Hello friends and scattered family in Messiah! The 7th day Sabbath is a sign or seal of Yah revealing His authority as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. By keeping or setting apart the Sabbath, we are proclaiming Adonai the One True God. It is not a Jewish thing as it was instituted by Adonai at creation; 2300 years before there was a Jew: God completed--on the seventh day—His work that He made, and He ceased—on the seventh day—from all His work that He made. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He ceased from all His work that God created for the purpose of preparing. Genesis 2:2-3 TLV
So Bnei-Yisrael is to keep the Shabbat, to observe the Shabbat throughout their generations as a >>perpetual covenant. << It is a sign between Me and Bnei-Yisrael forever, for in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.’” When He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave the two tablets of the Testimony to Moses—tablets of stone, written by the finger of God. Exo. 31: 16-18
I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their false step salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke Israel to jealousy. Now if their transgression leads to riches for the world, and their loss riches for the Gentiles, then how much more their fullness! But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Insofar as I am an emissary to the Gentiles, I spotlight my ministry if somehow I might provoke to jealousy my own flesh and blood and save some of them. For if their rejection leads to the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the firstfruit is holy, so is the whole batch of dough; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off and you--being a wild olive—were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root of the olive tree with its richness, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, it is not you who support the root but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” True enough. They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Romans 11: 11-20 TLV
Shabbat was a gift given to believing Israel as a perpetual covenant, forever. To which, as believers in Yeshua we have been grafted in and "become a partaker of the root." There are natural born descendants of Israel that have been broken off because of unbelief and refused Messiah. "You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” True enough. They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. " Rom 11:20 Not all of the descendants were "broken off" but some and gentiles were by faith permitted to be grafted in. This is not a new thing though as we see from Isaiah 56:6-7 TLV Also the foreigners who join themselves to Adonai, to minister to Him, and to love the Name of Adonai, and to be His servants— all who keep from profaning Shabbat, and hold fast to My covenant— these I will bring to My holy mountain, and let them rejoice in My House of Prayer..... The door to relationship with Abba Yah (God) has always been open to anyone (stranger and foreigner)willing to: repent, join to Him, love Him, serve Him, and keep His commands, holding fast to His covenant. Shabbat was made for man as an opportunity to rest and set aside dedicated time for: God, family, friends, and rest. Shabbat arrives at sunset every 6th day (taking us into the 7th day), week after week, month after month, year after year. That sunset-to-sunset timeframe set apart by the King of the Universe happens whether we choose to step into it or not. Where and how we choose to spend that time is up to us. And our choice will bear fruit: life or death. YHWH does give instructions for the Day with the ultimate goal of having us choose to abide with Him, our families, and other believers in a restful manner. This can look different week by week for every household. Only He and you - as parents, grandparents, husbands, and wives - truly understand the ins & outs of how your family functions and what your household needs on each Sabbath. So what are YHWH's boundaries?
Candles, Challah bread, and wine or juice Having a fancy meal every Friday night Dressing up in your finest clothing and jewels Blessing the spouses and children by a pastor or parents Spending the entire Sabbath in congregational meetings Assigned Torah and other Bible portions These things are not forbidden or bad practices. They are worthy traditions that have developed over the centuries to help us understand, honor, and step into the importance and essence of the Day. You CAN do any of the above if they help you to step into Shabbat with YHWH & each other to the best of your ability. Using them is not wrong.... but it is also not required. (As in, do not judge others if they fail to meet your expectation of what Shabbat should look like, outside of what is explicitly in Scripture) In our home, we do light a "Shabbat candle" which for us is a white candle from the dollar store. We light it and say some prayers to begin, and pray over the children, followed by a time of praise, and intercessory prayer. (As seen in the picture above) The candle stays lit from sunset to sunset (we do put it out overnight and re-light in the following morning, fire safety friends.) The children know that as long as it is lit Shabbat is in progress. The menorah is lit for church service. We need to be careful with YHWH's Sabbath -- not redefining it or twisting it with legalism and religious form -- and definitely not ignoring it or casting it aside. No matter where you are or in what circumstances you find yourself on any given Shabbat, you can honor the Day with obedience by doing your best to follow HIS instructions, with or without the traditions we have come to cherish. Honoring Shabbat as a set apart covenant time unto Yah (God) for: rest, study, worship and fellowship in the body of believers, has been a blessing 100x over within our family/ and fellowship {The Narrow Way Torah Observant Fellowship.} I hope you too discover the blessing in keeping Adonai's set apart Shabbat and Feasts! Shabbat is our favorite time of the week!! For a deeper dive into Faith & Works click here: Pursuing the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua- Phil 3:14 - Pursuing the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua- Phil 3:14 HalleluYah! Until next time: May Adonai bless and keep you as you: press on pursuing the goal for the reward of the upward calling of God in Messiah Yeshua. Phil 4:13
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Well hello there fam! Are you new to keeping Shabbat? First, just breathe. Second, remember, this is a journey with the best guide of all! You're taking a walk with Messiah and He's got you. Learning new things, and letting go of old habits can be daunting...but this is a special time each week (Sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) to celebrate Adonai and spend time with Him and in His Word with your family and other believers. It really is a blessing and our favorite time of the week! To start: Pray, and study the Word. Read up on Shabbat and how Yeshua spent Shabbat as well. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice- 1 Sam 15: 22 There are lots of Shabbat traditions you can find...but our focus is not traditions. Don't worry about man-made rules. For this is the love of God—that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome- 1 John 5:3 Use this time to acknowledge that it is a set apart time. Spend time with Him: pray, rest, fellowship with other believers, read the Word etc. Honor Him with your time. This should not be a burdensome thing. Be patient with yourself in learning how to prepare for Shabbat on "prep day" (ie: Friday). How to schedule your life in advance so that you don't have extra "work, errands" etc to do during Shabbat time with YHWH. Include your children in prep time so they too can look forward to Shabbat and teach them why. - Deut 6:4-9 Don't expect perfection from yourself. That's why we have Messiah! No different than a small child doodling a picture for their parent and offering it with the purest of intentions.... it may be scribbles but to the parent on the receiving end it is beautiful. The motive of obedience speaks. Remember, Then He said to them, “Shabbat was made for man, and not man for Shabbat".- Mark 2:27 Shabbat was made for man as a blessing of rest, not as a burden. Shabbat Shalom and enjoy! Until next time: May Adonai bless and keep you as you: press on pursuing the goal for the reward of the upward calling of God in Messiah Yeshua. Phil 4:13 * For our Statement of Faith: Statement of Faith - Pursuing the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua- Phil 3:14 YOU CAN NOW CONNECT WITH US ON FACEBOOK HERE! : (1) Pursuing the upward call | Facebook This is a public "personal blog" pg via Facebook to make it easier for readers to connect and share. Stop in for a visit, invite a friend. Hope to see you all there! Hello friends and readers I hope you are found well upon reading this. I have had some inquiries and so I am creating this post.....
Interestingly enough I have had quite frustrating complications in creating this post. I have already written it all up only for the site to lose it all and leave me to re-type it the best I can from memory... hmm..interesting. So let us start with explaining Prep Day (ie: Preparation Day) which is Friday up until sunset. As a Biblical day is sunset to sunset. Seen in creation and in how times and days are observed in scripture. During this time I work as usual and the children have school. They know that on Friday they need to sweep, and tidy the kitchen, and guest bathroom for service on Saturday. So all chores are done before sunset. Typically so I am not cooking into the beginning of Shabbat as that creates more dishes, after work, trying to rush about and get things done. I try to keep it simple... a pot roast in the crockpot, spaghetti and garlic toast....pizza or a quick pick up meal from a fast food restaurant. (***While we aim to intentionally rest and not run: errands, shop, etc on Shabbat I would like to make special notation that doing good on Shabbat and loving your neighbor as yourself if they are in need is NOT breaking Shabbat. Yeshua spoke on this a few times in healing a lame man on Shabbat to the parable about helping a sheep out of a pit (MT 12:11-12) Come Sunset we light the Shabbat Candle and say the blessing pictured above: "Barach Atah ADONAI, Eloheinu Melech ha'Olam Asher Kidd'shanu bidvaro v'natan lanu et Yeshua M'schicheinu v'tzivanu li-h'yot or l'olam, Amen" (this is sung to a tune)
After reciting the Shabbat blessing and acknowledging the start of Shabbat we recite the Shema Deut 6:4-9. Then each child will step forward and we pray Numbers 6:24-26 over each child often along with a personal blessing for that child. Then we move onto a time of worship followed by intercessory prayer. The Shabbat candle will stay lit until bedtime. The rest of the evening may be spent on an appropriate movie, game, or simply fellowship together to unwind before bed. Saturday morning the candle is re-lit and it stays lit for the duration of Shabbat. Saturday morning the children wake up typically before we do and they have free time to: eat, watch tv, and play freely and with friends up until lunch time. Around lunch time I gather them together for a "Shabbat school" lesson. We have a lesson, followed by coloring, or a craft. After which they have free time/leisure until service starts at 5pm. After them I have my Bible time, and prayer time...sometimes followed by a nap. 5pm service starts and we begin welcoming our church family. It is at this time the Menorah is lit. Service is opened in prayer, typically by my husband, with offering, and then followed with worship, and intercessory prayer/testimonies, and finally a sermon and discussion. After the main service we have a fellowship dinner. After dinner the Shabbat candle is blown out and people are free to fellowship and congregate until they desire to leave. If anyone has a special need requires private council it would happen during this time. Sometimes the home is empty by 9pm, sometimes midnight, it depends on the needs present and activities of the evening. Remember Yom Shabbat, to keep it holy. Ex. 20:9 TLV
Thus let us follow our Messiah and His ways: We know that we are in Him by this— whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked. 1 JN 2:6 TLV Yeshua taught, and upheld the Torah as our example of how to do so in kindness and in love. For this is the love of God—that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 1 JN 5:3 TLV If you have questions please inquire. Statement of Faith - Pursuing the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua- Phil 3:14 The Narrow Way Torah Observant Fellowship HalleluYah! Until next time: May Adonai bless and keep you as you: press on pursuing the goal for the reward of the upward calling of God in Messiah Yeshua. Phil 4:13 The 7th day Sabbath is a sign or seal of God revealing His authority as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. By keeping or setting apart the Sabbath, we are proclaiming Adonai the One True God. It is not a Jewish thing as it was instituted by Adonai 2300 years before there was a Jew: God completed—on the seventh day—His work that He made, and He ceased—on the seventh day—from all His work that He made. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He ceased from all His work that God created for the purpose of preparing. Genesis 2:2-3 TLV
So Bnei-Yisrael is to keep the Shabbat, to observe the Shabbat throughout their generations as a >>perpetual covenant. << It is a sign between Me and Bnei-Yisrael forever, for in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.’” When He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave the two tablets of the Testimony to Moses—tablets of stone, written by the finger of God. Exo. 31: 16-18
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s seed; rather, “Your seed shall be called through Isaac.” That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God; rather, the children of the promise are counted as seed. Romans 9:6-8 TLV I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their false step salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke Israel to jealousy. Now if their transgression leads to riches for the world, and their loss riches for the Gentiles, then how much more their fullness! But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Insofar as I am an emissary to the Gentiles, I spotlight my ministry if somehow I might provoke to jealousy my own flesh and blood and save some of them. For if their rejection leads to the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the firstfruit is holy, so is the whole batch of dough; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off and you--being a wild olive—were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root of the olive tree with its richness, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, it is not you who support the root but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” True enough. They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Romans 11: 11-20 TLV
Shabbat was a gift given to believing Israel as a perpetual covenant, forever. To which, as believers in Yeshua we have been grafted in and "become a partaker of the root." There are natural born descendants of Israel that have been broken off because of unbelief and refused Messiah. "You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” True enough. They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. " Rom 11:20 Not all of the descendants were "broken off" but some and gentiles were by faith permitted to be grafted in. This is not a new thing though as we see from Isaiah 56:6-7 TLV Also the foreigners who join themselves to Adonai, to minister to Him, and to love the Name of Adonai, and to be His servants— all who keep from profaning Shabbat, and hold fast to My covenant— these I will bring to My holy mountain, and let them rejoice in My House of Prayer..... The door to relationship with Abba Yah (God) has always been open to anyone (stranger and foreigner)willing to: repent, join to Him, love Him, serve Him, and keep His commands, holding fast to His covenant. Shabbat was made for man as an opportunity to rest and set aside dedicated time for: God, family, friends, and rest. Honoring Shabbat as a set apart covenant time unto Yah (God) for: rest, study, worship and fellowship in the body of believers, has been a blessing 100x over within our family/ and fellowship {The Narrow Way Torah Observant Fellowship.} I hope you too discover the blessing in keeping Adonai's set apart Shabbat and Feasts! Shabbat is our favorite time of the week!! For a deeper dive into Faith & Works click here: Pursuing the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua- Phil 3:14 - Pursuing the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua- Phil 3:14 HalleluYah! Until next time: May Adonai bless and keep you as you: press on pursuing the goal for the reward of the upward calling of God in Messiah Yeshua. Phil 4:13 |
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