The Protest is Not Over: What Happened to The Sabbath?

“The Protest is Not Over: Transformation is Key to Reformation.” Somewhere along the way we forgot God’s Day. Message Magazine’s Daily Devotional for Sunday, November 11, 2018.

Listen to “Thoughts in Worship 11.11.2018” on Spreaker.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:1–3).

Most Wonderful Time of The Week

I love the Sabbath. Every Saturday, God has provided special time for us to worship, fellowship, focus, serve, and experience regeneration on new levels, not available during the week. I say new levels because, while those who love God worship Him everyday, there is only one day (the Sabbath) that God blessed, set aside for holy use, and spiritual rest, commemorating our rest in the blessing of salvation. If God blessed it, that means it’s special.

Remember. Remember is an interesting word. Keep. Keep is an interesting word too. Holy. Holiness is an intriguing principle. In Exodus 20:8-11, the Bible says God commanded in His perpetual law, for us to remember the seventh-day Sabbath. In this context, we are memorializing the creatorship of God. We are showing honor for His power to give life and to breathe new life into those who are being saved. The Bible says that we should remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. In this context, to keep means to consecrate, sanctify, dedicate as special, and to devote.

Holy Set-Aside

I am intrigued by the redundancy of God’s command. He said to remember the Sabbath to consecrate it as holy. It’s almost like He’s saying that the day/time He blessed during the creation week should be holy, holy. To keep is to devote as holy, that which God said was holy. If God said it, I believe it. I want to experience all that He has prepared for those who remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

For some reason, we human beings seem to be anti. I mean, some of us are bent on doing the opposite of right. If a child’s father says go left, that child often chooses to go right. If the speed limit says 55 miles per hour, we often go faster. It is strange behavior, which I could expound further, but I will stop here.

Even in the case of Sabbath time, our God said to remember and keep it holy, but we often forget and treat the time as mundane as the other six work days of the week. Then somebody got the idea that it would be acceptable to exchange the holiness only accorded to the Sabbath, to Sunday. Then, if that was not bad enough, some churches have added extra so-called holy days to the calendar like Epiphany, All Saints, Christmas (some call it holy), Ascension, Mary Mother of God, and other obligatory purported holy days depending upon your locale.

Last Holy-day Standing?

This is odd, since those who ascribe holiness to these times, disavow and discredit the only biblically valid holy day in our era. After God nullified all other holy days when Jesus gave His life for us, because they were shadows that pointed forward to His life, death, and everlasting ministry, the seventh-day Sabbath continued.

Let’s ask God to help us keep things simple, shall we? God gave us blessed, holy time. Let’s remember it every week. And, please do not venture upon hallowed ground and invent new holy days that God never sanctioned. This is way above all of our spiritual paygrades. Let God be God, and give thanks for what He has provided to keep us in remembrance of His love, holiness, and sovereignty. Amen.

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