To be able to develop a close relationship with God, we need to spend quality time with Him. We need to study His Word, and let His Holy Spirit speak to us through it. We require time to spend in earnest prayer, talking to Him, praising and worshiping Him. We need time to look at nature and reflect on all the wonderful creations that He has made. And finally, we need time to spend with fellow believers, to worship together in song and have fellowship with each other, encouraging one another and building up each other’s faith by our testimonies.
In this hectic world with our busy lifestyles it is so easy to get so engrossed in other things that we never have time for God. Some of us may spend a couple of hours of a Sunday morning attending church, but then the hum drum of the rat race catches up with us, and we find ourselves mowing lawns, going to the footy, or off doing other secular activities where God is just not a part of it.
With stress related diseases such as heart attack and cancer on the increase every year, the necessity to take a days break, and bask in the presence of our mighty father in Heaven, has never been so important. We need to be replenished and rested, so that our bodies have time to recuperate.
God gave us His Sabbath day as a blessing to all mankind. A day that we could truly get to know and fellowship with Him, and not have to do any work or labour. A day on which to rest, away from the worries and cares of this world. He also ordained it as a day in remembrance that He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth. The scriptures say, Exo 20:8-11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it”.
The Bible shows the true spirit of the Sabbath. Isaiah 58:13-14 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight..” It shows that the Sabbath is a delight. It is a wonderful day and something to look forward to each week.
Rev. Wayne D. Shemwell, Sr. is a former member of the United States Marine Corp holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Master’s in Divinity. Rev. Shemwell has also been active for a number of years in the local community. He has been married to Dr. JoAn Shemwell for 23 years; they have two children Wayne, Jr. (21) and Whitney (19). Rev. Shemwell served as Pastor of First Baptist Church of LaGrange KY for three years. Currently he is the director of New Harvest Ministries located in Louisville KY.
He is a lifetime member of the NAACP and has served as treasurer for the Louisville, KY branch. Additionally he has served as unit commissioner for the Boy Scouts and Chairperson for the Louisville Urban League’s Annual Youth Golf Scramble. Furthermore Rev. Shemwell hosted and produced for eleven years the award winning community affairs television program the Shemwell report.
He served as the chaplain for the Oldham County Sheriff’s Office and as the press secretary for Interdenominational Ministerial Coalition as well as a board member of other community organizations. He is also the author of two books “Now Run and Tell That, the crack cocaine of the Christian community”, “Transformed By Trouble” and” The Oyster Principle, turning life’s problems into life’s pearls”