A Real Friend

I was in distress this past week. I was under a big emotional storm. It was so big that I lost the reason why I need to do my job in my company. (That should give you a clue already)

Tinamad ako to the point that I do not feel like doing anything at all. Then a dear friend went online in YM and checked how I was doing.

He became very honest with me. Kaya naman I vented out my recent experience to him. I told him the hatred that was forming in my heart. After that, he typed a message that somehow intrigued me.

“You’re so human.” (not the exact words)

I was like ‘what the heck!!!!!’ OFCOURSE I AM! (in my mind) Pero I asked him what made him say that.

This friend has been very open with his life to me. I am very honored to be trusted by this person though I am not much of help.

But I wasn’t really very open to him. Bakit? I am not used to doing that. Bakit? Di ako nasanay mag-tiwala sa ibang tao, lalo na ng buhay ko. Bakit? My past has something to do with it. I decided to close my world to people until recently when the Lord started correcting me.

So when he has problems, he calls me or I text him so that we can meet. I try to give him a Christian advice that can help him. I listen, then I give him possible options he can do that might help.

I never called anyone for counsel or just to vent out my emotions. Di ko talaga ginagawa yun dahil nga I grew up being able to handle myself. Until that time when I chose to vent out sa YM. he told me I was human. It made me laugh and intrigued at the same time.

“Kasi para bang you’re life is perfect. You’re so holy.” He told me.

“Oh” I replied, hiding the soon-to-burst feeling.

“It’s good to know that you also experience what I do.” He said.

I wanted to bang my head on the wall. In my mind, KUNG ALAM MO LANG, you will never say ‘I’m so holy.’ I felt guilty. Was I that closed to them? How come they saw me like that? I refuse to be called holy dahil una, I am not apart from the Lord; pangalawa, I fail the Lord a lot of times. I refuse to be called perfect.

That’s why in my heart, I knew it’s prangkahan time.

“ I do not want to show that part of me sa inyo kasi I know you will need someone who is stable. I was acting stable so that you guys will find it safe to just open up to me.” I said.

“We don’t go to you because you’re stable.” He replied.

“I don’t want you guys to carry what I carry because it will just add to your problems.” I said.

“Then that’s not being friends at all!” He said.

That time, I knew the Lord had something to do with it. I was totally rebuked by the Lord through this friend. In my mind, the Lord started speaking.

He reminded me that I am the type na I should always have something to answer or to help their problems. Eto yung takbo ng utak ko kaya ko nasabi na ayoko nang makadagdag sa dinadala nila, thinking na when I vent out to them, they too should be able to give me a solution to my problem.

You can never have the solution to their problems. Only I have the solution. I AM the solution.

“Lord, what’s my job then?”

A real friend knows how to listen, to encourage, and to comfort regardless if he can help or not. A real friend knows that companionship during the fire is better than triumph.

Without me knowing, I just typed the word “sorry” in the YM chat box. I thought I was being a friend. Turns out, I wasn’t.

Funny how this lesson can relate to my relationship with the Lord. Most of the time, during the trials of my life, I pray for victory over the test. But I seldom pray for the Lord’s companionship during the test.

I always pray for the solution, but fellowship with Him, rarely.

Oh how have I missed a lot of climax in my life. For the adventure with trusted friends is better than the goal itself.

What is victory if you were alone? Parang ngayon, I have this feeling na I rather fail but together with those whom I trust than to be victorious alone.

Wouldn’t it be way better if we overcome a test knowing that we weren’t alone? That a friend remained by our side and became loyal to us?

Doesn’t this make you love Jesus more? Because it certainly did for me. He never left me nor forsake me. He was there during my down times kahit I ignore Him. Jesus is loyal to me that’s why I just can’t help but say

“…Lord…I trust you with my whole life...thank you Holy Spirit for being a real friend to me. ..teach me more how to be a real friend like You.”

Importance of Keeping the Sabbath 2

Why is failing to observe Sabbath a sin that leads people to hell? Why does it grieve the Holy Spirit?

1. You choose not to identify with God.

If God does not own you, He will not get you when you die.

Have you ever observed a father and a son? Especially when we know the father very well, when the son does a gesture that his dad is known for doing, we say to the child “you’re truly your father’s son.” Or we say to the dad “that really is your son.” Or the father will say to the child “that’s my boy!”

The son identifies with his dad because of a similarity found between them. Same with us. If we rest on the seventh day, or Sunday (depends on when our leaders choose to worship God), we are being identified as God’s children, as Christians.

“You don’t work on Sundays? You must be one of those crazy Christians! You must be one of those Jesus freaks.”

You bet I am! Loud and proud. I am one of God’s children because like Abba who rested on the seventh day, so do I.

2. It is a hard slap on Jesus’ face saying ‘we enjoy being slaves.’

Have you ever wondered why is Sabbath a crime punishable to death during Moses’ time?

It is as if saying to God that the Israelites liked being a slave and prefers to be a slave by continuously working throughout the week.

Slavery means being forced to work with minimum to no rest. For 400 years, we know that the Israelites were forced to do unpaid labor in Egypt. It is for that reason that God freed them from their bondage so that in God they may enjoy their Sabbath or rest.

God wants them to rest. That’s why if anyone was caught doing something on a Sabbath, he/she is stoned to death because it is a sin against God. It is a form of high disregard to the saving act of God.

We also know that what happened to the Israelites is a foreshadowing of what Jesus did for the entire human race. We have been slaves of sin and death. We have been pursuing our needs all on our own. We have been independent from God. We have been tired, stressed out, afflicted, and oppressed. We were orphans.

Because of what Jesus did, we were reconnected to our Father in heaven. And with a Father who provides for everything we need, we find rest in spirit, soul and body.

Jesus is our Sabbath. In Him, we find rest. In Him, we can spend our Saturdays or Sundays just surrendering every cares, worries, and hurries. In Him we can just be ourselves and worship Him in our own special ways.

And not just on Sunday or Saturday but every day. Jesus is our Sabbath every day.

And when we choose to continue our work, do what we like to do, say needless words, worry about so many things on a Sabbath, we highly disregard what Jesus did for us. It is as if we say to Him, I am okay doing what I use to do when I was not yet saved.

The Lord Jesus wants us to increase through Him increasing in our lives. Yet if we choose to lose and lose through sin, worldly pursuits and riches, especially on a Sabbath, we are dishonoring our God in a major way.

Is Sabbath a Sunday or a Saturday?

This is a question that until now is not settled. However, if we will follow the Jewish Calendar, we will see that Saturday is the proper Sabbath. That’s why in Filipino, Saturday is Sabado. But the Catholic Church officially declared it as Sunday basing from the scripture in Acts.

⁷ On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. Acts 20:7

There are still other scripture saying that they gathered on the first day of the week. But I believe that Saturday is the right Sabbath.

However, there was a prophet who stated that whatever day, Saturday or Sunday, your leaders choose as worship day will be the day we celebrate our Sabbath. (There will be more articles about the Sabbath which I will post.)

All God is asking is one day of total rest and total dedication to Him.

Things to refrain during Sabbath

1. Selling. What do we lose in selling? Time. Resources. Calmness of mind. Focus. What do we gain exchange? Money. It is a clear example of work. And yes, God detests selling lunch inside the church after church service.

2. Buying. Is this work? Yeah. Spending time, resources, effort to gain something. And even if you do not consider it as work, you still gave a reason for the seller not to keep his Sabbath. This would mean no buying in groceries, palengke, no eating outside after church service.

3. Doing anything that will deviate our focus from God. Things like watching secular shows, party, going out with friends, doing school or office work, etc.

4. Idle talk. Irrelevant talks. Gossips. Spreading rumors.

Things you can choose to do on a Sabbath

1. Rest. Sleep. Relax.

2. Pray

3. Worship.

4. Read the bible.

5. Go to church. Bring your tithes and offerings.

6. Have an expense-less family time

7. Also depends on what God wants you to do on a Sabbath. He can tell you to work for Him on a Sabbath since He is Lord over it (just like ministers). He can tell you to visit so and so. It still depends on Him.

Love conquers traditions

This post was supposed to be posted earlier. However I felt unworthy for I, too, has not yet observed Sabbath properly. But, I have a desire to change my ways and through this post, I am hoping that a desire might start from the readers.

Honestly, it is hard to refrain from something that we get used doing. But for us who love the Lord, we will do our best to change our practices. We will do our best to control ourselves from spending money, from watching tv, spending leisure times, and talking non-sense. As lovers of Jesus, we seek for the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit for us to be able to observe Sabbath the way God wants us to.

It may not be an instant change for the change is going to be hard. But a determination to honor God by honoring the Sabbath is what God is looking for. Even I find it hard not to spend on a Sunday. But, there will come a time when I, we will be able to make Jesus happy because we completely observe the Sabbath the way He wants us to.

Let us not look at the Sabbath as a law or a practice but a lifestyle. If you want to look young and feel young for the rest of your lives, don’t use anti-aging creams. Utilize your Sabbath. Honor the Lord of the Sabbath. Cast all your cares to Him. He will surely keep us healthy and young at heart!

Before, I thought that God was just being selfish. He just wants a day when all His people will worship Him. But now, I realize how much He loves me and how much He truly cares. That Sabbath is not just for Him but for me, for us.

I understand if you won’t believe this at first. Even I did not. But love conquered unbelief. Why is Sabbath a big deal? It won’t be part of the Ten Commandments if God does not want us to pay special attention to it. Why do most pastors don’t preach this? Because they are afraid that people might dislike them if they do.

Importance of Keeping the Sabbath 1

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ² And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Genesis 2:2

What is work?

To work means to exert out energy or force to produce something.

God, who is a Spirit, did work for 6 days or 6,000 years. Energy, power and force was released from Him so that He can create the universe from nothing and so that He can establish the universal system that will sustain life on earth and the order of the universe.

With His power, He ordained the seasons of earth, the law of sowing and reaping, etc. And after He has finished completing everything for 6 days or 6,000 years, He rested not because He was tired but because there was nothing to work for. Everything is completed. Everything is balanced out.

The trees will grow and will bear fruit. From the fruit are seeds, from which, when planted, gives existence to more trees. He also ordained reproductive system for humans, animals, insects and other living creatures. He ordained a system for the clouds and the water of the seas, the winds of the air and the heat of the sun. Everything was fine as it was created.

He knows the right amount of power He needed to exert out. So at the end of 6,000 years which is the beginning of the 7^th day or 7,000^th year, He stopped working. He rested and called the day Holy because the 7^th day is a rest day for Him.

What is rest?

To rest means to refrain from using physical and mental resources to accomplish (as much as possible) any task so that by doing so, they can naturally restore energy and power (commonly done through sleeping for us).

On the 7^th day, God rested or refrained from any work so the power He has released for 6 days or 6,000 years was being restored.

This is why He made that day Holy unto Him. It means the day is totally dedicated for Him alone and for His gain alone. On that day, He regains energy, not lose it. The power He has used up is restored not because He has used up all His power and He needs it to fuel up again but because it just comes natural for the Lord when He cease from working. And He patterned us to Himself.

Why is it holy?

Now let me make it clear that the word “holy” should only pertain to God because He alone is holy. Holy is His name.

But in common terms, it is the same with the word “sacred.” When something is sacred, it is totally dedicated for the owner only and for his gain alone. It shall increase him and be identified with him.

For example, when I say that my room is sacred, it means no one but me is to set foot on that room. It is only for me. It increases me because it becomes an extension of me. I and that room are one. If someone else will step on it, it will be defiled and will not be considered sacred anymore.

When God says ‘the ground is holy’, it means the ground is totally dedicated to Him and it increases Him and is identified with Him. It is a ground dedicated only for Him to stand on. Removing of shoes on a holy ground signifies removing any trace of self and authority.

God does not need rest because His very being is the source of life, power and energy. Restoration of power came natural when He was not working or exerting effort. Therefore, He made the day holy unto Him because the day increased something in Him.

Sabbath is for us

Having this foundation laid, we can now extract the very importance of keeping the Sabbath for men and for God.

²⁷ Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27-28

Now it makes sense why the Lord introduced the concept of Sabbath even though He really did not need it. In His mind, He already had us. He knows that our body will be limited. Our body is not a source of power or life like His. So there will come a time that we will need a time of restoration.

In the verse above, Jesus is telling them that Sabbath was not meant to be a law like a you-have-to-do-this thingy. It was meant for our restoration. The Pharisees who were rebuking Jesus are like people who claim that breathing is a law that everyone should follow. “Thou shall breathe in and breathe out every second.” Sounds funny, right?

Sabbath was made and purposed for man. Sabbath is sacred unto man because it increases him alone.

For the body and soul

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Exodus 20:8

We know the definition of work. So why do people work? Answer: to have something to eat for survival. For it is written that we shall not eat unless we work hard for our food. In other words, we exert out energy, resources and force to be able to have food. There is a transaction. ‘My time, my energy, my resources, my skills, my labor for food from the earth or for your money for me to buy the things I need to survive.

It is written that on the Sabbath day, all work should be stopped for the purpose of body and soul restoration. For 6 days, we lose energy. On the seventh, we gain energy for our body and soul.

When we work, we do not only use our body. We also use our mind, will, and emotion. And so we lose energy from both.

That’s why the proper way to observe Sabbath is not just refraining from labor but also minimizing ,as much as possible, the use of mind, will, and emotion. That is resting the body and casting the cares of the mind.

This is why even though we rest our body, the Lord does not want us to do leisure activities because we still use our mind, will, emotion. For example, spending, shopping, watching tv, playing games, parties, etc. Most importantly, when we do leisure activities, we forget to feed the third part of our being which is the spirit.

For the spirit man

On 6 days, when the body and soul loses energy, so does the spirit. The cares of this world, problems, emotional storms, unbearable situations crushes our spirit man. The spirit man cannot sustain a full no-rest week. Rest for the spirit man can only happen by feeding it with God’s word, by feeding it with Jesus Himself through praise and worship and listening to His Word.

This is why the Sabbath is holy unto God because He increases through our worship. Remember, our will to worship is not something that God has. It is a choice that we make and if done in spirit and in truth, it increases or blesses His heart.

In the verse shown before, Jesus said that He is Lord of the Sabbath. It means that He has total right, ownership, control over what He wants to accomplish on Sabbath. Whatever He wills to do will make Him increase including us.

That’s why doing good on a Sabbath is not bad. We are doing what is right in God’s eyes and that, as well, makes Him increase.

Wisdom behind the laws of God

Realize that the laws and precepts of God are not just laws. He made it as “laws” because we still do not completely understand how important they are to us.

Imagine us not knowing the importance of breathing. If we are completely blinded from this truth, how would a loving king save His people from death? It is by declaring it as a law. “Thou shall breathe every second. You will live long in the land.”

Same with the Sabbath. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” If we still do not fully understand yet why we need to do so, let’s just trust God. He knows what He’s saying.

Even the land needs its Sabbath. I bet every creation needs it.

The Sabbath of the Seventh Year

¹ And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD. ³ Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; ⁴ but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. ⁵ What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. ⁶ And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, ⁷ for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food. Leviticus 25:1-7

Sabbath is a must

If not observed properly, it will find a time to be observed without your consent for it is a must. Rain or shine, the sun will rise the next day. Choose to do the Sabbath or not, your spirit, soul and body is programmed to have Sabbaths. In short, if you allow no Sabbath to be observed, you’re gonna be sick, ill, stressed, tired and bed-ridden.

Or simply this: Try working without resting for one week. See what will happen.

³³ I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you;
your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.

³⁴ Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths.

³⁵ As long as it lies desolate it shall rest—
for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it.

Leviticus 26:33-35

Think of the land as your body. “You are in your enemies’ land” means you are under the control of a disease.

“Your body shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate because your consciousness is out. Your body shall rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. As long as your body lies desolate, it shall rest – for the time it did not rest on your Sabbaths when your consciousness dwelt in it.”

It should not take a bible scholar to understand this. It is common sense. If you abuse yourself, you will eventually get sick. But if we only rest our body, not our soul and spirit, we still get sick in the inside which will begin to manifest in the body sooner or later. And most sickness, I believe, originated from the inside.

Part 2