Could Americans be missing out on God's formula for success, simply because they ignore the lesson of a day of rest?
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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: 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." (Exodus 20:8-11)
When I look back on the times I sought to create anything new, or build something of value in my life (like planting a garden, starting a business, building a career; or developing a friendship); it took a lot of work, energy, effort and labor to make it all come together! The same was true whenever I attempted to replace, or repair something that I already had (an overgrown backyard, a broken fence, or tearing out old carpeting and installing the new).
Back in the day, I would work non-stop, until the task was done. Many a time, I would push myself without a break, day after day, week after week, despite getting tired; all because my immediate goal had not yet been accomplished. I would tell myself, "Quitters never win, and Winners never quit!" which I still believe rings true; yet I had not known the importance of a day of rest.
The Dull Ax Syndrome:
Then one day, a mentor of mine shared with me a story about two lumberjacks. One was older and seasoned, with many years of tree cutting experience. The other, he said, was younger and inexperienced, yet enthusiastic, full of energy and much stronger than the first.
Day after day, the older man out paced the younger in the number of trees he was able to fall. Bewildered, the young lumberjack inquired of the older, "How is it you are able to cut down more trees than me, when I am stronger and have more energy than you?" The seasoned man shared his wisdom with the younger, "I stop and take time to sharpen my ax. You are too busy cutting down trees to sharpen your ax." A simple truth, yet so profound!
Could God's formula for success be that simple?
"Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest." (Exodus 34:21)
The original formula for success was Six days of Labor, One day of Rest. It is important not to get those numbers mixed up! It is not five days and two, or four days and three. Getting just the right formula is so very important to your success. Why is that? Because God said so! It is a simple test of obedience!
"If you rest too long the weeds take the garden. Not to think so is naive." - Jim Rohn
I guess when you can create your own heaven and earth, and everything that there in is, you have authority to set your own ratio for work and rest. But in this world, the dye has been cast. God's Laws are not going to change simply because you don't agree with them!
People cannot change their birthday from one day on the calendar to another; yet some have absolutely no problem with changing a day GOD says is Holy to Him, and on which GOD says His People MUST honor Him (Revelation 1:10 / Mark 2:28 / Isaiah 58:13 / Exodus 20:10).
"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it." (Deuteronomy 30:15-16)
Resting, on the Seventh day, allows you to sharpen your ax! It allows you to identify errors, correct strategy, refine your game plan, to refocus your efforts, refresh your mind and your body. Use God's wisdom to invest those corrections into the next six days of higher productivity! A Sabbath day of rest recharges you to take great leaps forward, to turn it up a notch in your life with amazing results; to do more than you ever thought you possibly could!
"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6) It is a simple test of YOUR obedience, one that carries many Blessings to those who do obey their God!
As we enter into a new year, resolve to totally surrender your life, and your work schedule, in obedience to Almighty God; to follow all of His instructions in faith, and rely on Him to provide for all of your needs.
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." (Proverbs 3:5-10)
Jesus kept Saturday, the seventh day Sabbath Holy... and He taught His disciples to do the same. The very first Christians faithfully followed Christ's example in this regard; and Jesus says that those who hear His voice today... still do (John 10:25-30)!
Jesus said He was Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28); He Blessed the seventh day (Genesis 2:3), and He sanctified the seventh day (Exodus 20:11).
God gave the Sabbath Day to Adam in the Garden of Eden, nearly 6,000 years ago; almost 2,300 years before there ever was a Jew. The Bible never calls "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God" a Jewish Sabbath! It is a Holy rest day meant for ALL humans, everywhere, throughout all of human history.
Jesus did NOT rise from the dead on a Sunday (the first day of the week)! The Bible is clear on that (Matthew 28:1-7/ John 20:1-9), Christ rose on His Sabbath Day (Matthew 12:38-40), exactly three days and three nights from when he was buried.
God reminded us to keep His seventh day Sabbath Holy, by writing it with His very own finger - into a stone tablet (Deuteronomy 5:22), and He destroyed the Israelites in the wilderness because they profaned His Sabbath Day (Ezekiel 20:20). God who does not change (Malachi 3:6), would not then change His Sabbath to another day!
A shrewd politician, Emperor Constantine, did however, successfully hatch a scheme to unite Christians and pagans, in an effort to strengthen his disintegrating empire. On March 7th, 321 A.D. he passed his now famous National Sunday Law (in which pagans would worship their "sun" god, and Christians would worship the "son" of God.
With many Christians forgetting Christ's own Words of "three days and three nights" (Matthew 12:38-40), and adopting the long standing Roman pagan holy days of Good Friday - Easter Sunday - as a Christian festival, the dye was cast for what many follow today. Constantine cemented the deal in history, by even printing coins which "bore on the one side the letters of the name of Christ, on the other the figure of the sun god"(- Arthur P. Stanley, History of the Eastern Church, lect. vi, par. 14).
Today we use the names of Roman gods, in English, for each day of the week: Sunday for the sun god, Monday for the moon god, Saturday for the god of saturn; However, Anglo-Saxon or Nordic gods have replaced some of the planets gods in our "modern" society: Tuesday is named after the god Tiw or Tis, Wednesday after the god Woden or Oden, and Thursday after the god Thor! Most people alive today, who profess Jesus Christ as their Savior, do not know how to name a weekday without inadvertently referring to a pagan god!
Most recently, in 1975 A.D., in a move reminiscent of Emperor Constantine himself, the International Standards Organization (ISO) decided that Monday would be the first day of the week, in clear opposition to what the Bible says! Many european countries and international airlines now print their calendars, and number their days, to reflect this rewrite of history (see Daniel 7:25).
The Truth is - that God still promises you and I today, Christian and Jew alike - that if we will call the time period each week, from sundown Friday through sundown Saturday, "a delight" (Isaiah 58:13-14) and Honor God by not doing what we want, nor finding our own pleasure, nor speaking our own words on this day; the LORD will cause us to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed us with the heritage of Jacob our father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it! Wow! How's that for a divine promise?
God uses His original Sabbath Day, not some cheap immitation born out of a dark and pagan past; to be "a sign", to show everyone around me, exactly who belongs to a Holy God - and who does not. To show people who He considers "sanctified" - and who He does not. That is so awesome, Lord! Read it with me:
"Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them" (Ezekiel 20:12). Amen, Amen, Amen!!!
May God continue to bless you abundantly as you keep His Sabbath Day Holy (Matthew 12:1-13 / Luke 4:16 / John 15:9-11)!
For God and My Country,
Bob Brown
One Nation Under God U.S.A.
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"Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For 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." - Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17-18)
Submitted by Visitor on Sun, 01/15/2012 - 23:14.
Jesus honored G-d and fulfilled the law, without cancelling any of the law. Jesus therefore worshipped on Saturday Sabbaths. And, today, believers are once again obeying the Bible and celebrating G-ds feasts, and worshipping on Saturday Sabbaths. This is scripture-based, biblical, and historical. Read your Bible, it prevents TRUTH-DECAY!