God commands His people to rest and honour Him on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11). He wants us to serve Him every day but He also wants us to make one day special when we rest from other things, from our own concerns and focus our thoughts and actions to Him. My brother, my sister, what day have you put aside to serve and honour the God you say that you know or love?
For the Israelites, this special day was the Sabbath (Saturday). Today, some Christians have set Saturday aside as this special day, but many accept Sunday (the day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead) as the ‘Lord’s day’. Truly, it does not matter much, because God does not look at His calendar to see what day we have decided to make a special day to serve and honour Him, for He is more interested in the inclination of our hearts rather than technical or pragmatical discussions on what day we make a day of rest when He is prioritised against all else in our lives. Indeed, you can take a special day for the Lord, but if you do not make the effort to “maintain justice and do what is right… and display His righteouness” (verse 1), well all your efforts to put aside a special day for God is vain.
My friend, Jesus did not bring us religiousity. He has reconciled us to God for us to enable us to have a better reletionship with Him today. Today’s passage says this: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this – the person who holds it fast,who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.” In other words, going to church does not make anyone special. Going to church is not an evidence of anyone being rightheous…God knows the true motivations and sense of why we choose or accept to serve and the honour… and when we do it in accordance with His Word, He calls us blessed.
My friend, how do you honour and serve God on the day you have set aside for Him? At least if you have already set aside a special day (since some believers continue to sing that because the Holy Spirit lives in them, they do not need to go to church, yet the day they assumed to be their day of rest, they go to the cinema, restaurant, visit friends or family)… Do you go to church just to receive and return home to your activities? If one day is for the Lord, remember that each day has 24 hours… not one or two hours (the time of a church service!). Also remember that God gave us 7 days in a week and He is asking for only one day to be honoured and served: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy “(Exodus 20:8-11).
Make the day you honor the Lord a holy and sanctifiedday ! Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.