Donna Partow

My favorite time of the week is fast approaching: it’s our family communion celebration.  It took me a long time to ‘get the revelation’ that it’s possible to keep Sunday special–and sacred–without raining on everybody’s parade with a bunch of rules and regulations.

Here’s what the Bible says:
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest. Hebrews 4:9–11

Make every effort to enter rest. It sounds contradictory. Yet I’ve found it to be true in my own life.  That rest takes deliberate effort, while restlessness seems to come naturally. Honoring the Sabbath is our way of saying: “Heavenly Father, I believe your grace is more powerful than my work. I trust your love more than I trust my own self-effort.”

We are not under law but under grace. God isn’t coming down from heaven to hit you over the head with a hammer if you work on Sunday. We don’t honor the Sabbath to earn points with God. We honor the Sabbath to regain our strength and put life back into perspective. I’ll give two simple guidelines for the Sabbath: If it’s work-related or stressful, don’t do it. If it’s restful, do it.

The highlight of our Sabbath rest is always our family communion time. It is, without question, the most eff ective means we have ever discovered for experiencing God’s power to transform our family. Sometime around 7 p.m. I’ll put on soft praise music. Then I’ll set out crackers and pour grape juice. We gather together in our family prayer chapel (formerly dining room/school room) and talk casually about the previous week. Then we read a Scripture passage and share a brief teaching. We take turns confessing our sins and off ring a word of encouragement to each person.

We have two very simple rules. We can confess our own sins and point out what everyone else did right. We cannot brag about or defend ourselves and point out what someone else did wrong. These rules apply to everyone and have proven 100 percent eff ective in ensuring that communion is always
a powerful, spiritually uplift ing time for each of us.

We partake quietly of communion, keeping in mind the Scripture that says; “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself ” (1 Cor. 11:28–29). It is always a holy time.

Your Sabbath celebration may be very diff erent from ours. The important thing is to decide what will be restful and meaningful for your family. Put some thought, prayer, and preparation into it and let the Holy Spirit be your guide. I believe one of the greatest blessings you can give to your children is the tradition of honoring the Sabbath.

Prayerfully consider ways you can make the Sabbath special. Decide when, where, and how you can incorporate family communion. If you feel only a pastor or priest can lead communion, you will want to partake of the elements only when a spiritual leader is available.  Still, you can incorporate some of the tradition I suggested.

You might want to pray the following:
Dear Lord, Thank you for creating the Sabbath as a gift for your people. Left to our own devices, we’d exhaust ourselves mentally and emotionally. We’d run our bodies right into the ground in the frantic pursuit of stuff. But you created us and you know what we need. We need time to rest and reflect.

Holy Spirit, help me to understand that the Sabbath was created for me. It’s not something you demand from me. I confess that I’ve sometimes viewed it as a religious requirement or an nconvenience. I need a fresh perspective. You weren’t punishing yourself when you rested from your work, neither is it a punishment when you ask me to rest. It’s for my good and the good of my family. Therefore, with your grace enabling, I will make every effort to enter that rest. Amen.

I’d love to hear how your family keeps the Sabbath special.

Blessings,
Donna partow

The above is an excerpt from Becoming the Woman God Wants Me To Be: A 90-Day Guide to Living the Proverbs 31 Life.  Be sure to pick up your copy today from our on-line bookstore.