Keep The Sabbath Day Holy

There are bessings behind the Commandments and “Keep the Sabbath Day Holy” commandment number four is not different.

All throughout Scripture, God reminds us that obedience leads to blessing. As Deuteronomy 28:2 says, “All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.”

The Ten Commandments weren’t given to burden us, but to guide us,protecting us from unnecessary stress, pain, and destructive choices. Among them, the command to honor the Sabbath stands out as a special invitation.

The Sabbath is about more than rest—it’s about restoration. It restores our relationship with God, strengthens our connection with family, and opens our eyes to those around us who may need our time, encouragement, or care.

Honoring the Sabbath: A Call to Rest, Reverence, and Relationship

Back when I was a single mother raising two “tween” daughters, I was doing my best to lead them in the ways of the Lord. I studied the Bible diligently for strength and guidance, and during this time, one commandment kept stirring in my heart: “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). I began to ask myself, was simply going to church enough to honor this commandment?

I’ve heard people jokingly describe the week like this: “Monday #1, Monday #2, Monday #3, Monday #4, Friday, Saturday, pre-Monday.” It’s a humorous take, but it reflects how little regard we often give the Sabbath. Yet if the Sabbath made God’s Top Ten—the Ten Commandments, it must hold deep significance.

The first three commandments reflect our love for God. The remaining seven commandments show us how to love others. The Sabbath bridges both, it invites us to step out of the world’s chaos and into God’s peace, realigning our hearts and priorities.

A Look at Our Culture

Today, if we examine how Sundays are spent in America, it’s clear we’ve strayed far from honoring this holy day. In our country’s early years, Blue Laws were enacted to protect Sunday as a day of rest. These laws limited work, shopping, and even sports. While many saw these laws as restrictive and they’ve since been repealed, their intent was rooted in reverence.

Yet, law alone isn’t the answer. True Sabbath-keeping must come from the heart—from a sincere desire to honor God. It’s not about legalism; it’s about love.

The Sabbath Is a Gift

In Greek, the word holy means pure or set apart. When I find myself watching football or running errands on a Sunday, I know I’m treating it like any other day. But the truth is, we have a choice—as individuals, as churches, and even as a nation—about how we honor the Sabbath.

Some might argue that Jesus fulfilled the law (see Matthew 5:17–20), and therefore we’re not obligated to treat Sunday as a holy day. While it’s true our salvation rests in Christ alone, not in rule-keeping, God still invites us to walk in obedience. Free will means we can choose to covet, dishonor parents, or even harm others. But if we say we are born again, shouldn’t our lives refelct Jesus and not the world? God’s ways lead to blessing, while the world’s ways lead to ignoring God, living for pleasure, independance and spiritual death.

Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). It’s a day of rest—God’s gift to us, not a burden.

A Personal Wake-Up Call

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve defiled the Sabbath. But one day, after praying, “Lord, keep me in Your perfect will,” I experienced something profound. The very next morning, upon awakening a fragment of a verse was in my head and it was the first verse of Isaiah 58:13–14:

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable…
then you will find your joy in the Lord…”

I was stunned. God heard my prayer, I desire to live in His perfect will and He clearly showed me where I had stepped outside of it. I had a choice that day, I could follow His wisdom and enjoy the blessings that come with obedience, or I could continue doing things my way. I choose obedience because obedience means God hears and answers our prayers.

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”(John 14:21 NKJV)

When something is manifested, it means to make it clear or obvious to the eye or mind. Therefore, anytime we choose obedience over going our own way we will have a direct ear to the Father and our scripture based prayers will indeed come to fruition.

Righteousness and Rest

Scripture often describes the born-again believer as righteous. Through Christ’s blood, we are seen as having a perfect moral nature. But we still have daily choices, one of which is whether we glorify God by honoring His holy day.

Honoring the Sabbath: A Call to Realignment and Worship

Honoring the Sabbath isn’t about perfection, it’s about realignment. It’s an intentional choice to step out of the rush of the week and into a space where our hearts can reconnect with God. It’s a time to attend church, engage with fellow believers, and lift our voices in worship to the One who gives us rest and purpose.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
— Exodus 20:8 (NIV)

When we only watch church online, something essential is missing, not just for ourselves, but for the body of Christ. No one else sees our worship behind a screen. Yet in a gathered church, our visible praise can stir the heart of someone beside us. Sometimes all it takes is watching someone lift their hands in gratitude to give another person the confidence to do the same.

“Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
— Hebrews 10:25 (NLT)

Sincere praise and worship open the door to God’s presence and attune His ear to our prayers. Jesus showed us this when He taught His disciples to pray:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name…”
— Matthew 6:9 (NKJV)

This opening isn’t just formality, it’s praise. It’s an acknowledgment of God’s holiness and sovereignty, and it sets the tone for meaningful, powerful prayer. Worship softens our hearts and realigns our focus, preparing us not only to speak to God, but to hear from Him through the powerful Holy Spirit. If you have never really understood the Pastor’s messages in church, try heartfelt singing with the raising of your hands in thankfulness to God for your blessings. This is your open door to understanding the Lord in greater ways.

When we honor the Sabbath and honor God through song, something beautiful happens: “You will find your joy in the Lord… and ride in triumph on the heights of the land” (Isaiah 58:14). Think of Joseph. One day he was in a prison cell, forgotten and falsely accused. The next, he was riding in Pharaoh’s home, second in command over all of Egypt. That’s what it looks like to ride in triumph. He was lifted above his circumstances, no longer suffering the consequences of the envy and hatred of his brothers. He had the king’s signet ring of power and even more importantly, he had God’s ear. Heaven had been orchestrating his story the entire time, ready to step in and help at just the right moment.
In the same way, when God lifts us up, we won’t simply survive, we will be seated above our struggles. We have the ear of our Heavenly Father, and our signet ring of power is the name of Jesus spoken from an obedient lifestyle. This power position is what makes angels stand ready to move on our behalf when they hear Jesus’ Word spoken out of our mouth. Yes, Scripture based prayers spoken out of the mouths of obedient, surrendered believers sets angels in motion. That’s the power of walking in obedience.

“He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”(John 1:51 NIV)

Don’t expect to be perfect, but a heart perfectly aligned with God’s will, humbly choosing God’s way over our way, will bring the Holy Spirit power into our prayers. This is the reason why the prayers of a so called “nobody” can be highly powerful.

Reclaiming the Sabbath as a Holy Inheritance

In Exodus 31:16, God gave a clear instruction to His people:“The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.”
This wasn’t just a temporary practice, it was meant to shape the culture and future of God’s people. The Sabbath was a weekly reminder that they belonged to the Lord, and that their well-being didn’t depend solely on their effort, but on God’s faithful provision.

Imagine how different our nation might look today if we still took this seriously, if businesses closed, devices went silent, and Sundays became a sacred, shared declaration that Jesus is Lord. What if communities paused, not just individually, but together, to honor God?

We see this modeled early in Scripture. After God led the Israelites out of Egypt, freeing them from slavery, He introduced the Sabbath in the wilderness before they ever reached the Promised Land. When manna fell from heaven, He told them to gather double on the sixth day so they could rest on the seventh:

“Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” (Exodus 16:26) This was a test of trust. Would they believe that God would provide even when they didn’t work? The Sabbath became a signpost, a visible marker that their identity was now rooted in freedom, not in toil.

Today, the Sabbath still speaks. It says, “God is my provider.” When we stop striving, we declare with our actions: “I trust Him to take care of what I cannot.”

This truth is something we must pass on. Our children won’t learn to rest in God by accident. It’s something we model, through our choices, our priorities, and the atmosphere we create at home.

“Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)

Sabbath isn’t just a command; it’s an invitation to live differently, to step out of the noise and into God’s idea of life. That could look like:

Preparing meals earlier in the week so everyone can rest on Sunday
Going to church to thank God for all of the good we experienced in the week
Having the spiritual head of household (the dad in two parent households) lead a discussion about the sermon as family
Turning off distractions to enjoy peace in our homes
Jesus honored the Sabbath but corrected a legalistic attitude while encouraging rest. He reminded the Pharisees:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)
Once you start a Sabbath tradition in your home you will find that it is a gift, crafted by God not to burden us, but to bless us. It’s a day to remember who He is and who we are in Him. A day for worship, joy, and resting in the completed work of the cross.

Let’s be intentional. Let’s reclaim the Sabbath—not with rules and rigidity, but with reverence and delight. And in doing so, we’ll plant seeds for the next generation to understand what it means to rest in the finished work of the cross.

The Challange To Step Out From The Crowd

Yes, keeping the Sabbath in our current culture is challenging. Sports, consumerism, and endless busyness dominate Sundays. It may take a major cultural wake-up call for our society to collectively return to rest. But we don’t have to wait for that. We can start today, one home, one obedient heart at a time.

If you’re a parent of small children not yet involved in organized sports, consider creating a Sabbath plan. Prepare meals ahead of time. Keep Sundays focused on worship, rest, and family. Pass on a vision of peace and holiness to the next generation. Keep a Sabbath journal and journal how this sacred day of rest has benefitted your family.

We may not be under the law, but we are called to wisdom. As Romans 4:15 says, “Where there is no law, there is no transgression.” But Jesus didn’t abolish the law, He fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17). And in fulfilling it, He gave us freedom, not to disregard God’s ways, but to walk in them with joy and anticipation of God being true to His Word. Anytime God instructs us it is for our benefit and future blessing.

Food For thought,

Lisa