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<Previous Message Next Message> Tuesday, June 3, 2014
![]() We pass this sign advertising "Cute Bunnies For Sale" near Strasburg, PA. Has anyone seen bunnies that aren't cute! Notice the "No Sun Sales" at bottom of sign. "Stirring Up More Wrath" ![]() “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" (Exodus 20:8). "In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath” (Nehemiah 13:15-18). ![]() ![]() ![]() I still recall how he held strong convictions concerning the Lord's Day, including not even traveling except in an emergency so that he wouldn't need to fill-up his gas tank. I've always remembered his serious desire to honor the Lord in this manner. The first daily text is the Fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." The breaking down of the sanctity (being set apart) of the Lord's Day eroded relatively rapidly in the perspective of church history. I recall in the eighties it was sports events when families would skip or leave church early so their children could play organized soccer games. In our present day, for most Sunday is just another day when you don't report to work, a part of the relaxing weekend and as expressed on the t-shirt "Fun Day". For younger generations there may be no awareness of how the day was set aside for worship and visitation to previous generations. In our area we have reminders of the old ways expressed by our Amish and old-order Mennonite neighbors. Our rural area is dotted with homemade signs of items for sale. Most of them include this statement, "No Sunday Sales". The de-evolution of the Lord's Day sanctity did not happen with purposeful forethought but rather essentially neglect. Is this one of the many areas as a society we have broken covenant with God and are slowly reaping the consequences? In our second daily verse Nehemiah is speaking to the exiles who have returned after the Captivity (the calamity). "Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.” Among infractions was the desecration of the Sabbath. Nehemiah warned them that they were "stirring up more wrath." If he were living now I wonder what his warning would be to the Christian church today? How are you practicing the Fourth Commandment? How are you honoring the Lord's Day? Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber ![]() Further study notes: 2) Earnest Christians differ on the day to consider the day of worship and rest. Some maintain that it remains Saturday. Several weeks ago I spoke to a Messianic rabbi who worships on Saturday. Of course most in the church see the Lord's Day (first day of the week) as the pattern for a special day of worship following the Resurrection. The point is do we have a day set aside for worship and rest? 2) Earnest Christians differ on specific prohibitions. I recall how Geneva College, a devout Presbyterian school in western PA, forbade any athletic activity on the Lord's Day. I'm not sure whether this is still the case. Our Amish neighbors on the other hand have youth group on Sundays and play volleyball. Specifics have varied all through church history and was even a point of contention while Christ walked the earth. The point is do we have a day we treat as special and focus on worship and rest? 3) I suppose some will read this and reason, "But we are not under law but under grace" which can be an excuse for about anything we want to do or anything we want to disregard! (This is one of those verses like "judge not" that people often memorize without regard to context or original intent). Surely the point of this verse is not that we can disobey and neglect all aspects of the OT law. It is that we are saved by grace. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "On The Lord's Day" Video United Live "The Lord's Day" by Charles W. Naylor (published 1911) O day of all the days the best,
When—laid aside each earthly care— We meet with God’s dear saints so blest, And in their praise and worship share. Not by a rigid code we’re bound With death to all who disobey; But through God’s love within us found, We keep this precious worship day. This day our Lord in triumph rose To give us hope beyond the grave; He conquered all our many foes, And proved His mighty pow’r to save. So in remembrance we will keep This blessed resurrection day, The pledge of all who wake or sleep, That they shall live through Him for aye. To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.) ![]() Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact. Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials) 1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only. 2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print. 3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.) 4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.) 5) Print! Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity." © Copyright 2014 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA |