“So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my statutes and mamde known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.” ~ Ezekiel 20:10-12
“I don’t really feel up to going today, what about you?”
“Well, I guess we could watch it online together . . . “
We never meant to stop attending church services. During COVID, and during an extended period of caregiving in another state, it just got easier to “attend” at home. There were, at first, many reasons—anything from lower back injuries, not enough quality sleep the night before, an indistinct intellectual and emotional malaise, a general feeling at the end of the week of being “peopled out,” a family get-together scheduled at noon, frequent travel, and just general laziness. We never stopped attending our church altogether, of course; but we “allowed” ourselves more reasons to “take it easy” and rest in a way we thought was best.
To be clear and positive, the modern option to watch church services together at home has been a real blessing when my husband or I are travelling. Though miles apart, my husband and I can view the same service together and talk to or text each other on the phone afterward. That is a special time together that would not otherwise be available to us. Many who hesitate to try church life are able to “taste and see” a prospective church online first. Many are truly home-bound by disability or imprisonment so that we can only praise God for the blessings God has given us through technological means. In all our time “away” from the physical corporate body, we still enjoyed that sense of corporate unity of message and shared lives and mission that comes from being part of a local church, even if our in-person attendance was spotty.
The Lord had been convicting me for some time, however, of the need to be obedient in worshipping with my church family on location. I knew in my spirit that we were taking advantage of the blessings we had been given. I purchased Charlie Kirk’s posthumously published book on the Sabbath,* but never found time to read more than a few pages, enough to know I wanted to read more. I put the book on my “to read” stack and hoped to “get around to it” soon—the book and its message.
It doesn’t take long to know how God feels about His Sabbaths when studying through the Old Testament. Eventually, I ventured into the book of Ezekiel. Or, I should say, God’s Word through Ezekiel ventured into me. Again and again, God warns His people—which, in modern terms, would be me—that they (I) had turned their (my) back on His love and provision by not keeping the Sabbaths that He decreed for them (me), for worship and remembering Him as their (my) God. Not only that, they “desecrated” His Sabbaths by committing their ungodliness on the day set out in the week for our rest and His worship:
“But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.”
Ezekiel 20:13
“Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”
Ezekiel 23:35
These are strong words. Whoring? Maybe the Israelites, but surely not me! Every human alive today knows what it feels like to displease Holy God. First, we hide, then we make excuses and justifications and rationalizations, but inside we feel dirty and we draw further and further away from the very God who loves us and has called us out of His wrath and into His love and life!
The Sabbaths are God’s way of helping us to remember that He, alone, is the Sovereign Lord. The word ‘sovereign’ means the “super ruler” or the chief or highest ruler of all. ‘Lord’ means Master. When we fail to keep His Sabbath, we grow even more weary because we are not enjoying the rest that comes from His peace. We forget Him because, without our Sovereign Lord at the helm of our minds and bodies and spirits every seventh day, the world and its lusts and its sorrows flood in. Other “gods” become our saviors and receive our worship, for every vacuum will be filled. Idolatry is whoring.
A day is coming when we will hear the pronouncement of His judgment on those who disobeyed and never came to Him for mercy. The violence of our rebellion against our Maker can not go unpunished. God’s mercy was a key promise in Ezekiel’s day dating back from Genesis 3:15 when God promised a Savior for all of mankind’s sin. But all Israel and Judah had grown tired of waiting. The days eat at our vigilance and we flag and think God will not act.
And yet God has already acted. He fulfilled His ancient promise in His only Son, Jesus Christ, who made a way for our forgiveness by His sacrificial death on the cross “outside the camp” of Jerusalem. By His blood, we can have forgiveness of our sin and can be washed “white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). But Christ’s offer of forgiveness at His expense is only an offer, a gift. To obtain the gift, one must reach for it as one tosses away all other desires for the only one that matters (Matthew 13:45-46). And so . . .
After many chapters of this warning, hard-headed human that I am, I realized I had to make a choice. That next Sunday morning, I didn’t want to get out of bed, as usual. I knew I needed to get up, get dressed, and obey. Unwilling to move, I began to pour out my words to the Lord in a prayer asking for help and telling Him that I wanted to obey.
But the Lord stopped me cold. This is how God talks to us as His children. The knowledge of not only God’s Word, but knowledge of God’s character came to me in a flood as clear as if the words had been spoken aloud (and they were in my heart):
“I don’t want your words. I want your obedience. Obedience IS your prayer.”
Speechless, I rolled out of bed and got dressed. Halfway thinking that my ‘other half’ would probably not want to attend, I presented my church-ready self in the kitchen. I was not really surprised to find that he was in full agreement. God had been speaking to him, too.
That Sunday, the sermon was “on point” (i.e., balm for our tortured hearts and conviction for our lazy souls). We would have received that same sermon online, of course; but being present was more than a casual assent—it was commitment.
During the singing of hymns, I could hear a rich baritone behind me declaring, “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty . . . ” and it hit me, the strength of those ancient words. Next to me, the toddler son of a young man tapped me on the shoulder to wave at me and this cheered my soul. I miss my two-year old grandson, so this was a real joy. The young man in front of me held his own little boy, too, as the father sang praises to his Christ. Across the aisle, another young father gently led his thickly-bespectacled little boy out for a potty break, the small one’s hand so tiny and so trustingly placed in his daddy’s. It was beautiful.
I would not otherwise have experienced this precious new generation of fathers and sons raising their hands and faith high and modeling for their sons the beauty of community life in Christ. My prayers were deeply grateful that God had prompted me to obey this morning as my husband and I shared holy communion together. The Lord’s Supper is something we fail to do when watching at home—this drinking of the shed blood of Christ and partaking of His body broken for our sins, identifying with Him in His suffering and in His Resurrection by faith. What a privilege to honor Christ together with a believing community in this intimate act of remembrance and hope. From then on, we began pushing ourselves to attend in person whether we felt or feel like it or not.
I write this after yet another glorious day at church. Today I met up with two good friends and shared hugs and familiy and prayer updates, not by text or trying to find a time to meet for lunch some time that month (rare), but in person. Immediate. Eye-to-eye, hug-to-hug, smile to smile.
It feels really good to know that we are in obedience to God, pleasing Him by our meager effort to just show up and be present. It puts a smile in our heart. True to God’s Word to Ezekiel, I am sanctified, (made holy). And holiness feels good. What a concept! “I can please God“—and be made clean—simply by obeying the Guide Book He has given us.
No, the world hasn’t changed. Sorrows we endure are still sorrowful and pressures are still high for demands of work or school or all the “ought to’s” of this life in a day or week or month or year. But there was and is a keen rest in obedience that says, “I remember, my Father. Thank you for Christ. You are the Sovereign Lord and I can rest in You in full faith that You have me in Your hand. Teach me to follow You all the days of my life.”
How has the Word of God transformed your day?
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for giving us Your Sabbath day of rest, remembering that You, alone, are the God of my life. Thank you for Your Word and Your Spirit that instructs me in the way I should go. Take my small obedience and multiply it as a blessing to You and to others who need You, too. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
RESOURCES
*Kirk, Charlie. Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life. Winning Team Publishing, 2025. Available at ChristianBook.com.
Whitman, Lauren. “What Does the Bible Say About Rest?” Christian Counseling and Education Foundation, 11 July 2024, https://www.ccef.org/what-does-the-bible-say-about-rest/. (Audio Blog and Transcription)
Joseph, Aimee. Made to Rest: True Peace in a World That Never Stops. New Growth Press, 2026.
Got Questions Ministries. “Why Is Church Attendance Important?” [58 seconds].YouTube, 18 May 2025, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ou2sDFN6bbg.
