If you aren't familiar with what the Bible says about the Sabbath and about the first day of the week (Sunday) watch this little study. If you know someone who is curious, they might enjoy it.
Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
A Sabbath Journey Through the Bible
I was so exhausted when I made this video, so please forgive me if I seem a little tired.
part 1
part 2
part 1
part 2
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Non-Adventist Speakers
Recently there has been much controversy about the invitation of T.D. Jakes to speak at an Evangelism Council taking place this December, 2011, at Oakwood University. There is truly no need for this controversy.
First of all, this particular event has more than likely come under such scrutiny because of a very popular YouTube video where pastor T.D. Jakes attacks the Sabbath, which has placed him on the Seventh-day Adventist radar. But, truth be told, this event is not unique (aside from the controversy it has caused) because there are many non-Adventist speakers invited to churches, colleges and other Seventh-day Adventist institutions every year.
Secondly, God has given extremely clear and unambiguous light about this subject through His prophet, Ellen White. So, without further ado, God's thoughts on the matter at hand:
"If God has any new light to communicate, He will let His chosen and beloved understand it, without their going to have their minds enlightened by hearing those who are in darkness and error.
I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach error that is a deadly poison to the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good.
If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness." - Early Writings, pp. 124, 125.
First of all, this particular event has more than likely come under such scrutiny because of a very popular YouTube video where pastor T.D. Jakes attacks the Sabbath, which has placed him on the Seventh-day Adventist radar. But, truth be told, this event is not unique (aside from the controversy it has caused) because there are many non-Adventist speakers invited to churches, colleges and other Seventh-day Adventist institutions every year.
Secondly, God has given extremely clear and unambiguous light about this subject through His prophet, Ellen White. So, without further ado, God's thoughts on the matter at hand:
"If God has any new light to communicate, He will let His chosen and beloved understand it, without their going to have their minds enlightened by hearing those who are in darkness and error.
I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach error that is a deadly poison to the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good.
If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness." - Early Writings, pp. 124, 125.
Friday, July 1, 2011
A Snare Amongst Us
By: Rob Peralta
In today's high tech world there is a snare in our midst. The devil has always found a way to use almost all things in a way that leads us away from God. He's brilliant at creating "snares". The snare I wish to talk about is the very one you are using right now---the computer! The fun, exciting and sometimes all time consuming--computer. Let's look at how this may be a BIG trap for you if you're not careful.
For a while now the small steady voice of the Holy Spirit has been nudging me about my use of the computer. I have been using it quite a lot, just like many of you. For one thing, I am faithfully on it for 3 or 4 hours on Sabbath evening putting out a contemporary post of what I see as important for people, based on what I have been guided by the Lord in my walk. This, I believe has the FULL backing of our Lord. But the "other" times during Sabbath (Saturday) I was getting a nudging. He said " Hey Rob, you know I want to be closer to you (prayer and reading) and you're making it harder to communicate with me by being on the computer most of the Sabbath". I started to see this clearly. And it also started me thinking about our dear friend(Computer) becoming an "idol".
There is basically two parts of this message I would like to tell about with this computer problem-- The Sabbath usage, and the daily usage. Let's talk about the daily usage first.
Indeed many are being touched and moved by God's truth being spread through the computer, it is quite awesome to observe! Many souls are being reached through this medium. However, Satan observes this too and sure enough he finds a way to mess things up. His first plan is to get you "on it" ALL the time! You neglect your Bible studies, readings, household time with family or friends, etc. In (Exodus 20:5) we are told "...For I the Lord, your God, am a JEALOUS God...". Here we must ask, jealous about what? Well, it is "serving" other things, and if we are spending almost all our free time chatting with friends and playing games and such on the computer, are we not basically putting it BEFORE our Lord? Remember God watches our time and how it is spent.
Please don't get in the habit of mindlessly getting up, grabbing you coffee or juice and going immediately ON THE COMPUTER! Grab the scriptures or S.O.P. FIRST! Let God know HE'S FIRST not some wired machine! We must create GOOD habits. I think many should pray this prayer, "Father, give me the wisdom to know when enough is enough, and that I am starting to make an 'idol' of the computer, please warn me clearly." God will be faithful in answering this you can be sure!
Now, about the Sabbath and the computer. We must first know it is HIS DAY not ours. In (Isaiah 58:13-14) we are told "...not speaking our OWN words. Then we will delight in the Lord." I wonder how many are chatting away mindlessly to their friends---how is your car? how is you new living room furniture--blah, blah, blah. Can the Lord be pleased with this? Think of it like this. The Sabbath is our "date" with Him. Would you like it if you were with some VIP for a special date, and they were practically on the phone the whole time? Of course not. It's the same with the Lord. He wants us to listen to Him on His Day (in prayer).Or spend time reading His love letters (the Bible).
So to summarize, let us be mindful of the computer. It can be a good and big part of our lives IF done in the right way with temperance. In Christ, Rob
In today's high tech world there is a snare in our midst. The devil has always found a way to use almost all things in a way that leads us away from God. He's brilliant at creating "snares". The snare I wish to talk about is the very one you are using right now---the computer! The fun, exciting and sometimes all time consuming--computer. Let's look at how this may be a BIG trap for you if you're not careful.
For a while now the small steady voice of the Holy Spirit has been nudging me about my use of the computer. I have been using it quite a lot, just like many of you. For one thing, I am faithfully on it for 3 or 4 hours on Sabbath evening putting out a contemporary post of what I see as important for people, based on what I have been guided by the Lord in my walk. This, I believe has the FULL backing of our Lord. But the "other" times during Sabbath (Saturday) I was getting a nudging. He said " Hey Rob, you know I want to be closer to you (prayer and reading) and you're making it harder to communicate with me by being on the computer most of the Sabbath". I started to see this clearly. And it also started me thinking about our dear friend(Computer) becoming an "idol".
There is basically two parts of this message I would like to tell about with this computer problem-- The Sabbath usage, and the daily usage. Let's talk about the daily usage first.
Indeed many are being touched and moved by God's truth being spread through the computer, it is quite awesome to observe! Many souls are being reached through this medium. However, Satan observes this too and sure enough he finds a way to mess things up. His first plan is to get you "on it" ALL the time! You neglect your Bible studies, readings, household time with family or friends, etc. In (Exodus 20:5) we are told "...For I the Lord, your God, am a JEALOUS God...". Here we must ask, jealous about what? Well, it is "serving" other things, and if we are spending almost all our free time chatting with friends and playing games and such on the computer, are we not basically putting it BEFORE our Lord? Remember God watches our time and how it is spent.
Please don't get in the habit of mindlessly getting up, grabbing you coffee or juice and going immediately ON THE COMPUTER! Grab the scriptures or S.O.P. FIRST! Let God know HE'S FIRST not some wired machine! We must create GOOD habits. I think many should pray this prayer, "Father, give me the wisdom to know when enough is enough, and that I am starting to make an 'idol' of the computer, please warn me clearly." God will be faithful in answering this you can be sure!
Now, about the Sabbath and the computer. We must first know it is HIS DAY not ours. In (Isaiah 58:13-14) we are told "...not speaking our OWN words. Then we will delight in the Lord." I wonder how many are chatting away mindlessly to their friends---how is your car? how is you new living room furniture--blah, blah, blah. Can the Lord be pleased with this? Think of it like this. The Sabbath is our "date" with Him. Would you like it if you were with some VIP for a special date, and they were practically on the phone the whole time? Of course not. It's the same with the Lord. He wants us to listen to Him on His Day (in prayer).Or spend time reading His love letters (the Bible).
So to summarize, let us be mindful of the computer. It can be a good and big part of our lives IF done in the right way with temperance. In Christ, Rob
Friday, December 10, 2010
Important Sabbath Issues
By: Rob Peralta
We all are aware of the "basics" of the Sabbath Commandment. Not to work and keep it holy. But two specific scripture quotes really dial in "how" we can complete this honoring of the Lord on His day. I believe we get out of the Sabbath what we put in it. When we "go through the motions" we get a colder, less alive day with our Lord. We honor it with our best effort, we get a real blessing and closeness to the Lord ( not only that Sabbath but through-out the following week).
The Sabbath is like this. It's a hidden treasure ( surely so with the vast Christian world today) and the map(Bible word), if followed, will lead us to riches ( Lord's blessings).Two scriptures offer us a clear path to understanding important Sabbath issues. In (Isaiah 58:13) we read "If you turn away your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor him, not doing your own things, nor finding your own pleasures, OR SPEAKING YOUR OWN WORDS. Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this"
In the quote above, I believe a real key is the "or speak your own words". I will give some personal experiences of what I mean. Being fairly new in my church a couple years ago, I was invited by some well meaning church members to go to "lunch" after service. Being somewhat new to the whole Sabbath experience I gladly went along. But I remember, as we sat around the table, that the conversation was mostly about worldly matters (cooking, politics, etc.). Not to mention the obvious "buying of food". Looking back, I can clearly see that, that simple meal really "dis-honored" the Lord in two ways. ( Nehemiah 10:31) says " And if the peoples of the land bring goods or grains on the Sabbath to sell, WE WILL NOT BUY FROM THEM ON THE SABBATH..." So both Isaiah's and Nehemiah's word from the Lord was ignored. Keep in mind, when you buy on His holy day, you are actually encouraging people to "work" that day.
So, fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I knew the correct Sabbath honoring. I was invited by some church members to go to one of the member's homes for lunch after service. As this certainly did not invloved buying or selling I gladly accepted. But the Lord has been working on me to spread the word about honoring His day through NOT speaking worldly things. So when I got this invite, I knew this was my opportunity to try to be an example to some of my fellow church members to keep the conversation on HIM. The "preponderance" of our conversations should be about Him on His day.
As we sat down, sure enough the conversation started to drift to world matters. I then spoke up and told the people about Doug Batchelor's two part DVD series called "The Lord's day". I actually brought one of them to show and tell . I had prepared myself for steering the conversation to the Lord. Then some got real excited to know more and we went on to have a nice long discussion centered around the "things of the Lord". My mission had worked.
God's word says (John 12:26) "...if any man serve me, him will My Father honor". So when I got home that day, I felt I had done God's will by keeping our conversation around "honoring" Him. I took a nap and dreamed. I usually don't dream during the day but I got a clear one, short but clear. In it I see my sister. She is holding her left side of her face and is in real pain. Then I awake. I remember it, but thought "That was strange". Turned out it was from the Lord. He was letting me know He was with me that Sabbath. We can't always know the Lord's ways but I soon found out. I emailed my sister and told her my dream and asked if she was ok. She responded that a few days before she had accidently bite her tongue on the left side and it had gotten infected (painful). There was NO WAY of knowing this except from that dream from the Lord. I had been "honored" by receiving this revelation. He wants to speak to you also! Obey His word and you WILL receive from Him.
Let us keep the Sabbath as holy as possible so that at the end of the day ( or maybe even in the middle of it :-) the Lord will say "Well done my faithful servant". Amen.
We all are aware of the "basics" of the Sabbath Commandment. Not to work and keep it holy. But two specific scripture quotes really dial in "how" we can complete this honoring of the Lord on His day. I believe we get out of the Sabbath what we put in it. When we "go through the motions" we get a colder, less alive day with our Lord. We honor it with our best effort, we get a real blessing and closeness to the Lord ( not only that Sabbath but through-out the following week).
The Sabbath is like this. It's a hidden treasure ( surely so with the vast Christian world today) and the map(Bible word), if followed, will lead us to riches ( Lord's blessings).Two scriptures offer us a clear path to understanding important Sabbath issues. In (Isaiah 58:13) we read "If you turn away your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor him, not doing your own things, nor finding your own pleasures, OR SPEAKING YOUR OWN WORDS. Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this"
In the quote above, I believe a real key is the "or speak your own words". I will give some personal experiences of what I mean. Being fairly new in my church a couple years ago, I was invited by some well meaning church members to go to "lunch" after service. Being somewhat new to the whole Sabbath experience I gladly went along. But I remember, as we sat around the table, that the conversation was mostly about worldly matters (cooking, politics, etc.). Not to mention the obvious "buying of food". Looking back, I can clearly see that, that simple meal really "dis-honored" the Lord in two ways. ( Nehemiah 10:31) says " And if the peoples of the land bring goods or grains on the Sabbath to sell, WE WILL NOT BUY FROM THEM ON THE SABBATH..." So both Isaiah's and Nehemiah's word from the Lord was ignored. Keep in mind, when you buy on His holy day, you are actually encouraging people to "work" that day.
So, fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I knew the correct Sabbath honoring. I was invited by some church members to go to one of the member's homes for lunch after service. As this certainly did not invloved buying or selling I gladly accepted. But the Lord has been working on me to spread the word about honoring His day through NOT speaking worldly things. So when I got this invite, I knew this was my opportunity to try to be an example to some of my fellow church members to keep the conversation on HIM. The "preponderance" of our conversations should be about Him on His day.
As we sat down, sure enough the conversation started to drift to world matters. I then spoke up and told the people about Doug Batchelor's two part DVD series called "The Lord's day". I actually brought one of them to show and tell . I had prepared myself for steering the conversation to the Lord. Then some got real excited to know more and we went on to have a nice long discussion centered around the "things of the Lord". My mission had worked.
God's word says (John 12:26) "...if any man serve me, him will My Father honor". So when I got home that day, I felt I had done God's will by keeping our conversation around "honoring" Him. I took a nap and dreamed. I usually don't dream during the day but I got a clear one, short but clear. In it I see my sister. She is holding her left side of her face and is in real pain. Then I awake. I remember it, but thought "That was strange". Turned out it was from the Lord. He was letting me know He was with me that Sabbath. We can't always know the Lord's ways but I soon found out. I emailed my sister and told her my dream and asked if she was ok. She responded that a few days before she had accidently bite her tongue on the left side and it had gotten infected (painful). There was NO WAY of knowing this except from that dream from the Lord. I had been "honored" by receiving this revelation. He wants to speak to you also! Obey His word and you WILL receive from Him.
Let us keep the Sabbath as holy as possible so that at the end of the day ( or maybe even in the middle of it :-) the Lord will say "Well done my faithful servant". Amen.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Sabbath - What it is and how to keep it
By: Rob Peralta
After learning (by a direct sign from God) that His holy Sabbath is real, I undertook a serious study to learn, just what is this day called "Sabbath"? The word of God says that if we seek we will find and I have "found" the answers to my questions. I am aware, even among my own church members (Seventh day Adventists) that a great many STILL don't know how to "keep" the Sabbath. So God has inspired me to post this message with the prayer that all who seek His truth may be enlightened to "keep" His Sabbath as He intended. There really is not alot of do's and don'ts. But one thing is sure, we, as Christians cannot "strangle" this day (by over regulating it) as the Pharisees and religious leaders did in Jesus' day.
From the beginning of the world, God(Our Lord) spoke all things into existence. The Word say's that NOTHING was made without Him. The "last" thing the Lord created was the "seventh day". He blessed this day, and set it apart by sanctifying it (made it holy). This was all so pleasing to Him! The seventh day was a day he observed His creation and rested from, His creation. It's kinda of like a great artist paints His most beautiful work then, when he is done he stops and just stares at it for a good while. Observing all that he had done, and admiring it. The seventh day was that time of admiration for the Lord. One important thing to notice is that NO OTHER day was "blessed and made holy". So the seventh day is "different" from the other days.
So we know from God's word that this day had special meaning to the Lord. He called it from the beginning to bring our attention to it. For HE KNEW that this Sabbath day would play a VERY important role for mankind. Now I am aware of all the arguments for NOT keeping the Sabbath and this post will not deal with that now. This is for the people who KNOW God's true holy day already(or at least they think they do :-)
Once we are committed to honoring and keeping His holy day, just how should we do it? The first thing to remember is that it is a day of "rest". That means STOP working and doing you normal worldly things. I know many have to work their jobs and feel wronged by their circumstances. But DO NOT underestimate the Lord's power to bring you into His will! If you will pray and CONTINUE to pray relentlessly for a change in schedule or some type of deliverance from the Lord, he will do it(remember the parable of the persistent man). It may take time but keep it up, your faithfulness will be rewarded. I have many testimonies of these exact situations but due to time and space will hold it for another day. I also find it's a perfect day to take a long nap :-)
The Sabbath consists mainly of the following (ofcourse there are more but these appear the most important)
1)Rest (already discussed)
2)Honor the Lord
3)praying
4)fellowship
5)NO buying or selling
6)ministering acts
7)reading His word and God inspired readings
8)abstaining (from worldy things, even food if inspired)
I'll briefly cover each point. Honoring the Lord is what the Sabbath is all about! That is our primary purpose. We are given our life, breath, everything from the Lord. He is deserving of a full 24 hour period at least once a week to honor Him, wouldn't you say? So keep in mind every Sabbath is your chance to say "Thank you Lord for all you do for me."
Think of the Sabbath as a day the Lord really "dials in" the antenna for you. When we pray this day I believe the Lord so much enjoys talking with us. I personally find that in prayer, sometimes it's better to "wait" on the Lord. Meaning that we should be quiet and listen to Him as opposed to speaking to Him. Quietness and kneeling on the Sabbath can only bring blessings!
The bible says a "holy convocation" is good(Lev.23:3). And what better time than the Sabbath. Find a church you enjoy and get spiritual benifit from and worship our Lord EVERY Sabbath. We know it was Jesus "custom" to be in the synagogue. He is our leader, teacher, as well as Lord. So let's follow His example.
This next one is probably the most "wrong doing" done on the Sabbath. God's word clearly says NOT to buy and sell things (Neh 13:15-19). In my own church after I was going there for short while, I was invited to go to "lunch" after the Sabbath service. Being somewhat "new" to the Sabbath, I thought nothing of it. Later, I discovered that it was not right to the Lord, to do such a thing. But then I thought "how is it that these people, who have been going to Sabbath service for such a long time, ignore God's word and instruction?" For what good is it to "obey and keep" His Sabbath on one hand, and yet throw away and disregard it on the other? The same goes for "shopping, movie theaters, sports events, etc". If we truly want God's blessings and approval, we must honor His day as HE SAID, not our opinion of how to do it.
Acts of kindness and reaching out to our fellowman is very much allowed on this Day. Alot of Jesus' documented healings were done on this day.(Matt 12:10-12) "It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" Therefore, it's a good day to go visit the local nursing home, or the homeless shelter. God loves such kind deeds on His holy day! But keep in mind ,you do for the Lord on His Sabbath, therefore while you minister , tell of His love and of Him.
I find this day a PERFECT day to read God's word. The quietness, the peacefulness, all make it such a great time to study and learn His beautiful truths. Even good Christian books, such as Ellen White's and such are fine.
Finally, we must remember God has called this day "special", meaning we should not make it ordinary and do all the normal worldy things such as gossip, watch TV, listen to wordly music, etc. Most of us do that already six days a week!lol. Let us set apart the day He asks us to, and we'll be blessed for it! I can tell you this, after experiencing His holy day I CANNOT imagine wanting to ever STOP IT!! May God bless you and help you to enjoy His Sabbath.
After learning (by a direct sign from God) that His holy Sabbath is real, I undertook a serious study to learn, just what is this day called "Sabbath"? The word of God says that if we seek we will find and I have "found" the answers to my questions. I am aware, even among my own church members (Seventh day Adventists) that a great many STILL don't know how to "keep" the Sabbath. So God has inspired me to post this message with the prayer that all who seek His truth may be enlightened to "keep" His Sabbath as He intended. There really is not alot of do's and don'ts. But one thing is sure, we, as Christians cannot "strangle" this day (by over regulating it) as the Pharisees and religious leaders did in Jesus' day.
From the beginning of the world, God(Our Lord) spoke all things into existence. The Word say's that NOTHING was made without Him. The "last" thing the Lord created was the "seventh day". He blessed this day, and set it apart by sanctifying it (made it holy). This was all so pleasing to Him! The seventh day was a day he observed His creation and rested from, His creation. It's kinda of like a great artist paints His most beautiful work then, when he is done he stops and just stares at it for a good while. Observing all that he had done, and admiring it. The seventh day was that time of admiration for the Lord. One important thing to notice is that NO OTHER day was "blessed and made holy". So the seventh day is "different" from the other days.
So we know from God's word that this day had special meaning to the Lord. He called it from the beginning to bring our attention to it. For HE KNEW that this Sabbath day would play a VERY important role for mankind. Now I am aware of all the arguments for NOT keeping the Sabbath and this post will not deal with that now. This is for the people who KNOW God's true holy day already(or at least they think they do :-)
Once we are committed to honoring and keeping His holy day, just how should we do it? The first thing to remember is that it is a day of "rest". That means STOP working and doing you normal worldly things. I know many have to work their jobs and feel wronged by their circumstances. But DO NOT underestimate the Lord's power to bring you into His will! If you will pray and CONTINUE to pray relentlessly for a change in schedule or some type of deliverance from the Lord, he will do it(remember the parable of the persistent man). It may take time but keep it up, your faithfulness will be rewarded. I have many testimonies of these exact situations but due to time and space will hold it for another day. I also find it's a perfect day to take a long nap :-)
The Sabbath consists mainly of the following (ofcourse there are more but these appear the most important)
1)Rest (already discussed)
2)Honor the Lord
3)praying
4)fellowship
5)NO buying or selling
6)ministering acts
7)reading His word and God inspired readings
8)abstaining (from worldy things, even food if inspired)
I'll briefly cover each point. Honoring the Lord is what the Sabbath is all about! That is our primary purpose. We are given our life, breath, everything from the Lord. He is deserving of a full 24 hour period at least once a week to honor Him, wouldn't you say? So keep in mind every Sabbath is your chance to say "Thank you Lord for all you do for me."
Think of the Sabbath as a day the Lord really "dials in" the antenna for you. When we pray this day I believe the Lord so much enjoys talking with us. I personally find that in prayer, sometimes it's better to "wait" on the Lord. Meaning that we should be quiet and listen to Him as opposed to speaking to Him. Quietness and kneeling on the Sabbath can only bring blessings!
The bible says a "holy convocation" is good(Lev.23:3). And what better time than the Sabbath. Find a church you enjoy and get spiritual benifit from and worship our Lord EVERY Sabbath. We know it was Jesus "custom" to be in the synagogue. He is our leader, teacher, as well as Lord. So let's follow His example.
This next one is probably the most "wrong doing" done on the Sabbath. God's word clearly says NOT to buy and sell things (Neh 13:15-19). In my own church after I was going there for short while, I was invited to go to "lunch" after the Sabbath service. Being somewhat "new" to the Sabbath, I thought nothing of it. Later, I discovered that it was not right to the Lord, to do such a thing. But then I thought "how is it that these people, who have been going to Sabbath service for such a long time, ignore God's word and instruction?" For what good is it to "obey and keep" His Sabbath on one hand, and yet throw away and disregard it on the other? The same goes for "shopping, movie theaters, sports events, etc". If we truly want God's blessings and approval, we must honor His day as HE SAID, not our opinion of how to do it.
Acts of kindness and reaching out to our fellowman is very much allowed on this Day. Alot of Jesus' documented healings were done on this day.(Matt 12:10-12) "It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" Therefore, it's a good day to go visit the local nursing home, or the homeless shelter. God loves such kind deeds on His holy day! But keep in mind ,you do for the Lord on His Sabbath, therefore while you minister , tell of His love and of Him.
I find this day a PERFECT day to read God's word. The quietness, the peacefulness, all make it such a great time to study and learn His beautiful truths. Even good Christian books, such as Ellen White's and such are fine.
Finally, we must remember God has called this day "special", meaning we should not make it ordinary and do all the normal worldy things such as gossip, watch TV, listen to wordly music, etc. Most of us do that already six days a week!lol. Let us set apart the day He asks us to, and we'll be blessed for it! I can tell you this, after experiencing His holy day I CANNOT imagine wanting to ever STOP IT!! May God bless you and help you to enjoy His Sabbath.
Friday, April 2, 2010
If We'd Only Let Go (Sunday in Scripture)
But The Radio Preacher Said So!
The other day as I was driving to work listening to a radio preacher who was saying something like, "Now there are those people who say that if you go to church on Sunday, that's the beast's day. Have you ever heard these people? Now that's not right and we have the church meeting on Sunday in the Scripture." And on he went with his thoughts, believing the matter settled.
Not so in my mind. I began to think to myself how saddening it is that someone can take something that they've heard all their life or something that they've heard some preacher say and take that position as Bible truth without checking it out for themselves.
The First Day of the Week in Scripture
Yes...there are mentions of Christians gathered together on the first day of the week in the Bible (The Bible doesn't say "Sunday" but "first day of the week"). In fact, there are eight passages in which the first day of the week is mentioned in the New Testament, and I'm familiar with every single one (and you should be too, whether you follow God's Ten Commandments or whether you worship on Sunday). If you look at all of the texts, two things become very apparent: None of the instances were in any way alluding to a new commandment that Christians should worship on Sunday, and none of the instances were Jesus saying anything about Sunday.
Take a minute to go read all the verses which mention the first day of the week (Matt 28:1, Mark 16:2, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, John 20:19, Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor 16:2), and you'll find the truth becomes clear: those who disregard God's 4th Commandment and choose to worship on Sunday have absolutely zero biblical support for their actions.
The Scenario
This made me think of a hypothetical scenario: If there were a man who had somehow grown to adulthood without ever hearing anything at all about the Bible or Jesus or Christianity, and someone gave this man a Bible and said, "Read, for this is the Word of God" and he believed those words and read the Bible front to back and received no input from anyone...what would he believe?
One thing is for certain: the idea of worshipping God on Sunday rather than Saturday, the seventh-day Sabbath, would never have even crossed his mind as a possibility. Why? Because the Bible simply doesn't teach it!
What else would he believe? Go read your Bible and figure it out! ;-)
The Conclusion
Friends, we can have that type of pure, authentic, unadulterated and undiluted view of God's Holy Word...if we'd only let go of the traditions of men that pervade every corner of Christendom and resolve that for every doctrine we hold we must have a plain "Thus saith the LORD" from the Bible!
The other day as I was driving to work listening to a radio preacher who was saying something like, "Now there are those people who say that if you go to church on Sunday, that's the beast's day. Have you ever heard these people? Now that's not right and we have the church meeting on Sunday in the Scripture." And on he went with his thoughts, believing the matter settled.
Not so in my mind. I began to think to myself how saddening it is that someone can take something that they've heard all their life or something that they've heard some preacher say and take that position as Bible truth without checking it out for themselves.
The First Day of the Week in Scripture
Yes...there are mentions of Christians gathered together on the first day of the week in the Bible (The Bible doesn't say "Sunday" but "first day of the week"). In fact, there are eight passages in which the first day of the week is mentioned in the New Testament, and I'm familiar with every single one (and you should be too, whether you follow God's Ten Commandments or whether you worship on Sunday). If you look at all of the texts, two things become very apparent: None of the instances were in any way alluding to a new commandment that Christians should worship on Sunday, and none of the instances were Jesus saying anything about Sunday.
Take a minute to go read all the verses which mention the first day of the week (Matt 28:1, Mark 16:2, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, John 20:19, Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor 16:2), and you'll find the truth becomes clear: those who disregard God's 4th Commandment and choose to worship on Sunday have absolutely zero biblical support for their actions.
The Scenario
This made me think of a hypothetical scenario: If there were a man who had somehow grown to adulthood without ever hearing anything at all about the Bible or Jesus or Christianity, and someone gave this man a Bible and said, "Read, for this is the Word of God" and he believed those words and read the Bible front to back and received no input from anyone...what would he believe?
One thing is for certain: the idea of worshipping God on Sunday rather than Saturday, the seventh-day Sabbath, would never have even crossed his mind as a possibility. Why? Because the Bible simply doesn't teach it!
What else would he believe? Go read your Bible and figure it out! ;-)
The Conclusion
Friends, we can have that type of pure, authentic, unadulterated and undiluted view of God's Holy Word...if we'd only let go of the traditions of men that pervade every corner of Christendom and resolve that for every doctrine we hold we must have a plain "Thus saith the LORD" from the Bible!
Friday, March 26, 2010
More Sunday Laws
Hungary Joins European Union Campaign for "Work-Free" Sunday
Click here for the story.
From the North American Religious Liberty Association:
"The Republic of the Marshall Islands is considering the passage of Bill No. 66 which if passed will be known as "the Sunday Observance Act, 2010." The Act labels "Sunday to keep holy."
"No person shall engage in trading, practice profession or conduct commercial undertaking" on Sunday - but there are exceptions. It would allow hotels, restaurants, airport and its shops, and seaports to be open without restriction. "Mom-and-pop" shops that cater "purposely for sale of food" can be open from 12 noon to 8pm Sunday.
Individual violators face a fine up to $200 or up to three months in jail; corporations face fines up to $1,000.
Rob Erich, a High School Social Studies Teacher at the Delap Seventh-day Adventist School in Majuro, notes that there is a general feeling in the community that "the nation has been growing too secular and a Christian nation should encourage church attendance.""
From the Marshall Island Journal:
"Will we be going down route 66? Majuro senators Vice Speaker Alik Alik and Wilfred Kendall want to ban most business activity on Sundays to keep that day “holy.” Bill 66 calls for observing “the Lord’s Day, commonly called Sunday” and to “prohibit engagement of commercial activities on Sunday.”"
It's Adding Up
Croatia, Germany...now a push from Hungary and the Marshall Islands. And these are just the issues from recent headlines. Also, let's not forget the new Pope Benedict's strong urging of Sunday laws and the fact that here in the United States there are many Sunday laws still in effect which aren't being enforced...yet.
The trend toward enforcing Sunday worship by law is very apparent. But I wonder how many of us are truly being watchful?
Click here for the story.
From the North American Religious Liberty Association:
"The Republic of the Marshall Islands is considering the passage of Bill No. 66 which if passed will be known as "the Sunday Observance Act, 2010." The Act labels "Sunday to keep holy."
"No person shall engage in trading, practice profession or conduct commercial undertaking" on Sunday - but there are exceptions. It would allow hotels, restaurants, airport and its shops, and seaports to be open without restriction. "Mom-and-pop" shops that cater "purposely for sale of food" can be open from 12 noon to 8pm Sunday.
Individual violators face a fine up to $200 or up to three months in jail; corporations face fines up to $1,000.
Rob Erich, a High School Social Studies Teacher at the Delap Seventh-day Adventist School in Majuro, notes that there is a general feeling in the community that "the nation has been growing too secular and a Christian nation should encourage church attendance.""
From the Marshall Island Journal:
"Will we be going down route 66? Majuro senators Vice Speaker Alik Alik and Wilfred Kendall want to ban most business activity on Sundays to keep that day “holy.” Bill 66 calls for observing “the Lord’s Day, commonly called Sunday” and to “prohibit engagement of commercial activities on Sunday.”"
It's Adding Up
Croatia, Germany...now a push from Hungary and the Marshall Islands. And these are just the issues from recent headlines. Also, let's not forget the new Pope Benedict's strong urging of Sunday laws and the fact that here in the United States there are many Sunday laws still in effect which aren't being enforced...yet.
The trend toward enforcing Sunday worship by law is very apparent. But I wonder how many of us are truly being watchful?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Sabbath and Revelation
These are some thoughts I scribbled down yesterday...tell me what you think.
Why isn't the Sabbath specifically mentioned in the book of Revelation?
Some people make a big deal out of this fact. Consider this: If the Sabbath was mentioned in Revelation, Satan would use a different issue to deceive the world.
Even IF the Sabbath wasn't the main issue in the last days, the Bible is still crystal clear that Christians should be obedient in its observance.
Of all the main issues God could have pointed to without specifically mentioning by name, He couldn't have chosen a simpler and more easily understood issue.
The issue has to do with choosing God instead of the beast, right? So that narrows it down to commandments 1-4. Let's look at the options.
What if the first commandment was the issue. How ambiguous and vague can the logic of people make that commandment? What does it really mean to have other gods before God? One could easily confuse the issue.
What about the second commandment? What about idols? Any image of anything? What about pictures? Only if we bow down and serve? What does it mean to serve?
What about the third commandment? Take God's name in vain? His literal name, or any reference to "God"? What does "in vain" mean? Can we take the name of "Christian" in vain?
But the fourth commandment, the Sabbath...simple. Keep it holy! Work six days but don't work on the Sabbath.
Thank God that the issue Satan uses in the last days to try to deceive the entire world, is so simple if we're honest with ourselves.
Why isn't the Sabbath specifically mentioned in the book of Revelation?
Some people make a big deal out of this fact. Consider this: If the Sabbath was mentioned in Revelation, Satan would use a different issue to deceive the world.
Even IF the Sabbath wasn't the main issue in the last days, the Bible is still crystal clear that Christians should be obedient in its observance.
Of all the main issues God could have pointed to without specifically mentioning by name, He couldn't have chosen a simpler and more easily understood issue.
The issue has to do with choosing God instead of the beast, right? So that narrows it down to commandments 1-4. Let's look at the options.
What if the first commandment was the issue. How ambiguous and vague can the logic of people make that commandment? What does it really mean to have other gods before God? One could easily confuse the issue.
What about the second commandment? What about idols? Any image of anything? What about pictures? Only if we bow down and serve? What does it mean to serve?
What about the third commandment? Take God's name in vain? His literal name, or any reference to "God"? What does "in vain" mean? Can we take the name of "Christian" in vain?
But the fourth commandment, the Sabbath...simple. Keep it holy! Work six days but don't work on the Sabbath.
Thank God that the issue Satan uses in the last days to try to deceive the entire world, is so simple if we're honest with ourselves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)