Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. (Exodus 20:8-11)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
Once upon a time, June represented a calmer time in people’s lives. School let out for summer vacation, families planned get-aways, even many workplaces adopted a slightly more casual atmosphere. (Of course, our memories are probably more relaxed than the reality. We tend to remember the great fun we had on vacation rather than how many times Mom or Dad threatened to ‘turn this car around!’)
Now…the busyness continues. Community programs charge ahead full speed. Sports camps, Bible camps, summer classes, get underway. Teams take advantage of the ‘down-time’ to have ‘unofficial’ practices to get ahead of the curve before the season begins. Teens try to get as many hours logged at work while they have school ‘vacation.’ Teachers try to plan ahead for the coming year of lesson plans. Oftentimes, ‘vacation time’ from work is used to catch up on chores or projects at home.
Vacation and rest can be hard work. We often work so hard at planning and making the most of our time of ‘rest,’ we fail to actually rest. The ‘rest’ portion gets lost amidst our attempts to make that ‘rest’ absolutely perfect. There is a certain irony in how hard we work to achieve the best quality of ‘rest & relaxation.’
This is not a new problem. The Pharisees put an incredible amount of work and energy into clarifying the third commandment – efforts to perfect the state of ‘rest.’ They spent countless hours and an amazing amount of effort to perfect ‘rest.’ Jesus pointed out how far they had strayed from God’s intent. They missed the point.
Rest is a gift from God to grant us a change of pace. Hopefully that change helps us reflect on God’s Word and work in the world and our lives. The third commandment is intended to aid our awareness of God’s presence in our lives. It is not intended to be or make more work. It is about presence – being present to God and to one another. ‘Being’ present does not require perfection or work. We have to stop working in order to rest. It defeats the purpose when we try so hard. It is just ‘being.’ Enjoy the gift of rest given to you by God. Just be.
The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest… (Hebrews 4:9-11a)

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
The Holy Spirit influences our lives a lot more than we talk about it. We may mention the Spirit in passing, but find it much easier to discuss the Father or the Son. Creation is more tangible than the Spirit. The life, death, and even resurrection of Jesus is literally more corporeal than the Spirit. Of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the most difficult to explain, but arguably the most active in our daily lives.
The Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” God has sent the Holy Spirit to us precisely to be present in our daily lives. The primary role of the third person of the Trinity is to be a constant presence and involvement in the lives of the believers. Despite being more difficult to grasp as a concept, the Spirit is the most present in our lives.
Both the Hebrew [ר֖וּחַ (ruwach)] and Greek [πνεῦμα (pneuma)] words for Spirit are the same words used for breath or wind. Like breath and wind, the Spirit manifests itself in an imperceptible physical form yet impacts the physical world quite perceptibly. We experience both breath and wind. We are aware of their necessity and notice their absence. We witness the results of their power. We also experience the Holy Spirit. We witness the gifts of the Spirit in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We recognize the impact and the strength of the Spirit. We perceive the power of the Spirit in our lives.
You know the Holy Spirit is among you. You can be confident Christ has sent His Spirit to dwell in you. You experience the Spirit’s involvement in your daily lives. The Spirit gives blesses you with a multitude of gifts. The Spirit grants you strength and comfort. The Spirit guides you in God’s ways and calls you back when you falter. The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God that fills you with life, faith, and love.
The grace and peace of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. (John 15:26)