My Monday Sabbath

Today's my Sabbath. A rest day. Weekends, especially Sundays, are packed, busy times. It's like sardines in the tin can. Back to back, pressed together.

On top of preaching, leadership training, administrative meetings, last night was a two and a half hours marathon of casting out demonic spirits from a man.

Trust me, the spirit world is real. Praise God the authority of Jesus Christ is real! It's not a game to tackle the demonic realm. I'm totally glad we had a team, a band of brothers, and sisters who prayed as we battled last night. Very glad that many knew and were praying for us too.

Today is, as I tweeted, my cave time. I read somewhere some time ago about how men needs time out, a physical and a mental space away from the daily grind of life. It's not escapism. It's not laziness. It's rest & recharging time. No doubt women also need their time out, away from their husbands or boyfriends, or people in general. Now I understand why some men have workshop benches in their garages, off limits to their spouse. Or a study room at home, an inner sanctum, a quiet place of reflection. For other men, their space is out there in nature, taking in the fresh air of the forest trails.

As for me, it's my home study room. A bit crammed, full of books, odds and ends, a metal filing cabinet of grey. Not spacious, but then again, I'm really contented with what God has blessed me with.

And so my Sabbath begins on Mondays. Not every week, but I try to. It's a time for me to slow down and let my physical body and my spirit catch up. It's time alone with God. Me and my Lord. He speaks to me through the browning pages of my Bible, one that's tattered and torn in some places. It's gone through many geographical places with me, and most importantly, Jesus spoke to me in times of dark days when I needed Him most. I wouldn't trade my Bible for any cable TV, or playstation or whatever.

I would take time to read verse by verse, praying for illumination, responding to the thoughts that are generated. These are special moments when the Holy Spirit would show me some aspects of truth and how it can apply to me. At other times, I would devote the entire day to just read from the book of Genesis till I finish up with the book of Revelation. The fastest I read through took three days. I simply focused on getting a sense of the storyline and the main flow of thoughts. It's a birds eye view approach. For this present season I'm sticking to verse by verse meditation, a seemingly slow & arduous process. In actual fact, I find this approach very enriching. You've got to be patient & not rush through. That takes discipline for some people. It's not difficult for me. I liken this approach to the art of fine dining!

For those who follow me on twitter I'll post what Jesus is giving me daily. I'm working through Luke's gospel primarily, with some zany tweets thrown in intermittently as I get inspired!

It's half past eleven at night, and my self designated Sabbath is almost over, to be topped off with a good night's sleep. I'm raring to go and gain mileage tomorrow and for the rest of this week.