Forget the somber rule-keeping associated with some religious people who observe the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Sabbath-keeping is not a negative list of "don'ts."
Quite the opposite. You can discover one of the greatest blessings God has given his children. An incredible gift that adds overflowing pleasure and peace to your life. Observing that divinely appointed day of rest is one of the best things you can do for your family and your life.
 Discover "guilt-free" leisure!
In our work-driven and success-driven society, we are made to feel guilty if we are caught taking a break. Hard work is the path to success. But many Americans today don't even know how to sit down beside that path and figure out where they are going. Nonstop activity is glorified.
Even time with family and friends is scheduled to the hilt in activities, entertainment and events. We have lost the art of quiet conversation. Just being together is no longer enough.
Escape the "rat race" one day a week.
Most spiritual traditions prescribe some sort of mandated "time out." For Christians and Jews, it is the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. ..." (Exodus 20:8-10 NKJV)
Most people take this fourth commandment much less seriously than "Thou shalt not kill ..." or "Thou shalt not steal. ..." But nowhere in Scripture does God rank the importance of His commandments. The Sabbath day of rest is critical to living life God's way.
"The problem with the rat race is that even
if you win, you're still a rat." Lily Tomlin
 Overcome our culture's temptations!
Much of what runs our lives today is designed specifically to seduce us away from Sabbath rest. Hundreds of channels of cable and satellite television. 24-hour supermarkets and shopping malls open seven days a week. Phones. Fax. The World Wide Web. Call waiting ... call forwarding ... caller I.D. Is there no peace of privacy?
For parents, add the endless soccer practices, piano lessons, homework, laundry and just keeping the house halfway straight. There is always something to do. But we can't live in this desperate frenzy of continuous running around forever.
Stop and enjoy your life — before it's too late.
God's strategy behind the Sabbath day of rest is to solve the frustrations of life by taking us out of them for at least one day a week. We stop the frantic pursuit of things we think we need and goals we want to achieve. We pause to enjoy the blessings God has granted. We taste the fruit of our labor — enjoying family, friends, the abundance of food, the incredible splendor of mountains and rivers, the quiet chatter of a very ordinary sparrow that God clothes and feeds.
God's plan is not for us to be rich, successful and exhausted. He wants us to be happy and enjoy His creation. And a regular Sabbath day spent in thanksgiving, worship, resting, playing, praying, talking and eating with family and friends will result in incredible joy and peace.
7 steps to a meaningful Sabbath.
| 1. |
Celebrate Thanksgiving!
Make every Sabbath Thanksgiving Day. The more we thank God for what we have, the less we worry about what we don't have. Pray in the morning before you get up, in the evening before you go to bed, and before every meal, thanking God for His wonderful blessings. |
| 2. |
Worship your Creator.
Take one day out of the seven you have every week to attend worship at church and to have sweet fellowship with family—yours and God's. It will make the remaining six days so much more enjoyable and productive. When your spirit is refreshed, your physical and emotional being gains new strength and stamina. |
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 3. Be quiet!
Set aside some quiet time. Get alone in a special room. Take a solitary walk. Find a quiet spot by a river. Spend time in prayer and meditation. Talk to God. Then spend twice as much time listening for His response. What He has to say is immeasureably more important! |
| 4. |
Turn off your technology!
Just for the day (or even for a few hours), shut off the TV, radio, CD player and computer. Unplug the phone. Leave the newspaper or latest magazine unread. Focus on the world God created. |
| 5. |
Bless your children.
If they are small, place your hand on their heads and offer a prayer of blessing, emphasizing one of their strong points. If your children are adults or away from home, hold their pictures and pray for them. Then, call or write them with words of encouragement and love. |
| 6. |
 Experience God's bounty.
Prepare a Sabbath meal to share with family or friends. Explore a location of natural beauty near where you live. Reach out to someone who needs companionship. What you receive in return will often be greater than what you give. |
| 7. |
Unload a burden.
Choose your most pressing burden and offer it to God in prayer. He promised to be our burden bearer. Then—trust God for a solution. |
This one simple day will empower you all week long!
Sabbath—Does it matter when?
In six days, God created the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. Then He rested on the seventh day. When Jesus came to earth, the seventh day was still observed as the Sabbath. But it had lost much of its beauty in a maze of useless rules.
Jesus restored the true meaning of the Sabbath by declaring it to be a blessing and not a burden: "And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.'" (Mark 2:27 NKJV) Setting aside a day each week for rest and worship is vital to a healthy, happy life.
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