I am sorry for leaving you hanging on the edge of your seats waiting for “insight” into the rest of the 10 Commandments. I realize my three avid readers have been left wandering aimlessly for a month waiting for another pearl of wisdom. At last, the time has arrived! For the rest of you...hey...this is better than a filler piece about watering your marigolds too much... be nice! 
Commandment number four says “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.” (Exodus 20:8-11).
There are many ways to look at this one. As is my standard methodology, I will discuss the Commandment in light of my failure to keep it. First things first, however...I must clarify how I understand this Commandment. In my simplistic ability to discern, I believe the Fourth Commandment applies to modern people in many ways like it did the Jews of antiquity. The Sabbath day, like to those of old, is to be set aside for worship and rest. Jesus clarified the meaning of the Sabbath in the same way He redefined many pharisitical definitions. One of the beautiful ways Christ did this was recorded in Luke 6:6-11 saying “And it came to pass also on another Sabbath that He entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him, whether He would heal on the Sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, ‘Rise up, and stand forth in the midst.’ And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, ‘I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?’ And looking round about upon them all, He said unto the man, ‘Stretch forth thy hand.’ And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.”
I see the Sabbath as a day set aside to celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection and the freedom from the penalty of the Law. The Jews of antiquity were burdened by a law they couldn’t possibly keep. Enter Jesus and the New Covenant. Now we can rest in Him. Every week we can celebrate Easter Sunday and retell our soul the Greatest Story Ever Told. In the process of celebrating Christ (performing sacraments, having fellowship, growing in faith with other believers, etc...) we grow closer to Him. Our heart and motives for our actions are, as always, transparent to God’s sight. In short, we need to worship with a body of believers to grow closer to God. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us, as do other passages, to value corporate worship.
How have I done? Early in my pre-Christian days, I was a Christmas and Easter church attendee. I didn’t even consider the one who gave me life worthy of extra thought on Sundays. Football, sleeping in, the thick Springfield newspaper, and food were among my favorite excuses to skip worship. No real worship, no growing in faith, and, when I did go to church, I performed sacraments in an unworthy, flippant manner. In short, I was a typical, worldly church person who was far from Christ.
Fast-forward me twenty plus years since becoming a Christian and the flip side happened. I periodically have turned Pharisee. At times in my Christian walk I have kept the Sabbath in a proud way with poor motives. “Look at those men on the golf course! I’d never miss church for something so worldly!” I might say, with a heart no better than those in the Luke passage who “communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.”. Would I drive by a stranded motorist to get to church on time? “Surely they have called AAA!” my self righteous heart would likely tell me as
I rush to church. I, like the rest of folks, often miss Jesus in the details of life. In this way I still fail!
Up to now in the column I am “0 for 6” on following Commandments....as are all of us. Do you see how the Commandments make a nice mirror to show us that we are hopeless without a Savior? We are so unworthy of Heaven based on what we have done. God would be completely just sending us to Hell for eternity despite what “good things” we do. What an awesome God to instead die as a substitute for us. I will forever be grateful! Will I do better on this Commandment in the future? The more I grow closer to Him, the more my impure motives are replaced, the better I will do. I’ll never be perfect this side of eternity, but I want nothing more than to live like Sunday all week long. I hope you will join me. Check your motives, evaluate your heart with Exodus 20, and join me in being thankful for a Savior all week long.
Diet update... 223.4 lbs. I have now lost 112.6 lbs. My goal is just 33.4 lbs away. God is so very good. He is worthy of me taking care of the body He gave me in a way that brings Him honor!
Prayer request...my church does VBS in the park this week and sends 50+ on a mission trip the next week. God is doing great things and we are blessed to get to go along for the ride!!!
Commandment number four says “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.” (Exodus 20:8-11).
There are many ways to look at this one. As is my standard methodology, I will discuss the Commandment in light of my failure to keep it. First things first, however...I must clarify how I understand this Commandment. In my simplistic ability to discern, I believe the Fourth Commandment applies to modern people in many ways like it did the Jews of antiquity. The Sabbath day, like to those of old, is to be set aside for worship and rest. Jesus clarified the meaning of the Sabbath in the same way He redefined many pharisitical definitions. One of the beautiful ways Christ did this was recorded in Luke 6:6-11 saying “And it came to pass also on another Sabbath that He entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him, whether He would heal on the Sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, ‘Rise up, and stand forth in the midst.’ And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, ‘I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?’ And looking round about upon them all, He said unto the man, ‘Stretch forth thy hand.’ And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.”
I see the Sabbath as a day set aside to celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection and the freedom from the penalty of the Law. The Jews of antiquity were burdened by a law they couldn’t possibly keep. Enter Jesus and the New Covenant. Now we can rest in Him. Every week we can celebrate Easter Sunday and retell our soul the Greatest Story Ever Told. In the process of celebrating Christ (performing sacraments, having fellowship, growing in faith with other believers, etc...) we grow closer to Him. Our heart and motives for our actions are, as always, transparent to God’s sight. In short, we need to worship with a body of believers to grow closer to God. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us, as do other passages, to value corporate worship.
How have I done? Early in my pre-Christian days, I was a Christmas and Easter church attendee. I didn’t even consider the one who gave me life worthy of extra thought on Sundays. Football, sleeping in, the thick Springfield newspaper, and food were among my favorite excuses to skip worship. No real worship, no growing in faith, and, when I did go to church, I performed sacraments in an unworthy, flippant manner. In short, I was a typical, worldly church person who was far from Christ.
Fast-forward me twenty plus years since becoming a Christian and the flip side happened. I periodically have turned Pharisee. At times in my Christian walk I have kept the Sabbath in a proud way with poor motives. “Look at those men on the golf course! I’d never miss church for something so worldly!” I might say, with a heart no better than those in the Luke passage who “communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.”. Would I drive by a stranded motorist to get to church on time? “Surely they have called AAA!” my self righteous heart would likely tell me as
I rush to church. I, like the rest of folks, often miss Jesus in the details of life. In this way I still fail!Up to now in the column I am “0 for 6” on following Commandments....as are all of us. Do you see how the Commandments make a nice mirror to show us that we are hopeless without a Savior? We are so unworthy of Heaven based on what we have done. God would be completely just sending us to Hell for eternity despite what “good things” we do. What an awesome God to instead die as a substitute for us. I will forever be grateful! Will I do better on this Commandment in the future? The more I grow closer to Him, the more my impure motives are replaced, the better I will do. I’ll never be perfect this side of eternity, but I want nothing more than to live like Sunday all week long. I hope you will join me. Check your motives, evaluate your heart with Exodus 20, and join me in being thankful for a Savior all week long.
Diet update... 223.4 lbs. I have now lost 112.6 lbs. My goal is just 33.4 lbs away. God is so very good. He is worthy of me taking care of the body He gave me in a way that brings Him honor!
Prayer request...my church does VBS in the park this week and sends 50+ on a mission trip the next week. God is doing great things and we are blessed to get to go along for the ride!!!
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