Sabbath Nap

My eyes are closing,
Thoughts run together like a stream
Of conciousness slowly drifting away.
I've been waiting for this moment
When cares vanish and static quietens
And in this moment I find peace.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Kate Stone

How I Keep the Sabbath

Last we talked about "why" I keep the Sabbath but most of the questions I receive deal with "how" I keep the Sabbath. This week I want to talk about the beauty of the Sabbath. Yes there are things I don't do, but the Sabbath isn't about do's and don'ts, its about worship and the original state of peace the LORD created for mankind.

PSALMS to God · How I Keep The Sabbath

¹³“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, ¹⁴Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 58:13-14 NKJV

Check out the episode on "don't" vs. "can't" vs. "won't"—it's important concerning the mentality I approach Sabbath with.[1]

Verses about what not to do on the Sabbath:

• Exodus 16:22-23: Collect food
• Exodus 20:8-11: Work (done by you or for you)
• Exodus 35:3: Kindle a fire
• Nehemiah 10:31; 13:15: buy or sell
• Isaiah 56:2: Pollute it or do evil
• Isaiah 58:13-15: Your own pleasure, Speaking your own words
• Jeremiah 17:21-22: Carry a burden

Important things to think about:

• Contex (for instance, the amount of work it took somone in Biblical times to kindle a fire vs. the work needed today)
• Overall goal/purpose for the day
• Exodus 12:16 and Deuteronomy 16:1-8 show food preparation on the day of Passover considered to be a Sabbath

What did Jesus amend?
Jesus set the Pharisees straight about the purpose of the Sabbath. While there are things God told us not to do, Jesus reminds us that there is a larger picture. As long as our actions align with this larger picture we are in accordance to God's will. It is always acceptable to do good, to do things that bring glory to God even if it may consitute work (example: the preists did work to carry out sacrifices on Sabbath). Here are some examples:

• Perhaps the most quoted example is that from Matthew 12, in which Jesus and the disciples are picking grain to eat on the Sabbath
• Jesus heals on the Sabbath. (Mark 3:1-4)
• Jesus speaks of freeing people on the Sabbath. (Luke 13)

There are things outside of our control. Jesus said if your sheep fell in a ditch, you'd lift it out. Similarly, if your house catches on fire you'd put it out. If someone is sick, they need medical attention. If someone is starving they require food. In the same vein, if you are the firefighter or the doctor, you should rush to help those in need! It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”Matthew 12:12 NKJV

My philosophy concerning Sabbath is to treat it as though God is spending the day with me; He is the guest of honor. How would I treat Him? Would I spend the whole day ignoring Him or doing things that He would not take part in? This also reminds me to focus on planning/time managment. If I know someone is going to visit me, I wouldn't wait untli they get there to clean up, I'd do it before hand. My general rule-of-thumb is if I can plan it, I should get it done beforehand to free up my time with God. If I can't plan it, it's out of my control and the I rely on discernment.

My personal don'ts and why (as you'll see, these are not rooted in scripture but in my personal conviction for myself).

• Play video games: I don't think about God or God's creation when I play video games. For me this falls under "doing my own pleasure" so I save gaming for other days of the week
• Secular media: TV shows, movies, music, etc. that is not meant to glorify God or edifying me so that I can better glorify God is something I save for non-Sabbath hours. I do still consume certain media, such as nature, health, historical, and environmental documentaries that can help me take care of God's creation (Earth and myself) or learn more about the history of God's people. For me its about the day being different and set apart that keeps me from watching even wholesome TV. Also, if God literally came to visit I probably wouldn't spend that time watching movies.
• Attend social functions: this one is nuanced—I still attend potlucks and gatherings at friends homes but usually only certain friends. I usually don't spend Sabbath with my friends who are going to be interested in conversations, activities, etc. that I don't feel are Sabbath appropriate. (Remember what I said about it being lawful to do good? If one of these friends needed me for moral support, I would go to them on Sabbath. When I say "secular functions" I'm referencing things like birthday parties.)
• Attend other secular/social functions: An example would be sporting events. Most of these events require people to work, which I think is a scriptural no-no,but I also find the focus to be questionable and feel that I would be doing my own pleasure.
• Travel long-distance: Flying or driving a long distance during Sabbath usually conflicts with buying (purchasing gas, for example) or requiring people to work for me (e.g., the pilot, flight crew, etc.) I more likely to drive a distance that to fly (at least I can find self-serve gas stations). Again, in an emergency, I would get to someone in need.
• Certain chores: Some people find cleaning theraputic—I find a clean home theraputic, but the process of getting there is work to me. I hate washing dishes, for example, so I usually leave my dishes until after Sabbath. However, if I visit a friend and use their dishes, I would clean after myself because I feel like that is what Christ would do.

Great things to Do on Sabbath:
This is just a list (and not and exhaustive one at that) of options or typical things people do on Sabbath, not a "you should do this" type of list. None of these are required.

• Attend Church
• Spend time with family/friends
• Participate in a ministry
• Bible Study
• Openning/Closing the Sabbath[2]
• Spend time in nature
• Visit the sick
• Visit the elderly
• Visit those who may be downtrodden, feel alone/mistreated, from marginalized groups who need reassurance that they are loved, etc.
• Community service
• Learn about God's creation

References & Footnotes

1. Ree Hughes. "Can't, Won't, or Don't?". PSALMS to God. April 15, 2020
2. I had never heard of this before I met people who grew up in Sabbath keeping households. I'm not sure of all the details, but most people I know who do this do a prayer, devotional, and maybe a song.

Why Do I Keep the Sabbath?

PSALMS to God · Why I Keep The Sabbath

⁸“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
¹⁰but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8-11 NKJV

Unlike the other 10 commandments, the Sabbath was instituted at creation (Genesis 2:2-3).

When God commands the Israelites to keep the Sabbath, He says "remember"—it is the only commandment that He prefaces this way.

Many assert that the commandments are done away with, but there are several places in the New Testatment where Christ says "if you love Me, keep My commandments" and even in Revelation, it talks about the people of God keeping the commandments. What commandments do you think they keeping? (Note: when Christ said love God and love your neighbor, the first 4 commandments concern our love for God and the last 6 commandments concern our love for our neighbor; He simply summarized the whole of the law.)
Christ and the Sabbath
Speaking of Christ and the Sabbath, let's look at what Christ actually said about the Sabbath.

• Perhaps the most quoted example is that from Matthew 12, in which Jesus and the disciples are picking grain to eat on the Sabbath
• In Matthew 24:20, Christ tells the people to pray that the hour of destruction does not come upon them on the Sabbath
• Christ stays in the grave during the Sabbath; it is only after Sabbath that He is risen. (Matthew 28:1-7)
• Jesus heals on the Sabbath. (Mark 3:1-4)
• His custom was to teach the word in the synaguoge on Sabbath. (Luke 4:16)
• Jesus speaks of freeing people on the Sabbath. (Luke 13)

Context is important when looking at these verses. The Pharisees were legalistic; they believed they could be saved by keeping the law and had created laws on top of the laws to keep from breaking the original law. In Romans 7:6, Paul talks about the letter of the law verses the spirit of the law and in other places he talks about us being in the Spirit, not under the law. Remember the Spirit is the Holy Spirit, part of the Godhead that wrote the law. Christ Himself said that He came to fulfill the law, not abolish it (Matthew 5:18; 24:34). Paul is not saying "do what thou wilt" (that is a satanist motto), Paul is saying the Spirit will guide you. The Jews had laws about how far one could walk on the Sabbath and wether you could pick something up or not. It had become a burden of "don't"s. When you follow the Jesus in the gospels, you will see that He had a custom of keeping the Sabbath, it just didn't look like what the Pharisees defined. What did Christ do on the Sabbath that the Jews objected to? He healed (did good), He freed (loosed from the bonds of sin), He ate straight from God's creation. Christ was reminding them not to get so caught up in the letter of the law that they miss the whole point.

Daniel 7:25 speaks of an antichrist who thinks to change times and law. The Sabbath is the only commandment given that is both a time (Sabbath) and a law (keep it holy). Ironically 1 Timothy 4:1-3 talks about "doctrines of devils" that include forbidding to marry and abstaining from meats. Keeping the Sabbath was abolished and replaced with Sunday worship by the Catholic church.[1] The Catholic church also forbids their preists to marry[2] (despite the fact that the Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:2 that a bishop/pastor is a man with one wife), and during lent (which is not observed in the Bible), they forbid their members to eat meat on Friday.[3]

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth— to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— ⁷saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” ⁸And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” ⁹Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” ¹²Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. ¹³Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Revelation 14:6-13

The first angel in Revelation 14:6-7 proclaims a message about giving glory and worshiping God, "who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." Notice the following:

• In Exodus 20:8-11 where the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy is given, God gives us a reason to keep the Sabbath: "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." This language is almost identical to what the angel says in Revelation.
• Those who do not receive the Mark of the Beast—"the patience of the saints"—are keeping the commandments of God
• Those who die in the Lord are given rest (which is the literal translation of the word Sabbath). Christ desires to give His people rest in Matthew 11:28-29 as well. Paul outlines more on rest in Hebrews 4.

The Bible talks about signs, seals, and marks. Two are of particular interest to us: the Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast. First let's define a seal. A seal signifies authority, acts as a signature, and is a mark of an office.[4] If you think about a formal signature or seal, it usually has three parts: a name, title, and territory. For instance, if I were to sign a formal letter or email in my career, I would sign: "Shiree Hughes, Ph.D., Embedded Systems Engineer, <Company I Work For>" Leaders do the same thing today: Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America. The 4th commmandment is the law that contains this information about the Lord: the Lord, Creator of Heaven and Earth. Now, with that information, compare the following passages:

• Exodus 13:9
• Exodus 31:12-18
• Deuteronomy 6:1-8
• Deuteronomy 11:13-18
• Revelation 7:3
• Revelation 9:4
• Revelation 13:16-18
• Revelation 14:1;9
• Revelation 17:5
• Revelation 20:4

The seal of God is following Him and His commandments; the mark of the Beast is following man and the laws man comes up with (this goes well beyond the Sabbath, but the Sabbath is a start).

In Exodus, the reason given for keeping the Sabbath is that God is the creator. In Deuteronomy, the reason given is that He brought the Israelites out of bondage. Both of these reasons show us a full picture of who God is: He is the Creator and He is the Redeemer. The Sabbath is a reminder that He both created us and saved us from bondage. It also points forward (and backward) to God's perfect creation where there exists rest and freedom from bondage.

Why are people against keeping the Sabbath?
God said "I'm going to give you a day where you don't have to do anything. You can take a break, relax, enjoy the planet I gave you, fellowship with your friends, etc." and people are saying "No, I don't have to do that." We'll pick up with this thought in next week's episode on how I keep the Sabbath.

The blue thread I mentioned that symbolizes the law: Numbers 15:37-41

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 NKJV

References & Footnotes

1. Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R. The Convert's Catcheism of Catholic Doctrine, pg 50. 1910
2. Clerical Celibacy in the Catholic Church". Wikipedia; visited August 10, 2020
3. Marisa Iati. "Can Catholics eat the Impossible Burger during Lent? Sure — but it’s kind of missing the point, experts say.". The Washington Post. February 28, 2020
4. "Seal". Merriam Webster Dictionary; visited August 10, 2020
5. Ree Hughes. "Keep the Sabbath Holy". PSALMS to God. June 2015
6. Ree Hughes. "Keeping the Sabbath: Was it Abolished?". PSALMS to God. July 2016
7. Pastor Ivor Myers. "The Blueprint Prophecy Series Pt. 1: The War in Heaven". YouTube. May 1, 2020
8. Pastor Ivor Myers. "The Blueprint Prophecy Series Pt. 2: The War on Earth". YouTube. May 2, 2020
9. Pastor Ivor Myers. "The Blueprint Prophecy Series Pt. 3: The Final Conflict". YouTube. May 3, 2020

Councils & Creeds

PSALMS to God · Councils & Creeds

Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 CSB

After the first century, the Church continued to have disagreements. When the Constantine declared he was a Christian, the Church became mainstream. With that change, there was an influx of people into the Church that may or may not have been truly converted—Christianity was now "hip." It was during this time that modern Christianity took form.

The Roman religion I mentioned and failed to pronounce is Mithraism. It was the dominate religion until the legalization of Christianity.[1] Much of the sun worship that has crept into the modern church comes from Mithraism.

The first 7 ecumenical councils

1. The First Council of Nicea (325ad)
2. The First Council of Constantinople (381ad)
3. The Council of Ephesus (431ad)
4. The Council of Chalcedon (451ad)
5. The Second Council of Constantinople (553ad)
6. The Third Council of Constantinople (680–681ad)
7. The Second Council of Nicaea (787ad)

Important decisions from the First Council of Nicea include a stance against Arianism (the belief that Jesus is a created being) and officially abandoning Passover for the pagan holiday of Easter.[2]

The Council of Laodicea was held in 364ad. Although it is considered a minor council by scholars, the major decision to "move" the Sabbath to Sunday was made.[3][4] (Note: only God can transfer holiness, we will dive deeper into this in the next episode)

Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ. Canon 29 of the Council of Laodicea[4]

References

1. Reinhold Merkelbach. "Mithraism". Encycolpædia Britannica. February 5, 2020
2. "First Council of Nicaea". Encycolpædia Britannica. November 29, 2019
3. What happened at the Council of Laodicea?". GotQuestions.org; visited July 8, 2020
4. "Synod of Laodicea (4th Century)" New Advent; visited July 8, 2020
5. "First Seven Ecumenical Councils". Wikipedia; visited July 8, 2020

Isaiah 49-57: The Prince of Peace

Introduction

The ultimate gift God gives us is the Prince of Peace, the Messiah, Yashua/Yeshua/Jesus. Between Isaiah 49 and 57, Isaiah gives us a ton of prophecies, many of which deal with the Messiah. The most important prophecy concerning who Christ was (in my opinion) is Isaiah 53. Often referred to as "The Suffering Servant," the chapter gives a clear picture of the Messiah as a servant who must suffer at the hands of His own people to bring about salvation. This was the crucial prophecy that the Israelites neglected, as they expected the Messiah to be a triumphant warrior who would overthrow Rome instead of the servant described by Isaiah. Overall, however, these chapters paint the picture of the salvation brought by the Prince of Peace.

Calls to the People

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Pavan Trikutam

The first three chapters in this series deliver specific calls to God's people.

Called From the Womb

Isaiah recognizes that his calling came from the time he was in the womb. In fact, most of God's people were called before they took their first breath. Other examples include Samson and Samuel from the Old Testament, Jesus and John the Baptist from the New Testament. Isaiah explicitly states that his purpose is to call the people of God back to God. God tells Isaiah that this is a simple task, so He is also entrusting him with being a light for the Gentiles. Even during Isaiah's time, Israel was to be a light for the Gentile nations; it was never God's intent that they should stay in darkness. We know that the ultimate light that Israel brought into the world was the Messiah. How does that relate to Isaiah being called as a light to the Gentile nations? Well, someone compiled a list of 365 Messianic prophecies[1] (there are more, but this is a good sampling) and 133 of them are from the book of Isaiah. That's about 36%. The book in the Old Testament with the next largest number of Messianic prophecies is Psalms with 96. So while Jesus might be the ultimate Light God gave to the Gentiles, it is Isaiah that gives us the path to identify the light (the light switch, if you will).

Prophecies About Christ

In Isaiah 49:7, Isaiah jumps right in to Messianic prophecy as if to confirm that he has been given light to point us to the ultimate Light. First, he tells us that the Holy One of Israel (the Messiah), will be despised by men. If Christ's crucifixion does jump into mind as clear evidence of that, just scour message boards online today. There are many atheists or agnostics, who while tolerant of other religions, have a deep-seated hatred for Christ.

Isaiah goes on to tell us that Christ will be worshiped by kings and princes. Even the most powerful people in our world have to answer to Christ. In Christ's kingdom, everyone will come to bow down to Him and all will be provided for. As Isaiah explains this, he mentions a land called Sinim, which scholars believe is meant to reference a far off nation, likely China.[2]

As Isaiah continues to point out how God (and the Messiah) feel about the people, he lays out a third prophecy. God promises no to forget about His children, and points out that He has a mark in the palm of His hands to remind Him of us. That mark is from the crucifixion.[3]

Prophecy About Israel

Isaiah also prophesies the captivity and scattering of Israel. The people of Israel were driven from The Promised Land after the siege of Jerusalem in 70ad and have been intermingled with the Gentiles ever since. However, in the end the people who were tearing apart the families of God's people and who were mistreating them, will be bowing before them.

Called to Follow

In the beginning of Isaiah 50, we are presented with metaphorical questions about our relationship with God as our Father. God did not abandon His children, His children stopped following Him. When there is separation between us and Him, it is not because He "divorced our mother" or sold us, but be cause we have chosen sin over obedience.

The beauty in this situation is that God is the all powerful God. He can redeem us and reconect with us if we let Him. His choice is to deliver us from a fate of separation and disconnect, but we have to let Him. Throughout the Bible, it talks about people who have ears but can't hear, or eyes and can't see. We close our senses to God, and block His Spirit sometimes. When Isaiah chose to listen to God, God opened His hear that He might understand. When we choose to listen and see, God reveals Himself, wisdom, and His plan to us. The key, is that we have to choose to follow Him first.

Called to Action

If you make a decision, but you never act on it, what good is it? God gave us a law. If we are truly following Him, if we have truly surrendered to His Will, we will also do our best to follow this law. The Israelites often confused this concept by thinking that if the just did what God had specified in the law, they were doing good. However, just because you do what someone says doesn't mean you love or respect them. Obedience can also come from fear or habit. The key thing to remember is that we are compelled to follow the law because we love God, however following the law is not a means of salvation and is not the starting point of our relationship with Him.

Fear

Many times, when we are doing right, the people around us will try to discourage us. In a moment of peer pressure, we often deny Christ and the Father to appease a human. Peter did this when He denied Christ. God asks us think about why we afraid of people? They do not have power over their own lives and die just like us. Therefore their thoughts and opinions should have no power over us.

Endtime Prophecy

In Isaiah 51:6, Isaiah prophesies that Heaven and Earth will be demolished and rebuilt during the final judgment. During this time, all who did not follow the Lord will perish. This prophecy is echoed in the New Testament (2 Peter 3:10-13 and Revelation 21:1).

Awakening

God makes a plea for Israel to wake up. It is time for them to return to our Father, to open our ears and heart. The devision to follow should always be followed with the action of following. This consists of opening our hears and eyes, just as Isaiah did. If we don't, we suffer the same fate as the pagan nations.

The Suffering Servant

If you weren't sure that Jesus is the Messiah, Isaiah 53 is the scripture you need to read. I have read that this chapter is intentionally glossed over or "forbidden" in Jewish synagogues for exactly this reason.[4]

Isaiah prophesies about a suffering servant, the prophecy really begins at the end of Isaiah 52, where we are told that this person would become disfigured for us. The disfiguring Isaiah references is the punishment Jesus endured before and on the cross. As we continue into Isaiah 53, we learn that despite suffering for us, people would reject him (obviously fulfilled both by the Jews rejecting Him and choosing to crucify Him, as well as the continued rejection of His gift by people throughout time). Isaiah tells us that the Messiah would be brought to "slaughter like a lamb" indicating that he understood that the purpose of this sacrifice was to fulfill the required sacrifices once and for all. Take note that while God is pleased with the suffering of the Messiah, it is not because He enjoys seeing the Messiah suffer. God is pleased because this suffering allows Him to intercede for all of God's children. It is only though His suffering that the rest of us can ever be reunited with God. It is also through Him that Satan will eventually be defeated. This is what pleases God.

The Deception

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good,Isaiah 55:2 KJV

The business model of the world matches the battle plan of Satan: create a problem that doesn't exist and sell the solution. If you were around in the early 2000s, you remember black and white flip phones that barely had the ability to text. Of course, if you grew up during my parent's era, you remember when we didn't have cell phones at all. If you grew up in my grandparents' era, you remember when phones were a luxury. If you grew up before then, you would remember when phoned didn't exist. For the majority of our existence, people lived just fine without them. Now, kids are getting them at 5 and 6 years old! People have been convinced that a child needs a $400 - $1000 object. How? Why?

In the beginning of Isaiah 55, it is point out that we chase things that don't benefit us. We spend money on things that are not in our best interest, and work hard for things the world tells us we need, but they don't fill the empty void that is meant to be filled with God. We will work extra hours to have extra money to see the latest concert or movie, to buy the latest trends, etc., but we don't invest that money in God's people— remember the bread is His body; God's body is the Church (1 Corinthians 12:12–14) and we aren't investing in the people of the church. I don't mean building funds and jet planes for pastors. I mean supporting single parents. I mean supporting the poor. I mean taking care of the elderly. Consume the Bread of Life (the Word of God) and actively engaging in the work of God is what will satisfy our soul. The things of this world only bring us distraction. They keep us busy, but we never find that contentment that God has for us.

A Futile Effort

Isaiah 55 follows the famous quote "no weapon formed against you shall prosper." Even though it's the last verse of Isaiah 54, it summarizes the whole of both chapters' point. God has made a covenant with His people so for as long as we have (be it our death or the death of this world), we can seek Him out. However, we see in God's call to seek Him while He can be found that this timeline is finite; there will come a point where we've lost our chance (because we're dead, or the judgement has arrived). Once we seek Him out, we're on the winning side. God will stand for His people, and He is the creator of even the smallest molecules men use to build weapons. There is nothing a man can create that does not have to obey God first. Thus, the only power our enemies have over us is convincing us not to rely on God.

God's Thoughts and Ways

The end of Isaiah 55 could easily be paired with the concept of growing from thinking and speaking like a child, to thinking and speaking as an adult. It is a reminder that although we grow up and learn more, we can't fully comprehend God. My dad has a saying about understanding crazy people; he said if you can understand the thought process of serial killers, or racists, or whomever, that means you think like them and you're crazy too. You have to be tuned in to the same frequency to understand and empathize with those feelings. Similarly, if any of us could fully comprehend God, we'd have to be God.

I used to wonder if sin was the culprit of why we can't understand. After all, sin is a degenerative disease. However, when I started thinking about the angels, I realized that they must not be able to fully comprehend God either. If so, Lucifer never would have rebelled. He would have understood the perfect order God created and abided in it. Not only that, but other angels wouldn't have sided with him. It proves that like us, they only know so much.

God's Word is Never Void: A Sign

¹¹So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth:
it shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
¹²For ye shall go out with joy,
and be led forth with peace:
the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree,
and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree:
and it shall be to the Lord for a name,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.Isaiah 55:11-13 KJV

God's Word is powerful. Unlike us, He doesn't say things casually or without thought, so everything He tells us will come to pass. This is great news for those who surrender to Him and horrible news for those who rebel.

I spent quite a while on this particular passage, trying to figure out what the everlasting sign would be. Some commentators suggest a bountiful Earth, some suggested fertility, and others suggested the actual Word of God.[8] I can see how all three of these are possible, and actually are intertwined. To have high fertility rates, the people must be eating well and consuming the proper nutrients, therefore the Earth must be bountiful. The only way for the Earth to be bountiful is that the people have found favor in the eyes of God, and that will only happen when we surrender to His Word.

Preservation of Justice

God's people will have God's desire for justice. This means that in a kingdom that truly serves Him, the people in charge will actively seek justice. They will not be taking advantage of people, or favoring this group over that group. God's people will do the best they can to wield honest, appropriate, and merciful judgements so that justice prevails.

Sabbath

In Isaiah 56:6 brings the attention of the Israelites to the importance of keeping the Sabbath without defiling it. Note that there were two types of Sabbaths prescribed by God. The original Sabbath (referred to as the Sabbath) was instituted in the very beginning, to end the creation week. After the fall and when God established Israel, He instituted holy days (where we get thee word holiday), some of which were to be observed in the same manner as the Sabbath. These became knows as sabbaths or sabbath days (plural). Because God is referred to a singular Sabbath, we know He is referencing the one from creation.

Saved Against the Odds

The Israelites, as well as modern Christians, are quick to judge who can and can't be saved, but that judgement is reserved for God. In Isaiah 56, we see God explicitly make provisions for the salvation of two groups of people you wouldn't expect: foreigners and eunuchs.

Foreigners

The Israelites are God's chosen people, everybody else (at the time) was pagan. The Israelites were constantly told to set themselves apart and not to intermarry with these people. So it's easy to develop the opinion that those people were hopeless and unable to gain salvation. However, that was never the case. From the beginning, anyone who was willing to submit to God, could join Israel and become part of God's people. In Isaiah 56, God reiterates this point. Today, we should remember that "foreigner" can apply to people of the same nationality and/or race, but of a different religion. We have to remember that all it takes it repentance and submission to God for a person to be saved, regardless of their background.

Eunuchs

Eunuchs were men who had been castrated. Since this would be considered a deformity, it was regarded as unclean in Israel; thus, eunuchs were not well received. The Israelites would have been shocked to hear this message.

I've seen many quote this verse along with Matthew 19:12 to support the LGBT community, so I want to take a deeper look.[7] Matthew 19:12 identifies 3 types of eunuchs: those who were forcefully castrated, those who were born that way, and those who chose to be.

The reason men were forcefully castrated was—aside from being a grotesque show of power—to provide "trustworthy" protection for the queen and concubines of the king.[5] The women (and children) required guards, but an able bodied solider was a threat to the king. Remember, these marriages were not based on love and most kings had many wives, so there was plenty of spare time for the wives to get distracted. Also, since DNA testing wasn't a thing back then (that we know of), the king would have felt obligated to protect the throne from illegitimate heirs. So, to ensure that soldiers tasked with keeping the women safe did not betray the king by sleeping with the women, the king had them castrated. Note, this didn't mean that the men became women and/or began living their lives as women. It also doesn't mean they were gay.

The men who were "born that way" were men who were born with out a penis; this condition is called Penile Agenesis. They still have a male physiology and are considered men, they are just unable to have sex.[6] Once again, there is no Biblical or historical evidence that these men behaved as women or engaged in homosexual relationships. (In fact, they would have had the same dilemma in trying to have a homosexual relationship as they would having a heterosexual one).

The final group of eunuchs mentioned in Matthew 19:12 are those who chose that life. These men were not born that way, nor were they forced into the predicament. Because the passage in Matthew 19:12 is talking about marriage, I don't think it's meant that the literally disfigured themselves, but rather they chose not to get married—like Paul. If anything these men would have been considered asexual.

Were there gay or transgender eunuchs? I don't know. However, the word eunuch does not mean gay or transgender.

References

1. 365 Messianic Prophecies". Bible Probe; visited May 2019
2. "Sinim, Land Of. Bible Study Tools; visited May 2019
3. "When Jesus was nailed to the cross, did the nails go through His hands or His wrists?". GotQuestions.org; visited May 2019
4. "Forbidden Chapter of the Tanakh". Jewish Voice. June 2, 2016
5. "Eunuch". Encyclopædia Britannica. February 11, 2019
6. Aeron Charline. "Penile Agenesis and Testicular Agenesis". October 25, 2011
7. Matt Slick. "In Matthew 19:12, is being born as a eunuch a support for homosexuality?". Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry; visited May 2019
8. "Isaiah 55:13". Bible Hub; visited May 2019

Cell Phones & Work Trips: A Testimony

When work and faith conflict, it's hard to proceed forward. You don't want to jeopardize your career, but you don't want to turn your back on God. I stepped out on faith, and God showed up to fight the battle.

I decided to revive the testimony section by participating in #TestimonyTuesday on instagram. When I had to create a Vimeo account for something I'm helping with at church, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share short testimonies on a weekly basis.

Cell Phones

So Tuesday came and I recorded the testimony (see below), but I couldn't post to instagram. My phone kept complaining, then froze. So I did a soft reset—no worries right? I still couldn't post the video to instagram, but I was able to share a graphic letting people know if was coming. I thought I could figure out the video at work. While at work, all the apps kept crashing. I ended up having to do a hard reset of the phone. I was sure that would fix it, only that just got it stuck on the spinning wheel. For two hours, my phone stayed on this screen. At this point, I knew two things had happened: 1) the amount of time for ignoring updates had expired and Apple had sent the kill command to my phone (they really should have waited to make me buy the new phone in the fall, but hey, I'm just a software engineer, not a business consultant)[1] and 2) the devil did not want me to share this testimony.

I wasn't going to let the devil win, so I bought a new phone. I wasn't planning on spending money on a phone any time soon, but I wanted to make sure I followed through with what God was leading me to do (#testimonytuesday). Well, God showed up for that. Not only did I get a new phone with more GBs of memory, I now have an unlimited data plan, a WiFi hotspot that may replace my current router (still testing it out), and I got it all at a discounted rate because they were having a Mother's Day Special (apparently it's discrimination to deny non-mother's the special, so I qualified).

Work Trip

Text Summary

Hey guys! So I’m coming with #TestimonyTuesday So the testimony that I want to share this week happened around the end of last week—I think Friday. So my boss came in—it’s actually my boss’ boss—and he wanted me to go on a trip for the company, which is all well and good. I was totally cool to go, except I was worried about the logistics. I was worried that it would require me to travel during the Sabbath,[2] and as a Sabbath keeper I didn't want to have to get into it with my boss about this. I was kind of nervous ‘cause religion is not something you typically bring up at work. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, what he was going to say, how this was going to look—you know what I mean? And so… And then there are a lot of Christians who don’t keep the Sabbath, so I didn’t really think, even if he was a Christian or if he was familiar with Christianity, he wouldn’t necessarily be like “Yeah that’s normal.” So I was really hesitant, but I did it. Because I was like “OK, if you’re going to go you have to get this cleared.” And so I took a leap of faith and I went ahead and I brought up it up to my boss’ boss. I was like “Yeah, I can go on this trip. I’m totally fine to go, but I don’t travel during the Sabbath. I just need to be able to keep the Sabbath during this time window.[3] And lo and behold! He was completely cool with it. He was like “Oh, yeah, yeah. That’s great. Whatever you need to do, that's fine. If you want to leave early, if you want to stay late, I'm fine. The company will work with you. It's good.” And I was like “Oh, so all I had to do was verbalize it? That’s really cool.” It reminded me that when you take that leap of faith, that God will walk with you, and that He will make sure that what needs to happen happens. So, that is my testimony from last week. Drop your testimony in the comments section below

References and Footnotes

1. This is a half joke. As a software engineer, I understand the life cycle of phones. I also know that all company want you to buy new products, so...
2. "⁸Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: ⁹You are to labor six days and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates. ¹¹For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy." Exodus 20:8-11 CSB
3. The Sabbath by Biblical definition is the 7th day, and since Biblically days are counted from sunset to sunset, this time period is from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday.

Keeping The Sabbath: Was it Abolished?

Part one of the Keeping the Sabbath series focuses on whether or not the Sabbath was abolished, as some claim.

Introduction

When I mention the keeping the Sabbath, I often get the weirdest reactions from people. The reason for the variety of reactions I receive, is the variety of teachings and beliefs people have acquired about God's law. You have people who think it doesn't matter if you keep the Sabbath or not; they see it as optional. Similarly, there are people who think it should be observed, but that it doesn't matter what day you keep the Sabbath. Of course, there are also those who think you're crazy if you observe the Sabbath on the Sabbath instead of Sunday. Conversely, those who observe the Sabbath on the Sabbath and usually believe it wrong to keep Sunday. Within all of these groups, are people who can't fathom devoting a whole day to God, which has an interesting effect on their interpretation... I've written posts about the Sabbath before, but I feel like I should address the questions that come with the reactions above, as well as, dive into the topic in more depth.
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Photocredit: Your Divine Connection

Did Jesus Abolish Sabbath?

The first question we need to answer is "did Jesus abolish the Sabbath." Everything else rides on the answer to this question. Many people think Jesus abolished the law on the cross (see my post "The Law" for more details on this topic). From there, they come to the conclusion that they don't have to keep the Sabbath. The command to keep the Sabbath holy is one of the 10 commandments, so do they now conclude it's ok to kill people? Of course not! The 10 Commandments are still very much in effect, but the devil has set a trap in the form of allowing us to twist God's words into thinking we have a choice in which laws we want to follow.

¹⁷Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. ¹⁸For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. ¹⁹Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.Matthew 5:17-20 KJV

Jesus talks about the Sabbath plenty in His ministry and never does He say the Sabbath is done away with. What Jesus did say is that he didn't come to destroy the law (Matthew 5:17-20). Jesus said with His own mouth that His mission was not to destroy the law, yet so many churches teach that the law was abolished by Jesus... Is that not odd?
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What Did Jesus Do on the Cross?

What Jesus actually did was clarify and triumph over the law. Jesus is the only man to never break a single letter of the law, including the Sabbath. He upheld the law exactly the way God intended for man, and thus fulfilled the law. When He died on the cross, He was blameless, which allowed Him to be worthy enough to take on the sins of everyone else. In the Old Testament, as they describe the sacrifices that were made for sins, you will notice that the sins of the person were symbolically transferred to a pure and innocent animal, and then it was the animal's blood that paid for the sin. In more severe cases, the person had to pay for the sin with their own blood and received a death sentence for their sins. Jesus took all of this upon Himself, thus paying the price for our sins and eliminating the need for us to sacrifice animals or ourselves. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies foreshadowing His first coming, along with the holy days that symbolized His purpose and mission (you can read the specifics on this here). This is what Jesus did on the cross, and after He did all of this for us, He defeated death. The wages of sin are death, but Jesus defeated both, so when we follow Him we are guaranteed victory.
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What Did Jesus Say About the Sabbath?

When Jesus discusses the Sabbath, it's always to correct the Pharisees' distortion of the law. One thing you have to remember when reading the Bible, is to put the text back into the context of the time period it takes place, which means you have to understand the history of the era. A key fact in this discussion is that the Jews took the law of Moses and drastically expanded it.

This expansion of the law effected the Sabbath, as well. God forbids specific actions (like buying and selling or carrying a burden), but the Israelites created a detailed list of prohibited activities, many of which were never specified by God. Activities such as writing and even tying a knot were forbidden—good thing they didn't wear lace-up shoes back then! Below are a few Jewish websites that outline some of these prohibitions:

• Aish
• Chabad
• Judaism 101
• My Jewish Learning

Jesus clashed with the Pharisees because they were taking the letter of the law to a rigid and ungodly level. In His confrontations, Jesus proves that you can always do good on the Sabbath. In Luke 6, Jesus heals someone on the Sabbath despite objections. The message He's sending is that if you fall and break your arm on the Sabbath it is perfectly fine for a doctor to fix your arm. There are things that are out of our control, particularly in the realm of health, which may cause for attention on the Sabbath. For example, a woman may go into labor on the Sabbath; she can't just not have the baby and Jesus' actions imply that it would be perfectly fine for a midwife or doctor to assist the woman. In Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus and the disciples are chastised for picking corn to eat on the Sabbath. Here, Jesus compares feeding themselves to King David eating the shewbread (which was only for the priests) because he was hungry. Jesus informs the Pharisees that it is OK to feed yourself during the Sabbath. For instance, it may not be lawful to pick a bushel of corn because it is excessive and preparation for business or the future, but it is perfectly fine to pick enough to eat right then. Jesus is stressing necessity again. There will be things that are necessary that occur on the Sabbath and you will have to tend to them (such as hunger).^[1] Essentially, Jesus says that it's permissible to do things out of kindness, in the service of God, and out of necessity; this does not abolish the Sabbath at all.
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Did Paul Abolish the Sabbath?

Many people choose to cite Paul as the source of their belief that the Sabbath has been abolished. Before we get into the verse from Paul that suggests the Sabbath is no longer valid, I want to point out that only God can make or void a law. Every law Moses wrote was given by God, and as such, Moses introduces the laws with phrases such as "thus saith the Lord." As a mere man, Paul doesn't have the authority to change laws without instruction from God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit. We know from Jesus' assertion that He didn't come to destroy the law but to fulfill it, that He wouldn't be the one to tell Paul to change a law.

Keeping that in mind, this is what Paul said about the Sabbath that leads people to believe it has been abolished.

¹⁴Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; ¹⁵And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. ¹⁶Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:Colossians 2:14-16 KJV

²⁰Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, ²¹(Touch not; taste not; handle not; ²²Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?Colossians 2:20-22 KJV

Remember above, where I discussed the Pharisees adding laws to God's law? Colossians 2:22 makes an explicit reference to the laws of men. This is a huge indicator that Paul is not talking about walking away from God's law, but is echoing Jesus' teachings that man has made up his own law and is following God's law incorrectly.

So why does Paul say not to let anyone judge us about sabbath days? This is one of those New Testament passages that should remind you that to understand the New Testament, you have to understand the Old Testament. After the exodus, Moses lays out a series of what people refer to as "ceremonial" laws. These laws included offerings, holy days, and feasts. Feasts were done both in remembrance of their journey from bondage in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land, as well as, to prophesy the spiritual journey Jesus has provided for us. I discussed how Jesus fulfilled these feasts and sacrifices in the post on Leviticus 23. What's important in this passage, is not so much how Jesus fulfilled these things, but what He fulfilled. These feasts and holy days were identified by the new moon, had requirements of meat and drink offerings, and/or forbade the Israelites to indulge in certain foods at that time. The holy days were also called sabbaths. As you can see by context, Paul isn't referencing the 7^th day Sabbath, a day which God made holy before sin entered the world. Paul is talking about the annual sabbaths, the feasts and ceremonies the Jesus fulfilled which His ministry.
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Conclusion

As you can see, Jesus never abolished the Sabbath. That means, definitively, that we should be keeping one day holy. In the other posts of the series I will discuss the questions of which day, what it means to keep the Sabbath holy, and why it is important.
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References

1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A.R., Brwon, D. "Matthew 12 Commentary". Bible Study Tools; visited July 2016

What Will You Choose?

Decisions, decisions. Life always presents you with choices; you may not like the choices, but they're always there.

What the most important aspect of your life?

Perhaps you thought of your family or your friends, people you love and intend to love for the rest of your life. Maybe you thought of your career or a passion you have hopes of succeeding with (such as art or music). Maybe you're a humanitarian and you thought of the service you do for community, the children you mentor, or the elderly you care for. I wonder how many people thought of God?

What I Spend the Day Thinking Of

As much as we'd like to deny it, God is not at the forefront of our minds 24/7. How often we think about Him varies from person to person. You might expect believers to think about God much more than non-believers, since we claim He hold ultimate priority in our lives. You might even think we would think about Him more than any other topic. When I attempted to plot out what I think about each day and how much time I spend thinking on the topic (shown to the left), I realized an interesting nuance to representing how we should be thinking about God.

In the pie chart to the left, there's a slice dedicated to how much time is spent thinking of God, but it implies this time is separate from the other topics. We can think about God while thinking of other aspects of our life. In fact, all of these topics can overlap. We should have God evenly sprinkled in each area of our thoughts. When I start making decisions or plans with my friends, God should be included; when I study for class, God should be included. Most of us who have been believers already know this, though.

This concept is illustrated in the phrase "giving honor to God who's first and foremost in my life." If you grew up in a Black church or watched enough awards shows, this is a familiar phrase. I was never a fan of the phrase, perhaps I disliked the disingenuity of a canned phrase. It always felt like something people say because they're supposed to, not because they actually feel moved to by the Spirit (emphasis on the word felt, who am I to say what goes through people's minds or hearts as they speak). Regardless of what people mean or feel as they speak the words I want to talk about the idea and the practice of putting God first in our lives and incorporating Him in all areas of our life.

We live in a society that decries religion as something that is supposed to be contained in one's personal space. Many will tell you it doesn't have a place in public spaces or in the workplace; it's even one of the topics you aren't supposed to discuss in polite conversation. This worldly mentality makes it easy to push God out of certain aspects of our lives. We have been conditioned to sacrifice God to succeed in the world, despite His Word telling us that we are not of the world.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.John 17:14 KJV

When I started keeping the Sabbath according to the Bible, I started to notice just how difficult it is to separate yourself from the world and how much the enemy has programmed our brains against putting God first. It's not that we are consciously denying God or purposefully putting something before Him. Instead we have been taught not to see anything wrong with our actions. Certain actions are considered normal, everyone does them, so we don't even stop to think about what God has already said about this action.

For instance, if I go to a restaurant for supper after church on the Sabbath, it doesn't seem like such a bad thing on the surface. Most people probably don't think anything of the act. Even those who think about the people working at the restaurant may think the workers would work even if they didn't come in or rationalize that they themselves are not working. Some may try to rationalize that the have to eat; after all, Jesus let the the disciples pick grain for themselves during the Sabbath right? However, God tells us that we aren't to require those in our presence to work for us on the Sabbath in Exodus 20:10. At the restaurant the waiter/waitress, host, and chef become our "maidservants" and "menservants." Our money goes to pay for their services, thus we have employed them and required them to serve us during the Sabbath. Furthermore, Nehemiah 10:31 tells we aren't supposed to be buying (or selling) on the Sabbath anyway!

What I mean to say, is a lot of seemingly normal activities or habits we have picked up and think nothing of are actually examples of us subconsciously choosing the world over God.

A friend and I were discussing the issue of working on the Sabbath; this is one of those issues that people are more likely to realize is a conflict and confront directly. My friend took the position that not everyone can have a job that gives them the Sabbath off, our society just doesn't work like that. My friend went on to say if a person needed to feed their family, God would understand them working on the Sabbath.

Photocredit: FreeImages.com/Kostas Tsirogk

Many people take this stance, despite the fact that 50-60 years ago, almost everything was closed during the weekend and everything (except emergency personnel) was closed on Sunday. While Sunday isn't the Sabbath, despite majority of Christians in the world treating it as such, this proves that society functions just fine with these businesses closed for one day. The act of staying open today is merely a keeping up with the Jones effect: they're doing it, so I have to do it too.

From a believer's stand point, much of the confusion on how to behave lies in the contrast of Jesus' examples New Testament and God's commands in the Old Testament. I often hear people quote Jesus' dialogue on the Sabbath to attempt to rationalize not keeping the day holy, so let's take a quick look at the context of these passages. Between God's instructions in the wilderness and the arrival of Jesus, the Jews greatly added to the law.^[1][2] Jesus, who blatantly states that He didn't come to destroy the law^[5] addresses the problems with some of these extra laws in the New Testament. He reminds us of three areas that permit us to do "work" on the Sabbath: doing good for our fellow man, emergencies, and worshipping the Lord. Each of the areas Jesus permits can be defended via examples from the Old Testament: 1 Samuel 21:1-5, Numbers 28:9-10, and Hosea 6:6.^[3][4] Jesus didn't re-writing the Sabbath, He simply clarified what was already written. (A full discussion of this can be found in the post "Keeping the Sabbath Holy.")

So, if we're using the Sabbath as an example, the tricky part of placing God first in our lives stems from the emergency/necessity category. Like my friend suggested, if my job requires me to work on the Sabbath, is that a necessity in the eyes of God? There are people who would say yes. They would say that you need the money to survive, or that refusing to work on the Sabbath may get you fired, therefore it constitutes a necessity. This is where it gets interesting because unless you're an emergency responder, medical provider, or humanitarian (providing for the homeless, elderly, etc.), there's no reason for your boss to require you to work on the Sabbath, except greed.

Retail stores, grocery stores, etc. do not have to be open on the Sabbath. You can't control when you'll get sick or injure yourself. You can't control when lightning will strike your roof and catch the house on fire or when you'll absentmindedly turn on the wrong burner and catch the stove on fire. You can't control when criminals will attack you or break in to your house. As a farmer, I can't control when the cows will bust out of the pen and start wandering, or when their water will freeze and I need to break up the ice so they can drink. These are the types of tasks Jesus reminds us are inevitable. However, you can make time to buy shoes or groceries or carpet or what have you; these tasks do not have to be carried out right that moment and are not urgent. You may have to plan your week out to fit these tasks within the other 6 days of the week, but it's about whether you're willing to put in the effort to plan for God to have 24 hours of your time, not necessity.

Back to the worker my friend mentioned. She probably isn't the boss, and definitely isn't the consumer. She can't individually control the hours the store opens (though collectively, if no one were to be available to work on the Sabbath the owner couldn't operate on the Sabbath...). As my friend pointed out, we aren't all bosses, nor are we all in industries that present us with an Monday through Friday 8-5 work schedule. The truth is, it is very possible that people will deny you work if you tell them you can't work on the Sabbath. I know for a fact that in Clemson, SC you can't get a job at most places downtown or around the city if you're unwilling to work during football games (which coincidentally occur on the Sabbath unless it's a night game). However, there are options of working on campus which don't have the same requirements. You may have to work harder to get one of those jobs, but God will make a way for those following His lead.

I'm not saying it's easy to put God first, it most definitely is not: people will judge, options will disappear. While in the wilderness, the Israelites were always ready to give up. They thought they were better off in bondage than following God, just as we often think it's better to be in sin than on the path to Heaven. Its not an easy road and sin will often look like the better option.

Sometimes these opportunities are obvious no-nos, such as sleeping with a producer to jumpstart your acting career. But what about singing songs with lyrics you don't approve of to jumpstart your singing career? For example, Destiny's Child's sophomore album The Writing's on the Wall has songs like "Confessions" and "If You Leave" which promote adultery, alongside the outro which is gospel. Is it ok to teach evolution above creation because you're a teacher?

The quote that Jesus died so that we could have life more abundantly is often brought up to excuse questionable behaviors or decisions. "My job requires me to do this, so it's ok." Well, if you're job title is hitman, your job requires you to kill people, is that ok? No, God told us not to kill people, and though He may have made exceptions in the Old Testament, Jesus left us with instructions and examples that we are not to kill people today. No Christian would say it was ok for you to be employed as a hitman (though some might say it was ok to have a similar job in the police force, FBI/CIA, or Army).

The ease of the decision when it refers to something such as murder comes from you placing weight on sin. It is the idea that killing someone is worse than breaking the Sabbath. You can't rationalize murder as easily as you can breaking the Sabbath. James 2:10 tells us that breaking the 4^th commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) is the same as breaking the 6^th commandment (Exodus 20:13).

Your conscience, beliefs, and morals aren't supposed to come 2^nd to your job. Contrary to to what the world teaches, you aren't supposed to be aligning your beliefs with the company's beliefs or society's beliefs. You are to stand firm in God's Word.

²¹From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. ²²Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. ²³But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. ²⁴Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. ²⁶For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.Matthew 16:21-27 KJV

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References

[1] The 39 Prohibited Sabbath Activities. The Nazarene Way. 2016
[2] Deffinbaugh, Robert L. "16. The Sabbath Controversy in the Gospels". Bible.org. May 2004
[3] Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible. pg. 1598. 2014
[4] Matthew 12:1-14
[5] Matthew 5:7

Numbers 15: Reminders

God reminds the people of His expectations, but He also gives the people a way to remember His commandments.

Introduction

God instructs Moses to make celebratory offerings (burnt, freewill, etc.) as soon as they enter Canaan. These offerings were to include flour, oil, and wine in various quantities based upon the type of offering (of the herd/flock vs. a ram vs. bull). We see the common theme and emphasis put upon the offerings to God. During the post-Exodus but pre-Jesus era, God's people were constantly sacrificing animals to cleanse themselves. We commit too much sin for an animal to cover all our blemishes and too often to keep up with the sacrifices. This is why Jesus had to die for us.
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Uniform Laws

Yet again, God reminds the Israelites that they are to have one law for both the Israelites, as well as, strangers in the land. Presumably, the law applied to servants as well. God is telling us here that there were not to be exceptions. Just because you were from another land (say Egypt) and did not believe in God, did not mean you could work on the Sabbath in God's land. While it seems odd and overbearing in our overly tolerant society today, it makes perfect sense. God's law is not an easy law, it never was and it never will be. If believers saw non-believers engaging in easier lifestyles that were against God, it would bring about the temptation to join them. Similarly, if you have people killing and serving any type of animal, how could the Jews know if they have become unclean? Did you know that sometimes they use pork in cheese today?^[1] Ramen noodles are made in a factory with shellfish (see the backside of the label) and thus even chicken flavored ramen may be unclean. This is what happens when people are following different laws; it becomes much more difficult to determine what you can and cannot eat.

God gives us hope that those sin unknowingly can be forgiven. During Moses' era this required a sacrifice, today, we call on the blood of Jesus. However, when you sin knowingly, it is a different story. God says that those people were to be cut off from Israel. Purposefully disobeying God is the ultimate disrespect—it's like a slap in the face. When you sin knowingly, you say, "I know God doesn't want me to do this, but I don't care; I'm going to do it anyway." An example, before I learned that cheese could have pork in it, I didn't worry about what type of cheese I bought or ate. When I realized that I probably have been consuming pork unknowingly, I asked God for forgiveness and I know He forgave me. However, now that I know cheese is not necessarily vegetarian, I have to check before I eat it; I don't continue to just eat cheese on the assumption it is vegetarian because I know that it's possible it is not. (If you're confused about why I care that pork may be in my cheese, please see my post of the Christian diet). Now, I am responsible for what I know, and it is my duty to act such that I am in accordance with God's wishes.
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Failure to Uphold the Sabbath

The Israelites find a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath, so they take him to Moses and Aaron for judgment. We are not told why he is collecting sticks, possibly to build a fire, but it is confirmed that this was unacceptable Sabbath behavior. God condemns the man to death by stoning. This is a strong reminder of the importance of the Sabbath. Not only is the Sabbath one of the 10 commandment, it began in the garden of Eden while the world was still perfect. We do many things today that do not seem like work because we've always done them, or it's an easy task, but that doesn't mean God approved of them on the Sabbath. In the New Testament, Jesus shows us how to determine if something is acceptable for the Sabbath. If it is an emergency or pertaining to God, Jesus says it's ok. I would imagine if you woke up on the Sabbath to find the temperature had dropped below freezing and were forced to gather sticks for a fire because you didn't have heat, Jesus would be ok with that as it is an emergency. However, if you just wake up and decide you want to collect sticks because you don't like how they look in your yard, He may not be so happy about your behavior. I discuss the Sabbath in more detail in the post Keep the Sabbath Holy.
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Fringe

Photocredit: FreeImages.com/Laura Morariu

I once heard someone say that blue represented the law of God. The were pointing out that many churches neglect the color blue in their decor (red is probably the most common color seen inside the church), and referencing the fact that blue was supposed to remind us of the law. I couldn't figure out how they came to that conclusion at the time, but after rereading Numbers 15, I figured out their logic.

In this chapter, God instructs the Israelites to put fringe around their garments and place a blue ribbon on the fringe. This was meant to remind them of the commandments. Orthodox Jews still carry on this tradition.^[2] Blue is one of the colors featured in the adornments of the tabernacle as well.

Interestingly, blue is also the most popular (or most often cited as a favorite) color around the world.^[3] Are we drawn to blue because subconsciously we know that God's commands are best for us, or did God choose blue because He knew we would be drawn to it?
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References

1. "U.S. Products Made Without Pork (Porcine) Enzymes". Frito Lay. 2016
2. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible. pg. 259. 2014
3. Jordan, William. "Why is blue the world's favorite color?". You Gov. May 2015