Our wisdom . . . consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.

Few killer viruses are more difficult to discern than this one. On the surface all appears to be healthy and working, but it's not. All those hours and hours spent lost in one Christian book after another . . . all those many Christian responsibilities outside the home or going from one seminar to another . . . all that extra time in prayer and Bible study. . . . At times we use these Christian activities as an unconscious attempt to escape from pain. In

the activity of my life ("doing" for Jesus) began to eclipse the contemplative dimension of my life ("being" with Jesus).

The essence of being in God's image is our ability, like God, to stop. We imitate God by stopping our work and resting.

I was engaged in more activity for God than my being with God could sustain.

Rule of Life. PRAYER Scripture Silence and Solitude Daily Office (Prayer) Study REST Sabbath Simplicity Play and Recreation WORK/ACTIVITY Service and Mission Care for the Physical Body RELATIONSHIPS Emotional Health Family Community (Companions for the Journey

On Sabbath I embrace my limits. God is God. He is indispensable. I am his creature. The world continues working fine when I stop.

We stop on Sabbaths because God is on the throne, assuring us the world will not fall apart if we cease our activities.

The core spiritual issue in stopping revolves around trust. Will God take care of us and our concerns if we obey him by stopping to keep the Sabbath?

Get in a comfortable position and still yourself. Recall you are in the presence of God, inviting the Holy Spirit to guide you as you review the events of your day. Walk through the events in your day (or yesterday's events if it is morning). Imagine yourself watching your day on a fast-forwarded DVD with Jesus. Let Jesus stop the DVD at any part of the day so you might reflect on it.

On Sabbaths we are called to enjoy and delight in creation and its gifts. We are to slow down and pay attention to our food, smelling and tasting its riches. We are to take the time to see the beauty of a tree, a leaf, a flower, the sky that has been created with great care by our God. He has given us the ability to see, hear, taste, smell, and touch, that we might feast with our senses on the miraculousness of life.

4. Contemplate The final quality of a biblical Sabbath is, of course, the contemplation of God. The Sabbath is always "holy to the LORD" (Exodus 31:15). Pondering the love of God remains the central focus of our Sabbaths.