It was a most restful weekend. I was able to get up early, both on Saturday and Sunday morning, in which to fill my cup with the reading of His Word.  I am studying the Book of Isaiah and can’t help but think of our country and its present perilous times as I read this book. 

.

I was able to have perhaps four complete hours of uninterrupted time of this communion with Him, before I became distracted.  As I sat on the couch, studying the Word of God with a Bible and a Matthew Henry Commentary on my lap, there was a knock on my door.  Through the window of the door I could see that there were two men, of which I did not recognize either.  When I went to the door, I observed that they were dressed kind of nice, as if going to church; not your usual attire on Saturday morning. 

I discovered that they were from a small country Baptist church a few miles from my home, and they were looking for Jodi (our new neighbor living among us here at Ranch Shekinah.)  They told me that they weren’t sure if they had the right address when they turned into the address on the mailbox.  Our driveway twists and turns and takes one quite a way off of the main road.  Many a person has been surprised when coming here that this piece of hidden land exists. It’s as if we have our private garden of Shekinah glory. It is not to be observed by the normal traveler unless by destined intent. 

When the two men started driving down the lane that turns and bends, leading one to our private paradise, one of the men started getting nervous.  “Hey, we might have the wrong address here. We need to get out of here – we might get shot at by some rifles!”  To which the other gentleman replied that he was way too intrigued to quit now, he just had to see what was back here. When they drove up to our home, they marveled at the beauty and serenity of the landscape before them.  I have rarely had anyone come here without comment of something similar.

I spent the rest of the day enjoying the Sabbath.  His day is to be set apart from the rest of the six days; it is this day that we are commanded to rest (it is one of the Ten Commandments). We are instructed not to profane it.  When I studied that word, ‘profane,’ it seemed to indicate that this day is not to be treated like just any other day and to do so is to profane it. 

It was rainy and chilly (was I ever grateful that I had spent significant time the day before outside on my horses,) and the house just seemed to be lacking warmth.  I turned the heat on, dressed warmly, climbed under a blanket on the recliner, and snuggled with a cup of hot tea and a good book.  In time, the fireplace was lit, and it was there I stationed myself almost the entire day.  I enjoyed the company of my husband whom I stayed close by for the majority of the day, watched Ruthie perform ballet dancing and listened to her stories and singing, and watched her new found game of solitaire badminton in the family room. 

The book I spent the day reading is called, The Way of the Master, by Ray Comfort.  I read a previous book by the same author last week, titled, How to Bring Your Children to Christ. I like what this author has to say and have yet  one more book  sitting beside me waiting to be read after the present one, titled, What Did Jesus Do?  And I even have another book coming in the mail by the same author, titled, Hell’s Best Kept Secret.  The message of Ray Comfort is that the Law is our schoolmaster.  We cannot lead others to Christ until they realize their need of a Savior. 

One cannot be saved if they don’t perceive a need to be saved.  It is the Ten Commandments, the moral law that is written upon everyone’s heart that will lead us to repentance.  We cannot lead one to Christ by promising them a good life, or blessings untold. We lead others to Him by telling them of how short we have fallen from the glory of God, the breaking of His Commandments.

 Have I ever lied?  Stolen? Hated someone? (Hatred in God’s eyes is as murder and is judged as such.) Have I ever coveted what someone else had?  Have I ever broken the Sabbath (even just once?)  If I have, then I have broken God’s law, and the punishment is death – in Hell, for an eternity.  There is only one way out of this predicament and that is by accepting the substitution of Christ’s death on the cross for our decreed punishment of death in hell.  By asking forgiveness of our transgression of His laws, and accepting what He did for us on the cross, we receive the gift of eternal life, instead of suffering eternal death in hell.