Remembering the Sabbth

Exodus 20:8-11:  “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."

 God gave the 10 Commandments, not as an exercise to demonstrate our own goodness but as a pathway to freedom found in Him.  The law sets fences for our protection and leads us to trust and depend on God as we learn more of Him.  Jesus set an even higher standard in the New Testament.  He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it.    The law then is not a binding stone that weighs us down; it is not the point.  It is the pathway; it is God's wisdom and love shown to us to protect us from ourselves. 

Remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy means that we set aside time every week to worship God, remembering all that he has done for us and resting in him.  Observing the Sabbath is not about establishing a bunch of rules to follow, it is about being in rhythm with how God created the universe and mankind.  It is understanding our need to rest and trusting that God provides.  It is about worshipping him, spending time with our family and friends, enjoying the life God has given to us, and giving him thanks.  It is an attitude of the heart that pours forth in dependence, love, and gratitude. 

In Him,
Pastor Boyd