What makes a day special? Throughout our calendar year of 365 days (give or take a leap year) take a moment and count up the days that you hold special out of the year. Off the top of my head I'd say birthdays- we celebrate the day a person was born because it recognizes the length of time we've had with them and reminds of the various milestones of their lives. When I was, 16 years old, or the day I turned 18, 21, 30, 40, 50… We tally up our years and make the day that we were brought into this world a special day. Sure, you'll have plenty of naysayers, that's the way with most things. I remember my mother being a birthday naysayer, she could careless whether or not she received a card, gift or even a verbal 'Happy Birthday' or so she said and I have no reason to doubt her. There are others who just wish to forget the day because of bad associations with it- maybe growing up they were terrorized more than celebrated on that day, I don't know. Still others simply want to forget they've grown yet another year older, they kind of wish time would just stop and age would no longer take what's left of them, but that's a pipedream for sure. Celebrating our spouses, children, grandchildren, sisters, brothers and friends on their birthday make those days special too. The other special days of the year could be considered the various holidays that we each personally keep. The country you live in may have made certain of those holidays special enough to warrant government recognition which might mean an extra work day off- or double time and a half pay if you do work, and school as well as many businesses choose to close their doors to for that special day. I can't leave out anniversaries and that includes all kinds of anniversaries and there are many- recognized days of specialness. You know I'm going somewhere with this- and you most likely know where that somewhere is if you know me well at all.
Right now as I sit here writing this, I have entered Special time. The time I'm existing in is truly holy- and you don't get any more special than that! Holy time to recognize GOD- again, it doesn't get more special! Every Sabbath, from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown is holy time- a time more special than any other that exists. No birthday, no anniversary, no secular or religious holiday at all whatsoever will ever be more special than the Sabbath- not one.
Imagine, you grow up in a small family, just you, your mother and father and for six days every week your father goes away to work. You can still call him, text him and such, but that isn't the same as that seventh day when your father comes home from work and is there with you. How special would you make that day of the week? Would you bog it down with the mundane, the chores, the problems - things that can be taken care of in other ways on other days? If you did that what would it reveal to your father? That his being there with you wasn't all that important. If you didn't show up at all, and just told your father you'd see him the next week, what then? And then soon you tell him after a month's gone by without seeing him - not to worry you'll see him soon. Again what would your father get out of such behavior? The idea that he's grown less and less important to you. Maybe you'll even tell your father that you can meet him on the sixth day, not the seventh, but your father tells you he can't be there on the sixth day- it must be the seventh. And then you tell your father, it's okay, you think of him all the time even if you don't see him at all. We have sappy movies that depict this sort of scenario in various ways, where some dramatic event - health scare, impending death, death of others or whatnot triggers a person so want to reconnect with those they've shunned over time- even if it's not through any dramatic family feuding, but simply preferring to be alone.
You think I'm the one being overly dramatic and a bit off the deep end, that I have some screws very loose, and lots of bats in my belfry and that's okay- the great adversary planned things to be this way. Ah, more crazy talk. Yes, to a lot of people it is crazy.
My Heavenly Father, my Creator and Redeemer, my Holy Comforter wrote humanity a guidebook- using humans to put the words down. The Holy Book that came to be from the inspired compilation of many Holy Books is what we know as our Bibles. Our Bibles come in many versions- but there was once originals and it is to those we need to go to when any doubt and confusion arises over what's been written in the newer translated versions. Too much work? Oh, that we were all inspired to learn Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin- so we could do proper comparisons for ourselves. I digress as always…
The Word of God tells me the Sabbath from creation week and all the way to the world made new in the future that awaits us, that we will worship our Creators, Redeemers, the Holy Ones on the Sabbath.
Holy time, the most special of days because it was made to be so, this is a blessed gift given to us and the powers of this world have turned it into just another day - choosing to strip it of all holiness. Choosing to make it a chore to keep holy. Choosing to change it into something unrecognizable as important in any way.
To keep the Sabbath holy, God asks that we stop working any job that isn't one connected to saving lives in some way. God asks us to keep from buying or selling anything on the Sabbath because to do so would mean others are being asked to work in a non-life saving manner. God asks that we focus our day around Him. He's here to visit with us in this holy time.
Ask yourself… DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE WITH GOD FOR ETERNITY? If you answered yes, then reveal that desire.
Do you want to belong to God? Do you long for the day when all evil is gone and we are taken to heaven with Jesus Christ after He returns for us? Why? Why do you long for this? Because God is the love that sin has separated us from and to be reunited to love is the only way we will ever truly be the humans we were created to be. The Sabbath reminds us so starkly of all sin's ravages upon mankind and our need to have faith in the Creator of humanity, He will restore us to Him fully- the way to restoration has already been made possible. Unfortunately, many more people will choose to ignore restoration, preferring to do things their own way.
Our God didn't tell us that ONLY a few will find the Way - for no reason.
I'm in holy time right now and in this holy time I need to seek the Lord with all my heart as on no other day (not that seeking should ever end) but this is the day the LORD set aside for us to be with HIM, there is no other day of the week set aside with Holiness in it. God is the one who made it holy, and blessed the day. God is the one that told us to remember it. God is the one who chose purposefully not to make all seven days holy in time. God wants us to remember Him and the holiness of Him in the Sabbath day.
Lord, You want me to search for You with all my heart. Lord, You want me to seek for You as for hidden treasure. While six days a week I occupy my life with so many other things, and I include You in those things, I do, on this seventh day I occupy my life with You, and You include me in the things YOU do. You WILL be found of me, You said so! And You told me to SEEK, let me seek You on this Sabbath day LORD, let me seek You knowing that my tiny bit of ability to seek you now is made towards the ultimate outcome of being with you forever and ever. This glimpse of eternity You allow us, let us breathe in Your holiness and set our faces towards You in all we do. Let us be aware of Your presence, my God! Oh that we could truly slip from our world into Yours on this day, leaving this world behind to be with You!
I love You, LORD! Thank you for Your love! ?Thank You for holy time with You! Thank You for the Blessed, Holy Day, The Sabbath!
Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jer 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jer 29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD
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