Prayer ~ Lord, may all that I do today please and honor You.
Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own
interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as
the LORD's holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and
don't follow your own desires or talk idly. Isaiah 58:13
Meditate. Do you honor God by keeping a Sabbath day?
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| The Ten Commandments Originally written by the hand of God on stone slabs. |
Remember to observe
the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Exodus 20:8
So, my dear brothers
and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died
with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead.
As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. When we were controlled
by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused
these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.
But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer
captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the
letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. Romans 7:4-6
It is by God’s grace and mercy that we are even saved at
all. Paul says it so well—as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write to the
church at Ephesus. God continues to say it over and over in His Word. He loves
us. We don’t deserve His love or His mercy…but He cares about us. He says it so
well—straight-forward and direct so we can understand it.
But God is so rich
in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our
sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's
grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with
Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with
Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the
incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has
done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when
you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Ephesians
2:4-8
Since we are saved by God’s grace we should honor Him by
keeping the Sabbath day holy. There are some who would argue that the Sabbath
is on Saturday—as God set that as a day of rest after Creation. But, some say
that the Sabbath is Sunday, commemorating the day that Jesus was risen from the
dead. Whichever day you choose the important thing is that you are setting
aside a day to honor the Lord. It is His holy day. Today is Sunday—my Sabbath
Day. I don’t work, do laundry, or spend an excessive amount of time preparing
elaborate meals on Sunday. I like to focus on honoring God—and serving Him by
serving others like any other day. Somehow a good nap—a day of rest—always seems
appropriate on the Sabbath. What do you do to honor God and build your relationship with Him on His holy day? When
is your Sabbath Day?
Verse of Salvation ~ Salvation is not a reward for the
good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:9
© 2022 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M. Hunacek
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