„Then I myself will be the source of your joy.“ (Isaiah 58:14 GNT)

If God himself is the source of our joy, then we have an inspiring, exciting, rewarding, sustaining and wonderful faith. I can only give thanks from the bottom of my heart that I can live in this faith. Is it the same for you?

The foundation of the Christian faith is the living God himself, the creator of heaven and earth.

From God's point of view, we are all sinners. The punishment for our sin is eternal death. In his love, Jesus offers to bear this punishment in my place and to give me his righteousness. This exchange happens when I trust Jesus Christ and give myself completely to him.

I develop a strong affection for this person. A personal relationship develops that is linked to love and gratitude. The personal relationship with Christ is the centrepiece of our biblical faith.

This personal relationship with Christ not only determines my joy, strength and motivation in faith, but also my salvation.

1 John 5:12 says:

How can we „have“ the Son of God?

How do I „have“ a woman or a man? By having a very specific personal and committed relationship received and after that stay with me. The goal of Christian faith is to restore the personal relationship with God that has been broken by sin. By having this relationship with Jesus Christ, I also have it with the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-26).

„Time is the stuff of which life is made.“ (Benjamin Franklin) Love is dependent on time. There is no friendship or love relationship that does not take time to develop and nurture. A relationship can only remain alive if both parties always have time for each other.

The Sabbath is the outstanding and qualitatively best time to cultivate my relationship with God. This has to do with the term „sanctify“. How does something become holy? Through God's presence. Every Sabbath, God wants to give us the best of Himself, namely His own person, His presence.

The Sabbath has other important functions, but these only develop poorly if there is no personal, intimate relationship with God.

The Sabbath shows me, among other things, that Jesus has a whole day for me every week. He wants us to observe the Sabbath so that we have time for him. Our intensive relationship with Jesus on the Sabbath then results in a shorter daily communion in our personal devotions. Through the Sabbath and daily devotion, fellowship with Jesus radiates into my week, into my family life, into my everyday working life.

A personal relationship usually revolves around four questions:

What does the Bible say about the first person, i.e. about us humans - about you and me?

„The heart is a defiant and despondent thing;“ (Jeremiah 17:9)

The apostle Paul described his nature before his surrender to Christ like this:

„For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh!“ (Romans 7:18)

Who is the second person?

The Word of God shows us that God is a personal being. We are created in the image of God. This indicates a similarity between God and man. And it says that God and man Community with each other can have. We are turned towards a living God and worship a personal God, not only through verbal prayers and songs of praise, but through everything we think, want, say and do.

Since Christ is the almighty Creator (John 1:1-3, 14; Hebrews 1:2, etc.), he also has the power of government over all created things (Matthew 28:18). He is the ruler. Everything belongs to HIM. HE is the great owner. You and I also belong to HIM. We are his creatures.

Since our Creator Jesus is heavenly superior to us, and since we as His creatures are dependent on Him, our relationship has a kind of „gradient“: He is the Master and I am the disciple, He is the Lord and I am the servant. But since he loves me very much, this dependence on him is not a problem. On the contrary, we experience many advantages and pure joy in it. We can even be „friends of Jesus“ in this relationship. Jesus said to his disciples:

„You are my friends.“ (John 15:14) Friends appreciate each other. Friends enjoy each other. They enjoy spending time together, they help each other, they stand up for each other. This is exactly what we want, and this is also what our great God wants! Friendship is always entered into voluntarily. You can't force anyone to become a friend. God does not force either. The relationship with God is the highest relationship we can have. It is based on Jesus' sacrifice for me and is a relationship of trust and love in which God has taken the initiative and man responds.

How can you enter into this relationship?

„But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name ... who are born of God.“ John 1:12,13

Our relationship with Christ comes about through receiving Jesus as Lord and Saviour in a prayer of devotion. This start of belonging is publicly recognised and confirmed with the sign of baptism.

(The steps to this prayer of surrender are shown in the St Andrew's letter No. 13: Seize life.)

I wish everyone who wants to enter into the covenant with Jesus in baptism a „betrothal period“ first. During this time, trust and love grow and you also get to know the rest of the family better. The „betrothal period“ helps us to then enter into this intimate love relationship with Jesus with firm inner conviction, heartfelt trust and great joy, because it will change our lives in this world. We should prepare ourselves well for this.

(The question of biblical baptism is discussed in detail in St Andrew's letter No. 20: Be baptised.)

By renewing and confirming my devotion to Jesus daily, by trusting him completely and doing what he tells me and what he has commanded in his word.

We are programmed to a 24-hour rhythm. We eat daily, drink daily, exercise daily and sleep daily. The Word of God says: The inner man is renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).

This includes our prayerful behaviour, reading the Bible or listening to spiritual talks and sermons. Of course, our thoughts and intentions, our speech and actions in everyday life are also part of this! We will gladly speak of Jesus and testify through our love for other people by word and deed that we are his followers and children. Fellowship with other children of God is also part of this „renewal programme“. The Sabbath plays a major role in this.

According to Deuteronomy 5, the Sabbath is a sign of liberation from Egyptian captivity.

This means that Christ has the same authority and power today with which he can free us from the slavery of sin and bring us into the kingdom of God!

What our Lord wants to give us in particular with the Sabbath - namely his fellowship - and what is to be observed in the process, is shown to us by our leading text in Isaiah 58:13a GNT:

„Honour the Sabbath as the day that belongs to me!“

This day belongs to God, it does not belong to us! God promises us if we observe his right of ownership on the Sabbath, „then I myself will be the source of your joy; I will make you triumph over all obstacles“. Aren't these tremendous offers from God?

The text continues:

„Hold it in honour as a day of joy!“

We are not talking about some kind of amusement, fun and distraction, no, God himself wants to be the source of our joy! This deep inner joy, the joy of the Lord, permeates our whole life when we have it.

Communion with Christ on the Sabbath should be the central „refuelling point“ of our lives, from which our lives are filled with strength, joy and love. And through the Sabbath, strength and joy should radiate into our whole life!

Do we recognise what the Sabbath has to do with our personal relationship with God, with Christ?

He wants us to share in his nature, in his love, in his calm, in his peace and in his actions.

However, he can only give us his presence if we give him our Full, undivided attention devote ourselves to God. Quality time with God is not possible if we are preoccupied with something else and are constantly distracted.

This intimate fellowship with Christ is the most valuable thing in this world. Literally everything depends on it. And the Sabbath, which we reserve entirely for God, offers space for this quality time. It is the basis between the Lord and his children. If we enjoy the Sabbath because we have a loving fellowship with Jesus, then we don't see the Sabbath as a duty, but as a need and a joy.

This raises a very practical question.

What is appropriate on this day? What should I not do? What principles will help me make the right decision in different situations?

As Seventh-day Adventists, we do not want to draw up a catalogue. But we do recognise some guidelines from the Bible that help us when we apply the principle to our situations today. What is the Lord telling us?

The Sabbath commandment begins with the statement:

„Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.“ (Exodus 20:8)

God is telling us: Plan ahead for the Sabbath and look forward to this day with me all week. Plan your whole week so that you are well prepared for the Sabbath. Then you can spend the day with me without distraction.

When I reserve the day for God, I sanctify it. To sanctify means for God separate. The purpose of the Sabbath is to consecrate it to God, to make it available to God, to spend this time with him. But that is only one part of „holy“. The second part - the presence of God - is absolutely essential!

What made the burning bush holy? What made the temple holy? What makes the Sabbath holy? Through the presence of God, through communion with our Lord. Thus we see from the very first sentence of the Sabbath commandment that its main purpose is communion with God.

Friday is the special preparation day. The Bible calls it Set-up day.

This also means, among other things, that we prepare appropriate clothing for the Sabbath and the church service. The Word of God speaks in 1 Timothy 2:8-10 and
1 Peter 3:3.4 especially to women, „that they adorn themselves with modesty and modesty in decent clothing“ (ELB). This has to do with the fact that the sight of a woman often triggers a visual stimulus in a man. Our God wants women to help men stay free from wrong thoughts. God wants the brothers to be able to look at the sisters with a joyful and pure heart. In general: No sloppy clothes, but also no fashion show! We want to honour our wonderful Lord and His gift of the Sabbath through our clean and tasteful clothing.

Among other things, we recognise from Exodus 16:23 that the food for the Sabbath should be largely well prepared so that the women can also rest on the Sabbath. And - why?

Because God values fellowship with women just as much and wants it just as much as fellowship with men. And because this fellowship is just as important for the sisters as it is for us brothers.

The day of rest begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday (Genesis 1;
Exodus 23:32; Mark 1:32)

It is a good habit to start the Sabbath together by praising God through singing, praying and reading the Holy Scriptures and sharing experiences. And we want to end the Sabbath in the same way.

When I was an apprentice in Kempten in the Allgäu region, we met in some families on Fridays in the winter months to welcome the Sabbath together. We sang hymns and shared our experiences with God. It was a wonderful time every week. We were there with 9-10 young people, nobody was missing!

On the Sabbath, every activity to earn a living is to rest. The commandment says in
Exodus 20:10 : „You're not supposed to do any work.“

Exodus 34:21 says: „On the seventh day you shall rest, even in the time of ploughing and harvesting“, i.e. the Sabbath commandment applies not only in the normal course of events, but also in times of particularly urgent and important tasks.

When reading Amos 8:5-7, I noticed that it speaks of people who are already thinking during the Sabbath about how they will conduct their business and worldly affairs after the Sabbath. Can God be pleased with such an attitude?

However, the Bible also shows us that there are exceptions, for example when a sudden emergency arises. Jesus mentions the case of an ox falling into a well. However, if an ox falls into the well more than once, the well should be covered ...

Works of mercy are also appropriate: of course the sick, the elderly, children and even animals may and should be cared for. But even these good works on the Sabbath must not obscure the main biblical characteristic of the Sabbath, namely communion with God and rest. Each of us needs the Sabbath to maintain and strengthen our relationship with God.

According to Luke 23:50, even Jesus' body remained unburied on the Sabbath. We can see from this, among other things, that we should not generally conduct funerals on the Sabbath.

Furthermore, according to Matthew 24:20, Jesus commanded us to pray that we would not have to flee on the Sabbath. I think God recommended this to us because we particularly need a relationship with God in times of flight. (How God answered this prayer during the Roman war against Jerusalem from 66-70 AD is described in detail in the St Andrew's letter No. 11: What did Jesus say about Jerusalem, his return and the end of the world?.)

Isaiah 58:13 says after the Good News Bible: „Do not desecrate the Sabbath by travelling.“ The Sabbath is not intended as a day for travelling and in many respects not as a tourist day either.

What about eating in a restaurant on the Sabbath? Here it might be necessary to eat in one when travelling under certain circumstances. But if we are at home and can prepare something, then we should not let others work for us in a restaurant.

The Sabbath is also not the day for attending school or for further education programmes. The law on religious freedom stipulates that the Sabbath must be free of education for pupils and students; this can be agreed with the headmasters or bosses.

Should a couple celebrate their wedding on the Sabbath? Most weddings involve quite a lot of work. This does not correspond to resting on the Sabbath and undistracted fellowship with Jesus.

Our Lord summarised the thoughts about the Sabbath during his life on earth in masterly brevity in Mark 2:27, 28: „The Sabbath was made for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is also Lord over the Sabbath.“

The Sabbath was created by Christ for humans. And for what purpose? First and foremost for the special fellowship with Himself. Even if the Sabbath was made for man, Jesus remains the Lord of the Sabbath i.e. he says how this day is meant to be with him. This fellowship makes our lives rich, through it we are given life in abundance here and eternal life later.

Some people think that we want to earn the kingdom of God by keeping the Sabbath holy. That would be a big mistake. We are saved by God's grace, which we accept in faith. The Sabbath wants to strengthen our fellowship with Jesus and make it intimate. When we set it aside for him, we express our love, our trust and our obedience - what we sing in the songs: „My Jesus, I love you“ or „My greatest joy is you, O Jesus!“ should be the content of this day.

When I reserve the day for God, I sanctify it. To sanctify means for God separate. The purpose of the Sabbath is to consecrate it to God, to make it available to God, to spend this time with him. But that is only one part of „holy“. The second part - the presence of God - is absolutely essential!

What made the burning bush holy? What made the temple holy? What makes the Sabbath holy? Through the presence of God, through communion with our Lord. Thus we see from the very first sentence of the Sabbath commandment that its main purpose is communion with God.

If we keep the Sabbath free for our Lord, how can we maintain fellowship with him?

What does God's word show us? I have followed the order that the Bible shows. First the things you leave out in order to have „quality time“ for God, and now the things you do to make this time, this fellowship, valuable.

The Sabbath is the day of „holy convocation“ (Leviticus 23:3). In other words, the meeting with other children of God for „worship“ in a house service, a chapel, a church. Jesus also went to the synagogue on the Sabbath for the „divine service“ of that time (Luke 4:16). The Bible shows us that Jesus went out into nature with his disciples on the Sabbath afternoon (Matthew 12:1). The Sabbath afternoon and afternoon is also a particularly valuable time with family and friends. It also does us good to visit, comfort and help the sick and suffering on the Sabbath. Showing searching people the way to Christ or reading God's Word with others is also valuable. Occasionally there are also church meetings in the afternoon.

In some congregations, I have had the impression that they do not regard the Sabbath as a day of rest, but as a day of work for God. There was not only a church service, but also committee meetings, church meetings, choir rehearsals and more. This often misses the point of the Sabbath.

Some of my favourite Sabbath memories are the Sabbath afternoons when I read quietly in my Bible all by myself or in our precious books; or the Sabbath afternoons when we each read the Bible on our own and then talked about it.

„Honour the Sabbath as a day of joy. Then I myself will be the source of your joy.“ A great promise!

When the Lord gave Isaiah this call to keep the Sabbath holy, a spiritual renewal was necessary. A spiritual renewal is also urgently needed today. We need a more intimate fellowship with Jesus on the Sabbath and through the Sabbath for the whole week, otherwise we will be washed away by the ever-increasing hustle and bustle and seduction of life.

God's last message to mankind in Revelation 14:6-12 calls for worship of the Creator God and thus for true Sabbath observance: „Here are those who keep the commandments of God.“ „Teach them to keep everything I have commanded you.“ (Matthew 28:20) The Sabbath question will be at the centre of the last great controversy that will soon be upon us.

Right Sabbath observance connects us with Jesus. It prepares the atmosphere for developing and maintaining our relationship with Christ. Keeping the Sabbath holy means prioritising the Lord above all else on this day. The Sabbath is completely connected to Jesus. HE instituted it. HE practised it with his people in the desert. HE made it a test back then and HE will make it a test again in the end times. HE anchored it in the Ten Commandments. HE sanctified him as a human being and HE wants to celebrate him with us every week as King of eternity.

(More details in the St Andrew's letter no. 10: Jesus and the Sabbath - What is the relationship between Jesus and the Sabbath?)

The Lord wants us to remember the Sabbath because he wants us to remember him. He wants to make us happy through his presence in our lives. He wants to cultivate his relationship of trust and love with us and place our lives on a divine foundation. The Sabbath was made for man and Jesus remains the Lord of this day.

May proper Sabbath observance help us to make the Lord Jesus Himself ever more the source of our life and our joy. There is a close connection between our Sabbath observance and our relationship with Christ.

In the end times, the Sabbath is to be proclaimed even more comprehensively and concretely because of its great importance for every person. Are we ready to reflect anew on our Sabbath observance and our relationship with Christ and to make the necessary corrections?

Sabbath observance with its focus on a „personal relationship with God“ will bring about revival and reformation. If our relationship with God is intimate, then the Lord can also give us revival and reformation.

Will we have the humility to genuinely face up to this question? „Honour the Sabbath as the day that belongs to me! Honour it as a day of joy. Then I myself will be the source of your joy.“