Week 57 – Sabbath 101

Posted on October 9, 2012 by LisaG

Do you have people ask you to explain Sabbath?

Most people that I know are unfamiliar with the term or meaning. When they stop to give it some thought, they usually respond that Sunday is the modern Sabbath after Jesus’ death. They assure me that Sabbath is outdated and was done away with on the cross. Many are sure that keeping the Sabbath now would be acting against God and trying to keep laws to get into Heaven.

How would you respond?

I am not an expert in answering this question, but God has given me the words when I have had opportunity to talk with others. The method of answering that I love the best is my personal example. When I share what God spoke and revealed to my family and the difference it has made for us, it makes it harder to offend the listener. It is not accusing and they can simply chose to believe me or not.

I share that God encouraged my husband and I to read the entire Bible completely, with fresh eyes, and see how it all ties together (like a circle that connects together in every way). When we did this, we saw that God never did away with keeping Sabbath. It is a day of blessing He established from the beginning of our world and it will continue forever. Since choosing to keep the Sabbath, my family has received the blessing of rest in our lives as we had never known it before.

What about the details?
We started with the Bible and let God lead from there. It can be easy to look at a list of “do’s and don’ts” and get hung up on achieving a goal or looking like others who keep the Sabbath. When that happened to me in the beginning, I totally missed the point of Sabbath. I eventually learned that when I prepare for the special day, look forward to it, and treat it as a blessing, everything else just falls into place.

My family begins Sabbath at sundown on Friday evening and ends it at sundown on Saturday. We concentrate on spending time with God (so many ways to do that!) and resting our bodies. If a need or opportunity comes along to show God’s love to others on Sabbath, Jesus made it clear that we should take that opportunity.

What is the purpose?

I celebrate Sabbath because it is a command from God. I trust that He knows what is best for me and He proves this through the rest and blessing He provides through Sabbath. Keeping Sabbath doesn’t get me into Heaven. That is not the purpose. But it is a command that should be kept to honor and obey God.

Will you take the time to share about Sabbath?
I encourage everyone to take the opportunities that God puts in front of you to share about Sabbath with others. There is a strong veil over most peoples’ eyes and few will have that veil lifted. Sharing a positive Sabbath experience with someone might make a difference in their life and encourage them to start asking questions that will lead them closer to God.

I would love to hear how you share about Sabbath with others!

Until next week,
Lisa G.