Saints, I had every intention of writing this post and simply sharing my different ways of having a Sabbath. Then I thought, “Let’s see how others celebrate the Sabbath, especially the Jews during the Old Testament and compare it to today.” So I did.
What I found was not what I expected. There is a debut that has been brewing ever since the Catholic Church changed the day we practice the Sabbath. Here’s the controversy:
A few facts:
Questions that I pondered and researched:
As you can see I had a lot of questions. I know you have a few also. So here is my conclusion, but please, share your comments below. I’d like to hear what you think.
Found during research:
· Nowhere in the Bible does it say anything about keeping the Sabbath on the first day of the week, the first day being holy, or observing the day of Christ’s resurrection. (Now, that’s another blog) Nor does it command any observances on Sunday. The New Testament believers broke bread every day (Acts 2:26), so how can we say that Sunday is the Sabbath?
· Roman Emperor Constantine I, made a civil decree making Sunday a day of rest from labor. He stated: All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun.
· Ten Commandments: 2 Versions:
The first version from the Bible Exodus 20:1-17
And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.[c]
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”
Second Versions from Sunday School classes and other places:
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall make no idols.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet.
Do you see the difference?
When you shorten things, you have a tendency to dismiss the importance of the other words. The Lord’s Day is the Sabbath, but according to God, the Israelites, Jesus our Savior and Paul the Apostle they all practice the Sabbath on a Saturday. Here’s the sad part, (I put a link below so you can check it out for yourself.) the Catholic Church stated that the Sabbath is on Saturday but they still changed it to Sunday.
The Sabbath Day begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. God in Genesis established that the beginning and ending of a day is at sundown. So why did mankind change it?
These are the keys for me: Genesis 2:3 reads, “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it…;” (Exodus 16:26-29, Exodus 20:10, Ezekiel 22:26); concerning the Gentiles: Ephesians 2: 11-13:19, Isaiah 56:6-7, Matthew 5: 17-19; it was customary for Jesus to keep the Sabbath (Mark 2:26-28); and Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1). He practiced the Sabbath on Saturday.
The change came because the early Christians believed it was more important to celebrate the day Jesus rose from the dead and in doing so combined the Sabbath. The Catholic Church decreed Sunday as the Sabbath which then fell in line with the world’s work day. Then you have Christians going back and forth between Saturday and Sunday, like we do today, until they fell in line with the world’s view of Sunday as a day of rest from work. Then the belief, like I had, “just as long as you have a Sabbath, who cares what day it is?” Saints, this is why studying the Bible for yourself is so important.
How can you take one command out of the commandments and change it? If we change the one, let’s change all of them. Right? No. It’s 10 Commandments and they come as a whole, not pieces. Believers, yes, we DO and SHOULD celebrate the Sabbath. It’s our God-given right!
Enough with the research and hearing what others are saying. I prayed and this is what I believe God gave to me. My conclusion:
Now, I know everyone is not going to agree with me. That’s OK. The Sabbath is to be practiced after 6 days of work. Rather your 6 days begin on a Tuesday or a Sunday. Make sure you practice the Sabbath on the 7th day. The key isn’t the specific day. The key is 6 days of work. Can anyone tell me the exact day God created the heavens and the earth? Nope. You can speculate, but no one knows. That’s because days weren’t established as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. or whatever symbol was being used during B.C. days.
After saying all that, I changed my Sabbath from Sunday to Saturday. My Sabbath will begin Saturday, September 5, 2020. Why? I want to follow Christ Jesus.
Are you going to keep the Sabbath Day? Are you going to keep it holy on the 7th day after working 6 days of the week, or not? It’s your choice.
Saints, check out the podcast, Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast, episode, “Sabbath:Free Day or Slave Day,” which came out today. Adele Ahlberg Calhoun is speaking on Sabbath and Rest. She’s the author of Spiritual Discipline Handbook Practices that Transform us. Then in two weeks, listen as I share what to do on Sabbath Day. Our day of Rest.
References:
Thetrumpet.com “Did Christ Abolish the Sabbath?”
YouTube: “Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?” The Beat by Allen Parr
YouTube: “Should Christians keep the Sabbath or Sunday?” Unlearn the Lies
YouTube: “The Sabbath Debate with Doug Batchelor and Steve Gregg”
Logos Bible Software: Sabbath
Shalom!
How to Rate, Review and Subscribe to a Podcast
Lyvita Brooks
4/21/2024
Book Review - The Next Thing by Cecil Taylor
Lyvita Brooks
7/14/2023
Book Review - Your Purpose Is Calling
Lyvita Brooks
11/10/2022
30 Different Ways to Marry, Really?
Lyvita Brooks
10/27/2022
Book Review - Beyond The Circle by Ted Dekker
Lyvita Brooks
9/22/2022
A Poem
Lyvita Brooks
8/11/2022
Submit Proposal
Lyvita Brooks
3/28/2022
Is Your Business a Ministry?
Lyvita Brooks
12/19/2021
The Fortified Coaching Program
Lyvita Brooks
12/9/2021
So Many Versions - What's a Girl to do?
Lyvita
12/3/2021
A Great Time For Self-Reflection And Why?
Lyvita Brooks
11/11/2021
A Book Review: The Prayer Powered Entrepreneur
Lyvita Brooks
10/28/2021
Which is it: Am I in Ministry, Business or Both?
Lyvita Brooks
10/14/2021
Is It EVER Too Late To Find Or Begin Your Calling or Ministry?
Lyvita Brooks
9/9/2021
Silence vs Meditation
Lyvita Brooks
8/26/2021
The Benefits of Practicing Spiritual Disciplines
Lyvita Brooks
8/12/2021
Developing Disciplines: Relationship With Holy Spirit
Lyvita Brooks
7/22/2021
Developing Disciplines: The Blog is Changing
Lyvita Brooks
7/8/2021
God-Focused Family Vacation
Lyvita Brooks
6/24/2021
Book Review: Day by Day: A 30 Day Guide to Help You in Your Walk of Faith by Anthony Wilson
Lyvita Brooks
6/10/2021
3 Tips for Women in Difficult Marriages
Lyvita Brooks
5/27/2021
Praying for America, is not an option!
Lyvita Brooks
5/13/2021
How can you worship &/or serve more than one god?
Lyvita
4/22/2021
Book Review: Hey, God Can We Talk
Lyvita
4/8/2021
Celebration Time!
Lyvita Brooks
3/25/2021
What's in Your Heart?
Lyvita Brooks
3/11/2021
Parasitic Sin...What?
Lyvita Brooks
2/24/2021
8 Things to Stimulate Your Brain & Strengthen Your Body
Lyvita Brooks
2/11/2021
Personal Prayer Retreat & Guide Info
Lyvita Brooks
1/28/2021
Teaching Youth The Spiritual Discipline of Examen
Lyvita Brooks
1/14/2021
5 Simple Ways to Continue Steadfast In The Faith
Lyvita Brooks
12/24/2020
In Step With The Spirit: Infusing Your Life With God’s Presence & Power
Lyvita
12/10/2020
The Healing Word Ministry
Lyvita Brooks
11/26/2020
Healing Words For The Doubtful
Lyvita Brooks
11/19/2020
A Book Review Question: How to Simplify Your Life using the Spiritual Disciplines?
Lyvita
11/12/2020
What’s your response to God’s invitation to hang out with Him? Yes, No, or Maybe so?
Lyvita
10/22/2020
30 Day September Devotional Calendar
Lyvita
10/8/2020
What? The Sabbath is Saturday!
Lyvita
10/8/2020
The Perfect Bible - Who can find one?
Lyvita
9/24/2020
How To Stop Focusing On Fearful Thoughts
Lyvita
9/10/2020
How Do You Really Connect With God?
Lyvita Brooks
8/20/2020
Does Jesus Care If We Cuss?
Lyvita
8/13/2020
Armor of God: A Father’s Message to Us ALL
Lyvita Brooks
7/23/2020
Book Review: Psalm 91 God’s Shield of Protection
Lyvita Brooks
7/9/2020
What’s Really Behind “Black Lives Matter” (BLM)?
Lyvita Brooks
6/25/2020
How can birds revitalize your devotional time?
Lyvita Brooks
6/11/2020
Writing a 2020 Journal: Reflections from a Christian Survivor of Covid 19
Lyvita
5/28/2020
Book Review Question: How do you find stillness with God in a restless world?
Lyvita
5/15/2020
Why is Silence so good for you?
Lyvita
4/23/2020
Let's Unite Worldwide Prayer during Easter Weekend 2020
Lyvita
4/10/2020
Spending Time with God is like finding Acres of Diamonds
Lyvita
4/9/2020
Spiritual Disciplines: Shorten Version with benefits
Lyvita Brooks
4/2/2020
You belong to God!
Lyvita Brooks
2/13/2020
Why a blog on Spiritual Disciplines?
Lyvita Brooks
2/13/2020