Out in front of the cow barn, near where the old wooden barnyard fence connected with the approach hill leading to the hay loft, there used to grow in the summertime an abundance of pungent little white daisies with big yellow centers. While the older members of the family were busy milking the cows and doing the evening chores we smaller kids busied ourselves playing around the barn. The little daises that grew there were nothing more than weeds belonging to the Chamomile family of herbs but they kept us intrigued as over and over again we gathered up their blossoms and picked off their petals one by one. As we did so, we repeated the words, "he (she) loves me", "he (she) loves me not", "he (she) loves me, he (she) loves me not", --- until all of the petals were gone. The message of the last petal supposedly told the story. Did the little girl down at the end of the road really love me or not? And of course, the information gathered from the wisdom of the daisies served well to use to tease one another.

Long after those childhood lovers have come and gone I find that I still like to pick the daisies when I see them by the roadside or along the garden walk and one by one pluck off the petals, just for "kicks". But it is interesting to me that many of my friends and the people that I meet along the road of life, though perhaps never privileged in childhood to play the game and to pick petals off the daisies still, never-the -less, play the same kind of games. As recklessly they seek meaning and purpose in life while running this way and that or as they search for answers when things seem to go wrong and their world falls apart. When in spite of God's attempt to reveal himself in the greatest love story of all time, they still struggle to determine if there really is anyone "out there" who loves them - or cares!

In this book I will argue that someone does love us - you and me - and cares. And more than that, wants us to enjoy that love, bask in its beauty, and radiate its warmth to the cold world just outside our door. For that he has made special provision to make that love real.

I speak of the God of our creation and a special gift of His love made just for us, a gift in time that we call Sabbath.

The daisies are right, "HE LOVES ME!"

Within the religious community there exists a near universal practice of cyclic worship to the one we call God. It is interesting that though the day of worship within this cycle may vary among different communities of believers, almost everywhere it is a cycle of seven days. Among these, Sunday has by far the most universal acceptance, being honored by most of the Christian community and respected by most of the rest of the world as at least a day for secular rest and recuperation. Though most recently sprouting and growing up in the Christian community, Sunday's roots sink much more deeply into ancient religious practices honoring the day of the sun, dating to the very origins of recorded history.

Parallel to this ancient practice of worship to the god of the sun there has also existed universally those who have given honor , not to Sunday, the first day of the weekly cycle, but to Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, in honor to the God of creation. The very name of the day, Sabbath, is an ancient descriptive word identifying the "Father" as the object of reverence and worship. Now known by much of the world as Saturday, some form of the word Sabbath remains in nearly every language of the world as a reminder of it's origin.

As our growing world community faces the challenges of a shrinking global size, wisdom seems to dictate the need for cooperative efforts for dealing with the many challenges created by the change. In the religious world this "ecumenical" move has adopted Sunday as the recognized day for universal worship. Yet, for many believers in the world religious community Sabbath remains a special day. How should this minority community of Sabbath observers relate to the larger Sunday worshipping community? Should they compromise their belief for the sake of "peace" and join in honoring Sunday? Should they quietly keep their convictions to themselves and try to avoid conflict? Or is the Sabbath something of such universal value that it should be shared with the global community in this time of unrest and international melding?

In this book I have attempted to describe Sabbath as God's appointed time for the people of his creation to meet with and worship him. It is my conviction that many of his promised blessings to us as a human family are dependent upon honoring this divine appointment. Not because God shows special favor upon us for our action, but that the blessing is inherent in the relationship growing from the experience. The question that has dominated my thinking as I have observed the present ecumenical movement is this, how can the beauty and meaning of the Bible Sabbath be restored to a confused and struggling global community seemingly satisfied with second best?

I hope as you consider Sabbath in the pages of this book that you will be challenged to accept the benefits of Sabbath for your own life and to share your influence in restoring Sabbath to its rightful place in the bigger world around you.

The head of the whole planet turned to watch when the news of Princess Diana's tragic accident and death hit the Front Page of the world press. Somehow, in some way, something about Diana struck a deep cord in every human heart. What was there about Diana that captivated people, from grandparents to little children? That caught the love and attention of teens, guys and gals alike? That created dreams for young men? What about her caused ladies, young and old, to vicariously live their own fantasies and frustrations through her life? What enamored even "golden Agers"? What was there about Diana that made the whole world feel like she belonged to them? That all felt a loss when she died?

Might it be that Diana embodied so many of the ideals of life that we all dream about, yet so seldom experience - physical beauty, charisma, wealth, influence, recognition, and royalty - but not these alone. Beside riding on the high road of life and experiencing so many of the things that dreams are made of, Diana also experienced more than her share of the terrible tragedies of human life with which we can all easily identify - pain and sorrow, confusion, uncertainty, injustice, loneliness, disappointment, temptation, impotency and loss. Diana, like you and I, knew what it is like to live in a world captivated by evil forces apparently operating beyond the limits of our control.

Diana, "everybody's Princess", epitomizes the very best and the very worst of the human dilemma. Her experience was typical of each of ours.

Man struggles to find God and meaning in life. Even professed Christians who in moments of ecstasy are free to shout Jesus' name, doubt and cry and curse when tragedy hits. "Where are you God"?

Man and God are for the most part strangers, speaking to one or the other only in times of extreme circumstance. Why, if God IS, if He exists, if He is personal and able and willing to communicate with man as most all religious people profess, why do we so often have trouble finding him to talk with? Why is he so slow to heed our cries? Why so impotent to change our self destructive habits, resolve interpersonal conflicts, or to enable us to live by the principles of love that we profess?

Our world is in turmoil. On every hand we see sorrow, sadness, and pain. Knowing good and right, we more often live our lives for the pleasure of the moment, sacrificing health and lasting happiness for ourselves and for our society. Often then blaming God for our misfortunes. When we know to do good, why do we so often do the opposite? As if there were no power to harmonize our actions with the knowledge of our scientific discoveries.

A myriad of religions exist and vie for power and influence, each claiming truth and the only path to eternal happiness. Each professing divine authority. Why is God percieved in so many different ways and "worshipped" in such varying fashions? Why religious wars and skirmishes? Why are the pages of human history so filled with records of evil acts committed by "God loving" people?

Why, in time of unprecedented religiosity and ecumenical activity encompassing men and women of almost all faiths and walks of life accounting for most of the earth's population do we continue our breakneck slide down the hill of moral decay and uncertain values? Why the almost universal belief that human beings are unable to live accountable, upright lives in obedience to the well recognized principles of love, mercy and justice?

Families! We have nearly forgotten what this word means. Fatherless kids seeking identity in a faceless world. Motherless kids roaming endless streets in wicked cities. Single parents, struggling against unbeatable odds. "Extended" families. Divorce. Legal custody battles. Anybody sex. Homosexuality. You name it. But seldom witnessed any more, one man, one woman, united for life, with all of the kids their own, at peace with God and the world. Why? Why is our religion so impotent in maintaining the family, the basic unit of a healthy society?

One could go on ad infinitum describing the moral and social problems of our times but the point has been made. "We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, Isaiah 53:6." It is the heritage given to us when Adam and Eve "sold out" to the serpent way back in Eden so long ago. Now in our day, as the seed of a noxious weed insidiously grows up among the grain and reveals its full malignant potential just in time for harvest, so the dire harvest of evil is ripening and becoming evident upon our society, in our individual lives and in the bigger world around us.

Two thousand years ago God in the person of Jesus stepped out of heaven and as a man walked with us and among us in his bid to avert universal disaster. He died upon a wooden cross, in our place, by our hands, to pay the price for our sins. For "he was not willing that any should die, but that all should come to repentance," (2 Peter 3:8). "God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send him into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him,"(John 3:17). Yes, God has in love made all of the arrangements and paid in full all accounts necessary to assure our rescue from the deceptive schemes of evil forces.

Has the rescue attempt failed? Was the sacrifice in vain? Has modern man, like the inhabitants of earth before the flood of Noah's day, or like the dwellers of Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Abraham and Lot, wandered too far beyond the call of God to hear his voice and let him save us? Have you? Is there any hope?

There is hope! God will yet once more break through human consciousness and penetrate the darkness. Once more at the end of the age truth will triumph and enlighten the whole world, (Revelation 18:1). And Sabbath will be at the center of the show.

Sabbath?

Yes!

Why Sabbath? What does it have to do with anything anyway? Especially what does it have to do with this, our "day" in history?

Just this! Sabbath, so often maligned, is key to the explanation of ALL of the dilemmas posed above as examples of our hurting, dying, self-destructing world. Sabbath is the answer to the estranged relationship between God and man. Sabbath is the instrument designed and provided by God to keep us attuned to him, and a critical element of his rescue operation. Sabbath is the light shinning into earth's nigh impenetrable darkness preceding the final scenes of the last act of the real-life drama even now being played out on planet earth. Sabbath gives meaning to the sacrifice made on the rough wooden cross of Calvary's mountain, pointing us to the whole Law of God, the unalterable foundation of his universal kingdom, eternal description of self-renouncing love. It is a suitable forum through which the Spirit may inscribe that law in our minds and upon the tablets of our hearts, Hebrews 8:10.

Let us trace a bit of history!

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth", (Genesis 1:1). "In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day", (Exodus 20:11). "And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy", (Genesis 2:3).

About six thousand years ago as the Bible counts time, God created this world. He filled it with indescribably beautiful things, animate and inanimate. Into this beauty he placed man, created after his own image, to enjoy it's glories, and to be it's king. It was to endure for eternity, forever the show piece of heaven, crowning work of all creation.

The world into which Adam and Eve were placed, that would guarantee eternal longevity, was governed by the same laws that govern all of space - laws of infinite complexity. Laws working by principles of cause and effect and established upon a foundation of immeasurable, unconditional, self renouncing, love. There in that Eden home, being governed by love, living the law of love was as natural as living within the bounds of gravity, and hence was unrecognized by them.

Though governed by love, and though fully committted to the God that created them, the option never the less existed for Adam and Eve to join in Satan’s rebellion. They were free to do this.

Herein is a dilemma for the finite human mind. An infinitely intelligent, omnipotent, all sovereign God, able to create whole galaxies of worlds and hang them in place in his vast universe, is constrained in his own actions by boundries and limitations of love. For love is not love that manipulates relationship. It must be completely voluntary. There can be no element of force or coercion in love. In love, there must be freedom, freedom to love in return or freedom to "go it alone". The world into which Adam and Eve were placed was this kind of place.

Constrained thus by love, consider if you will God's plan to assure the voluntary nature of love among his created intelligent beings. It could only occur by fellowship and togetherness, with time and opportunity to interact and exchange thoughts, ideas and dreams. Though programmed to love, growth of this love could only happen as man experienced regular, on-going communion with God himself who is it's very source. For this God created Sabbath and established it as central among the original ten great principles that describe the expression of true love - more commonly referred to as The Ten Commandments.

Sabbath! One whole day designated of every seven just for man and God to be together in fellowship. One seventh of every week for God to be God and to shower his lovers with blessings, and for man to be man and respond in turn with expressions of praise and gifts of thanksgiving to his God. One day, set apart and made holy by His presence - ever recurring opportunity for face to face communication and togetherness - living memorial in time commemorating love's mutual delight. What a fantastic concept!

Great as was the concept, and though established to provide for communion and open exchange, factors good for growing love, Sabbath could not thereby GUARANTEE faithfulness and loyalty to the principles of that love by which God governs. Nor could it prevent his children from sometime forgetting their role as creatures of the creator God who also sustains and cares for his creation. Remember, they are free moral agents.

Accordingly, to protect His new creation from foolishly making bad choices that might lead to assumptions of independence and self sufficiency, as Satan was certain to tempt them to do, God sought to protect them from Satan’s certain attack. He did this by limiting Satan to a single place in their little world, a tree in the middle of the garden. By avoiding Satan’s “hang-out” as amply admonished by God, Adam and Eve would reveal confidence and loyalty to God and the principles of his governance, (the principles of love.) Such faithfulness would keep them secure forever. This tree, this stronghold of Satan, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as it later came to be called, symbolized loyalty to love's way of doing things. It stood there as a test of sorts reminding them of their dependence upon God and of his authority and of his voluntary responsibility to satisfy their every need as creatures of his creation.

Given these two instruments, the Sabbath, and a tree to keep them focused upon the God of the Sabbath, both designed by God to assure life everlasting in a world governed by the principles of love, one might wonder about the effectiveness of God's whole governing platform when in the same Biblical account we read the sad story of failure on the part of Adam and Eve so soon after it all began. Was there a flaw in God's rule? Was Satan's challenge to a better way valid after all?

Certainly not! On the contrary, Satan's disguised presence there in the tree speaks volumes about what true love is all about. In a big family love and justice are sometimes put to the test - and the universe is a BIG family. True love, by it's very nature weighs all of the evidence, then responds to each situation and each need as indicated by wisdom and unbiased justice. Though from our perspective it may appear that God was putting Adam and Eve at unwarranted risk by allowing Satan to tempt them from his vantage point in the forbidden tree, love still had a work to do for Satan and the fallen angels as well as for the many unfallen, but quizzical onlookers throughout the vast worlds of space. A question had been raised in the very courts of heaven, a war had begun, and an expulsion of one of the most respected angels in heaven from the heavenly courts, indeed, from heaven itself. (See Revelation 12:7-10) This fact could not long be kept secret from this new order of creation. Love must sometimes risk injury to the innocent in order to guarantee freedom and justice for all. Satan's presence in the garden clearly demonstrated God's transparent love, even for his arch rebel, in granting him opportunity to "sell" his "better way" even to Adam and Eve and to risk losing their loyalty to him in the process. Such may be the high cost of love.

Perhaps it is appropriate at this point to look at this thing that we call love. In the English language the word has many common usage's. We say that we love cake. We love horses. We fall in love with another person. We love our family members and sometimes our friends. Some even love strangers, and God. In the original language of the Bible these various uses of love were indicated by different words. The kind of love that governs the universe, that describes God, that is unfathomable and immeasurable, goes by the name Agape in the Greek language, the language of the New Testament Bible. This love is spontaneous in its action. Acting both from reason and emotion, Agape love treats others as we would like to be treated if we were in the same situation. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and mind, and thy neighbor AS THYSELF, (Matthew 22:37,39). It may be further described by the ten commandments which detail in finer terms what love looks like in real life. Love doesn't have other gods, it gives full devotion to the One who created and who sustains us. Love has no thought of hurting a brother, of taking that which belongs to another, of time or family or possessions or of life itself, but only of how it may benefit another. Love cannot be faked, though it is often tried. If present, it cannot be contained, but must flow out from the source to satisfy the world around. This is what love is. It is difficult to define, and even difficult to describe for its scope is so broad, but when contrasted with the selfishness and lust of Satan's rule, the distinction is real and easy to discern.

At the heart of the law of love is the Sabbath. Sabbath is that element that provides opportunity to establish, maintain, and grow relationship with God. It is what keeps open the channel through which our own supplies of love are kept replenished and our capacities filled from the original and only source. It is Sabbath that primarily connects us with God and through that connection establishes within us a heart of love for our God. ("Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and mind, and soul.") And again it is this fellowship with God that by beholding him in his love that we are transformed into his likeness and begin to love our fellow men with his kind of love, ("And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"). It seems so simple. It makes so much sense. That a God of love would establish working principles that would sustain his creation and provide the means whereby it might experience its full potential.

But we humans seem to have a problem. We can understand and accept physical laws. We acknowledge them, study them, and apply them to our daily lives on earth and while exploring the heavens. In a similar way, we accept mental and social laws that govern our personal lives and work in the larger community about us. When it comes to spiritual laws, we often stumble, unable to grasp the fact that these are just as real as are physical, social and mental laws. Yet these are the very avenue by which we enter into the inner sanctum of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Compliance with these principles positions us in such relationship with God that He may reveal any or all of His other truths (principles) to us in proper perspective in relationship to the whole of His creation. Herein is perhaps the greatest value of Sabbath. It is not, as is so often portrayed, the mandate of a restrictive monarchical god seeking ever to keep his creation subjective to himself, but rather, it is as a gift from a supreme lover, seeking to open every avenue possible to assure life, happiness and full development. Sabbath not only symbolizes this gift, but provides the means by which it may be realized, and much more so in a world blinded by deception and intrigue.

But love does not exist in a vacuum, nor law have any meaning except in community. God (the personification of love) is not complete in himself, apart from the Son and Holy Spirit. Even the godhead is not complete in the sense of being able to live to the full extent of its potential without an infinite body of beings with whom to relate. For this God created. Nor is man complete in himself. Therefore marriage and family. Even family is not fully complete without God, and without community. All creation is interdependent and dependent upon God for completeness. Only in this way can love reach optimum expression. God's authority rests not alone upon His creative act, but upon love. Our relationship to him and to the rest of his creation is dependent upon that same love.

But getting back to the beginning of things, let us examine the challenge to love that Satan presented to Adam and Eve back then and the subsequent impact upon life on this planet since. You can read the story in the third chapter of Genesis in the Bible. Satan disguised himself as a beautiful serpent and then waited for the opportune moment. Finding Eve alone one day, he startled her by speaking to her in her own language. Caught off guard and alone, she was a ready victim to his deceptive temptation. True to his claim, the fruit was indeed delicious. She would share it with Adam. It is more difficult to understand why Adam went along with the gag. At the moment at least, he must have unconsciously sensed greater loyalty to Eve than to God. Perhaps he thought, after all God had indeed been hiding something from them as Satan certainly argued.

The rest is history. Their submission to Satan in essence made them subject to him. As happens in war, the conquered always become subject to the conqueror. Satan had usurped the kingdom from Adam and Eve and would exercise his claim.

In their guilt, fear suddenly gripped their hearts. Separated from God by their indulgent rejection of his instruction to avoid the tree, though he was still their loving creator, he suddenly appeared so different to them. As if HE had changed!

God found them hiding in the garden. Tenderly and with tears of sadness he explained the cost of their foolish behavior. Though decieved, they had been properly forewarned. What they had fallen into could not be undone by a few words, not even by forgiveness, but only by a long process of experience living in Satan's domain. The mindset created by their act that would by nature pass on to their offspring would only be altered as God himself would step down from heaven, be born of a virgin, live among them as one of them, and die to save them. (They had bought into the deception of sin. Sin is self destructive. Sin kills. Death is the natural result of ignoring or defying the principles created where life might exist. Only God in his wisdom and love could turn the tide, reconcile the race back to oneness with him, and reverse the consequence of sin.)

That evening right there just outside the gates of Eden God killed a lamb to symbolize that promised reconciliation. From now on, every time a lamb was killed, it would remind them of the promise. From the skin he fashioned clothing to protect them from the cool of the night and to hide the shame of their nakedness revealed by sin. While he worked, he talked. He explained the whole plan for their restoration to wholeness. Though sin necessitated that he could no longer safely meet with them face to face, He would be there always, ready to meet their every need, prepared to respond to every call. Angels, faithful creatures from the heavenly realm, receiving direction from the very throne room of the universe, would be their constant, though unseen companions, ever on the alert to protect from the evil one. Ever present, the Spirit of God would watch for opportunity to teach and instruct, to convict and to plead with those open for meaningful communion with the Most High. Yes, things would be different now, but all was not lost. There is a war going on in the universe. Two opposite ideologies vie for the prize. But God is still God and love will win the day - and the war.

Though it must have seemed to Adam and Eve that the world was now turned all upside-down, God had not changed, nor had the laws placed in action by him that sustain all of his creation. Only Adam and Eve had changed. His law still governed the universe. Only on this little planet a new experience was beginning, established upon a different code of ethic under a rival, rebellious king. Human beings, by a willful act, must now decide their destiny by choosing the "god" that they would serve, the God of love, or the god of lust and selfish independence.

Sabbath remained in the center of God's law. It would remain a haven, though now, even more important, where man might meet regularly with his God and find refuge from the ravages of the enemy's ways.

Characteristic of God himself, his law can never change. Nor has it. Though placed in guardianship with the Jews for a time, history confirms that before there was a Jew, Sabbath existed. It is described among ancient Chinese script in pictographic characters at the very beginning of recorded history. The very name, Sabbath, remains to this day in nearly every language of the world referring to the seventh day of the week. Indeed, in every land, and in all of recorded time, evidence exists to indicate a knowledge and observance of Sabbath.

But, if you were Satan, determined to secure your position in a newly acquired domain, where would you begin to establish your rule?

Certainly you would attempt to undermine those principles and ideologies that you are warring against. In this case, it is the authority and character of God which is best described by his law of love that governs him and all of his creation. Since Sabbath is a key element for the establishment and nurture of love, it is bound to be a primary focus of attack. Find a way to disconnect people from their God and keep their attention upon other things and your battle is half over.

So it happens that a study of the ancient past turns up evidence of a number of alternative and counterfeit developments, all more or less simultaneously. Stories of wars between the gods, symbols of flying serpents commanding respect and worship, pictures and artifacts depicting a mother and child with claims of divinity, and ever present, the symbol of the sun as the source of life and fertility and a day dedicated to worship and honor that divine benefactor. That honor to the sun god has found it's way from the most ancient civilizations in Babylon and Egypt into the early Christian church and through it to our own times argues forcefully for Satan's deceptive determination and effectiveness in separating people from the God of their creation.

It is interesting along this line to note the Biblical historical record of the Jewish people that has now been confirmed by archeological discoveries. You may read it in your Bible. At those times when ancient Israel was faithful in their Sabbath observation, their nation prospered and their benefits shared with the world around them. When, at those times, Sabbath was lost or ignored, supplanted by worship of the pagan sun worshipers around them, their prosperity waned and their global influence turned ill. What does this say about God? About the Sabbath and it's import?

Have you ever considered why our week is composed of seven days? Can you identify a single rational explanation? Why not eight, or ten? Or some other number? In the Bible, seven is treated as a perfect number. There is something special about it. I cannot say what it is except that God designed it this way. Sabbath, finishing touch of creation, symbolized and memorialized a perfect creation. "God saw that it was very good". It was fitting that God placed his special blessing upon the seventh day.

Here is a little experiment for you to try that may titillate your thinking about Sabbath. Take seven coins. (Quarters work well.) Arrange six of them to form a circle. Note the hole in the middle of the circle. Now take the seventh coin and place it in that hole in the center. A perfect fit! Interesting! Of what significance? Who can say? But it is interesting to observe that the circle is probably the most prevalent geometric shape in the universe - an observation that coincides with the concept of a "perfect" number! What more beautiful way for God to complete His creation project than to finish the week with His committment to set apart each seventh day just to be with us, His new creation. What better illustration of how well his presence fits into the empty holes and reconstitutes the circles of our lives every seventh day? What better way to say, " I love you"?

Yesterday I rose early, met briefly with my God in prayer and reading of the Word, ate breakfast and left the house before anyone else was up and about. Together with my resident I made my hospital rounds, did my scheduled hernia repair, responded to the call of a colleague in the operating room asking for a hand and then spent several hours resecting a recurrent cancer from the area of the pancreas. From there I went to the office to see my ambulatory patients. While there, I took part in an urgent conference call dealing with a crisis situation with one of the ministries that I have been priveleged to serve with. When I finished the necessary duties in my office, I returned to the hospital to see a couple of sick patients, and arrived home in time to have a light meal and to prepare for bed.

An unusual day? Perhaps a little, but for most "successful" people today, every day is one hectic race from one urgent call to another. I suppose it has always been like this. Even before the "modern" age.

In the busyness of life it is easy to become so wrapped up in our day to day activities attending the "big" demands of the world around us that we tend to neglect and forget those who are closest to us, our family and friends. To compensate for our absence, we sometimes do heroic deeds, build extravagant homes or buy expensive gifts for those we love, hoping thereby, though perhaps semi-unconscienciously, to make up for the loss of TIME with them.

"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 20:11). Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy, (vs. 8). "Remember to keep me with you on the Sabbath day". (My paraphrase!)

Right there at the beginning, God established the Sabbath for our benefit, a gift of his love to us his creation. A gift with meaning and purpose and eternal benefits. A gift designed to assure an open channel of dialog between he and his creation forever. A gift of time set apart in his schedule and dedicated just to be with us. We may wander away and forget, but he will not.

Knowing the potential for man to join the rebellion of Satan and to forget the benefits of regular communion with their God, for he had created us with choice, he established Sabbath as an emblem ever reminding men of their "roots". According to the Holy Scripture, the Sabbath was instituted at the end of creation week as a sacred monument set apart in time by which man might always remember his creator. Later, after man sold out to Satan, the day took on the added commemorative role honoring God's self sacrificing rescue mission when he became man and died upon that wooden cross on mount Calvary, "to save us from our sins". In this duel symbolic capacity as creator and redeemer, (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5: 12-15) the Bible asks us humans to demonstrate our love to the cause of God by honoring that day with our worship and praise. (Isaiah 56:2,4-7) Picture if you will for a moment how society might be different today if all men were to remember and honor the person and work of our Creator, and the high cost paid for our rescue, (Philippians 2:5-8).

That God established his emblem in time instead of a monument of stone or even precious jewels should not seem strange. Even men memorialize birthdays and special events and accomplishments by celebration at special times.

But why memorials at all? Are they merely vehicles by which future generations will remember the great events of the now? Or is there something more?

Anniversaries, logos, monuments, seals, flags, all symbols, though seemingly nothing, (for they are made of common substances) are of utmost value to us, for maintaining brotherhood, establishing community, guaranteeing authenticity, and for fostering loyalty. They serve as instruments that create trust, stability, and yes, a healthy kind of pride. They are a vital part of society.

Without emblems, without attention grabbers, without constant reminders to stir our thoughts, human nature all to quickly forgets the important benchmarks pointing out the values we deem important and the direction we'd like our lives to take. I think of my visits to the former communist lands, the welded steel monument to Solidarity in the shipyards of Gdansk, the beautiful golden fountain bordered by the golden "goddesses" representing the members of the former Soviet Union in the industrial park in Moscow, and the world-famous monument of the hammer and the sickle in the hands of the Russian workers. And in all of these lands, the slogans painted over bridges, and upon prominent buildings everywhere. Memorials, commemoratives, reminders of who they were and the course that they had set upon. Not alone to remind future generations of their past, no, but constant reminders of what is important and happening in life today. This is the role of the Sabbath. And what happens when these are destroyed? What happened in Russia when the monuments to Lenin and Stalin were removed?

As I walked beside the memorial to those who defended Poland at the time when the German forces invaded the port city of Gdansk in world war II, I sensed a hallowed aura there, remembering those who died. In Russia, a similar sense of sacredness attended my visits to it's edifices to the brave and dead. In our own land, one walks reverently across the fields of Mannassas and Gettesburg and reads the captions written upon their monuments of stone. I have watched as the president of our country addresses the people from his desk bearing the presidential seal, and often experience "goose bumps" at the passing of Old Glory. Do you too?

As a physician and surgeon, I have had opportunity to touch people at some pretty scary times in their lives. I know how people respond when they really appreciate a little extra life granted by the goodness of God by my trained hand. I will never forget a lady who couldn't stop bleeding after delivery of her twenty eighth baby. Her uterus was all worn out, and couldn't contract effectively to stop the flow of blood. I don't recall that I ever received a gift of substance for my humble efforts to save her life, but she could not hide her gratitude and praise. In fact, somewhere upon the face of this earth there walks another man carrying my given name as a symbol of her joy. Memorials, (symbols) by design, provide such opportunities to express our joy and praise.

Take away the way marks, the memorials, the emblems marking authenticity and before long the reason for our being is also lost sight of. So with the Sabbath. Accordingly, through the cunning devices of the devil, very early in human history we see record of human beings calling out to the "strange" gods of the sun and moon and stars, to molten images of silver and gold, and offering sacrifices, sometimes of human children, in desperation, attempting to appease the gods. In loosing sight of the Sabbath, they had also lost contact with the God of their creation and with him, the direction and guidelines for life and happiness.

Today is no different. Why do we need images to Buddha, idols to the Hindu gods, or icons to Jesus and the virgin Mary, supposed symbols of God, if we have the Sabbath to capture and hold our attention and provide every opportunity to meet all of our needs? Why do we need saints to intercede, and priests to receive our confessions if we remember the work that Jesus has already done at the cross in providing for our redemption? Why do we struggle so hard to love our neighbor and our God, (as described in the commandments) and fail so miserably, so often, if we recall the power of the Spirit of God available to overcome evil and experience victory in our lives - All symbolized by and made possible through the benefits of the Sabbath? You see, Jesus is the center of our existence, the answer to our every need, but the Sabbath is the vehicle by which we are bound to Jesus and the family of God, the facilitator that keeps our focus on heaven and establishes trust and dependency upon him. It is no Magic potent. Many "keep" Sabbath without realizing the potential benefits. But the opportunity is there. ("---everyone that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine alter; for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL PEOPLES, Isaiah 56:2-7).

We sometimes speak of "keeping" the Sabbath or being "obedient" to the commandment when discussing the Sabbath celebration noted above. Both of these are good Biblical terms and are true and accurate but all too often terribly abused. As we have noted in our discussions thus far, Sabbath is a gift given to us from God for our benefit and ultimate rescue from slavery and the self destructive effects of sin. It is NOT something that we do to earn our rescue and a mansion in heaven by and by. It is a gift, pure and simple, a gift of grace, wholly undeserved, freely given to all who can be inticed to accept, by an infinitely loving God. And true, responsible Sabbath keeping (as is true for all obedience) is our response to God for that grace. It is our way of acknowledging His unlimited attempts to find and rescue us, as the "hound of heaven", ever seeking ways to free and protect us from the evil world in which we must live, an evidence of the assurance that He will do everything possible to be certain that we are with Him for all eternity by choice, a choice that will remain an option through all eternity. Note: Sabbath keeping, like worship must come from the heart. A parent may be able to command obedience of a child, but it is only when the acts are spontaneously executed from love and respect that a parent swells with satisfaction and pride. Can it be different with God? True Sabbath keeping then is not mere nominal compliance, or forced compliance as a requirement of God, but a privilege of the heart that when exercised brings with it many blessings.

Perhaps you are even now wondering, if the Sabbath is God's logo, his emblem symbolizing his mission statement, how does that affect the meaning of what He did when Jesus died upon the cross for our sins? Doesn't my emphasis of Sabbath detract from magnitude of God's accomplishments there?

On the contrary. Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil," Matthew 5:17. What did Jesus mean? Just this! God's government of agape love had been challenged. Satan, working through human agents had nigh destroyed the "Royal law", this "law of liberty" (James 2:8) defining Agape love, and replaced it with his own form of rule. Force, fear, guilt, pride and promise of reward motivated compliance to the rigid exactions of the law as it had come to be viewed by the people of Jesus'day. Jesus would both pay the price for this blatent disregard and outright rejection of his rule, - death, - and as well, write the law in all of it's purity and power upon the human heart, (Hebrews 10:16). The Sabbath, rather than detracting from the value of the accomplishments of Jesus' sacrificial death upon the cross, fulfils, confirms, authenticates the governing principles of his kingdom. Love is worth dying for! And when love exists, it compels ("constrains", II Corinthians 5:14) defense of the principles by which it works. For only in the expression of love is there life, in heaven or in earth! And it is not by accident that Sabbath is right in the middle of that law of love!

No one will be prevented from entering the pearly gates because he failed to keep Sabbath for whatever reason. God is not vengeful in this way. If one fails to enter the pearly gates it will be because he missed the blessing and advantages offered by Sabbath that may have better prepared him to appreciate God and his way of doing things and been more willing and able to accept God's other healing gifts of restoration.

While serving in a mission clinic in the Pacific Isles, I had the privilege of caring for a little girl who came to me with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, ITP. She was all black and blue with Bruises all over her body. Her mother told me she had these because she had disobeyed and gone outside after dark and been pinched by the evil spirits dwelling in the banyan trees surrounding their home.

There was a time when it was popularly believed that all illness was due to demon possession. The only remedy for such an illness was to appease or cast out the demon. Today in most parts of the world we "know better". The phenomenal expansion of knowledge during the past century has for all practical purposes "debunked" such foolishness. Now we can explain almost any illness or bodily malfunction by our understanding of the molecular basis of physiology, wholly unrelated to demons and evil angels. With the added benefits of the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, we think that it is only a matter of time until even the "forces" of the universe come under our domain.

In a world such as ours, it may appear nieve and simplistic to suggest that there is still a God who created all of us and who still reigns supreme, and even more simplistic to suggest that there is a great Satan out there in the darkness engaged in blatant conspiracy against this God. So be it! Granted, I do not understand all the ways of God. Nor am I always able to explain the working of the evil one. This one thing I know, there is no other way to explain the meaning of life or even begin to understand the answers to the really difficult questions of pain and suffering and death that we all see and experience everyday of our lives except in the context of the war between good and evil as so beautifully described in the Holy Bible. There is no other answer to the injustice of war, genocide, or any of the other unconscionable ways that we deal with one another, there is no way to respond to the whole human dilemma such as epitomized by Princess Diana, except there be a master mind conspiring against all that is just and good. Nor is there any other explanation for the many evidences of good that we see in our world except there be a God of infinite love patiently sustaining his creation until every evil thing has been fully unmasked and every destructive process exposed. The verity of molecular biology, theories of relativity or expectations of quantum mechanics, as fantastic as these are, as powerful as they make us feel, cannot begin to answer the BIG questions of life. Nor can the arguments of the "higher critics" who ponder such issues.

But the picture painted in the "Good Book" does do all of this, as foolish as it may seem to the mind "enlightened" by twenty first century sophistication! The controversy between good and evil as described in its pages effectively explains the origin, the nature, and the final end of the terrible things that we all see and recognize and personally feel each day of our lives. It is rational. It is consistent with a sense of common justice. And it is in no way incompatible with the truths revealed by honest scientific investigation. Furthermore, it gives hope in an otherwise hopeless world. Human wisdom can offer no such satisfaction.

The war is real. The positions of opposing commanders clear. The stakes are high. And we, mere humans, stand to gain or loose based upon whose side we choose to fight.

Come with me in your thoughts. Come with me again back to Eden, the garden home of Adam and Eve. Picture for yourself the self exultant glory Satan must have experienced at his victorious conquest over this special creation when he beguiled Eve and then Adam, this show piece of God's creative genius. Let yourself feel the sadness of the moment as God in disappointment leads the broken couple out through the garden gates into a darkening world where Satan will now reign as king in their stead. Note as the tears run down God's cheeks and fall to the ground below. Listen as he describes the plan of rescue through the power of his own shed blood. Watch as Satan scrambles to create new strategies to deal with God's plan of rescue. If you were in his shoes, if you were Satan, where would you begin? How would you deal with such a fantastic display of love?

Can you see him now, scratching is head and racking his brain for ideas for what must have seemed like ages? Then one day an idea develops that seems to pass all the needed tests. Can't you just hear him shouting with impish glee, "I've got it, I've got it" when the thought suddenly comes to strike back at the very place where God is most vulnerable, the very foundation principles of his government, the law itself with the Sabbath as its very heart? "That's it! That will work."

So begins the devil's attack upon God's law with special attention given to the Sabbath, an attack that would increase in intensity until the war would end.

This is a book about the Sabbath as expression of God's love for his creation. Whole books have been written describing the historical evidence of Satan's attack. I will not long dwell upon this history except to attempt to demonstrate the fierceness of the attack and thereby argue my original proposition, that Sabbath is key to God's whole plan of love, a fact made amply plain by the attention Satan, working through human agents, has given to it, and continues to give. Else why is there this record of history coursing all through the centuries describing battle against the Sabbath, if it carries no special significance to the cause of God and our restoration, or serves no potent deterrent to another agenda? Could such a thing be planned and executed by the mind of man alone? Or is this indeed a demonstration of one conspiring against our Creator God?

Follow along!

Valid information first begins to appear in the historical record many centuries after creation. You see, there was no written language dating back much before the time of Abraham, the father of the Jews. (About 2500 years BC) It is true that there are pictographs, cave writings, etc., that some believe may be dated before this time. But a written language appears in the world from a number of different locations, all at about the same time shortly after the great flood of Noah's day. Ancient China, ancient sumaria (Babylon), and ancient Egypt are examples. Therefore, any conclusions that we might draw from our study must keep this fact in mind.

The Bible is clear in it's description of the origin of the Sabbath. But the writing of the Bible was begun nearly two thousand years after creation and the establishment of the Sabbath. It is not a direct historical record. We believe the account because of the proven evidence that the Bible is a reliable book. By the same token, there is no written record describing Satan's attack upon the Sabbath during those early days of human history either. What is very clear however and comes across very forcefully in nearly all ancient writing is reference to the sun God and the day of the sun. To the ancients, the sun was the major source of life. In response to it's warmth and light the earth brought forth of her abundance. She alone of all of the heavenly bodies had the power to give life, or to exact it. To add significance to her role, ancient records describe Semiramus, virgin wife/mother of Nimrod, an early political strongman, as ascending to the sun to join her deceased lover and reign as god with son and deceased father. Archeological excavations reveal that in nearly every ancient culture, symbols of the sun god are everywhere present. In these same societies, the first day of every week was esteemed as the day of the ruler of heaven and earth - the day of the sun. (Ancient China may be an exception) (ref. Khang Kiat Tien, Genesis and the Chinese, p 21, Leaves of Autumn Books, Inc, P.O. Box 440 Payson, Arizona 85541) Thus in one "smooth" ploy, Satan heinously separated man from communion with his creator first by confiscating his holy time, Sabbath, and replacing it with his own day, and then by stealing away the true meaning and benefit of the promised messiah, replacing it with himself as a counterfeit with his throne as the sun. Of course, these were not the only connections with heaven that Satan set about to destroy. Indeed, a careful look at history, or at the world about us even today, reveals that for every truth, Satan has masterminded it with a counterfeit that he throws out to the world for to deceive and to destroy.

From these early beginnings soon after the flood, it seems that the gods of the sun dominated all other gods. In India, Babylon, Syria, Egypt, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the islands of the seas, common symbols and practices prevailed under a verity of names. It might have appeared that Satan had won the day.

But God was not dead, nor defeated. Of Noah's descendants, the Bible focuses upon Abraham and upon his subsequent descendants, the Jewish people, who "remembered" the Sabbath and preserved it for succeeding generations. They too remembered the promise of the messiah and preserved its meaning and purpose through their worship practices and ceremonies. But the Jews were not alone who remembered. There is evidence to indicate that in the Orient, the Sabbath was esteemed and the God of the Sabbath honored by the people of that land. (Ibid) In Ghana, West Africa, Saturday is even now called in the native language, “God’s day” and Sunday, “white man’s day”. Evidence exists in Scripture and elsewhere that God retained faithful followers in various places all through those ancient times.

Though it may be true that the Jews tried to maintain the Sabbath throughout their history, it did not happen without challenge or apart from God's watchful eye. Over and over again, those whom he had chosen as custodians of the Law ignored it and joined in the customs of their neighbors in worship of their gods. Each time this happened, God in love accepted responsibility for disciplining and correcting them and bringing them back to faithfulness to him and the Sabbath established for the benefit of all men. ("I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, WHICH IF A MAN DO, HE SHALL LIVE IN THEM. 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. But the house of Israel rebelled against me --- they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my Sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them ---. Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. --- Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth. I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness , that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols. --- As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: and I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. --- And there I will plead with you face to face, Like as I pleaded with your fathers --- and I will cause you to pass under the rod, --- and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me:--- TO THE END THAT THEY MIGHT KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD." Ezekiel 20:11-38)("Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans FOR THEIR GOOD. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart," Jeremiah 24:4,5). (See also Jeremiah chapter 25; II Chronicles 34:13-23.)

When the armies of king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed the city of Jerusalem and took it's people captive, God's objective described in the quotations above proved quite effective. Never again in the pre Christian era after their seventy years in captivity did the Jews return to the worship of other god's or forget the Sabbath of the creator God. For awhile it might have appeared that God had won that battle. But here again we see the working of the enemy. Sabbath, the day designed to be a time of togetherness between God and his earthly family, a time for nourishing relationship and communication, gradually became instead, an instrument of destruction of the very relationship that it was established to build. Through the gradual creation of petty rules and rigid traditions, Sabbath became a day to be despised, a symbol of a demanding, self-serving god. For many, Satan had heinously succeeded in not only creating a counterfeit day but now as well in beguiling even the guardians of the Sabbath into allegiance to him on God's special day. Though the record is more obscure, we may suspect similar attack upon the Sabbath in other lands where it still existed. Indeed, human beings have always tended to look upon the law as restrictive and something that must be complied with in order to meet the requirements of God and receive the reward at the end of life, i.e., eternal life. It, this "need" to impress God and convince him of our goodness, that has been at the center of most of the controversies and schisms occurring in the church and out throughout history. Surely Satan has been effective in hiding from men the true goodness of God.

When Jesus came, only a handful of faithful ones recognized him for who he was. The devil's transformation of the Sabbath into a day of restrictive rituals had effectively blinded the eyes of the masses of this world to the truths of their Creator and the nature of his character. Deprived of this channel of communion between God and his creation, man was easy clay to be molded by the evil one into his own rebel form.

But dark as was the world for lack of the light of the knowledge of God, Jesus stepped down from heaven in person, in human flesh, as a man among men, to open the eyes of the blind and to reestablish communion between man and his God. In human flesh and blood he came into a world to live among men enslaved under a usurped ruler to win their freedom and restore to them the kingdom they had lost in Eden. It is interesting to note along this line that of all of the battles that Jesus was called to fight in order to accomplish his objectives, he took some of his greatest hits in relationship to the Sabbath. Let me sight a couple of examples.

Jesus and his disciples had just been "caught" working on the Sabbath, thrashing wheat none the less, as they walked beside the fields of ripening grain. "when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, 'behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day,'" Matthew 12:2. "And when he departed thence, he went into their synagogue: and, behold there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, 'is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?' that they might accuse him," vs. 9,10. "Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him," vs. 14.

"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. ---he spat upon the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And said unto him, go, wash in the pool of Siloam. --- He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. --- The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, is not this he that sat and begged? --- Therefore they said unto him, how were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, a man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. --- And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. --- Then they reviled him and said, thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. --- And they cast him out. --- Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe ---?" John 9:1-35.

Nor did the battle cease after Jesus had been condemned and put to death. The record says that he was crucified on the day before the Sabbath and was laid in the tomb and "rested" during the Sabbath. Early in the day after the Sabbath he "awoke" from the sleep of death and was resurrected, claiming victory over death.

His disciples, being Jews, and "Sabbath keepers", continued to honor the Sabbath as had their master. But as the "Good News" of Jesus sacrificial death and resurrection escaped initial cover-up by the ruling Jews and reached out into the bigger secular/pagan world, converts from among these peoples who joined the ranks of "Christians" found themselves being classified as Jews because of their Sabbath observance. As such they were apt targets for the persecution that was at that time being carried out upon the Jews. Given such pressure, it was not long before the ''day of the sun" began to replace Sabbath, being "justified" by virtue of Jesus' victory over death and the grave as demonstrated by the resurrection on that grand Sunday morning. From this small beginning Satan's counterfeit day began to take on ever greater significance. !

Meanwhile, many faithful followers of Jesus accepted persecution and martyrdom, not alone at the hands of the Romans, but from other Christians as well. Known by such names as "Judaizers", "Sabbitarians", and other equally pejorative terms, some hid in isolated enclaves. Others fled to foreign lands, carrying with them the "Good News" of the gospel and the Sabbath they cherished so much.

For many years the "greater, more flexible" Christian community gave honor to both Sabbath and Sunday. In time, under popular and political pressure, Sabbath gradually became known for it's more austere, somber qualities as contrasted with a more celebratory mood characterizing Sunday. Eventually, in the fourth century, Emperor Constantine, a convert to Christianity, declared Sunday, by civil law, a day of rest from work throughout his empire. By this act, the day of the sun became firmly rooted in the popular Christian church, so firmly in fact that even the Reformation failed to significantly alter the fact, though some of the reformers made valiant attempts.

It might appear to the student of history that Satan had won another round.

But think for a moment. Can you change your birth date? Can you alter the anniversary of your graduation from eighth grade, or the day of your wedding? Not on your life. Neither is it possible to make Sunday, Sabbath. Sunday is not the day upon which creation was completed and made holy by the very act. Sunday (or any other day for that matter) has absolutely no utility for reminding us of our "roots", no characteristics capable of preventing us from forgetting who God is and who we are, creatures of His creation, beloved children of a most benevolent Father, no powers capable of protecting us against the deceptive claims of Satan touting theories of evolution and the potential for us to rise to the power of the gods themselves. Likewise, there is nothing about Sunday that authorizes it as a banner memorializing our re-creation, our redemption from sin. Only Sabbath meets these objectives. It is not possible for any other day of the week to take it's place or accomplish its functions. Though we might successfully change the time or day that we elect to bend our knees or bow our heads before God, such acts can not assume the natural role of Sabbath. While the resurrection demonstrated a powerful testimony to the power of God over death and made a fantastic statement about his love for us, these facts do not make Sunday, Sabbath.

It is interesting to note that as the church increased in size and political savvy, her authority to establish doctrine and tradition allowed her to "interpret" the Bible and define "truth" by her own terms. In so doing, as already noted, the Sabbath was taken away and with it the time established by God himself for fellowship with men. In its absence, other Biblical truths likewise gradually became reinterpreted under the prevailing doctrine that all truth was progressive and that the traditions established by the church came as revelations from God. The door was thus wide open for the entrance of any practice or belief that the arch-conspirator, Satan himself, might wish to admit. Is it any wonder that we who call ourselves Christian are sometimes terrible embarrassed to carry that name?

Nor has Satan yet ceased his attack. Today, Sabbath is honored in lands around the world, yet it remains an object of scorn and ridicule by the world's masses. Still, the day of the sun prevails as the appointed day of worship for people of many faiths, and if not a holy day, at least a secular "holiday".

Given all of this, it is interesting to me that even after six thousand years, society still functions according to a seven day week, in spite of the fact that there is no known physical reason for it, and in spite of the attempts through the centuries to change it. this too is a statement for us to ponder.

What does all of this mean for the future? Will Sabbath remain forever a day of insignificance, or worse, a day to be condemned?

We will speak more about this later.

There was a time in our house when the kids were small that we had a little white poodle dog and a calico cat. Being of similar age and coming to our house at about the same time these two became the best of friends. Often they would curl up together on the chair to sleep, or tease and play with one another as animals are apt to do. In time, the calico cat became pregnant and delivered four small, nearly helpless baby kittens to delight our kids and cheer our home. Not long thereafter, while on tour of the neighborhood, she happened under the wheels of a passing automobile from which she sustained mortal wounds. Her poodle friend, sensing that something was amiss, though never having seen her in her dying distress, promptly went to the kittens nest and assumed her surrogate role as mother of the orphaned kittens, a role she honored until they were grown and on their own. Though we fed the little things with doll bottles, they suckled her breasts and found their comfort and solicitude from her.

It may seem a bit far fetched to attempt to draw a lesson of loyalty from these" dumb" animals. Equally touching stories might be cited from among the orphaned refugees of Cambodian carnage, or from the inner city ghettos of our own land, but something about this example from the world of "dumb" animals challenges us to consider what response might be expected from a much higher order of beings that we call human, created even in the image of God.

Nor is such loyalty entirely lacking among us. I think of patients whom I have attended in the emergency departments of the hospital. Families of injured patients, whether victims of beatings, stab wounds, or bleeding from the wounds of lethal firearms, cussing and swearing and carrying on with angry accusations and threats of revenge, suddenly turn to become staunch defendants of their "beloved" family member when questioned by the authorities or threatened with "safe keeping". That which at one moment seems like the extremes of hostility within the family often quickly "flip flops" when the family unit is threatened from outside. This is loyalty, family style.

Of course of all the stories one might site from among the human family, the loyalty of a mother for her own child is difficult to surpass and indeed becomes the nigh perfect symbol of that superlative parental love with which God has cradled us, the children of his making.

But what is loyalty? Where are it's roots?

As with the "dumb" animals, there is undoubtedly a bit of instinct involved in a mother's loyalty. Perhaps too, in that loyalty that keeps families together. But loyalty is bigger and broader than mothers and families. It also involves communities, societies, and nations. Loyalty is one of the primary characteristics of love. And like love, loyalty cannot exist by itself. It is a relational type of thing. Though coming from a heart of love, loyalty is born and develops as a result of a relationship with another party, individual, or common cause. It may be described as an innate sense of responsibility, ownership, or identity that insinuates itself into our thoughts and acts in response to the benefits that we have received. Not obligatory. Not a debt that we owe. Nor even a bid to make an impression. If it exists, it is spontaneous in its existence and in its action. Yet, even so, It is not necessarily accompanied by warm feelings or joyous exuberance. Sometimes it is hard to be loyal to a person, a nation, or a cause. Human nature being what it is, we might rather take an easier road or be tempted to join a less costly cause. But loyalty, as is true of love, though tempted and severely tried, cannot yield to any alien power, but will be true to one's innermost self and the person or cause in which he/she believes.

But loyalty, again like the love from which it derives, is not a thing that is magically or instantaneously instilled into a person upon request, but rather, a thing that sprouts and grows in response to the experiences one encounters along the road of life. For the Christian, this occurs as one submits his life to the guidance and control of the Spirit of God day by day and moment by moment, working through such means as have been designed for our healing and restoration. I speak of the Holy Bible, the Word of God, and the instructions and principles therein established and taught. And Sabbath, by virtue of it's benefits as already explored, is one of the key elements. How so?

We have already spoken of the value and role of Sabbath in providing time and opportunity for fellowship between man and his God. We have looked at the Sabbath as a memorial ever reminding us of our roots while serving to keep our sites upon eternal realities. We have noted how throughout history Satan has attempted to eliminate this "thorn in his flesh" that serves so effectively as a deterrent to his ambitious task of unseating the God of the heavens from his throne and usurping it for himself. And we have noted how from earliest times, the day of the sun has served as his counterfeit to the Sabbath, thus in effect, symbolizing all of his wily, egocentric independence from the God of his creation, an attitude successfully inculcated into every human being. Sabbath, by default symbolizes loyalty to the cause and purposes of God, acknowledging human dependence upon him as the source of our every need.

Yet, loyalty is not a default type of thing. For the loyal child of God, the Sabbath, emblem of God's authority and awesome goodness, is a thing that must be carried to the ends of the earth whereby to uplift and glorify the name of that One whose cause is worth dying for.

Throughout the course of human history as the controversy between good and evil has waged both behind the scenes and in public view, the followers of God have often been singled out for their "faithfulness". Occasionally this has been in the form of honor as when King Pharroh placed Joseph over the whole kingdom of Egypt or as when king Nebuchadnezzar placed Daniel over Babylon's golden empire. More often, it has happened that they have suffered for their faith at the hands of their fellow men, who conscience stricken by their example of faithfulness, turned their hand against them. For there is something about truth that convicts even the most recalcitrant. So it is that persecution, torture, and death have been the frequent lot of the "faithful". Certainly, we may expect nothing less when Satan is finally freed from his constraints and allowed to make his final statement to the inhabitants of planet earth and to the on-looking worlds. Then those, "sealed" by bonds of loyalty to God may again expect to be singled out as enemies of the people.

Reader, how will you stand in that day? Whose side will you be on?

It is a fact, well recognized, that heroes are not created by crisis. They are only revealed. Faithfulness to God, loyalty to him and his cause will not develop while under pursuit by the enemy.

So while Sabbath will undoubtedly "mark" those faithful to God and serve as a visible dividing line between the rebellious and the faithful, of much more importance is the value of Sabbath as an instrument serving even now for creating the "heroes" who will stand tall in that crisis hour.

Valuable perhaps! But mandatory? Is Sabbath experience necessary for creating faithfulness to the cause of God? Can none be counted loyal, none "sealed" who honor God on another day? Who fellowship with him on Sunday, or Friday, or Monday, Teusday, or another day of the week?

Perhaps! In unavoidable ignorance, certainly! All through the ages, many followers of Jesus have been faithful to that which they knew and could understand. Sabbath has been Sunday for some, Friday for others, or another day for still others, and may so remain until the lines of distinction have been clearly drawn such that all may understand. God will reward their faithfulness. But why would one - anyone - desiring fellowship with God and knowing of the "gift" and its significance, voluntarily forfeit such a valuable and joyous opportunity as Sabbath provides? As some have said, why eat dry black bread when you may have cake? Why even consider risking loss of the benefits inherent in Sabbath keeping?

Sabbath may not be mandatory for one to have a relationship with God but once one knows and understands the role and value of Sabbath and and IS CONVICTED in his heart, yet fails to enter into its sacred moments, he also entertains great risk of loosing his relationship with God, for to consciously ignore truth as revealed by the Spirit of God tends to harden the heart and close it to yet other revelations and experiences.

Then, why should I tell the world about the Sabbath and seek to make it known if it has such potentially disastrous possibilities? Because I believe that the benefit of Sabbath far exceeds any possible hurt it might inflict. The world needs this time with God.

But beyond faithfulness to God, beyond mere compliance to his governance, over and above the bearing his "mark", his "seal" of identity, there stands this thing called loyalty. We may color it red. Indeed, in every age, red has come to symbolize the blood shed in pursuit of a cause. It denotes active participation in warfare, conscious committment to a worthy cause, total renunciation of self for a greater purpose. In it there is a sense of "ownership", healthful pride, willing submission to the "Commander" in charge.

For the "soldier" of God this loyalty takes on the characteristics of Jesus, our supreme example. Not as coming against the enemy with guns and tanks and intercontinental ballistics, but as described so beautifully by the prophet Isaiah, "---the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn, (Isaiah 61:1,2).

Though "foolish" by the standards of men, the warfare of God is not to attack with design to DESTROY another, but a warfare of rescue and reconciliation, of wiping up the mess created by the devil in his terrible attempt to conquer the earth. And it is the warfare of all those loyal to His cause. It may be a lonely road to walk when the whole world has chosen another route and another day,but Jesus has already forewarned us. The "narrow" way has never been the popular one. The masses prefer the "broad" and smooth road that leads down hill. Sabbath has always marked the narrow way.

But while the warfare of Jesus was different, he did not shun confrontation and conflict. Indeed, he often met it head on in his ministry to the world he came to serve. Witness his response to the accusers of the woman "caught in adultery, in the very act", (John 8: 3-11). Hear him as he argues with the Pharisees regarding his identity as son of God, (John 8:36-47). Watch as he agonizes in the garden, is captured under cover of darkness, stands trial before the High Priest, before Herod, Tetrarch of Galilee, and before Pilate, Governor of Judea, (Luke Chapters 22,23; John 18, 19; Matthew 26, 27; Mark 14, 15). Note how Paul describes Jesus' warfare and admonishes his loyal followers, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross ---,

"(Philippians 2:1-15).

Similar "loyalty" may be expected of his followers, especially as the judgment of this world draws to a close and the devil feverishly seeks to accomplish his heinous goals. For there is a world to be warned and honest hearts to be rescued. Can we do less? And having learned, and understanding the benefit of Sabbath, can we fail to include it's proclamation in our ministry to the world?

We have spoken at length about the value of Sabbath and it's role in creating loyalty to the cause and purposes of God. Let us now take a look at what is involved in "keeping Sabbath". Let us examine our response to this gift of love.

"Keeping Sabbath"!

What does this mean? What does it mean to keep the Sabbath holy?

Let me try an illustration by using a confabulated senario of my own family at a time when the kids were young. I was a surgical resident in a busy county hospital. Call nights were frequent and days "off-call" in demand of sleep - glorious sleep! All of this sometimes gave my family the sense that they were orphans. Let me say that, sensing this, I arranged to take a little time off to spend quality time at home attempting to reestablish meaningful family togetherness. Plans are made. The day arrives. I have the whole day free just to be together with the family. We awaken at the usual time, do our usual morning chores and prepare for the day. Almost before I know what is happening my daughter pops out the door with swimming suit in hand ready to join her friends at the pool. My son, more sensitive and thoughtful, stops on his way out the door to say, "sorry dad, but the guys are waiting to play ball." Not long thereafter, my wife, with car keys in hand, pecks a kiss on my forehead and heads out to shop.

Unrealistic? I don't think so!

Only God can never be accused as might I of being too busy or unavailable. Yet, we sometimes feel begrudged to arrange our weekly schedules to be with him on his "day off".

We might look at it this way! Holiness is the presence of God. To keep Sabbath holy then in the very simplest terms is to spend the day with God.

Given the Bible's description of God, One who loves with indescribable love, it would seem that people would thrill at such an opportunity and would be flocking to be with him in the place and at the time of HIS choosing. (I might have expected as much of my family!)

I have friends who just recently had opportunity to meet the Duke of York and eat a meal with him. Even in telling of the experience, excitement and joy showed all over their faces. Yet he is only human and not even a king. What greater joy and excitement might be ours to be priveleged to sit with THE King, not just a king of one of the nations of earth, nor of even of earth itself, but of the whole Universe?

Yet we shy away! As if afraid? Or not really sure He's real, or cares! Or we discover other things to do that are more urgent and important.

Sin has done this to us! It is real. The drama in Eden no simple play. There, Satan succeeded in cracking the wall God had erected to protect Adam and Eve from his evil deceptions and erected instead a wall separating man from his Creator God. In that terrible deception he created a mind-set in man that even to this day prevents us from really appreciating our God. And this, in spite of the price Jesus paid to flatten that wall when in the sacrifice of his life on a cruel wooden cross He emptied the resources of heaven that we might see God in all of his goodness, and believe.

So, anticipating our blindness and unbelief, He gave us the commandment, urging us to come apart from the daily activities of life and be with him. As if even in our intrigue with sin spending a little obligatory time with him might provide opportunity for us to learn of him and have some of our "blinders" removed. "Remember the Sabbath day"!

Now, for six thousand years, the annals of history have provided us with opportunity to learn our lessons. In sorrow and pain, we have seen and experienced the utter hopelessness and disappointment caused by self serving sin. At the cross, and in the providence's of life we have also seen the beauty and strength of God's love. God in his mercy and patience has given us ample opportunity to see Him and know Him and to compare Him with Satan, the adversary. And having caught a glimpse of him, the command becomes a beckoning call to come and learn more of him and worship in his presence. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," Exodus 20:7.

Scary? Scary, not knowing what cloths to wear or how to act in the presence of the king?

So were my friends in anticipation of spending time with the Duke. But we need not fret. The Bible provides ample guidelines for our dress (behavior) on that special day. Then too, His love radiating down upon us and filling us, will find many interesting and joyous ways to optimize our Sabbath experience and to glorify our "Father in Heaven". For this purpose the Holy Spirit was promised, and by his direction in keeping Sabbath as in all of life, our joy may be full.

You see, the Sabbath was made for man, (Mark 2:27). It was appointed for our benefit, with our interest in mind. In the beginning it was to be a time of togetherness with man and his God, ever a reminder telling us who we are and who God is, Creator, Lover, and Lord. Later, after Adam and Eve "messed up", Sabbath took on the added significance of memorializing God as our Redeemer and Saviour as well. Today, in earth's judgment hour as we prepare for the return of Jesus in glory, Sabbath becomes even more than a memorial. As the angel cries from the heavens, worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea and the fountain of waters,(Revelation 14:7) Sabbath takes on the added role of identifying symbol, a seal, if you will, of those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. Always, it remains a time and opportunity for rest and renewal, like an oasis in the desert, a place to be renewed in heart and mind and body, sometimes even in the presence of persecution. But all of this, not because God needed our praise and respect and honor, but for us because we needed to remember, to express our thanks, and to proclaim our praise.

It's a bit like an experience that I had one summer when I was selling books door to door working my way through school. It was hot. I was tired. Sales had been slow. Spirits were low. And I, in my bashfulness and introversion, was having a hard time just getting through my sales canvas. But my misserbleness overruled my fears. At the next door I asked for a drink of water. Lo and behold, the lady at the door not only brought me a glass of cool clear water, but even invited me in to sit down and rest a bit. More than that, she seemed blessed by the simple act that she had done. Since then, I have become much more aware of the fact that our greatest happiness and joy comes not when we receive something nice, but when we give something nice to someone else. Sabbath is like a request from God to us for a glass of cool water. Ours is the blessing for the giving of our time and worship and songs of praise. Sabbath is our best opportunity to participate in the cycle of love and benevolence. Because of God's love for us he pours out the resources of heaven upon us. Because of our love for him, we return to him our tokens of gratitude and praise. Sabbath epitomizes that opportunity.

Some are uncomfortable with the thought that God has included the Sabbath command among the other nine laws of the decalog. Why would a God of love and freedom command such behavior of his subjects and seemingly curtail the freedom obtained at such high cost? My answer, true freedom can only exist by the presence of law and authority. Without law, and the authority to administer that law, anarchy soon rules. There is no freedom in anarchy. It is because of his love for us that the Sabbath, as with all of the other of his laws, was given to us. And to be obedient to the command is to realize the benefit therein designed.

But yes, there is risk. Human beings by our very nature, and certainly goaded on by the devil himself, tend to adulterate, distort and destroy everything smacking of faith, love and godliness. And so we tend to destroy the benefits of Sabbath and to turn a day of blessing into a time of drudgery, blind restrictions, and legalism and to view the God of it's creation as a tyrant and vengent taskmaster. Obedience, when coming in response to a heart filled with love is blessed. Obedience, when attempted for any other means or prompted by any other motive hurts and destroys. There is no MERIT in obedience, only BENEFIT.

But how does one keep Sabbath? What is the means by which one may truly worship God and live in his presence on the Sabbath day? How does one avoid the temptation to make the Sabbath a thing that we DO to impress our God? To prove our goodness?

How can I best respond to God who created the galaxies and holds them in place, yet is my Father, my rescuer, and friend. How can I express my appreciation and my love for him and express my thanks on his special day?

Let me try an answer.

To begin, it is well to remember that God created the world in six days and made the seventh day holy. The Bible bears record that at creation, each day began in the evening, at the setting of the sun, and ended twenty four hours later, again with the setting of the sun. It was no different for the seventh. What a fantastic idea! What a perfect time for a holiday to begin. For six days, according to the command, we are to work and enjoy the labor of our hands, to learn and to apply our knowledge and our skills and to experience the joy of accomplishment while providing for our temporal needs. Just when we need it most, at the end of the week, at the end of the last day of labor, the Sabbath arrives to bring rest and to restore the soul. It is all according to a cycle established within our beings at the time of creation, according to the programming of our computer brains.

How would you prepare to welcome a dear friend who was scheduled to arrive in the evening? What would you do to make the very most of your precious time together?

The answer to these questions is dependent upon a couple of other factors. How "special" is the friend? How often do you see one another? Naturally our response is different with someone whom we see every day or week than with one whom we see only rarely, say perhaps once every few years. And it is different for our dearest friends than for a casual acquaintance with whom we have little in common. The same is true with God. Is he a friend? How close a friend? How often do you talk and meet together?

You say, " there's a problem. God may be a friend in a sense, but it's different. I can't see him. I can't speak face to face and sometimes I wonder if he is even there at all. So your analogy about friends seems a bit far fetched".

Perhaps!

But just here is where Sabbath is so important. One cannot "keep" Sabbath in the true spirit of holiness, without soon discovering that God is indeed the very closest and best friend that you have ever had. So yes, God may not be your best and closest friend when you first decide to keep Sabbath, but if your heart has been touched by his love, and if your intellect has been convinced of the true power of love at work in the world, and if you are willing to give God an opportunity to prove himself to your soul, you will be amazed at the way your friendship will develop. Yes, still unseen, as with the eyes, but as real as life walking by your side day by day and moment by moment and revealing himself in the most fantastic and unexpected ways.

Check it out!

Choose now to honor the commandment ordering Sabbath holiness. Plan to spend the next Sabbath in God's presence As the sun sets in the west next Friday evening, reverently bow your head and invite him to spend the next twenty four hours with you. Tell him that you are searching, that you are testing him to see if he is real. Ask him to make himself known. Then wait and see how he reveals himself to you.

But there is more to keeping Sabbath than just asking for God to reveal himself, for he has already spoken and has said much about himself. Sabbath is opportunity to study and learn what he has already written in the Holy Bible, to explore the wonders of his creation in the vast book of natural science, to look at the historical record and note his hand at work in the rise and fall of nations as he has pitted his acts of love and mercy against the aggressive deceptions of the evil one, to examine the arts and allow the senses to be fed by the beauty of music, the careful use of color, form, and taste. Nor should we neglect the words that he speaks through family, friends, and dedicated fellow men as they share their own experience of God's providence in their own individual lives or respond to his call to minister through the spoken word.

To give structure to Sabbath whereby to more effectively provide atmosphere for communication and to guarantee a stable and long lasting relationship with him, God has outlined certain guidelines for us to follow in our Sabbath observance. Note the wording of the fourth of the ten great commandments. " Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor 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, not thy son, not thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, not 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).

In the book of Isaiah, this command is further described as including participation in the pleasurable things of the world. " --- and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words", (Isaiah 58:13).

There is a passage in the book of Exodus that describes God's view of the importance of Sabbath faithfulness. The descendants of Israel had recently left Egypt on route to the promised land. They ran out of food. In response to their cries for help, God gave them "Manna", a specially designed food that miraculously appeared upon the ground each morning for them to gather and use as food. Every day this happened, - except on Friday, when a double supply was delivered, and on Sabbath, when there was none. Some, not impressed, went out on Sabbath expecting to eat, but learned a lesson teaching the importance with which God views the instructions that he gives to us. (Read the story in Exodus chapter 16, 10 - 30).

These guidelines may be seen as rigid "rules" to follow, or as exactly what they are, facilitators for getting to know God and growing in oneness with him. You can read similar passages throughout the Bible, but will find them best described and applied in real life in the words and acts of Jesus during his journey here on earth as our example.

Jesus had just returned from the wilderness where the Holy Spirit had taken him to prepare him for his life of ministry. "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read, Luke 4:16. In this Scripture passage we see Jesus gathering with fellow believers in public worship on the Sabbath. It was his usual custom. Jesus took part in community worship.

The passage that he read on this occasion was a quotation from a prophecy in the book of Isaiah that described his mission - which as followers of him is also our mission. "He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord," Luke 4:18,19. In this passage Jesus was saying, "You have misinterpreted the intent of the law of Moses. All of God's law is about love. The commandments describe the very least expression of love. My ministry is to show that love has no upper limits. If you love as God loves, you will be driven by this love to "buy" into the mission that I have come to demonstrate. You will see the true meaning of love. His fellow countrymen failed to make the connection. Unable to comprehend the significance of his teaching, Jesus' revolutionary application of the principles of God's kingdom from a positive, "look what true love really looks like", perspective, "blew them away". So they carried him off to the side of the mountain where they planned to throw him over the edge to his death. (Read the whole story in Luke chapter 4, verses 14-37.) Escaping from their hands, he went on to Capernaum where he was able to teach and to practice the Commandments, including the Sabbath Commandment, according to their true intent, an instrument for the healing and restoration for all mankind

Throughout the gospel records we see Jesus repeatedly demonstrating Sabbath keeping at its very best. You will want to study these records for yourself as you seek to make Sabbath keeping meaningful in your own life. Note a few of Jesus' statements. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill," Matthew 5:17. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, Mark 2:27. "Wherefore, it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days," Matthew 12:12. ---ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone," Matthew 23:23. "For I am the Lord, I change not; ---," Malachi 3:6. "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever," Hebrews 1:8.

If I were to attempt to apply these principles of Sabbath keeping to our own times and needs, it would look something like this. All through the week, but especially as Friday draws near, one prepares for Sabbath as one would prepare for the arrival of a dear friend or special house guest. With the setting of the sun, it is nice to be able to welcome God individually or in family. This may be with a prayer of invitation to him or a request to him to make this a special time together. Many of the Jewish customs make the beginning of Sabbath a special time with God and family. You may wish to try some of them. Singing, reading Scripture, praying, having a meal together, family discussions focusing on spiritual things and present applications, etc... The experiences shared during these hours will fill memory banks that can be drawn upon for years to come for youth and adult members of the household alike.

Sabbath is also a time for community worship. It is a time for reading and studying the Scriptures or "writings" together, perhaps reviewing assignments studied individually during the week and now subjected to group discussion. It is a time for praying together, for sermons expounding the Word, and for songs of praise. All help to make up a healthy Sabbath worship experience and to strengthen the community of believers. The apostle Paul admonished Jesus followers to gather regularly for this Sabbath experience together for the benefit of all, (Hebrews 10:23-25). We are social creatures dependent upon one another. Corporate worship helps to meet these needs. Not only do we need community worship for our own spiritual health, but as well, we owe it as a debt of love to one another.

Nor dare we neglect to mention the benefit to the community of believers for it is in community that God's people may join their energies, their means, and their talents in sharing the "Good News" in word and deed with the bigger world around them. Sabbath is instrumental in building and strengthening that community of believers for greater effectiveness.

As certainly as there is benefit in studying the Scriptures on Sabbath, either corporately or individually, delving into the book of nature and the natural sciences can also be a neat way to see God's handiwork in the intricacy and beauty of the things that he has made and hear his voice speaking to your heart and intellect. It is good to meet with God in his creation.

Sabbath is also a time for sharing our blessings and knowledge of God with those less fortunate than ourselves. Jesus did much of his one on one visitation and healing on the Sabbath days, setting us an example.

I could go on building a list of Sabbath activities designed to position ourselves in places and attitudes that might best prepare for God to be among us and to reveal himself. Much better each of us work together with God and develop our own Sabbath experience. Certainly you will wish to include some or all of the above suggestions, but more important, let God make this a special day in your weekly cycle with him. The important point to remember in this process is that this is holy time. We may have personal ideas of how we would like to keep Sabbath, but God is wiser and will lead us in our Sabbath expereince if we will ask and submit our lives to him.

Though we as human beings have many things in common, we also have differences and are at different stages of spiritual maturity. Accordingly, we will have variation in the way we relate to our God and to the community of believers on Sabbath as at other time and in other circumstances. Love and respect for one another will allow for these differences without judgment and criticism.

The Bible says, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death, Proverbs 14:12". "I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me, John 14:6". "Enter in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it, Matthew 7:13,14".

Happy Sabbath!

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind," Isaiah 65:17. "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord," Isaiah 66:23.

The Bible is replete with passages that speak about the end of this world and the creation of a new one to take it's place. Let me quote just a couple. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness," II Peter 3:10,13. "And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. --- And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord," Isaiah 65:21,24,25. "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away," Revelation 21:3,4.

The author of the book of Hebrews in the Bible describes the reactions of some of those who through the centuries have been faithful to God and have believed his promises. "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. --- But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city," Hebrews 11:13,16. (Please read the whole chapter!)

It is difficult for us, cultured as we are to the twenty first century, to even begin to imagine what heaven will be like. Will there be cars and airplanes and motorcycles? What about professional sports, MTV, shopping malls and outlet stores? What will we do with our time? How will we deal with the neighbors who see things differently than we do?

The questions are many, but I don't think that we need bother to fret. The Bible is clear that heaven will be a great place. Let me quote a favorite verse of Scripture that gives a partial response to our inquiring minds. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him," I Corinthians 2:9.

And Sabbath! What about Sabbath in the new earth? Do you recall our previous discussions about memorials, monuments, anniversaries, banners, symbols that keep us focused upon the things that are of value and important to us? Reminders of who we are and where we fit into the whole scheme of things? Will that likely change when we get to heaven? I don't think so! In fact, we will still be creatures of God's creation. Reason enough to celebrate, sing praises and worship him. But that is not the half of it. In this world, in this life, we celebrate Sabbath in recognition of our creation, but also in acknowledgment of our redemption, our rescue from this prison house of sin. Now, it is by faith only, anticipating the reality of it through hope, longing for that glad resurrection morning when we will in fact experience our full restoration as children of God. Can you begin to imagine anything so exciting, so satisfying, so absolutely glorious? To see God face to face and realize the past is all over with? Finally! And to walk and talk with Lord Jesus who risked so much and paid such a high price for us to be able to be there. I am anxious to see my guarding angel who has walked beside me all through life protecting me from harm and from the evil one so many times. You have your own anticipation's. But can you think of a better reason to celebrate? A more fantastic reason to have Sabbath? Then, our Sabbath experience will be a spontaneous expression of a heart full of thanksgiving and praise, not a mere nominal compliance to a rule that we know we should obey. Is it likely that God would deprive us of opportunity and time for such expressions? No way! In fact, I suspect he will be there sharing his joy with us.

Nor will the joy and meaning of Sabbath diminish during the eons of eternity In fact, I suspect that time (if indeed we will keep time there!) will only enhance the significance of Sabbath the longer we live in his presence and experience the things he has there prepared for us.

As noted in an earlier chapter, the laws that God set into motion to govern his universe have existed since eternity past. They were operative when Adam and Eve tended their garden home in Eden. They are in effect today and work silently to sustain our world about us, and they will be there to govern us all throughout eternity. But like in Eden before the fall, there will be no need for a written code of conduct to guide our actions, for the ways of love will have been inscribed upon our hearts and our actions will cheerfully and spontaneously express love's attributes.

What is interesting to consider is that Sabbath, the very center of the law as it was written out for us here on earth will even then forever remain center to the law of the ages. Though unwritten, and spontaneous in its action as already noted, it is Sabbath that sustains our love. It is the Sabbath experience that keeps the fires of love burning, for God and for our fellow creatures. And it is Sabbath, that special time set apart by God to be with us, his creation, that provides most ready access for his love to flow out to us, to facilitate aculturation and assimilation, naturalization if you will, into his kingdom.

At first thought, it might seem that there must be no need for Sabbath in a perfect, restored, environment, now free from the effects and the temptations of sin. But as we have just been exploring, all of the reasons that existed for Sabbath before sin will still exist in the earth made new, but then with even greater significance, even as our reason for rejoicing will be so much greater. But there is even more. It has to do with freedom. Had freedom not been an issue, God could have resolved the sin problem much more quickly and easily than he has. But freedom must ever remain as an option for Love's creation. Throughout eternity, there must remain the option to bow out, to elect another way, to choose to go another direction if we wish. The Bible assures us that that will never happen .Sin will not arise again. Our six thousand years experience with sin has been permitted to demonstrate for all time to come that there is no better way to govern than by Agape love. But the option must exist, if love would be true. And it is my contention that it will be the regenerative effect of the weekly Sabbath that will ever keep our attentions focused upon our God and his goodness such that we will ever recognize that true freedom exists only in the presence of God's immeasurable love. Knowing this, we can be content to be just us, and to let God be God. To him be all the praise!

Won't you, dear reader, whoever you are, just now choose to be part of that vast throng that will gather around the throne on that grand day and join in that supernal anthem recorded for us in Revelation 5: 11-13, "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Praise his holy name!

I suspect this will be our Sabbath anthem throughout eternity!

HE LOVES ME! HE LOVES ME! HE LOVES ME!

One more question! Do you suppose all daisies will have an unequal number of petals in heaven?

In the pages of this book I have taken the position:

1.) that the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God,

("All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction , for instruction in righteousness," II Timothy 3:16; "For the prophecy came not by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," II Peter 1:21.)

2.) that it represents truth,

("He is a Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he," Deuteronomy 32:4; "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth," John 1:14.)

3.) and that God is constant and does not change

("For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled," Matthew 5:18; For I am the Lord, I change not ---," Malachi 3:6).

The arguments that I have used to verify my thesis are concepts derived from the Holy Scriptures. Honest, knowledgeable, students of the Bible will confirm my contention that the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments identifies the Bible Sabbath as the seventh day of the week. Indeed, Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter of July 7, 1998, Dies Domini very acurately describes the Bible Sabbath as the seventh day of the week and extols many of its virtues.

Given this fact, the serious seeker of truth must choose whether he\she will accept the Bible as the Word of God as claimed in it's pages, or if not, some other authority. You too, reader, will need to make this choice.

May I suggest one other important truism to help you. Jesus said," by their fruits shall you know them," Matthew 7:16. If you are struggling with the claims of some other authority or source of truth, check it out by this test. Where has it been? Where is it now? Where is it headed? Does it square with what you know in your heart is honest and pure, true to the principles of self renouncing love? (Note: you will need the wisdom of God to discern the answers to these questions, but God will grant you your request if you will ask!)

Sometime I too am tempted to question my simple faith in the Holy Bible when I see almost the whole world following some other way. Can I alone be right and all the world be wrong? What awsome thought! Or perhaps it is not really important anyway. We are all human. All of us have gone astray. We all have our hang-ups, our points of vulnerability, our blind spots. God must take this into consideration in judgment. So why fret about such a controversial thing as Sabbath?

Yes, the questions come. But for me at least, there can be only one answer to them all. Even while stumbling along through the deepest, darkest valleys of life, or climbing the steepest slopes, there is ever that supernal thought that burns within my soul, "I am a child of the king and all of the treasure stores of heaven have been emptied for my benefit. Can I refuse so great love? Can I share my love for him with another?

And then another thought comes my way. What would our world be like if everyone knew and kept the Sabbath as it was originally designed. What would it be like if all the world had a love relationship with Jesus and treated his neighbor as himself? Just because he\she loved him\her?

Temptations do come! Our mind sometimes tries to play tricks on us and we struggle with difficult decisions. But when I in my more sober moments consider all of the options and compare all of the competing ideas, theologies, philosophies and creeds, nothing quite adds up like the wisdom and power of the Holy Bible and the beauty of the Bible Sabbath.

AND I LOVE HIM TOO!!!

Sabbath is

A special way for him to say

"He Loves ME".

Sabbath is a special way for him to say,

He loves me.

Just another way for him to say,

He cares.

When at the end of creation week

All things good he declared to be,

He set aside this special time,

Just to be with me.

If that's not enough his voice to hear,

He found me when I ran and hid

And purchased back my love and trust

While hanging limp on Calvary's tree.

Then, dripping blood, he once again

Reminded me, his special time

To be with me.

When at last on resurrection morn,

I hear the trumpet loud and clear,

Calling forth my name to come

And spend eternity with him,

That special time to be with me,

That gift that says so plain to hear

He loves me still,

Will call from me through all eternity

My Sabbath praise and songs of joy.

Sabbath is a special way for me to say

I love him too!

I love him so!

The times demands Strong minds,

great hearts, true faith and willing hands.

Men whom the lust of office does not kill;

Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;

Men who possess opinions and a will;

Men who have honor; men who will not lie;

Men who can stand before a demagogue

And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking;

Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog

In public duty and in private thinking!

For while they rabble with their thumb-worn creeds,

Their large professions and their little deeds

Mingle in selfish strife, Lo! Freedom weeps!

Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps!

---Author Unknown.