Oh yes! A friend today had the scripture posted: Taste and see that the LORD is good." (Psalm 34:8 ) Nothing could be truer.
We can never imagine the goodness of God until we have tasted of His fullness! Until we have experienced His blessings and care and constant presence there are no words that can make it real. But once we have tasted, there is nothing else that will satisfy the heart hunger in our human being.
Friday, July 31, 2009
sanctification
I was studying this morning on sanctification. I have a number of friends who are of the “sin-we-will, sin-we-must, sin-we-can’t help-ourselves” doctrine and I’ve wondered a lot of times exactly why this is so deeply ingrained in them. This morning I understood. There is no teaching of sanctification in their church! They have no concept of the power and plane of holiness that the Lord wants them to have!
I know I’m slow sometimes but why in the world has this never dawned on me before? It seems I should have understood it many years ago. I’ve talked so many times with these friends—people who love the Lord and sincerely want to live for him. Yet they are beset with sins. Not the “huge awful” ones (if I can use the comparisons) but those ‘little’ ones. Satan is not so foolish as to try and get them to commit adultery or steal someone’s money or lie on their income tax. No, he uses the “little” ones-- the minor spitefulness that makes us short with our companions, the temper that makes us treat our children unfairly, and the day to day irritations that make us snotty and short to co-workers and customers or clients. Those are the daily sins that they believe they cannot over come and that so bind them into the idea of daily sinning because there is no help for it.
I’ve tried to explain many times why those daily sins aren’t necessary that they can have victory over them. I might as well have been speaking a foreign language. In spite of their trying to take it in they simply couldn’t. In spite of many times their wanting to live better lives, the concept just is beyond their grasp. And then this morning it became clear to me WHY they could never understand it. They had no concept of sanctification in their lives!.
There has been a huge amount of discussion ( dare I even say arguing and temper) around the church of God as to exactly what ‘sanctification’ involves. Some teach ‘two definite works of Grace’ that must be accomplished in each saint for salvation to be complete.. Others say it is not so much the work of God as it is the work of the individual in their own setting self apart for the Lord. Others say yest it is that ‘setting apart’ but then there is God’s acceptance of that dedication. I have even been accused not believing in holiness. One dear friend cut off communication with me completely when I only tried to discuss it. But laying all of those discussions aside, there is a state of sanctification that must exist in the life of a child of God.
Sanctification is the dedication of our entire life, purpose and being to the Lord; we must be willing to give up our way entirely and allow the Lord to take full control.. And that is sometimes hard to do for some people. It’s a struggle to give up our own way, our own wants and needs, our ties to parents, houses, land to devote our whole being to the use of the Lord. But if we are to have complete victory over ‘sin, self and the Devil’ (as the old preachers used to say) we must set our self apart to God’s Use, exclusively. Once we are able to deny our self, God accepts that dedication and we become His with His indwelling power to give us that victory we so desperately need if we are to over come. Call it and describe it as you may, it is necessary for victory in the Life for Christ.
When I talk to these friends who are so bound in daily sin, I’ve found out they have no perception of sanctification. It has never been taught in its depth, but only as a general state that the Lord supernaturally confers on those who are born again. And because they have never fought the battle defeating their own desires and human flesh, placing themselves under God’s complete control, taking their hands off their own life entirely, they continue to struggle with the daily sins and in some cases major sins.
Once that battle is fought and won and our self is set apart to God’s use and the sacrifice has been accepted by God, ("present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God," ) we have we have a freedom from many of the daily struggles those friends find so recurrent. Many decisions for our actions were made at that altar of self repudiation and we only do the work of God. The sacrifice of our living self was holy and wholly offered to the Lord and it was an acceptable sacrifice.
Isn’t that glorious! Sometimes the blessings of God just sweep over us afresh and things that we have known and believed and followed for years are endued with bright new wonder. That is the way I feel today.
I know I’m slow sometimes but why in the world has this never dawned on me before? It seems I should have understood it many years ago. I’ve talked so many times with these friends—people who love the Lord and sincerely want to live for him. Yet they are beset with sins. Not the “huge awful” ones (if I can use the comparisons) but those ‘little’ ones. Satan is not so foolish as to try and get them to commit adultery or steal someone’s money or lie on their income tax. No, he uses the “little” ones-- the minor spitefulness that makes us short with our companions, the temper that makes us treat our children unfairly, and the day to day irritations that make us snotty and short to co-workers and customers or clients. Those are the daily sins that they believe they cannot over come and that so bind them into the idea of daily sinning because there is no help for it.
I’ve tried to explain many times why those daily sins aren’t necessary that they can have victory over them. I might as well have been speaking a foreign language. In spite of their trying to take it in they simply couldn’t. In spite of many times their wanting to live better lives, the concept just is beyond their grasp. And then this morning it became clear to me WHY they could never understand it. They had no concept of sanctification in their lives!.
There has been a huge amount of discussion ( dare I even say arguing and temper) around the church of God as to exactly what ‘sanctification’ involves. Some teach ‘two definite works of Grace’ that must be accomplished in each saint for salvation to be complete.. Others say it is not so much the work of God as it is the work of the individual in their own setting self apart for the Lord. Others say yest it is that ‘setting apart’ but then there is God’s acceptance of that dedication. I have even been accused not believing in holiness. One dear friend cut off communication with me completely when I only tried to discuss it. But laying all of those discussions aside, there is a state of sanctification that must exist in the life of a child of God.
Sanctification is the dedication of our entire life, purpose and being to the Lord; we must be willing to give up our way entirely and allow the Lord to take full control.. And that is sometimes hard to do for some people. It’s a struggle to give up our own way, our own wants and needs, our ties to parents, houses, land to devote our whole being to the use of the Lord. But if we are to have complete victory over ‘sin, self and the Devil’ (as the old preachers used to say) we must set our self apart to God’s Use, exclusively. Once we are able to deny our self, God accepts that dedication and we become His with His indwelling power to give us that victory we so desperately need if we are to over come. Call it and describe it as you may, it is necessary for victory in the Life for Christ.
When I talk to these friends who are so bound in daily sin, I’ve found out they have no perception of sanctification. It has never been taught in its depth, but only as a general state that the Lord supernaturally confers on those who are born again. And because they have never fought the battle defeating their own desires and human flesh, placing themselves under God’s complete control, taking their hands off their own life entirely, they continue to struggle with the daily sins and in some cases major sins.
Once that battle is fought and won and our self is set apart to God’s use and the sacrifice has been accepted by God, ("present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God," ) we have we have a freedom from many of the daily struggles those friends find so recurrent. Many decisions for our actions were made at that altar of self repudiation and we only do the work of God. The sacrifice of our living self was holy and wholly offered to the Lord and it was an acceptable sacrifice.
Isn’t that glorious! Sometimes the blessings of God just sweep over us afresh and things that we have known and believed and followed for years are endued with bright new wonder. That is the way I feel today.
Monday, July 27, 2009
worship
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. John 4
“Open the eyes of my heart Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see you. I want to see you. I want to see you. I want to see you. Holy, holy, holy, holy . Holy, holy, holy, holy.. Holy, holy, holy holy.”
I hope you read that carefully and thought about it. It sounds real good, doesn’t it. All religious and righteous and seeking the right place before God. Right? Now I’m going to challenge you to think because serving God is an intelligent choice and requires a conscious effort to grow in Grace.
I was listening to this in a recording this morning. Most of these worship recordings are good hymns but this one disturbed me on a certain level. The entire song, and it was rather lengthy, consisted of those three phrases. I haven’t come close to reproducing the number of times they were repeated. Each phrase was repeated over and over then phased into the next and then the next, until the repetition became mindless. It is so close to being a mantra that the true child of God should avoid it.
A mantra, in the East Indian religions, is a group of words, sometimes meaningless, that when spoken repeatedly raise the worshipper to an altered state of consciousness ‘creating a spiritual transformation.” They are purported to increase the spiritual insight of the individual but in reality only diminish the worshiper’s mental awareness. The words of a mantra are alleged to produce a vibration that attunes to the unconsciousness of the individual on the deepest levels. It artificially produces a spiritual state.
If you have opportunity to listen many of today’s so called “worship songs” you will find they are in exactly this mold. I heard one brother refer to them as 7/11 songs—the same seven words repeated eleven times! The mystical religions of the eastern countries are becoming more and more widespread as the chains of paganism are loosed in these last days as told in the revelation of John.
Christ was aware of this false spiritual state and warned against it in Matthew 6:7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. The preacher said in Ecclesiastes 1:9: there is no new thing under the sun. And yet as the world has slipped farther and farther from the Lord and true worship, these old forms of pagan worship are creeping in. Even in the services of those who might be called church of God it is being heralded as the product of a new generation of song writers and a fresh new approach to worship as opposed to the out-dated hymns of praise and spiritual songs. And even when an occasional lone voice is in opposition that one is shouted down as being too traditional and critical.
My friend, Salvation is not a religion of mindless devotion to a creed. Its practices are not designed to diminish the worshipper’s mental awareness or raise him to an altered state of consciousness. Our spiritual transformation comes about by a conscious decision to accept the forgiveness God offers through Christ. It continues in our dedication to the study of God’s Word and its application to or daily life. Any spiritual transformation that is achieved is accomplished by the full application of our conscious efforts to become more Christ-like. Our prayers are intelligent verbalization of our thanks to the Father for daily blessings and help; they are earnest petitions for His Mighty Hand to move in our own lives and the lives of others. Our worship is no mindless repetition of single phrases or groups of words, no matter what the content. Our worship is that of praise for specific blessings and help in our life, it is a testimony of the Power and the Might of God as He demonstrates it to us.
If you have been worshipping, raising your hands in response to this mantra–like series of repeated phrases I encourage you to follow Christ’s direction and not to let your communication with Him be that of mindless repetition. Let your praise be specific and focused. Not all of us are blessed to be able to connect beautiful words and music to create a wonderful hymn of praise, but study the words of the old hymns. Check these sites for lyrics: http://www.geocities.com/chogrefmov/article79.html http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Select_Hymns/
See in them how the writers praise the Lord for salvation from sin and sanctification. Look how they focus on the battles fought and won through God’s grace and strength. As you sing those songs they connect in your heart to the things that the Lord has accomplished for you, and as the music dies away you will be on your feet with a testimony of worship.
When we worship, let’s focus our conscious minds on finding our words of praise, not simply be caught up in repetition and echoes. Jesus told the disciples, the Father seeketh such to worship him.
“Open the eyes of my heart Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see you. I want to see you. I want to see you. I want to see you. Holy, holy, holy, holy . Holy, holy, holy, holy.. Holy, holy, holy holy.”
I hope you read that carefully and thought about it. It sounds real good, doesn’t it. All religious and righteous and seeking the right place before God. Right? Now I’m going to challenge you to think because serving God is an intelligent choice and requires a conscious effort to grow in Grace.
I was listening to this in a recording this morning. Most of these worship recordings are good hymns but this one disturbed me on a certain level. The entire song, and it was rather lengthy, consisted of those three phrases. I haven’t come close to reproducing the number of times they were repeated. Each phrase was repeated over and over then phased into the next and then the next, until the repetition became mindless. It is so close to being a mantra that the true child of God should avoid it.
A mantra, in the East Indian religions, is a group of words, sometimes meaningless, that when spoken repeatedly raise the worshipper to an altered state of consciousness ‘creating a spiritual transformation.” They are purported to increase the spiritual insight of the individual but in reality only diminish the worshiper’s mental awareness. The words of a mantra are alleged to produce a vibration that attunes to the unconsciousness of the individual on the deepest levels. It artificially produces a spiritual state.
If you have opportunity to listen many of today’s so called “worship songs” you will find they are in exactly this mold. I heard one brother refer to them as 7/11 songs—the same seven words repeated eleven times! The mystical religions of the eastern countries are becoming more and more widespread as the chains of paganism are loosed in these last days as told in the revelation of John.
Christ was aware of this false spiritual state and warned against it in Matthew 6:7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. The preacher said in Ecclesiastes 1:9: there is no new thing under the sun. And yet as the world has slipped farther and farther from the Lord and true worship, these old forms of pagan worship are creeping in. Even in the services of those who might be called church of God it is being heralded as the product of a new generation of song writers and a fresh new approach to worship as opposed to the out-dated hymns of praise and spiritual songs. And even when an occasional lone voice is in opposition that one is shouted down as being too traditional and critical.
My friend, Salvation is not a religion of mindless devotion to a creed. Its practices are not designed to diminish the worshipper’s mental awareness or raise him to an altered state of consciousness. Our spiritual transformation comes about by a conscious decision to accept the forgiveness God offers through Christ. It continues in our dedication to the study of God’s Word and its application to or daily life. Any spiritual transformation that is achieved is accomplished by the full application of our conscious efforts to become more Christ-like. Our prayers are intelligent verbalization of our thanks to the Father for daily blessings and help; they are earnest petitions for His Mighty Hand to move in our own lives and the lives of others. Our worship is no mindless repetition of single phrases or groups of words, no matter what the content. Our worship is that of praise for specific blessings and help in our life, it is a testimony of the Power and the Might of God as He demonstrates it to us.
If you have been worshipping, raising your hands in response to this mantra–like series of repeated phrases I encourage you to follow Christ’s direction and not to let your communication with Him be that of mindless repetition. Let your praise be specific and focused. Not all of us are blessed to be able to connect beautiful words and music to create a wonderful hymn of praise, but study the words of the old hymns. Check these sites for lyrics: http://www.geocities.com/chogrefmov/article79.html http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Select_Hymns/
See in them how the writers praise the Lord for salvation from sin and sanctification. Look how they focus on the battles fought and won through God’s grace and strength. As you sing those songs they connect in your heart to the things that the Lord has accomplished for you, and as the music dies away you will be on your feet with a testimony of worship.
When we worship, let’s focus our conscious minds on finding our words of praise, not simply be caught up in repetition and echoes. Jesus told the disciples, the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
filled with grace and glory
This song is singing in my heart this morning. So I'm putting it up here.
What I've Found in Jesus
In the arms of my dear Savior I am resting ev'ry day, And his smiles like sun beams fall on my face; I am standing on his promise, Where I shall forever stay, And my heart is overflowing with his grace.
Once I roamed in sinful darkness, Over mountain, hill and plain, Seeking ev'ry where for rest and finding none; Yes my search for satisfaction While in sin was all in vain, but I've found it in God's well beloved Son.
Long in sin I sought for pleasure, Something that would satisfy, Something that would quench the thirsting of my soul; But I found that sin's dominion, Naught I needed could supply, Then I turned to Jesus and he made me whole. I am dwelling in that Kingdom, Where the day is always bright,
And the sparkling waters of life's rivers gleam, Where the gloomy shades of darkness Are dispelled by heaven's light; And I'm ever drinking of that living stream.
Chorus:
I am filled with grace and glory, And in Jesus I abide; I will tell the wondrous story, Since my soul is satisfied.
(by Otto Bolds)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
about jots and tittles
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matthew 5:18
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven Matthew 5:20
2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.. . . 27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 21: 1, 27
The idea of jots and tittles has been running through my mind on a regular basis lately. And this morning the Lord connected it with the statement about in no wise entering the kingdom of heaven.
It seems to be a popular misconception that in order to get into heaven we need just ‘do our best’ or be ‘good enough’ It struck me forcibly just a few minutes ago how very particular God is. Jots and tittles are very small markings in the Hebrew alphabet, rather insignificant really, about like a comma or an apostrophe. I can’t read or write Hebrew so I have to relate to the idea in terms of our English language. So that would mean that not one ‘comma’ or ‘apostrophe’ would be ignored in fulfilling the law.
As a third grade teacher I spent a lot of time talking about how and when to use an apostrophe. (The intricacies of commas comes later) The placement of an apostrophe can change the entire meaning of the word. A familiar example is the combination of letters, i-t-s. If we put an apostrophe between the “t” and the “s” the word becomes ‘it’s’ meaning “it is” That is entirely different from writing “its” which means something that ‘it’ possesses.
Consider: “Its rule… ” is an entirely different meaning than “It’s a rule…” Two little marks change the logic completely. The first implies something that is just a common habit of something. For instance, “For this bull, its rule is to turn left” ( What can I say? I’m a bull riding fan.) denotes merely a common practice or self direction. But to say, “It’s a rule to turn left” is completely different. Now it becomes a necessity, a legal requirement. Yet it is based on just a couple tiny marks. So I was thinking along those lines as I considered the idea of jots and tittles.
Then the scripture of in no wise entering the kingdom of heaven came into my mind. I misquoted it to myself at first, but when I looked up the actual verse it said, ‘in no case enter the kingdom.’ Now here is the thought progression. Jesus said that all the law must be fulfilled –every tiny mark and indication. That is being pretty picky. But just a little further down he said that , except [our] righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,[we] shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven Wow. Talk about ‘picky’!
To me this all means that we must be very careful in our lifestyle. In Matthew 23:23 Jesus spoke of the Pharisees tithing mint and anise and cumin—very careful and particular adherence to the old laws of tithing. He didn’t say that was wrong. He just said there were other greater things they should be doing! And here he says we have to exceed that!
We have a long way to go in today’s religious world to teach this message. “Good enough” is not the standard for entering heaven. “Doing our best” won’t buy us an entry. Salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus is the first requirement. ( Luke 13:2-3; Acts 19:4) Next we must put off our sinful ways, and put on the ‘new man’ (Ephesians 20-24; Colossians 3:10) These are the “jots and tittles” of grace. They are the basic requirements. As we live for God we most certainly grow in understanding of the Lord and our godly walk will continue to improve and more habits and ways will be laid aside. Like the Pharisees we used as an example above, we will not only be doing the basic things but we will move on to much more as Christ advised them That’s the only way our righteousness can exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.
Why is this all necessary? Because we are entering into the ‘city of God, adorned as a bride for her husband”. God spent all of the 21st chapter of Revelations describing her to John. He was very particular in every “jot and tittle.” What a glorious church arrayed in beauty and holiness is portrayed! And men today expect to get in by being ‘good enough’ and ‘doing their best.’ even though the stain of sin is on their garments and the attachments of ungodliness drag on their heels! The warning comes at the very end of the chapter: 27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth. . . We must be obedient in every jot and tittle. Our lives must be clean and measure to every little word of the Scripture
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven Matthew 5:20
2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.. . . 27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 21: 1, 27
The idea of jots and tittles has been running through my mind on a regular basis lately. And this morning the Lord connected it with the statement about in no wise entering the kingdom of heaven.
It seems to be a popular misconception that in order to get into heaven we need just ‘do our best’ or be ‘good enough’ It struck me forcibly just a few minutes ago how very particular God is. Jots and tittles are very small markings in the Hebrew alphabet, rather insignificant really, about like a comma or an apostrophe. I can’t read or write Hebrew so I have to relate to the idea in terms of our English language. So that would mean that not one ‘comma’ or ‘apostrophe’ would be ignored in fulfilling the law.
As a third grade teacher I spent a lot of time talking about how and when to use an apostrophe. (The intricacies of commas comes later) The placement of an apostrophe can change the entire meaning of the word. A familiar example is the combination of letters, i-t-s. If we put an apostrophe between the “t” and the “s” the word becomes ‘it’s’ meaning “it is” That is entirely different from writing “its” which means something that ‘it’ possesses.
Consider: “Its rule… ” is an entirely different meaning than “It’s a rule…” Two little marks change the logic completely. The first implies something that is just a common habit of something. For instance, “For this bull, its rule is to turn left” ( What can I say? I’m a bull riding fan.) denotes merely a common practice or self direction. But to say, “It’s a rule to turn left” is completely different. Now it becomes a necessity, a legal requirement. Yet it is based on just a couple tiny marks. So I was thinking along those lines as I considered the idea of jots and tittles.
Then the scripture of in no wise entering the kingdom of heaven came into my mind. I misquoted it to myself at first, but when I looked up the actual verse it said, ‘in no case enter the kingdom.’ Now here is the thought progression. Jesus said that all the law must be fulfilled –every tiny mark and indication. That is being pretty picky. But just a little further down he said that , except [our] righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,[we] shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven Wow. Talk about ‘picky’!
To me this all means that we must be very careful in our lifestyle. In Matthew 23:23 Jesus spoke of the Pharisees tithing mint and anise and cumin—very careful and particular adherence to the old laws of tithing. He didn’t say that was wrong. He just said there were other greater things they should be doing! And here he says we have to exceed that!
We have a long way to go in today’s religious world to teach this message. “Good enough” is not the standard for entering heaven. “Doing our best” won’t buy us an entry. Salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus is the first requirement. ( Luke 13:2-3; Acts 19:4) Next we must put off our sinful ways, and put on the ‘new man’ (Ephesians 20-24; Colossians 3:10) These are the “jots and tittles” of grace. They are the basic requirements. As we live for God we most certainly grow in understanding of the Lord and our godly walk will continue to improve and more habits and ways will be laid aside. Like the Pharisees we used as an example above, we will not only be doing the basic things but we will move on to much more as Christ advised them That’s the only way our righteousness can exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.
Why is this all necessary? Because we are entering into the ‘city of God, adorned as a bride for her husband”. God spent all of the 21st chapter of Revelations describing her to John. He was very particular in every “jot and tittle.” What a glorious church arrayed in beauty and holiness is portrayed! And men today expect to get in by being ‘good enough’ and ‘doing their best.’ even though the stain of sin is on their garments and the attachments of ungodliness drag on their heels! The warning comes at the very end of the chapter: 27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth. . . We must be obedient in every jot and tittle. Our lives must be clean and measure to every little word of the Scripture
Sunday, July 19, 2009
On observing the sabbath
I get a very excellent ‘inspiration’ every Sunday morning from a brother dedicated to spreading the word through his business web mail. He has been doing a series on the Ten Commandments that have been very thought provoking. This week was the Fourth Commandment and he brought up some thoughts on whether we are to observe ‘the sabbath’ per se or not, since most of us go to church and worship on Sunday and not technically the ‘seventh day of the week.” I wrote him my thoughts on the subject and then decided that I’d post it here too. So for your consideration, here it is.
Looking at the Sabbath as a particular day does lead us into confusion. However, if we look at the purpose of the Sabbath, things become more lucid. Reading the entire text of Exodus 20 regarding this day, we see that God had a reason for designating the Sabbath: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. In this we see the purpose of the Sabbath indicated. It was to be a day of physical rest commemorating the work of God in His Creation. The Israelites were instructed to ‘keep it holy’ to sanctify it, to use it only for the Lord. To sanctify means to keep something set apart for reasons of sacred use—be it an object, a piece of clothing or a day.
The Israelites were accustomed to specific items being reserved for sacred use—the temple vessels, the fire on the altars, the priests clothing, even specific items of dress for the individual worshippers. Thus one day was to be set apart for sacred use, to worship and dwell on the blessings of God. This was designated as the Sabbath. Only the most absolutely necessary things were done that could not be arranged prior to the day. (Matthew 12:11 and Luke 13:15) Even the distance a man could travel was curtailed. (Acts 1:12)
It would appear that the emphasis is not so much on which particular day is observed as holy, but on what is done on the Sabbath. The seventh day is a rather arbitrary term. Depending on how any certain schedule runs, it begins and ends on different days. What day specifically is the seventh? A lot of argument could be made for this. From a purely business, MONDAY is designated at the ‘first of the week.’ Given this designation, then Sunday is the seventh day. I believe the point is not the specific day but that we have one day that is specifically set aside for sacred purposes
Now we come to the sticking point of whether or not we really observe Sunday as our Sabbath. In the not too recent past, Sunday was totally a day of rest,. Even sinners observed these practices. Only those absolutely necessary things that couldn’t possibly be done beforehand were done on Sunday-- perhaps milking the cows and turning them out to graze. Other arrangements were made to be sure any work that could be done ahead of time was completed before Sunday arrived.
I can remember my father talking about their house on Sunday. This would have been in the 1920’s. He had specific toys that were reserved only for Sunday because they were quiet and didn’t disturb the reverent silence of the day. They were still things, no rowdy little boy romping; they did puzzles, played jack straws, drew pictures, etc. He talked about his Ma making as much of the food as possible on Saturday afternoon so meals could be prepared with a minimum of work… All of Sunday morning was spent in worship services. Good Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes were worn all day and that ensured children and adults were more careful of their actions. Sunday afternoon was a quiet time with Bible reading at bedtime.
When I was a child, we spent all of Sunday morning in worship services. Sunday dinner was the main meal and there was only a quick easy snack before we returned to Sunday evening services at 6:30 or 7:00 pm. Often family and friends visited in the afternoon and the time was spent visiting. Many times the topic of conversation centered on religious doings, but certainly no secular or financial arrangements were made. All the stores were closed. All the shops and factories were closed. We children were allowed to play outside, but any running and screaming and chasing was met with quick reprimand.
Gradually the world has crept in. First more and more people neglected to attend church services on Sunday. Gas stations were the first things I can remember staying open on Sundays. People needed to get gas for expeditions on their “day-off”. Sunday had become a “day off” instead of a “day of rest”. One by one other business began opening their doors on Sunday. People needed to buy groceries on their day off. They needed to be able to get to the drug store if someone was sick and so forth. And of course, if these businesses were open they had to have clerks there to help the customers. And so the situation snowballed.
Of course these were all “necessary” work. And I heard the excuse many times: “Farmers have to milk the cows on Sunday. How is this any different?” Well you know and I know how it is different, but again it was the Devil’s best gift of rationalizing.
So now the question becomes not do we observe the seventh day as a Sabbath, but do we observe any day as the Sabbath. Do we observe any day as a day of rest, sanctified to the Lord? I’m afraid that too many ‘good Christians” don’t.
This isn’t to condemn or find fault but only to stir up our minds. The Ten Commandments are still part of our standard today, but do we observe and obey them? And this fourth one is a prickly point for many.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
visiting nephews!
LOL Rachael has re-affirmed her determination not to have kids. LOL She and Michael are in a tizzy. Why? All because they have their nephews for the evening! Two pretty-good little boys--Tyler, who has been staying with us for the last week and Zach who is Michael’s brother's stepson, one 9 and one 8--have them stressed to the max. Keep in mind they have only been here since about 6:00 pm.
Michael decided to take the boys to the Crew’s Buck-a-Brat Night—$1 brats and activities on the field before the game, then the soccer game and home. Now how hard can that be? There should be plenty of excitement to keep them occupied and entertained for a couple hours or so.
Oh yes, the boys are ‘camping out’ on the floor of the den and Michael rented a movie for them to watch until they fall asleep. I figure that after the park this morning with Freddy (Zach’s dad and Michael’s brother) and all the excitement of the Crew game and all the junk they’ll eat and all the soccer ball chasing they’ll do, those two kids should be exhausted. They’ll fall asleep before the Care Bears finish their first adventure! Of course, they are planning to stay up “real late”—like until day break. LOL I’m thinking maybe 10:30 tops!
What is really funny is that Rachael and Michael are very well organized and have their lives all together. There really is time to fit in two little boys who really do behave themselves. They could just kind of slip into the seams and not even make many waves, but R & M are in a panic. Tyler and I played Go Fish and Pick-up Stix. To add Zach would not be such a great task. Rachael fixed Tyler three bowls (gradually decreasing in size) of Coconillas (no joke, that’s the name of them!) for breakfast. It might empty the box of cereal, but Zach would probably be happy with that, too. Tyler is a very picky eater, but for one day they could take the easy way out and give him French fries and cookies. Zach too. He’ll be gone tomorrow. Monday will be soon enough to get Tyler back on track.
I keep trying to tell them that a baby of your own just fits in with your life without any ripples. (Or at least the ripples don’t seem to be any bother.) They seem to think every day will be like having your nephews visit!
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