The Sabbath

Do you know anyone who attends church on Saturday? Do you think this practice to be odd? I do and I did. Many years ago I met a young lady who radiated Christ. At the time I was looking for a church to attend. I had lost my way and had been praying for the Lord to direct me to a Bible-teaching church. The young lady and I were acquainted on a Bay Area commuter train on our way to work, but soon became fast friends.

I had a strong sense she was a Christian and before I knew it, the words spewed out of my mouth, "What church do you go to? I inquired. And I am sure I had a bewildered look on my face when I asked the question. I was personally interested in what church produced such a radiant countenance.

What I did not know at the time was that Seventh-day Adventists attend church on Saturday, the true Sabbath, in which she was. As our friendship developed, I had many questions about this seemly unusual phenomena. All of my questions naturally evolved into me taking Bible studies with her and over the next several months my eyes were opened to truths I never before knew.

The Sabbath originated at creation. In Genesis 2:3 we learn that "...God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." KJV You see, the Sabbath is a memorial of God's creative work. He alone is God. He made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that in them is. We also learn from this verse that God sanctified or hallowed the Sabbath day. We read in Isaiah 58 the blessings obtained when we hallow the Sabbath as God did. “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.” NKJV 

In other words, the Sabbath is a day we come to spend intimate time with our Creator. We rest in His works. We cease from all earthly duties and secular or worldly talk and thoughts, and reflect on Him and His holiness. Jesus paid it all, all to Him (we) owe.

Is it not interesting that the fourth commandment is the only one that instructs us to remember? I believe God cautioned us to remember because He knew we would forget. But how can you remember something that you never before knew? It is impossible. I know that before my Divine train encounter, I had never heard of the Sabbath. But praise the Lord for His mercy and grace. He would not have us ignorant.

Many have heard of the Sabbath but refuse to honor the Bible Sabbath as it is not in line with their traditions, their Pastor's day of worship or their convenience. There are some that say they worship on the first day of the week instead of the seventh in honor of the resurrection. Nowhere in God's Word does it teach such practice. In Luke we read, "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16. There are many who would rather stay in darkness in regards to the ]truth and continue life as usual instead of being open to the fact that maybe what they previously thought was the correct day of worship is not.

The Sabbath ought to be the highlight of every week. A whole 24 hours dedicated to spending uninterrupted time with our Lord. No need for thoughts of work, for Sabbath is a day of rest. We can rest in the Lord and all that He has accomplished on the Cross for you and for me. We find delight in the Sabbath because it is a blessing. God customized a special day that we may bask in His presence.

By now, you may have guessed it. Yes, I am a Seventh-day Adventist. I find great joy in keeping God's holy Sabbath day. It did take me some time to truly appreciate its significance. In my early observance I could not understand why I would always hear, "Happy Sabbath." I often wondered, what was so happy about it? When I was a Sunday worshiper, I never said, "Happy Sunday." In time I discovered the happiness found in such a beautiful command. It is a high time. It is a constant reminder of God's loving care and His beautiful creation, designed with you and me in mind. He made everything perfect and it was good, but we notice that when He made man, it was very good. Can you imagine life without mankind? Without family? Without community? It would be quite lonely. Our Father foreknew what would make us happy and provided all that we could ever need or want.

The Sabbath command is one worth the study. Open your Bible. Ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance as you break open the Words of Life and discover one of the sweetest commandments the Lord gave us to savor and enjoy. It is not a burden but the greatest delight of the week.

"And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD." Isaiah 66:23

---