Sabbath Thoughts

SUN., JUNE 14, 1987, 6:18 AM
HAMA’S CABANA, HAWAII

This is a Christian Sabbath morn, and you are in this now familiar place ready to hear My thoughts about this day of the week. In timeless realms there is no designated Sabbath, for there are no days and no weeks. But in realms where spirit dominates (most realms) each moment is a Sabbath experience. Yes, this is difficult to translate into words, so let it stand, as that.

You see, Sabbath has significance in the earth because it is in some contrast to a non-Sabbath. “Six days you shall labor, and on the seventh day you shall rest from your labors”… is that which “created” the Sabbath. Before that I created the concept of time by having it recorded that I created the earth and all that is therein in six days, one at a time, and rested on the seventh, which offered the concept of a week. The rotation of the earth, with the experience of night and day at each place, the moon’s movement around the earth, giving the basis for the month, and the changing seasons with the earth’s movement around the sun all accumulate into the concept of time. Your culture is one that focuses on time excessively, with watches, clocks, deadlines, and many expectations for “being on time.”

The assumption behind the Sabbath concept is that there will not be much appreciation of My influence during the six days of labor, so this will be concentrated into one day. I even offered this as a commandment, which makes it more imperative. So for many people, including many Christians, there is need for a Sabbath, because insufficient attention is paid to Me during the other six days, whether spent in work or not.

The first requirement, then, for the Sabbath is respite from the activities normal to the other week days. The second is worship, joining together with others who are observing the Sabbath to sing, to pray, to hear a bit of the word, to hear it preached, and to give back to the Lord in appreciation for what has been given to you. Beyond that could be more prayer or meditation, more reading of Holy Scripture, and fellowship among those observing the Sabbath.

A good Sabbath can be quite structured, even to the amount of time spent in each Sabbath activity. Where time consciousness is strong it will seem important to structure each of these Sabbath days so that all requirements are met. I am not against structure. So by these criteria you are not a good “Sabbath keeper”… though you generally fulfill the basic requirements in the morning. The rest of the day is typically non-Sabbath.

I said that I am not against structure. As you suspect I am also not against less structure… or even no structure. That is, I also recommend a “Sabbath-attitude” toward life, unrelated to time. That is, as the activities of life are approached and experienced you are constantly reminded of My participation, and you acknowledge Me regularly or irregularly. When you see My participation in your life as normal and rather constant, you respond with thoughts, words, and deeds. What We do together, that results in these tangible Teachings is a Sabbath activity. Reflecting on these words or upon any other aspect of spirit as a part of daily life is Sabbath activity.