The Blessings of the Sabbath

There is a day of rest for you and me A Sabbath day of sweetest harmony Where God and man converse and blessings dwell and sacred hours are spent to be made well It is the seventh day, a holy time Creation's testament, it stands sublime Remembered are those days when words God spoke And life He gave to man and Adam woke There by his side was Eve, a sheer delight And gifted Eden was an awesome sight That Friday night, the Sabbath ushered in What blissful joy and peace, but then came sin The rest is known to us, the tragic toll But our Creator God can save the soul And Christ came down to die on cruel tree To gift eternal life to you and me His pow'r to recreate is ours to ask Salvation is a gift and not a task From sunset Friday and to Saturday The Sabbath blessing enters hearts to stay There is a day of rest from worldly care To worship God and feel His presence there The Sabbath is a joy to celebrate And through the hours we sing: "Our God is Great!" Eileen Manassian I believe in the Biblical day of rest which is a memorial of God's creative and recreative power. It is a day to strengthen our relationship with God by putting aside our worries and cares and concentrating on His goodness and giving Him free reign to heal us. We can come into His presence any day of the week, but the Sabbath is especially blessed by His presence. The fourth commandment speaks of the importance of the Sabbath. Jesus himself, as was his custom, went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. There is no Biblical evidence that the day was changed by the Lord from Saturday to Sunday. The Catholic church has documented papers in which they readily admit to having changed the day of worship to Sunday in honor of the Lord's resurrection. However, I stand with the Biblical injunction to keep the SEVENTH day holy as Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn’t come to destroy them, but to fulfill them, 18 because I tell all of you with certainty that until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter or one stroke of a letter will disappear from the Law until everything has been accomplished." (Matthew 5: 17 & 18) NIV There is a special blessing that God has in store for those who keep His day holy and come into His presence. I've long wanted to write this poem. I hope you enjoy it. I don't want to open dialogue about which day is the right day....or if it even matters. I'm sharing my belief and joy in this gift of God, and I encourage you to set a time aside to come into His presence. Isaiah 58:13-14New International Version (NIV) 13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14 then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.