The First Christian Sabbath of 2009
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 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: 11 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.
It is yet another Lord’s Day that the Lord, in His abundant mercy, has given us whereby we may cease from our regular labors and activities, and may take up the labors of love to Him and His Church! As we gather to our respective congregations this Lord’s Day, let us be mindful of His works as Creator and Redeemer.
May the first Christian Sabbath of 2009 serve exemplary of all forthcoming Sabbaths, being characterized by the private worship of families, the corporate gathering of the saints to receive the Word & Sacrament, the godly resolve to love and obey God’s most Holy Law, the practice of true Christian piety, the laboring in love toward our fellow saints, and the diligent works of mercy.
I love the Lord’s Day, though I nonetheless am guilty of breaking it in thought, word, and deed. This is the nature of men, even those Redeemed by the Lord. Nonetheless, may we passionately endeavor to keep the Sabbath according to the 4th Commandment as it is certainly for God’s glory and the saint’s good.
Blessings to you, Brothers and Sisters, on this Lord’s Day and blessed be the Name of the Lord.
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Loading ...Worshiping the Right God is Not Enough …
Imagine a day where driving around town you find that every business is closed for the day. In fact, not only are they closed for this day, but they shut down early the night before to prepare for the next day. No burger joints, clothing stores, electronic shops, etc. Nothing. Imagine there being no commerce on this day, because it has been set aside to devote it wholly to Someone Else.
It is a day that almost everyone wants off work, and then it’s considered a great injustice if one must work. It is a day where families gather together to worship the King of kings, and to remember His work done in History. His Promise promised to men throughout the ages. Imagine this day where everyone is not focused on themselves, but God and other believers.
So you may have thought I was talking about Christ-Mass, huh? Yes and no. Unfortunately, many professing Christians have sought to make December 25th to be this very day. Most people’s businesses are closed on this day. Most people consider it a great injustice if they have to work on this day. But, no, I wasn’t referring to Christ-Mass. I was referring to the Lord’s Day. The Sabbath. Also known as Sunday.
Where is the outcry over having to work on the Lord’s Day? Why do we not consider it an injustice?! Why, O, WHY do we put emphasis on a day (and that in the Name of the Lord) that the Lord has not instituted, and yet we’re completely neglectful of the true and only Holy Day? The Lord gave no command to set aside any other day to commemorate His incarnation divorced from His life, death, and resurrection other than the Sabbath.
It is not enough to worship the right God. The right God must also be worshiped rightly. And just how is that? According to how He has commanded it.
Now, I’m not right where many of the Puritans (and many of my close personal friends) were on the matter. I have no problem with having this day off work, spending this time with family, having good food, and exchanging gifts. What I do have a problem with is associating it with the Lord Jesus Christ. There is but one Holy Day, and December 25th, unless it falls upon a Sunday, ain’t it.
Would that we close up shop on the Lord’s Day! Would that we close early on Saturday evenings, so as to prepare for God’s Sabbath. Would that we take the Lord’s Law seriously! May God forgive us for putting Christ into the Mass. Let’s take Christ out of the Mass, folks.
(+2 rating, 2 votes) Loading ...Precious is Thy Salvation
I know my trespasses are ever before Thine eyes, O Lord. Thy Law doth shed that perfect light upon my wretchedness, exposing every transgression against it, in word, thought, and deed. My sins loom heavily in my mind that I might not evade Thy conviction. Thy Holy Spirit doth place before me my secret thoughts, showing me the true hopelessness of mine heart in its solitude. I grieve, O Lord, because of my sin. My iniquities are ever haunting whilst in this world of woes. What shall I do, O Thrice Holy God Who is angry with the wicked every day?
Though these displays of my sin are dreadful indeed, they dost drive me to Thy many mercies that are new every morning. Yea, though my heart is hopeless if left to its initial and solitude state, it is nonetheless bursting with hope when coupled with Thy regeneration and Thy faith given me, whereby I lay hold of Thy salvation. So then, Almighty God, my hope is in Thee, for Thou hast promised to save Thy servant to the uttermost. In that promise I stake my claim, according to that which was afforded me by the blood of Thy Son, Jesus. Amen.
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So I’ve changed the appearance of my blog, once again. Hope it’s appealing.
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**(The following represents the progress of a Christian’s thinking about the Gospel, their justification, and their sanctification. It’s not me making a confession of doubts that I have and then coming to a certain realization in mid-post. It is simply what a Christian may experience and I think it may be helpful to sort of illustrate how we think as Christians many times, and how we need to look not inwardly for assurance of salvation, but outwardly to the Object of our faith, Jesus Christ.)**
Even as a Christian (maybe?), I have missed the mark. I mean, come on, I still lie, lust, covet, hate, and break the Lord’s Commandments in thought, word, and deed. I am a wretched man. While my public identity may be classified as “the religious guy,” or “the Church fanatic,” etc., my private identity seems to be far from Child of God. Deep within, I really hate my sin, but that hatred never seems to surface where the rubber hits the road. Sure, I know Scripture; hey, I love Scripture! But I am constantly bringing perilous things in my pathways.
What is this doubt? Why does it haunt me so? Maybe I’m not a Christian. What if I’m one of those alluded to in Christ’s parable of the Sower? One of those seeds that lasted not, and never bore fruit? As I consider such, it makes a lot of sense. Who has been truly purchased with Christ’s redemption and yet sullied His Name like I find myself doing? Who, in Christ’s Kingdom, could persist in such rebellion. Sinning, confessing, “repenting” only to go back to sinning?!
Do I share the faith with demons who believe in God, but not such a faith that can be classified as saving? How can I name the Name of Christ with a clear conscience? Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, asks, “You were saved from sin, how could you live in it any longer?” And let me consider the warning passages throughout Scripture; I am particularly reminded of those sobering Scriptures in the book of Hebrews. Shall I enter His rest? I don’t see how I could, living such a double life that I do.
So I give up. I am tired of my duplicity. I say one thing and practice another. I proclaim one life and live another. I believe in Christ’s Words, but my very works betray me. I abandon any hope that I possess the ability to attain salvation. Instead, you know what I’m going to do?
I will cling to Christ and to His promise that He will save those to the uttermost who call upon His Name. I will recognize that what He has promised, He will be faithful to do. I will learn to distinguish between the salvation-doubting arrows of Satan, and the honest probing, prodding, and convictions of the Spirit, and will avail myself to the means of Grace that God has appointed, which point me to the Object, Author, and Finisher of my Faith: Jesus Christ.
You see, we are called to be holy. We are called to pursue righteousness. And we should. And we should never be comfortable in our sin. But we cannot, nay we must not, place any hopes in the progress (or perceived lack thereof) of our sanctification as some kind of means of salvation. It is the Lord alone, through the instrument of faith, that has procured our Righteousness by imputing to us His righteousness. This is why Paul can go through the first several chapters of Romans making the case that all men are condemned, but can give us relief, good Gospel relief, with Romans 8:1:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Praise be to God.
“Nothing in my hand [I'll] bring, but simply to [Christ's] cross [I'll] cling.”
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