Remember The Sabbath Keep It Holy

Matthew chapter 12 (NIV Bible) begins 1-2 read:.At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain. and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. This was because the Pharisees were sticklers for the law of Moses, where God told the children of Israel the in Exodus 20:8- 11:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labor, 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.

Jesus responded to His accusers in Matthew chapter 12: 3-14. He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath. I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Early believers in Christ decided to hold worship services on Sunday because the Bible says the women found the empty tomb very early on the first day of the week. (Mark 16:2 and John 20:1). For this reason, there is a debate among Christians regarding which day to go to church. There is also controversy related to when Christ actually was resurrected because the Bible only says the women were at the tomb before dawn and does not indicate the time when He rose. Some scholars believe Christ rose from the dead after midnight, which would have still been the Sabbath based on the Jewish calendar.

The bottom line is that the Bible itself does not command Sunday worship, and never changed the Sabbath which is from sundown on Friday until the same time Saturday. There is no New Testament scripture that indicates that Gentile believers are to keep the Jewish laws, which includes resting on the sixth day, but many do. The thinking along this line is that God rested on the sixth day, Christ observed the Sabbath and said He is Lord over it. The issue comes in because our modern world runs 24/7 and many people have to work on the weekends. If you would like to partake in the Sabbath rest and are unable to physically shut down everything between dusk on Friday and the same time Saturday, you can still reference the day and keep it holy.

Holiness can be an attitude or mindset, as well as actions so whatever you are doing on Saturday, think about the Lord every time you can. If possible take a moment to read the creation story and or reflect upon His day of rest. You can go about your Saturday with an attitude of gratitude, being thankful and slowing down or stopping some activity whenever possible. Develop a relationship with His Holy Spirit and He will guide you

My grandmother and people of her day had strange ways of saying things. Sometimes, instead of using the word "not" they would say "nary." I often heard her and her mother, my great grandma use the phrase, "Nary a cloud in the sky." I had not thought of it in years until my brother called me a few years ago, and said on Saturday mornings if it was not raining there would be no clouds in the sky. He said he believed this was God's way of communicating that Saturday was to continue to be the Sabbath. He called me this morning and said the same thing, so I went outside and sure enough, there was not one cloud in the heavens, and the atmosphere seemed peaceful.

Even from childhood, I noticed that the sixth day of the week had a different aura, but I attributed this to the fact that a lot of people were off work and enjoying the day. At that time I had no concept of the Sabbath, except the scripture to keep it Holy, which I thought only applied to people who were Jewish. Observing the cloudless sky and listening to the birds singing gave me a sense of peace and I began to feel as if I was on to something spiritual. Your Sabbath rest may not be satisfactory to others, but remember Jesus went through the same thing. He healed a man and His disciples ate grain on the day of rest. Some say Saturday is the day to go to church, but the Bible indicates the sixth day is to be one of rest.

I have a friend, who simply slows down her sixth day of the week. She finds moments she can reflect on the Lord and no one knows she is taking a Sabbath rest. When she can, she sits still, on her porch just thinking about His goodness. I'm writing this article on Saturday, but I'm also looking at the cloudless sky that my brother told me to watch for. And in my heart, I am giving thanks for all manner of rest: physical, mental, and spiritual.The bottom line for Bible believers can be found in Genesis chapter 2 verse 1: King James Bible
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.