy Spirit was poured out to establish the Church.

Therefore, the question worth considering: How then should those who have entered into the sabbath of the New Covenant live during a time of international crisis? 

THE RESULTS OF THE SABBATH REST

Why this understanding of the implications of the various aspects of the sabbath are so relevant for right now should now be immediately apparent. For the world community to respond to the COVID-19 virus with a naturalistic (no consideration for God or His Word) mindset means living with an “every man for himself” worldview. This results in acts of self-centred selfishness (please excuse the tautology done purposefully for emphasis). It looks like shops unnecessarily being stripped bare by panicked horders so that others are deprived of being able to obtain essential household goods. It also looks like thousands of people congregating on Bondi Beach in utter defiance of clear government orders not to do so which has now likely resulted in hundreds of people unnecessarily contracting the corona virus.

He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:11-12

But living with an understanding that the world may now be experiencing a kind of ‘essential solemn sabbath’ where a world that never stops is now forced to do so, should give us all pause for reflection. The late Dr. John R.W. Stott wrote a chapter in his book, Issues Facing Christians Today, about the practical applications of the sabbath for today. He formulated a R.E.S.T. approach to how Christians should understand the sabbath’s relevance. He argues based on the teaching of Christ, that the sabbath was meant for man’s refreshment and benefit and therefore should encompass: 

Recreation – because this was a break from a person’s ordinary daily toil and is essential for a person’s mental and physical health;

Emergency (services) – such as essential health care providers and first-responders should be rostered on Sundays but also given another day off to sabbath;

Services – such as utilities (electricity, water, gas) food supplies, and opportunities to worship together, which are essential for the well-being of people; and, 

Transport – also essential for the well-being of people.

Combatting the deadly and devastating impact of COVID-19 demands the adopting of a Christian worldview where we recognise our mutual self-isolation as acts of selfless love; our acts of kindness toward the elderly and frail as selfless love for the vulnerable; and, our willingness to check-in our neighbours via telephone, social media, or email, as an undeserved kindness that appropriately reflects what God has done for us. In this way, we might expect that the world will also begin to appreciate that our health and our economies do not need to ignore the principles of God’s sabbath gift to mankind.

-Pastor Andrew Corbett