The Joy of the Sabbath

The other day I was talking to a friend about the joy that the Sabbath brings. I do not have to work on that day. I can set aside cares and responsibilities that living in our contemporary world brings. I can take a nap in the middle of the day, I can reunite with members of my faith community, I can call friends, I can take a walk with my family.

I can do some missionary work. The Sabbath is a day that I can set aside worldly cares and be unencumbered in my kingdom living, however with a young child, I am beginning to wonder how to talk of and pass on the love for the Sabbath.

Many of us as children longed for the sun to go down on Sabbath because we didn't have the cares of the week. We didn't have the responsibililties waiting around the corner. We didn't have the daily grind seeking to call us back. And so we don't see that aspect of the Sabbath as welcome relief.

In addition, many middle class American children are shielded from the great pain and heartache arond the world. The Sabbath as a pointed to the coming kingdom is not as important when your present kingdom doesn't seem so bad.

But these things perhaps pushes me to realize that undestanding the Sabbath is my point. It is on me to pass on this important ideal. I pray that God will give me the patience and love to pass on this blessing. as children, we are shielded from the blessing that the Sabbath points to. There are

Powerful Testimony or Celebration of Sin?

Carl McRoy has written an article entitled Testipohnies. You can find the article at this link. In the article, McRoy chronicles the common occurrence of a preacher talking about his or her life of sin before coming to Jesus. We all have heard these stories. We listen intently as the preacher found his or herself in a tight situations. They have smoked cigarettes and done drugs, drank everything but Drano, stolen from the big pimp boss man, and some even killed other people. But GAAAWWWD brought them out of all that and here they are right now to tell you about it.

Glorifying Sin

McRoy makes a very startling point. Often in these "testimony" sermons the preacher only talks about the pleasurable things. They tell you about all the women they have slept with, but none of the diseases or the painful waiting for that Venereal Disease test to come back. They talk about the alcohol, but not the hangovers. They talk about the glamor of sin and not the underside of it. Certainly there are exceptions, but in many cases this is what you find.

Belittling Those Without These Experiences

But more than this, and I have experienced some of this, we have people who will actually belittle those who have not engaged in some of these practices. The preacher will take on a pious or sanctimonious tone and mock those who have attempted live a whole life in line with Christian principles.

Encouraging to Put Off Coming to Jesus

Finally, and McRoy brings this important point out, these stories can promote living a lifestyle that is not in line with Chrsitian principles, becuase ultimately you will have a later chance to come back to God. While it is true God will forgive, it is also true that sometimes we face the hard issue that we often do reap the harvest that we have sown. Testimonies are important and should be given, but we must never either glorify sin, belittle those who have not had the experiences of these sins, nor should we make people think that they can put off till tomorrow coming to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

There are More Questions!

One of the major impediments to a deeper understanding of the Sanctuary and the Sabbath message is the tendency to only ask one type of question of our doctrines.

The Only Question Some Ask

Some of us only have one question that we ask of theological doctrines. That question is "How am I saved as an individual?" That question overrides all other concerns. No doubt this is a very important question, but even those who think it is the primary question do ask other questions. Such questions as "How am I to live?" or "What is the ultimate destiny of the earth?" Both are questions that are important for us to ask. If we are to gain all the benefit from our doctrines, we must ask more questions and be open to the light that these doctrines will lead us into.

Progressive Adventism is asking different questions and finding importance in the doctrines that we have been called to give and live in the world. I would encourage you to visit the site and think about living the Advent message in the contemporary world.

Begin Asking Other Questions

Here is a piece of the article. Agree or disagree, at least begin asking different questions of your doctrine than just the one, "What does this have to do with my Individual Salvation."

Being a community of the sanctuary means we seek to extend wholeness and justice to every member of society. It means to speak truth to power – not out of self-righteousness or vain heroism, but because that’s what priestly advocacy and intercession require.

Being a people of the Sanctuary means to extend the Sabbath experience to society in real practical ways: to all of creation – land and all of creation; the animal kingdom – the livestock were to rest; foreigners – strangers within your gates; the working class - servants; and children. Being a people of the Sanctuary and the Sabbath means to be real advocates for all of these in society. If we are indeed God’s remnant, we ought to be at the forefront of the advocacy for the environment, animal welfare, immigrant rights (even that of illegals), human trafficking, poverty, healthcare access, education, living wage, and children. There’s a fierce urgency of the now to each of these issues. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were the last generation that experienced problems in these areas? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were the last generation suffering from the horrible malaise of human suffering? Indeed, the Sanctuary and Sabbath message of Adventism offers us a compelling vision to be the final generation that knows evil in the great social arenas. It compels us – those who claim to be remnant – to live a life of real, meaningful, radical intercession and healing for the world.

Sabbath, More than a Day?

There are two prevalent attitudes that I have witnessed amongst Sabbatarians that can lead to neglect of the teaching, learning, and living the Sabbath.

Nothing Else To Learn

The first of these attitudes is the belief that we have learned all we need to learn about the Sabbath. Those who accept such a position feel the need to move on to other doctrines after they have learned that the seventh day is the Biblical Sabbath. After they discover this, they totally set it aside as the day in which "we go to church."

When we accept such an idea, the doctrine goes into hibernation until it is time to prove to someone else that they need to "go to church on" the Biblical Sabbath. The problem with such a view is that it does not recognize that the Sabbath is not merely to teach us the day to assemble. It also includes a prophetic portion of looking forward to the ultimate fruition of all things. This can be seen in the Prophets including Isaiah who said from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship(Isaiah 66:23).

The Look Back

But more than the future look, the Sabbath provides a look back at creation. We can look at creation and catch a glimpse of how we should live today, on the Sabbath, and will live in the world to come. Our brothers and sister who "already know everything" about the Sabbath will not learn of the way that the Sabbath trains us to live today and in the coming kingdom.

Looking for the Sunday Law

However, there is another prevalent view of the Sabbath that forever looks for manifestations of the coming Sunday law. Here the Sabbath is reduced to a mile-marker on the way to the second coming. We look for this "Sunday law" in every bill that comes around. We find non-existent bills that are very close to bringing in the second coming, however, just like the other view, we end up with a lack of understanding of how the Sabbath provides a glimpse of the coming kingdom and thus has a strong ethical component that directs our living. But even more than that, the Sabbath also provides strength for living the life of Christ. All of these themes are tied up in the doctrine.

Proclaiming the Sabbath More Fully

It is true that some reduce the teaching to simply the day we assemble for worship and others reduce it to a discussion of a coming Sunday Law, but there will be some who will preach the "Sabbath more fully" as Ellen White predicted.

Audio 39 - Healing in Jesus and a Sabbath Reflection

This audio post consists of two reflections. The first is on the woman who touched Jesus clothes to get healing. The second is entitled: "The Sabbath's Attack on Busyness."



Download file at this link

It Never Ends - Predicting the End

It never ends. In case you have not heard, the economy of the United States will Crash in September of 2008. Then, os some say, the global economy will crash. We can expect a war with Iran soon as well, presumably ushering in a full scale world war. Some say it is the work of the Illuminati, some say it is the New World Order, but whoever is behind it, it is a certain thing, so they say...

Predictions of the End

I am still a young man(will soon be 40), but I have heard many of these "predictions" by folks that I used to deem credible people. I remember the stories of Sunday law bills on presidents desk. In fact the same law has been on Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and presumably Bush II. The same law is about to be signed so we had better straighten up.

Then there were the economic crashes that were to come. Every recession that America entered in my life brought someone saying that this was gonna be the beginning of the BIG one. The one that is allegedly prophesied in the Bible. The economic crash that will bring in the one world currency. Yes it began in the dismal economic time during Carter's administration. Reagan was to use the poor economy to bring an end to all we know and love with the help of the Moral Majority. Again during the economic downturn during Bush I presidency when you add in the War against Iraq over Kuwait, we had another certain end...

These prognosticators had more opportunity for pessimism when the Dot Com bust happened and the stock market dropped. "We are certainly entering a depression!!" they told us. And we can't forget the 1999-2000 non-event that was to bring in global chaos at set the stage for the end of all things.

Here We Go Again

Well, here we are again, and I am tired of the prophets who are forever making predictions and never making apologies. I am tired of the Prophets who tell us what is gonna happen and then when it fails to happen hide their mistakes by making more predictions.

But perhaps the greatest problem that these preachers have is that they know more about speculation then they know about the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are forever talking about what may happen and never what has happened in Jesus Christ for all of us. They are forever getting us used to thinking about the wrong things.

In addition, their answer to every problem is the same, hoard resources for yourself and forget about the world in which we are to live the life of Christ. Run away with your gallons of water and canned goods while we leave the rest of the world to fend for themselves in this coming global appocolypse.

Jesus comes to all of us, ultimately asking the same simple question that he asked Peter who sunk in the water, "Why did you fear?" It is time for many to stop teaching fear and start teaching faith.

The Bible also Says...

I don't know what will happen in September 2008. I am not a prognosticator, but one thing I do know, God is faithful to help us through any time that is to come. Certainly the Bible speaks of a time of trouble, but the Bible also speaks of a God that is with us in trouble. Certainly the Bible speaks of end time peril, but the Bible also speaks of a God who will never leave us nor forsake us, certainly the Bible speaks of trouble, but like my ancestors used to say, "I'm so glad trouble don't last always." I pray that I will live the life of Christ and that whenever the end comes, God will make good on the promise to wipe away every tear that this world has created.