"sabbath(s) "?

What do you think it means by God sanctifying the 7th day?

God sanctified a great many days but Christians do not honour such days anymore (Passover, Pentecost, Day of Atonement, etc). There is no inherently holy 24-hour period, but commemorative days (holy days or holidays, i.e. set aside for a certain reason or cause). God blessed and sanctified the seventh day because in it He rested. That is why it is called a sabbath, i.e. rest.

In Canada, all public servants rest from work on TWO days of every week. Whether one, two or three days, the weekly sabbath(s) are based on that first day of rest God set aside as commemorative of His creation. He rested after working. We ought to keep those sabbath(s) holy with which He has blessed us and reflect in gratitude for what He has done for us.

REST FROM WORK but refrain from indulging the appetite for worldliness. We are not of the world but delight in heavenly things EVERY day of the week, and rest on the day(s) we are given rest.

This is the spirit and intent of the fourth commandment. See Deut. 5:15

Could you show where in the Bible God sanctified any of those days?

The Sabbath is the very heart and center of God's law. To take the Sabbath out of His law, is to take the heart out. The Sabbath is our special date with our Creator -- it's all about relationship, resting in Him, not in our own striving for livelihood and "to do'" lists, but leaving all that in His hands and resting in Him on the day HE blessed and set apart for this..

This weeks lesson is very precious -- The hope -- the blessed hope -- the soon coming of our Lord and Savior when there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more sickness, or crying, or dying. Praise God for giving us this blessed hope!

Studying it the concept of
"now is, and is to come" got me contemplating --

What does it mean "now is" and yet it "is to come", signifying it isn't totally here yet.

John 5 deals with those thoughts.

The chapter begins with the healing of the paralytic.
A man - helpless, paralyzed, no real life just existing with very little hope.

That is all mankind's condition, we can't save ourselves, we are helpless and lost with no prospects of anything better unless --

Christ --

Christ reached out to the paralyzed man and raised him up to life and health. Now the man could walk and live and enjoy life!! Jesus tells him, "sin no more lest a worse thing come upon thee".

That man represents us -- who were dead in sin, unable to do anything about it, without hope until --
Christ reached out to us, and said, stand up and walk with me, I will heal you, I will give you life!

Those who stand up and walk with Christ have moved from death unto life!
This is NOW -- now is the day of salvation. Now we can have the assurance of eternal life, now, as we walk with HIM, we can have the assurance that Christ will present our names before the Father and the angels and cloth us in His robe of righteousness.
Now He has loosed the chains of sin, and bids us walk with Him in righteousness, His grace has redeemed us!

We can have all that blessed assurance and experience NOW -- it now is!

But -- back to the paralytic -- He was healed. But he had to continue in this earthly life with all its troubles, facing cruel remarks from the leaders, and after a few years he died -- something was NOT YET.

the hour is still coming when all that are in the graves will hear HIS voice and will come forth.. Those who have done good unto the resurrection of life, but those who continued in evil unto the resurrection of damnation.. (John 5:28-29),

That is yet to come --
And what a day that will be for all who responded to Christ's first call to stand up from their condition of paralyses in sin, and walk with Him. His power raises us up NOW to live for Him, and will raise us up to eternal life at His coming to live forever with Him.. Praise His Holy Name!

From the lesson quarterly:Can I hear an AMEN?

AMEN

Yes, I was surprised to hear that from the lesson, but not really, considering the whole quarter.
Here's another gem I had in addition underlined and circled:
We can look forward to this "judgment", no doubt referring to the previous reference of revenge, with joy!


But when injury and insult has meaning, then it's a lot easier to bear.
When bad things happen to bad people, we take comfort.

God: Do good every day and honor the 7th day which I sanctified and blessed and specifically set aside as different from than the other days.

James Peterson: Just do the part about doing good and forget the day God said to remember He sanctified.



Hmmm.... Which should we go with....

God never said that.