Members & Attendees Joe & Martha Jordan George Lewis Greg Shaffer Jonathan Carter David & Lisa Hammack Steve Berry Zoey Rolfe Margaret Hudson Mary Hammack Marie Berry Sylvia Williams Janet Edwards Prayer Requests Friends & Other Requests Train derailment victims & families Betty Overton Wilson Hawkins Katie Keeter Tom Moseley Connor Crouell Brenda Nuckles Johnny Allen Carolyn Harris Bernard Scott Sonny & Lou Varkoly Friends & Other Requests The following families, in the passing of their loved ones: The family of: Jaxson Clay Benisha Clary Carolyn Hux Betty Ferguson Alton Gene Hales Louise Davis The Christian Caller Non-Profit Organization East Tenth Street Church of Christ Postage Paid Permit 54 1207 East Tenth Street Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870 Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina 27870 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED (252) 537-4504 or 537-4831 easttenth@embarqmail.com www.easttenth.org Worship Services Sunday School 10:00 Morning Worship 11:00 Sunday Evening 6:00 Staff Minister Dave Chapman 532-9072 Youth Director Lauren Harris Secretary Susan Wilson Music Director Trudy Duke
This week we heard about another tragedy; the headline read: Excessive speed leads to train derailment. An Amtrak train was traversing a brand new route. While we might think a little-known set of tracks would lead to greater caution, instead, the train was traveling at 80 mph in a curve that had a speed limit of 30 mph. Picture a car going down Tenth Street not at 35 mph nor at 50 mph, but at an extra 50 mph above the speed limit--and it s not hard to see the danger. Of course that is not to assign blame. Investigators will need to determine if this was due to a malfunction with the train itself, a medical emergency that incapacitated the engineer, operator error, or some other cause. But whatever the underlying cause of the speeding, it seems clear that the accident would not have happened if the train was going 30 mph like it was supposed to be. Our prayers go out to the victims and families affected. But I write about this because excessive speed seems to be an epidemic in our culture. I m not just talking about the car tailgating you as you re going down I-95 to grandma s house for Christmas. (Or are you the one doing the tailgating?) Yes, speeding on roads is a problem, but it s not the only one. Instead, excessive speed seems to infect every aspect of our lives, from our work, to our housekeeping, to our family life, to even our hobbies and yes, even our Christian Caller December 19, 2017 Dave s Devotions celebration of Christmas. Excessive speed causes all kinds of daily disasters that, while not making headlines or leading to loss of life, still undermine the joy and peace that we should have in Christ. Actually, the extreme pace we try to maintain can cause loss of life, whether from car accidents due to the aforementioned bad driving habits, or from heart attacks brought on by too much stress. It can also contribute to marriages that crumble and other relationship problems. And it can cause us to miss the opportunities God gives us to share and show his love, and to enjoy his good blessings to us. So what are we to do about this? Here are three ways you can take your foot off the gas: First, maintain a practice of weekly Sabbath keeping. The Jewish people were commanded by God to take one day out of each week, and to make it a time of no work. Unfortunately, over time the religious leaders took that good gift of a Sabbath, and turned it into a burden with excessive rules and regulations. But while its practice became misguided, God s original command, to set aside a day for rest and worship, remains very relevant for us. Tim Keller spent decades ministering to people in fast-paced New York City. Last year he wrote a great item entitled, Wisdom and Sabbath Rest that I m sure grew out of what he observed in his own (Continued inside)
Dave s Devotions, continued from front congregants, but which is relevant for us as well. I don t have time to reprint or even summarize all of his insights here; you can read his article in full at qideas.org/articles/wisdomand-sabbath-rest. But I will highlight one thing Keller talked about, which was different practices to include in our own Sabbath. He suggested that weekly Sabbath keeping should include: Time set aside doing nothing! That means unscheduled time that you leave yourself free to rest, relax and go with the flow. Time for hobbies you enjoy. And Depending on whether you are an introvert or extrovert, either time alone or time with friends whichever you find recharging. Keller s article was focused on the rest side of Sabbath-keeping. But we would add that Sabbath is first of all about worship, and we need time to gather with other believers to praise God and hear his Word. While Satan will do all he can to make getting to church a chore, when we do make time for worship, we will find it spiritually renewing. So we avoid excessive speed by making time for a weekly Sabbath. But we also need to have daily rest. Most people do not get enough sleep; the failure to do so is devastating to our health. One expert in the field said, I used to suggest that sleep is the third pillar of good health, along with diet and exercise. But I don't agree with that anymore. Sleep is the single most effective thing you can do to reset your brain and body for health. 1 We will all have a late night or early morning from time to time, of course. But if we burn the candle at both ends for too long, pretty soon there will be no candle left to burn. Like the weekly Sabbath, daily rest is about both physical and spiritual practices. It is about what we do and what we stop doing. We need time to pray and meditate to reflect deeply on God s word. We need to set aside those electronic distractions we all love, called smartphones, which are not making us very smart at all. Instead, perhaps you might want to allow time several days a week to read the Bible, and then go for a walk, praying and reflecting on God s word as you go. Finally, alongside those weekly and daily habits, we need yearly times of renewal. The Israelites had times of celebration through the year. We can enjoy holidays and vacations too if we take them at all, and if we actually step away from our work when we do go on vacation. For most, this next two weeks will include at least some added time of rest, as we celebrate Christmas. Let s do what Mary did, treasuring these moments, and allowing time to ponder God s amazing blessings (Luke 2:19). We re afraid we will miss out if we ever stop moving. But in reality, it is our excessive speed that causes us to miss out on so much. And yes, hard work is a good thing. But we will actually accomplish more when our lives include a balance of work with weekly, daily and yearly rest. That means stepping away from our electronics, our work and our routines. It means giving space to allow God to speak to us, as we invest in the people around us, and as we make time for worship. I hope to see you Sunday, as we renew ourselves in our worship together! 1 Quote comes from Time magazine: time.com/4672988/the-sleep-cure-fountain-of-youth