Breaking The Cycle
January 11, 2026Pastor Patrick presented today's message, "Breaking The Cycle." A video of today's message is here on YouTube. It may help to be familiar with the message but that is not required to enjoy the thoughts below.
Patrick talked a bit about the Greek word for "renew" in Romans 12:1-2, an-ak-ah'-ee-no-sis (ἀνακαίνωσις). He pointed out the notion of restored, as in stripped down to the original and refinished.
I wondered if there was a similar Old Testament (OT) Hebrew word. Sure enough. The word is chadash (חָדַש) means renew, repair, and/or restore. It only appears 10 times in the OT, in 1 Samuel, 2 Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, and Lamentations. From BibleHub.com, "chadash centers on God's power to bring something back to its intended vigor - whether a covenant, a structure, a community, the creation, or the inner life of an individual. The verb never suggests mere cosmetic change; it points to substantive renewal that accords with God’s covenant purposes."
In Psalm 51:10, David's plea ("renew a steadfast spirit within me") shows that chadash can be an answer to sin and guilt that only God can provide. In Psalm 104:30, chadash is linked to God's order.
Here are a few Old Testament verses that make it clear God has a plan for you: 35 Important Bible Verses About God Having A Plan For You (Explained).
Bonus
Stop, in the Name of God (book)
The full title of the book is STOP, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life by Charlie Kirk. Yes, that Charlie Kirk. The guy who headed up a $100M organization, gave major speeches more than weekly, visited college campuses frequently, traveled all over the country all the time, and had a family with two young children. That Charlie Kirk managed to carve a full day out of every week to observe the God-given cycle of life: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work" (Exodus 20:9-10).I finished the book in a few days. Of course, Dennis Prager and all related authors and speakers have been prepping me over five years now, and in fact we (our family) have been taking some baby steps for some years in the form of Family Dinners (which I think of as mini-Sabbaths). And no surprise at all, but very pleased to see, Charlie Kirk dedicated this book to Dennis Prager.
Charlie makes the point that it's not a matter of it being a law or not, or whether Christ nullified or otherwise overcame that law. The point is that resting on the seventh day is part of life's fabric that God gave to Man. It's a gift.
Here are notes I took as I read the book that amount to a TOC/index:
Prager's five Genesis 1:1 implications pp. 5-32
Return of God Hypothesis (book by Stephen Meyer) pp. 38-53
History of Sabbath pp. 55-78
Shabbat = cease
Radical
Place in Ten Commandments
Weekend = secular solution to sacred loss
Sabbath rebound: "Digital Detox," "Tech Sabbaths"
Sabbath source:
Creation
Divine Completeness
Marker
Bound to God who gives all, incl. rest
To remember who God is and who we are not
God's idea not man's
Rooted in revelation, not utility
What do you worship pp. 79-98
What do you sacrifice for
No other gods!
Human beings will "worship" something - it's a matter of what
Anti Racism
Earth Worship and all its failed prophecies
Self
Scientists Scientism p. 99
Stuff (Adoration of) p. 105
Power p.110
Sabbath: improves health p. 115
Stop scolding start living p. 121 (123)
Dope-amine p.121. Dopamine Nation, p. 125 solution
Work never Ends p.131
Say No to Pharoah - Embrace Sabbath p. 135
Requires that everyone under your control rests, p. 138
Improves your sleep p. 141, verses p. 151+
Sabbath = invitation to be satisfied. p. 151
entrust your life to God
renounce the illusion of self sufficiency
Sabbath = sacred rhythm p. 155
Cross -> Sabbath (rest in tomb) -> Resurrection p. 185/155
You are not God, you don't need to be.
4th Commandment p. 157
order one's life around rhythm of Creation
Work 6 days! Before the Fall. melachah-sacred construct
Animals p. 171
Sloth/laziness destroys, is disobedient
Dignity of All p. 175
Frank1, purpose/meaning, p.164
The Book That Made Your World (The Bible) p. 167
Slavery p.177, what does eved mean
Christians bound to Sabbath? p. 187
Yes pp 196-208 / No pp. 209-220
Just do it:
Not enough time, pp. 224-226
I can't because of work pp. 226-228
when things calm down pp. 228-231
kids sports pp. 231-233
resting = feeling guilty pp. 233-235
simply can't pp. 235-237
can't miss [fill in the blank], can't be phoneless, pp. 237-240
Ways to make Sabbath simple pp. 241-258
Create a simple "Sabbath Start" ritual to get it going each week
Turn off phone for x hours
screen-free meals
slow walk in nature
Sabbath Basket - fill w/stuff to do (games, books, puzzles, etc.)
Write a gratitude list at the end
1D one simple nonessential task to not do
Sabbath soundtrack (restful/contemplative music)
Read one Psalm every Sabbath
Set a digital sunset time the night before
Seek shalom, shabbat shalom
May you enter into the fullness of God's rest
Ps. 46:10
Numbers 6:26, 7th C BCE, oldest scripture
Bonus2
You're Rarely Cruising at a Given Altitude
But as long as everyone around you is moving up and down together, we're all OK.
In the aviation world, planes are given "flight levels" (FL) at which to cruise. These come in two- or three-digit numbers which indicate hundreds of feet. For example, FL350 is 35,000 feet and FL25 is 2,500 feet. Flight levels are only used above a certain altitude which varies around the world. For the USA, the Transition Altitude to Flight Levels is 18,000 feet above sea level.
Here's the kicker. That rarely means exactly 35,000 or 2,500 feet above sea level (or above anything else for that matter). That's because there are two other things to realize. 1. The Flight Level number is always paired with an air pressure setting, an arbitrary setting, of 29.92 inches of mercury (inHg), Standard Pressure. 2. That inHg setting is rarely accurate for the spot where the plane is, and more interestingly, the actual air pressure (not the setting) will actually fluctuate throughout the flight. And as the actual air pressure fluctuates, the plane will have to go up and down to maintain an assigned flight level at the 29.92 inHg setting.
With up to 200,000 flights per day and 12-14,000 flights in the air at any given time, there has to be a way of keeping them all clear of each other. That's what these flight levels are all about. Above 18,000 feet, where most of them spend most of their time, they're all literally moving up and down en masse, properly separated, based on all being set to 29.92 inHg.
It struck me that this dance might be compared to everyone moving about in harmony based on a set of values. If everyone is following a value set, everyone can go about their business and be safe, the constant fluctuations notwithstanding. If everyone is not following a shared value set, you can still move about but the risks are much higher.
Put another way in keeping with Pastor Patrick's message this morning, staying within the boundaries of the path as set by God will make travel through down the path better for everyone involved.
(I spend a fair amount of time following the aviation world.)
Bonus3
Sheba's Advice
According to Sheba, an Old English Sheepdog (OES) whose story I ran into online, here's some sound advice (which Sheba apparently followed to a tee). "Keep your people close, your worries light, and always run as fast as you can to those you love."
Pictured above is our 3-year-old OES, Bonnie Lass. She strictly follows this advice. Sheepdogs are known for their "zooming" from person to person. Of course, they'll also zoom after a rabbit, too. We got her from Bugaboo OES last summer.
Sheba the Old English Sheepdog is not to be confused with the Queen of Sheba as referenced in 1 Kings 10:1-13.