Light of Christ

Christ died for us.  He gave His all for us so that we could be forgiven, so that we would not have to receive the wages of sin.  He gave His all so that we could receive the grace of God.

What is our response?  Do we live for Him?  Live a life honouring Him in thanks for what He has given us?  Are our lives a living sacrifice of worship to Him?

Do people look at us and see Him?

Do people look at us and see the Gospel in action?  A life of serving others?

Or do people look at us and see “one day a week” Christians who do not serve Him, but themselves?  Do they see people who are self seeking, who do not “give back” to their families, their communities, or God?

Think carefully about who or what is first in your lives.

What is the seal of God?

Those who trust in Jesus also possess the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (Ephesians 1:13–14). 

Jesus also bore the seal:  “On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval” (John 6:27)

Can it be anything else?

I often hear from SDAs and other sabbatarians that they are not saved by keeping the sabbath, but they keep it because they are saved.

Well they are very right, they are not saved by keeping the sabbath.  The Bible tells us we are only saved by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But did He say that we should keep the sabbath to show we are saved?  Well no.  But He did say in the New commandment (John 13:34,35) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  Nothing about keeping sabbath here, but quite a bit about love, and how to.

In fact the bar has been raised pretty high, to love as He loved us.  He gave His all for us.  How many of us would do that for Him, or for anyone?

But the sabbath is the sign!  What of?  The Bible says the sabbath is the sign of the covenant between the children of Israel and God.  Read Exodus 31:12-17 which says a lot about the importance of the sabbath to the old covenant people.  It talks about, amongst other things, death for breaking the sabbath, so it’s pretty heavy.  But it says in verse 13: ….observe My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 


It is not addressed to the people of the new covenant.  It is addressed to the people of Israel, in the shadow of Mt Sinai, given to them by their prophet Moses.  But the new covenant is greater, and it is given to those who follow Christ, who is greater than Moses, and they are enjoying the freedom of Mt Zion!

And what has happened to the old covenant?  Heb 8:13 By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

The sabbath was given for many reasons.  It pointed the Israelites forward to Christ;  it meant rest and redemption.  That’s why they were to remember it.  They were rescued  (redeemed) from Egypt, and they were given rest, after all those years of slavery.  They were to remember their Heavenly Father ceased creating (rested) on the seventh day and they were to rest, to do no work on that day, as He ceased.  All this pointed to Christ their Saviour, their Rock, who offered them rest for their souls.  This sort of rest is astounding, and surpasses the physical rest that God told them they must have.

Nowhere and at no time during His life on earth did Jesus give us any sort of instruction to keep any day “holy”.  Matt 11; 28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  There is no mention of a day.  This is always we can come to Him for rest.

Most Christians have corporate worship and many have Holy Communion on Sundays.  Because Jesus said we must?  No.  But it is a commemoration of the day He rose again…the first day of the week.  And there is record in the Bible several times of Jesus appearing to His disciples on that day.  (Luke 24).  It is also a celebration.  The Lord is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  We love the Lord, we love to worship Him.  We do not need a commandment to worship Him and celebrate His resurrection and victory over death!

So…if you want to go to church on sabbath…go to church, and enjoy worshipping the Lord.  If you feel it is right to do, go for it.  But don’t tell us who worship on Sunday that we are doomed, we have the mark of the beast, we belong to the daughters of Babylon.  Concentrate on the REAL sign of Christianity…loving one another as He loved us.  That is really important.

The peace of the Lord be with you.

John 3

You Must Be Born Again

1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2This man came to Jesus^a by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again^b he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^c 7Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You^d must be born again.’ 8The wind^e blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you^f do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.^g 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.^h

For God So Loved the World

16“For God so loved the world,ⁱ that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Poor Nicodemus.  Talk about confused.  Jesus gave him a lot to think about. 

But what is “born again”?  Obviously Jesus is not referring to physical rebirth here.   It is something radical.  It is transforming.  Ask anyone who has experienced it.

My own example for instance.  I was a normal 20 something, who had been raised in a nominally Christian home.  I had been to Sunday school, had heard (and loved) the Bible stories, knew it was wrong to kill and rob etc etc, but still….I was selfish.  I was the queen of bearing grudges.  I was not kind to people, I thought the world owed me.  Now deep down inside I knew this was not what God wanted me to be or do.  But try as I might I could not permanently change myself.  No way.  That was me and I was stuck with myself. 

I went to church, and eventually went to a non denominational Bible study.  Some of the people there were decidedly odd…but the Holy Spirit was in control, and in spite of their oddness, or maybe because, who knows, I became aware of just how sinful I was, and how much I needed a Saviour.  I went home from Bible Study one night, and said a really quick prayer to the Lord.  A short prayer, but heartfelt.

I went to bed and the next few days seemed normal enough.  Then someone said something to me that normally would raise my hackles and that person would be black listed in my heart.  But that day I forgave them.  Happily and readily.  It surprised me!  Then again over the next few days certain things happened and I reacted differently.  Happily and readily.  I thought hang on.  I am not making any special effort to be different, but I am…and I realised that this was God working in my life.

That was a long time ago.  And He is still working.  We are all works in progress, because even though our hearts belong to Him, we still have bodies of flesh, with all the problems associated with that.  And we do need to talk to Him daily, to read His Word, to listen to Him for any special message He has for us.

But when you repent, you turn to Him, you turn FROM the world, and He makes you a new creation with a heart of flesh, instead of the heart of stone you had.  2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

It is all done for you.  Christ is our Saviour.  Only through His redeeming blood can we be saved.  When we repent, HE is the One who makes us a new creation.  We cannot do this ourselves.  Why would you leave Someone who has done so much for you?  Who has given you eternal life?  Who protects you, Who loves you so much He died for you.

Do we love Him and serve Him, worship Him daily, thanking Him for what He has done for us?

Or do we try to save ourselves with a gospel of works?

No brainer really.  When you have found the best…..you keep it.  You open that precious gift offered to you, and you treasure it.  You not only store it in your heart, you use it to bless others.  You tell others where they can find what is so special to you.

Be born again.

There are quite a few covenants mentioned in the Scriptures, the ones with Noah and his descendants and also with Abraham and his descendants spring to mind.  But the ones we will be discussing in this post are the old and new covenants.  The covenant with the Israelites, given to Moses, the covenant of the law, and the covenant of grace, mediated by Christ.

After God had freed Israel from Egypt, He made a covenant with them.  He gave them a law, He set up a system of priesthood for His worship, and gave them the covenant on two stone tablets.  On these tablets were written ten “words”, also translated as commandments, utterances, matters.  They can be seen as chapter headings for the other commandments which can be used to show how the ten should be kept.  The first copy was written by the finger of God.  Up till this time, God had spoken, and it had happened, so this was a departure from His usual way of doing things.

However, the first copy didn’t last long.  On the way down the mountain, Moses broke it, when he saw the people already breaking the law…worshipping the golden calf.   So…back up the mountain.  Moses made a new set of tablets, God gave him the words and Moses wrote them.  (Ex 34, please read the whole chapter.) 

According to Jewish tradition, the law of Moses was given on the feast of Pentecost, which is also known as the feast of Weeks, Shavuot.  This covenant was temporary, and God promised them a NEW covenant.

This new covenant was to have a new law, and a new priesthood,  Hebrews 7 and 8.

This new covenant was ratified by the shedding of Christ’s blood and the breaking of His body.  Mark 14: 22And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24And he said to them, “This is my blood of the^c covenant, which is poured out for many.

Thus it was established.  At Pentecost, the new covenant was empowered by the Holy Spirit.  The followers of Jesus, up till that time, were afraid and timid.  With the giving of the Holy Spirit Acts 2 records the conversion of some three thousand souls.  Peter and the others spoke and acted with conviction and bravery, and this was to mark the rest of their lives, willingly living and dying for Jesus, as a witness to Him.

In Jeremiah 31. God promised Israel a new covenant.  It was not to be like the old covenant, but was to be with those who know Him.  His law will be on their hearts, and He will forgive their sins and no longer remember them.  This sounds awfully like Christian conversion to me!  In 2 Cor 3   Paul refers to the followers of Christ as ministers of the new covenant,  and in 1 Cor 11, to partake of the Lord’s Supper, the sign of the New Covenant.

The house of Israel and the house of Judah then, are not physical.   They are represented by the body of Christ, His Ekklesia, His church, His bride.  His followers from every age, that have turned to Him, and whom He has made a new creation, and who have His law of love written on their hearts.

There are many differences between the two covenants.  Here are a few.

17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1)

The old covenant is a shadow (Col. 2:14-17) while the new covenant is the reality (Heb. 10:1-18)

The old covenant had many high priests (Heb. 7:23) while the new covenant has only one high priest (Jesus Christ) (Heb. 7:24-28)

The old covenant was fulfilled (Mat. 5:17-18) while the new covenant is now in force (Heb. 8:6, 10:9)

The old covenant is a ministry of death  while the new covenant is a ministry of life (2 Cor 3:6-7)

The old covenant is for Israelites only (Det 4: 7-8) while the new covenant is for all men (Luke 22:20)

The two covenants should not be mixed.  They are separate.  The old was for the Israelites, and Christ fulfilled it.  The new came into operation on His death, and is for His followers, Christians.  Just as you do not put new wine into old wineskins, you do not try to force the believers of Christ to follow an old obsolete covenant.

Galatians 4: Example of Hagar and Sarah

21Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;^e she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written,

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”

28Now you,^f brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

Those of us who are already free, are free indeed.  We have no desire or need to go back to Mt Sinai with Moses.  His job is done. 

Join us on Mt. Zion in the freedom of grace, and give glory to the Lord!

I have known ABOUT God most of my life.  But I didn’t come to know Him in my heart till my mid twenties.

When I was a youngster, I was sent to Sunday School by my parents, like most kids I grew up with.  It was just part of our education, you learned the 3 Rs and you learned about religion.  Mum went to church, and Dad wasn’t really anything, but he had such a great world view, and taught me so much about compassion and non judgementalism.  Mum was a great church lady but didn’t really become a Christian till she was very old, and had dementia.  She came to Christ as a little child.

But I digress.  I went to Sunday School, and SOAKED up the Bible stories, and this was probably the beginning of my love affair with ancient history.  We moved, and this time I was NEXT DOOR to the church, which admittedly was just a tin shed (they did build a better more modern church later).  The tin shed had spider webs in the corner, but there were still Bible Stories for me to lap up.  They also had Christian Endeavour and Girls Life Brigade which I attended.  They also had input into my life, instilling Christian virtues…and marching.  The Girls Brigade did a lot of marching and we were really good at “fancy” marching, where you marched in formation, and formed patterns.  I loved it!

Time passed and I had taken music lessons.  Another church started up a few blocks away…another tin shed, but this one had a harmonium and I used to play it for their services.  I had outgrown the Sunday School I suppose, but still went to CE and GLB, and I used to also accompany the next door neighbours on the other side for any special occasion to THEIR church, the Salvation Army. 

I suppose you could say I had a good grounding in Christian behaviour and Bible Stories.  But I didn’t really know Jesus.  I knew ABOUT Him, but I didn’t really know Him.  I thought salvation was about behaviour, not an internal conversion.

Fast forward to adulthood, marriage and family.  I was still playing the organ at times, but it was still about being “good”.  The only real thing I had learned is that any change I was able to make about my behaviour did not really last. I kept going to church, and also went to a non denominational Bible study group where I finally heeded that still small voice, which admittedly at times shouted at me.  My conversion was a gradual process until at last I prayed to the Lord to “come into my heart”.  Nothing happened for a while, or at least nothing that I noticed, but one day I did notice something.  Up until that time I was the queen of holding grudges, and I wouldn’t even entertain forgiving a person for doing something that upset my apple cart. Someone said something to me that normally I would take the wrong way.  This time, instead of being hurt, I forgave that person,  sincerely, within my heart.  Whoa I thought, that wasn’t me that did that!  And so it had begun, the new creation, and I hadn’t even noticed!

I noticed eventually that I was displaying the fruit of the Spirit…in small ways at first, but then I spoiled it.  I was a new Christian, a baby Christian, I had to show Him that I was DOING something.  Honestly, I just roll my eyes at myself, at the way I was.  All I had to do was love God and love people.  And to show people by my life that I was a follower of Jesus.  But no I knew better, and decided I should belong to the church that was most like the church Jesus started.  I really didn’t have a clue.

So true to what I do best, I researched.  I reckon satan was having a laughing fit by this.  The church I picked was the SDA church.  In my defence there was no internet then, all I had was the local library….but still…..The Holy  Spirit allowed me, after all I had a lot to learn.

One of my husband’s workmates was SDA.  He was a lovely man, and his wife was wonderful, and they had two little girls.  So they started giving me studies, and in due course I was baptised.  I was completely hoodwinked.  I met some lovely Christian folk, and most of them WERE Christian (looking back), just went to church on a different day.  Some were obviously converted to ellen, but most were just Christians, with a difference.  They taught me a lot about love, loving each other, loving God, loving people in general. 

I also learned about the Sunday law…and the sabbath…and tithing…and things that even then didn’t sit comfortably, like Jesus being Michael.  But I thought, this is where God wants me, in HIS church, obeying HIS commandments, and keeping HIS sabbath, although I found that very difficult.

Here I was, with four little kids, and a non believing husband.  There was no way I could keep sabbath “properly”, there were nappies to be washed, mouths to feed, and a husband to look after.  And from time to time the kids would get sick.  They didn’t wait till after sabbath to come down with the latest bug.  They would start sometime on Friday, and Saturday I would have to take them to the doctor, or at the very least, go to the chemist for whatever they needed, or to the supermarket for appropriate supplies.  I would feel so guilty.  Sabbath was no blessing. 

The kids got bigger, and on good days, they would accompany me to church if their father offered them no better choice.  In time the kids went off to various universities and colleges.  I was terribly proud of them, wherever they went.  My elder daughter chose Avondale, the SDA college here, to do teacher training.  I might add she had a great time, and made great friends and close to thirty years later they are still friends.

One of the subjects she had chosen was religious education.  This meant that she did some of the same subjects as the theology students, and this was the first crack in my belief system.  She used to come home at holidays and tell me what she was doing, and various anecdotes about students and teachers, normal kid stuff, and then she said, “Mum, the theo students aren’t really doing Bible study, they’re learning about EG White.” I thought this was a bit strange but thought nothing more about it.

Another time she came home she presented me with some photocopied stuff from the college library.  Again, no internet, so it was a bit difficult for her, but boy I’m glad she did.  She brought home what EG White (who was now demoted (?) to eggwhite) had written about amalgamation, and some of her racist comments.  Now this really shocked me and though I saw this in black and white, I thought this can’t be right.

This is what she wrote about amalgamation for those who don’t know: 

“But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere.” —Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3, p. 64, 1864.

“Every species of animal which God had created, were preserved in the ark. The confused species which God did not create, which were the result of amalgamation, were destroyed by the flood. Since the flood there has been amalgamation of man and beast, as may be seen in the endless varieties of species of animals and certain races of men.” —Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3, p.75, 1864.
 
I determined to prove ellen right (I should have trusted my daughter more) and in so doing I started studying the Bible.  Now the Holy Spirit must had had a hand in this because I did not study the writings of EG White, and of course, I realised she was wrong.  She was a fraud, and my daughter was right!

It took a while before I actually left the church, but the die had been cast.  The seeds of doubt were sown, and I started moving away from ellen and her church.

I might add all through this I still loved Jesus, although I was very deceived. 

My daughter finished her studies and gained her B Ed but was told she would not be able to work within the church because she asked too many questions.  Proud of my girl, I was!  (still am!)

But God cared for her too.  She also left the church, and after her graduation, set about finding a job.  Teaching jobs in her subjects were a bit thin on the ground, but her father happened to be reading “The Land” newspaper and saw a job advertised for a governess.  The people preferred the applicant to have teacher training so she applied, got an interview, and her father drove her out there…four hours from home.  But she loved the place, and they loved her.  She went to work there and hasn’t looked back.

The place was isolated, and she taught the various children in the family and the workers’ children.  In the school holidays she worked in the pottery on the grounds of the property.  When the children left school she worked full time in the pottery, and now is the designer and one of the potters there, and a very important part of the pottery.  When she was little she always said she wanted to earn her living with her art.  And God saw that she did.

I was a bit lost for a while after leaving the SDA.  I started having health issues and marital problems.  The wheels were falling off all over the place.  But I grew closer to God and my neighbours and friends drew round me.  They didn’t do anything special, they just loved me. They were as Christ to me. They all went to the same church, the one I used to go to, and I started going back.  Lo and behold they needed an organist so they doubly welcomed me!  These people were so obviously full of the Holy Spirit, love oozed from them.  Genuine agape love. 

Typical Anglicans, their doctrine was all over the place, but they were united in their love for the Lord, and the community (including me)  They were so terribly inclusive, they didn’t care that I had been going to a different denomination, I was there now and they cared.

It was quite a few years of being cared for before I joined facebook and joined groups where I met other former SDAs.  A lot of these had become atheist, but I met some who were still Christian, or now Christian.  I learned so much from these people.  I learned more and more about Jesus, and about His grace, and I learned more and more about the faults of ellen, and her out and out lies, how the leaders of her church knew she was false and have kept the falsehoods going so that so many are deceived.

Now I am one of the many “escapees” who try to tell SDAs the truth about Jesus….and the Gospel…and ellen and her lies.

Please pray for us, that many may come to Him.

The very first sabbath is recorded in Exodus 16.  The Israelites had been grumbling again.  “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

This grumbling took place on the 15^th day of the second month after leaving Egypt.  That day marked the arrival of the quail, and the following morning was the first arrival of manna, the bread from heaven referred to in verse 4. 

On the sixth day, the Israelites were instructed to gather twice as much manna to last them two days.  Notice that the 7^th day, the sabbath, they could not gather manna, the bread of heaven.  It was not there.  They could only eat it if they gathered more on the 6^th day.  On the 7^th day, the sabbath, they were commanded to stay in their place,  in their tents, and rest.

Manna, the bread of heaven, points to Jesus, the bread of life.  Manna not being available on the 7^th day also pointed forward to His death, the day He was in the tomb.  It was preparing them for mourning.  Their bread of life had fulfilled the law and the prophets, their Bible, as it became, when He fulfilled all the prophecy made about Him, including fulfilling the prophecy of the sabbath, by His burial. 

In Exodus 20, the children of Israel are given a covenant.  The sign of that covenant is the sabbath, which they have already been given.  The fourth commandment says:  8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Remember.  They had only just been given it, and they were reminded. 
Remember to rest.  No work. 
Deuteronomy 5 gives them another reason to remember.  ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
Remember you were redeemed.

All the sabbaths they were given, weekly, annual, and jubilee, were to remind them of rest, and redemption.  Thus they were also pointed forward to their Saviour, Christ, in Whom could be found both.  They were to remember things that happened and to look forward to what was to happen.  Except that the rest they got in Jesus was for their souls, it was not physical.  It was to be permanent, eternal. 

When Jesus was crucified, He fulfilled the old covenant.  He was the Lamb who took away the sin of the world.   (John 1:29)  His body was broken for us, and His blood was shed.  Matt 26: 26Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28for this is my blood of the^c covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  The new covenant had been ratified.  Sealed by the Holy Spirit, and its sign was love.  Love so great He became sin for us, so that we could have what He deserved.

Christians are not bound by the ten commandments.  They are not bound by the sabbath.  Their chains are gone, grace has saved them.  Instead they are slaves to love.  Love saved them, and it is written on their hearts, and they give love to all. 

Sabbath is about physical rest, one day in seven.  Christ gives you rest, eternally.  He gives you love, and because He loves us, we love others.  We are obedient to His commandments of love. 

And we rest in Him.  Eternally. 

Over the past few months I have lost two close friends.  Neither was from the corona virus, both were from “mundane” causes, cancer and cardio vascular disease.  One was at the end of a long illness, the other was shocking in its speed.  Both were situated a long way off, given my state of health, meaning I couldn’t go to the funerals.

And given the  current health issues, I can not give or receive hugs from family or other friends, who are also grieving.

Yes, I am saddened, and mourning their loss.  But in both cases I am rejoicing because they knew the Gospel, and they knew Jesus.  They believed the promises of God, and I know that right now, their souls are in the keeping of Jesus.  And that when Jesus comes in His glory, we will all meet again with our new glorified bodies,  and we will all worship together in wholeness and holiness.

Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the Life.  Just before He raised Lazarus from the dead, He said such to Martha.  He said (John 11):  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

My friends believed this, and I (and so many) believe this.  We have eternal life because of Him.  Jesus said: (John 17)   3And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 

Jesus also said:  (John 5)  24Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

They have passed from death to life. 

I read some time ago that a sabbath keeping church started the sabbath day with a service at 6.30 pm.  That is lovely to mark the start of their day like that.  But what happens if sabbath starts earlier than that?  Or later?

In Australia, depending on the time of the year, and whether or not you live in a daylight saving area, the time of sunset differs enormously.  In Sydney for example, it goes from 5 pm to 8 pm. In London it’s around 4 pm to about 9.30 pm. 

So…having a service at 6.30 pm, depending on the part of the world you are in, may not coincide with the start of sabbath at all.  In polar regions at times of the year the sun does not set…or rise!

Does it say in the Bible when the sabbath starts?  Certainly doesn’t mention a time!

There is no mention of sabbath at all until Exodus, when it was given to the Israelites.  Exodus 16 is the first mention.  They were given manna (bread of heaven, the living bread) for six days, and were to remain in their tents for the seventh, called the sabbath for the first time.

Exodus 18 sees the giving of the ten commandments, the words of the covenant between God and Israel, and the “chapter headings” of the whole Mosaic law.  The fourth commandment told them to do no work.  It did not tell them to worship, but to rest.

When God created the world he gave each day a beginning and end, the evening and morning.  The seventh day had no beginning or end, and only He rested (ceased), because no one else had been creating.

Genesis 2:  1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The day was blessed, and there is no mention of what happened the next 7^th day.  After all, He didn’t go back to creating afterwards!

The day was not marked by a beginning and end like the previous six.  Fast forward to the time of the Exodus.  God gave them the 7^th day, on which He ceased His work of creation, and blessed it, to be the holy day of the Israelites.  They were to remember that He ceased creating, and that He redeemed them from slavery.  This day was was also to point forward to their Saviour, who would redeem them from sin, and give them rest…this time for their souls.

The only references I can find referred to the sabbath beginning in the evening at sunset which incidentally is when they started their journey out of Egypt (Deut 16.6).  It does not refer to Friday or Saturday, just the 7^th day.  It doesn’t refer much to the when, more about what happens on the sabbath and why.

Sabbath was counted from the beginning of a lunar month, it was not attached to Friday/Saturday till well after the birth and death of Christ.  Round about the 3^rd century AD.

But this is really a moot point, given that the sabbath was only given to the Israelites.  When Jesus was on earth, He did not give His disciples instructions about keeping a day holy.  HE is holy.  HE gives rest.  HE gives redemption, and people are free to worship Him 24/7.  The day they worship Him corporately is their choice.  You can worship Him on Saturday, or Sunday, or any other day for that matter.  In fact there are some faith traditions that hold services every day.

So….do you start your corporate worship in line with the sunset/sunrise?  Do you have a fixed time to suit the needs of your congregation?  Which covenant are you following?

Or are you worshipping the Lord your God and worshipping in spirit and truth?  Do you gather together out of a sense of duty, or are you worshipping out of love for the Lord and each other, and joy to be together worshipping, praying and singing praises to His name?

Are you worshipping a day or God?

Christianity is not about going to church, or about when you go to church.  It is not about a day at all.  

It is not about a building.

It is about a lifestyle.  It is about people who belong to a body, Christ’s body, and they are His hands and feet.  It is about being used by the Holy Spirit to do His Works.

As Christians, we worship.  That worship is not limited to meeting together once a week, where we sing hymns, pray and listen to a sermon.  It is great that we do that, and Hebrews 10:25 tells us that we should do this.  In these present times, we have to change our way of doing this.  Smaller gatherings, in different places, or online maybe.

We also worship at home.  Our whole lives should be an act of worship.  We have our formal times of prayer, bible reading, times of praise, but whatever we are doing, we are doing for the Lord.  It is not so much what we do, but what we are. 

We WERE sinners, but now we are forgiven.  Once we lived for self, now we live for the Lord.  Even the most humdrum job now becomes worship, because we do it for Him.

Worship comes in so many different forms.  Besides the obvious turning up to church one day a week, and maybe going to a midweek prayer service and/or Bible study, it can be kindness to someone who is to others unlovable.  Or cheerfulness in adversity.  Helping the unfortunate, and these days, many fall into that category.  Mowing the lawn for someone who is sick.  Shopping for someone who is injured and can’t do it themselves.  Taking the cat to the vet for an elderly neighbour.  

Is the only way people can tell you are a Christian because you go to Church once a week?  Are you a one day a week Christian, or is it your lifestyle?

Matt 5: 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that^b they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Let them see your worship, and glorify your Heavenly Father!