In Keeping the Sabbath

Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
and a restorer of homes.
13 “Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath
and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
14 Then the Lord will be your delight.
I will give you great honor
and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Isaiah 58:12-14

Go back over the passage above.  Read it out loud, slowly.  Soak in it's truth. 

I read this passage yesterday in my daily Bible study.  I've read it a thousand times before but  yesterday the Holy Spirit convicted me.  I realized that I wasn't keeping the Sabbath day holy!  I was allowing things to creep into the Sabbath day that robbed the Lord of my attention, my worship, and my focus!  I was persuing my own interests, hobbies, and desires.  I was allowing outside activities to pull our family in different directions on the Sabbath!  Sure I was going to church and worshipping God in fellowship with other believers.  But what in the world was I doing the rest of the day?  The Sabbath didn't start the minute I pulled into the church parking lot and it certainly didn't end when I sped out of it, either! 

Keeping the Sabbath holy is extremely important.  Too often, I am guilty of minimizing it's importance and allowing exceptions to rob God of His Sabbath day with us.  The Sabbath is an opporunity to spend a lot of quality time with our DADDY.  It is family time for God's children.  It's a day of fellowship and worship with other believers.  A day where outside interruptions and worldly activities do not dictate the day.  Our Father has claimed this time with us.  He scheduled this weekly appointment at the dawn of creation and He expects us to keep it!    We should look to this day with great anticipation and desire!  It is a day to break free from the daily stresses of life, where we can gather together to worship and reflect on our wonderful God and Savior!  It's a day to reclaim our family from the past week, building up our children in their faith, and strengthening the family ties.  The Sabbath is God's day - not ours to claim for ourselves!  So often we think that going to church is enough.  We think, "Okay, I've gone to church.  God, we good, right?"  Listen, God established a SABBATH DAY  - NOT a Sabbath HOUR!  Going to church, worshipping with other believers, and listening to the preacher is part of observing the Sabbath.  The rest of the day should continue that observance as a day of rest, a day to enjoy, a day to delight in the Lord! 

God established the Sabbath at the creation of the world.  He spent six days creating the universe, the earth, and all of the living beings.  Then He rested on the seventh day.  "On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation."  Genesis 2:2-3  God declared the seventh day holy.  This holy day is the Sabbath.     

God not only established the Sabbath, a holy day of rest, but He commanded us to observe it.  It is such an important command that it is named in The 10 Commandments. "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you... Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."  Deuteronomy 5:12 & 15b   God gave us this commandment because it is what is best for us!  We are to work the other six days of the week, but we are to rest on the Sabbath, to honor Him, to keep it holy.  God established the Sabbath day because he knew we needed a break from the daily grind, a day for spiritual and physical renewal.  This break from our daily routines and responsibilities also gives us a full day to honor and worship our Lord. 

We should observe the Sabbath with a proper attitude - an attitude of worship.  It is a precious day, a special day, a holy day.  It is our day to spend with our perfect Heavenly Father and His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Make it a family day, a day of worship.  God established this day of rest to also refresh us spiritually and physically.  God wants us to enjoy this day and to delight in it!  Don't go to the office.  Don't grade those papers.  Don't worry about cleaning house or raking the yard.  Set priorities for your family to honor the Lord's day.  Don't allow outside forces to pull your family in different directions that day.  Make it a family day, a day of fellowship with other believers.  Share in meals together.  Break bread together.  Honoring God in your relationships.  Go to church.  Worship.  Pray.  Hear God's Word being taught.  We can honor God with an attitude of worship even when we are unable to attend church or devote the day to God.  However, these times should be the exception rather than the rule.  Keep the Sabbath holy, ..."I the Lord have spoken." 

As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord!  Grace and peace, friends!

In His Love, Cathy