Remember the Sabbath Day, to Keep it Holy

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. “Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work (Exodus 20: 8-10a).” Sabbath means a day of worship and rest. God made the world in six days and then on the seventh day, He rested. The Jews observe Saturday as their day of rest, which is the last day of the week.

Christians observe their day of worship and rest on The Lord’s Day, Sunday, which is the first day of the week. Sabbath, for a Christian is a day on which, Jesus resurrected from the dead and completed His work of Redemption.

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ are an assurance to Christians of their eternal life with Him. We don’t end the week with worship and rest, but we begin our week every Sunday with worship and rest. Our rest begins with God, whom we worship. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).”

God wants us to rest, and He wants us to rest in Him. We are commanded by God to work for six days of the week and rest on one day. Sometimes, people feel, that if they work without any rest, they will accomplish much more. The Lord knows best and He knows the best you can do is enter His rest, surrendering and lifting to Him your entire week ahead, so that He can direct you and empower you to accomplish much more than you are capable of, by yourself.

Rest is essential to renew ourselves, physically, mentally and spiritually. When you labour, you need to rest, otherwise you will get weary and sick and will eventually have to rest due to illness. Our rest begins with worshiping God.

The day of the Lord is an extra special day for us. We are to spend the day in holiness. Worldliness and carnality are the opposite of holiness. We have to live a life pleasing to God, not just on Sunday, but for the rest of the week and for the rest of our lives.

Life as a Christian does not get easier, it only gets better. We have assignments from the Lord and those assignments are His commandments to us, which we should observe diligently. When God becomes our source for everything in life, we will excel, thrive and be our best.

Resting every Sunday is a temporary rest for our perishable mortal bodies, until we go with the Lord for our permanent eternal rest in Him. “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His (Hebrews 4:9-10).”

Resting on Sunday does not mean lying on the couch and flipping channels on your television. Resting means worshipping God, which includes personal prayer time and also a prayer time with fellow believers by attending a church service. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25).

Some church goers suffer from symptoms known as churchitis. A person of generally good health, feels sick especially around the time of a church service. It could be a headache that almost feels real, or feel a fever coming on, but the thermometer shows it’s normal. At other times, the person may feel nauseated, but actually does not throw up, or it could be a churning stomach, which pretty much settles down within an hour.

If you suffer from churchitis, you have only one cure for it. Make a decision you are not going to miss a church service. If you know your symptoms only appear around the time you have to attend a service, observe and learn from your mistakes. Make a determination that you are not going to let anything stop you from worshipping God.

Plan ahead of time to attend your church service, so that you get there on time. Meditate on scriptures and have some prayer time alone with the Lord before the service. Pray alone, so when your Heavenly Father sees what you do in secret, He will reward you. Pray with others, because wherever two or three are gathered in the Lord’s name, He promised to be there.

What if, you are unable to attend a church service on a Sunday? What if, you work on a Sunday, and have your day-off during a week day. In your case, observe you’re day-off as the Lord’s Day and attend a church service on that day. Remembering the Lord’s Day, on one day of the week is essential, but it may not necessarily be a Sunday in certain situations.

When we fail to worship God and rest in Him, we fail to have God as our source and we are on our own, that makes us vulnerable and defeated. It is our privilege to worship God at the beginning of the week, to honour Him and keep the Lord’s Day holy. God wants us to renew ourselves in Him, cast all our cares on Him, listen and meditate on His words and be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that we can accomplish and fulfil the will of God in our lives.