Reflections: Remembering the Sabbath
Sunday, May 31st, 2009
"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, nor 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." Exodus 20:8-11
Scripture reading for this week: Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20; Isaiah 58; Acts 1
As many believers celebrate today, the day of Pentecost-the fiftieth day after Resurrection Sunday-the day many consider the birth of the Church; I wonder how many hold true to and honor the Sabbath day as God intended. We have strayed from many traditions in the church. How many actually remember the Sabbath and keep it holy?
What many may not know is, that there is a blessing in keeping the Sabbath holy. There is a blessing when we follow what God has ordained and set apart for us to do. There had to be a reason why God did this. Why He would specifically set a day apart. It wasn't just to please Him. But that we may receive what He has for us.
It is my sincerest prayer that this week's Reflection, will bring encouragement, enlightenment, and peace to your hearts and minds. Prayerfully you will receive revelation or a reminder about the Sabbath, and why it is so important to set aside time, not only for the Lord God, but for yourselves, as well.
The Sabbath day-Sunday for many, Saturdays for others-has become more of a catch up day, rather than a day of rest and contemplation on the Lord. There are many of us that find ourselves working seven days a week. There are many that certainly see the Sabbath as a day of rest; but God is no where in their thoughts.
We have taken for granted how holy and sacred the Sabbath truly is. We have become so burdened and work oriented, that many wish they had an eighth day! But I can guarantee that would soon become a wish for a ninth day. And so on, and so on. Is it really that hard to give God one day? We have six others! So why have we squeezed God out of our lives? Some of us not even realizing it.
I remember, as a little girl, how when my Nana came over, or when we were at her house on Sundays, that there was no kind of work being done on Sunday if it didn‘t have to do with God. It was about being in the house of the Lord, and serving God. She even made sure that her Sunday dinner was cooked the night before. And that's how I grew up; Sunday dinner prepared the night before. Sunday clothes prepared and iron the night before. In the morning, all we had to do was to bathe, eat breakfast, get dressed and go to church. And not near one of us children better had turned on a television set before church! Absolutely no TV before services! (And I loved Abbott & Costello!)
That's just the way things were. I remember certain stores being closed. Families going to houses of worship together. It used to be a time for families to come together and share with one another. Sundays used to be sacred.
What has happened over the years? God hasn't changed. His Word hasn't changed. His commandment hasn't changed. So why have we stopped honoring what God has blessed us with?
Yes. The Sabbath is not only something the Lord gave to us as a commandment; it was given to us for our benefit. A day of rest. A day of contemplation. A day to give to God our undivided attention. God knows what He is doing! If we would honor what He has given us, we will find that in keeping the Sabbath holy, we not only honor God; but He will honor us.
God desires for us to walk in rest and peace. He desires for us to spend time in His presence, and to be filled with His spirit and His power. He has given six other days. Six days to do what we will, and all He asks of us is one day. One day that is set apart to worship Him. And the fact of the matter is, we benefit the most. Because when you take the time to delight yourself in Him; He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).
We toil and we toil in this life. We work hard trying to provide for our families. We grind ourselves down; hampered with worries and anxiety, and wonder how we are going to make it through. The answer has been with us all along. So simple, yet so powerful; that we have overlooked it and forgotten its merit and importance.
As children of God, He has given to us the keys to a successful life. Even when hard times come, God has given us a way of escape. A way to triumph over the heartaches and rough times that we will often face in this journey called life. And an integral part of that answer is the Sabbath, and remembering to honor God and keep it holy.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (NIV)
13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
If we would honor God, and seek to please God and not ourselves; find delight in doing what God has asked of us, God will not only bless us; but He will bless our families, our children, our children's children.
We spend so much time trying to make our lives better. Trying to make our lives more comfortable, that we have taken God out of our lives. Even as believers, we can get caught up in the ways of the world, and we find ourselves saying: next week. I'll go next week. Oh, God understands. I'm about to lose my home. I need to do what I have to do.
How sad is that? The truth of the matter is, without God in this equation, this can only get worse. But when we place God at the top of our lists, and seek to give unto Him what He has asked, and so patiently waited for, He will openly reward you.
Honoring God, and keeping what He has ordained holy and set apart, opens your heart and life to the hand of God. And when God's hands is upon you, miracles abound. Favor increases.
You toil for what? Your children grow and leave the house, and you never really knew them. Your marriage dissolves because you grew apart. You never spent time with the Father. Had you spent time in the presence of God, He'd of made you aware of the things that needed your attention.
We forsake the Word of God often. We look at His word as another book. But His word is life. It is the key to peace and joy in our lives, even in the midst of pain and sorrows. When we honor God and seek to please Him, doing as He has asked of us; God honors that. Resting on the Sabbath; seeking the face of God; opens our hearts to the filling of the Holy Spirit and His direction.
On the day of Pentecost, the Apostles sat with other believers waiting on the promise of Christ to be fulfilled. As they waited, the rested in the Lord. They honored the Lord their God. They remembered His word and they abode in it. As a result, they were filled with the precious Holy Spirit. Anointed to do what God had called them to do.
As we wait upon the Lord, and seek His face daily; as we honor Him and spend time in His presence, He fills us with everything that we need to make it in this world. The Sabbath is so much more than a Sunday or a Saturday. It is a way of life. The Sabbath is a day set apart to honor and reflect upon the goodness of God. The Sabbath is a frame of mind; a frame of mind that garners us to listen to the voice of God and follow as He directs us. The Sabbath is state of being; being still in the presence of God so that He may restore us from all the toil that we have endured. The Sabbath is seeking to put God first in all that we do, so that He may bless the fruits of our labor, and fill our cups until they are spilling over.
I don't know what your Sabbath day is. But I do know that God is requiring you to have one. And He is requiring that we keep it holy and seek to honor and please Him. One day. That's all He asks. One day that is set apart just for Him. We have six other says in which we work and toil and contemplate on other things. Although we may attend Bible studies, and do things in the name of the Lord; the Father still asks that we set apart one whole day just for Him. Not to do what we want; but to do what He desires. To dare to do things His way.
I challenge you to really make the Sabbath holy again. I challenge you to give God all of you, and to do what pleases God and not what pleases you. However, you will find that if you walk in the Lord, seeking to please Him, that eventually you will come to find out that what pleases the Lord, will now please you as well.
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
I pray that your Sabbath is set apart for God. That you will find restoration and peace in the presence of God, as you seek to please Him. May the spirit of peace and prosperity rest in every area of your lives: spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, socially and financially. Give God what belongs to God, and you will have rest and peace like you have never known before. Be Blessed.
©2009. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.
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Comments: 23
Have a blessed Sabbath. Knowing that God has already heard your prayers, and answered them before they left your mouth! You are loved. God Bless.
Amen
Have a blessed week!
All days are His. I just get to enjoy them in His care.
Amen!
May God bless you in many ways.
The same to you and yours!
Hi, Ruthe! Good to hear your voice on here...
Thanks for stopping by, Sandi!
Nice article.
One of the nice benefits of being retired is we get to rest a lot....
LOL!
This is very true Ruthe and thank you for including the Creation Week Sabbath Day not just Sunday so ordered not by Christ or God but by Constantine. As to Christ being born if you do study and research. Christ died at 33 and half years old he would have been 34 in the fall of the year. Most Jewish Scholars and understand around October after the harvest when they came to pay the taxes for the year on the harvest and near the time of Tabernacles. Which was partly why all the inns were full people were also there to celebrate Sukkot or Tabernacles, to trade and do business and to pay taxes. There were no sheep in the stables or folds then as they were still in the fields. We do rest on God's creation Sabbath Saturday the 7th day of the week.
Thank you Jen for that history!
I am so glad you did this one thank you.
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Thank you, Renee. Hoping you are met with many blessings and miracles!
Rue ~ I hope your Sabbath was filled with rest, relaxation, & "reflection". Wonderful reminder and inspirational words.
Renda, it in deed was. Thank you.
By the way: It rain here all week, and I took the time to dance in the rain!
Sunday was always sacred for our family growing up. My grandmother used to drag us every week whether we wished to go or not. I only hated getting up early! And, I still do but, I digress..
It used to be a great time for us to go to church, come home, then cook a meal that we all sit down to and participate in. One did the dishes, one dried them and another set the table. And, one always said Grace.
Now, I'm lucky if I go to church twice a year. I miss it. But, to be honest, on Sundays I work and I'm always too exhausted to go anymore.
I do usually try to remember the Lord though and keep him in my heart.
Whatever time you get to spend with the Lord is precious. Sundays are most popular in days of Worship. But everyday belongs to the Lord.
I worked for 17 years, at the local Mental Health Center, taking care of people in crisis at our Safe House. I always had to work Sundays, unless I was replacing the boss on his vacations. Then I'd get to work M-F, which was not much of a relief, seeing as our Psychiatrist was ( and still is ) a real jerk. A friend has invited me, dozens of times, to attend his church with him and his family. So far I haven't made it and I fear he's giving up on me. I've been afraid of churches for so long... ever since "certain" churches came to our home and all of them tried convincing us that GOD had told them theirs was the ONLY church. Humbug. I think a bunch of Muslims would like me to think that too, but it isn't gonna fly.
I feel God knows my heart. If going to church regularly is a prerequisit for Heaven, then I'm in a heap o' trouble for sure. Churches have gotten so strange to me, over the years. I just don't have a clue as to a church God would approve of anymore. But, Sundays NOW, are definitely my day of rest, unless there's something that just cannot be put off. And I'm trying to make certain there aren't too many of THOSE days. I'm actually trying to retire, now that I've finally gotten my disability. So, time for the Lord has increased on a daily basis. I don't think a day goes by that I don't thank Him for something.
Thanks for your weekly Reflections, Ruthe. Yer a gem.
Hiya Dale! I don't believe you are in a "heap o' trouble"! LOL God knows our hearts. He even knows the things that are going on in the churches, and is not pleased with many.
Whatever time we give God is precious, and should be sacred. Going to a church building, is more in lines of fellowship, and seeking teaching.
What we all have o remember is that we are the church, as individuals. It is not the building, but individual. And God desires for us to set aside time to be in His presence, and reflect upon Him and His will.
God Bless you dear friend.
Thank you for bringing us such an important message. To often we get carried away and think those comandments were for all those other guys who realy need it. Then you remind us ......We are the other guys.
Not only dose God want us to love and not hurt others, but to also take a day of rest and indulge in His Glory, and just like the other nine we try to find a way around it when it is a gift to us. God Bless.
You are so right, Samuel. We do try to find ways around it, but it was all meant for us, and our good!
How beautiful and rejuvinated our lives would be (even in the midst of storms and trouble) if we would learn to indulge in the glory of God. To spend time in His holy presence! God Bless you and your family!