To honor the Sabbath, as being of God’s handiwork.
We met together as believers in Christ to honor the Sabbath. It was five o’clock on the evening of a Friday. I began reading God’s Holy Word.
Genesis 1:5, “Evening came and then morning: the first day.”
Genesis 1:8, “Evening came and then morning: the second day.”
Genesis 1:13, “Evening came and then morning: the third day.”
Genesis 1:19, “Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.”
Genesis 1:23, “Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.”
Genesis 1:31, “Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.”
Genesis 2:1-3, “1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation.”
At the beginning of this darkened Friday morning, just as it occurs each day, darkness began turning into dawn. Then, dawn turned into daylight; daylight turned into dusk; and, as we were reading God’s Holy Word, dusk began turning into darkness. In our presence, Sabbath began to grace us, and everybody else in our community. Sabbath would continue until sundown on Saturday. In our group we were experiencing a true “Shabbat Shalom,” which means in Hebrew, “sabbath of peace.”
During our time of honoring the Sabbath, we participated in a Passover meal, as described in Matthew 26:17-30. We continued with a discussion of Matthew 5:17, as our Lord said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” The Law was fulfilled in Christ: “It is finished” (John 19:30). In Galatians 3:24, we see the purpose of the Law: “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”
During this time of of honoring the Sabbath, we discussed true worship. Our scripture text was taken from John’s Gospel, Chapter 4. We discussed the encounter of the Samaritan woman with Christ, verses 19-24., The topic was worship. The woman pointed out the differences of worship between Jews and Samaritans; she said that Jews worshiped at the temple in Jerusalem, but Samaritans worshiped elsewhere (John 4:20). So, the woman was saying, “what gives?” (mine). Our Lord gave a simple answer to the woman. The Samaritan woman had addressed times, days, and places of worship. Plain and simple, Christ said in verse 24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” In AD 70, the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, so that would take care of the “time, day, and place situation.” Christ added that true worship is that of “spirit and truth.” It is a worship that includes, “all that we are,” for “all that God is.” Note that “God is Spirit,” and not “a spirit.” If God were, “a spirit,” He would be one of many spirits, of which God is not.
Remember the words,”God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” God made the seventh day. God made the seventh day holy. I choose to honor the seventh day. I try to keep every Friday free of mental conflict, and try to keep my mind on the “sure to arrive” weekly Sabbath. I cherish the time of the arrival of Friday’s sunset, as I know that a “God moment” is in the making. I consider the things of Elohim/Theos and His creation week (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1).
https://biblehub.com/lexicon/genesis/1-1.htm
https://biblehub.com/lexicon/matthew/1-23.htm
https://biblehub.com/greek/2316.htm
https://biblehub.com/lexicon/john/1-1.htm)
I worship God for all that He has done to give us the world that we are blessed to inhabit. I thank God for Christ, Who is “God with us,” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). Maybe you will find your own way of honoring the Sabbath.
Eternity 