The King’s Daughter and Other Stories For Girls

By J.E. White

This book contains stories to teach girls character and how to deal with difficult moral decisions. These stories were compiled from orphanage stories used in the United States many years ago. Fortunately, Godly character does not have a time period attached to it. These timeless stories will encourage girls to choose right from wrong. Read them to your children and even grandchildren!

 

To order this book, just click the link below:

https://biblesabbath.org/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=47&=SID

Planning to Rest

by Glynnis Whitwer

(This article is an excerpt from the Sept – Oct 2011 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

“He said to them, ‘This is what the LORD commanded: “Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning,’” (Exodus 16:23 – NIV).

Preparing to go on vacation takes a lot of work. By the time I finish all the laundry, clean the house and get completely caught up at work before I can enjoy a break, I’m exhausted. This year, my family vacation came two days after a huge deadline at work. By the time I locked the front door and turned towards the car, mental and physical fatigue overwhelmed me. Once we arrived at our destination, I could have cried with relief. The months of planning and weeks of hectic last-minute preparation were worth it. After a few days of complete rest, I felt recharged and ready to go. Although this pattern of planning before rest is common to holidays and vacations, it wasn’t until recently I applied it to honoring the Sabbath. Every week I’m faced with the opportunity to rest.

Actually it’s more than an opportunity— it’s a commandment from the Lord. But instead of planning for it to happen, I usually slip into a day of work. For some reason, I expect a day of rest to happen with no effort. But it doesn’t. The truth is I need to rethink how I approach God’s commandment to rest. It requires intention for it to happen, or I’ll just use it as a catch-up day. For years God has been gently convicting me of dishonoring His day. Although I know it’s one of the Ten Commandments, I’ve prioritized work over obedience too many times. I’ve even tried to redefine work and call it rest, as if that could fool God. The truth is, I’ve created a seven-day workweek, and neglected to plan for rest. It’s easy to find excuses not to rest:…”

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 17, click this link:

http://biblesabbath.org/media/TSSSeptOct2011Issue551.pdf

Did Paul change the Sabbath in I Corinthians 16:1-2?

By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” (I Corinthians 16:1-2, KJV emphasis mine throughout)

Some have used these verses from Paul to say that he was moving the Sabbath to the first day of the week, which we call Sunday today.

First of all, notice that the verses never refer to a gathering of people on the first day of the week. The verses also never refer to rest on the first day of the week. His instruction was simply for each individual to set aside an offering – “let every one of you…” It does not say that they should come together. Every individual person was supposed to do this on their own.

Secondly, Paul began this chapter by stating his instruction is an order (verse 1). In other words, it is a specific instruction for a specific situation. It is not a commandment from God or a statement of absolute application. An offering was necessary at the time he wrote the letter; he asked these churches to participate.

Third, We need to break down some of the language used here and the ancient culture. The phrase “Lay by him” is the Greek word tithēmi. It means to “lay in store”.  The phrase “in store” is thēsaurizō and it means 1) to gather and lay up, to heap up, store up 1a) to accumulate riches 1b) to keep in store, store up, reserve. It refers to accumulated goods in a storehouse.

We must understand that ancient peoples did not do everything solely by money. Some people grew crops and others raised animals. Those that did have an income of money in silver or bronze did not carry large sums of money around with them (remember they didn’t have paper checks back then).

So why does Paul say to make this collection on the first day of the week?

He instructed each individual person to set aside something; some people would have had crops, foodstuffs, and other items they had to gather up or sell before they could give them. Those that have money would have to spend time setting aside for it. This would have required work and significant common time, which would have contradicted their Sabbath observance!

Paul told them to bring them on the first day of the week, which is the first common day after the Sabbath. He doesn’t want this done when he comes because he wants to spend time with them. He will come to preach on the Sabbath – he doesn’t want them working on the Sabbath!

What did Paul really practice and teach when he was in Galatia and Corinth? Galatia was a region in Turkey. One of the cities in this area was Pisidian Antioch. Let’s take a look at his practice:

Acts 13:14-15, 42-44, 48

14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.” …42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. 44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” (emphasis mine throughout)

We can see that while they were in the region of Galatia, they kept the Sabbath even with Gentiles. The whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. This was a great opportunity to tell them the Sabbath had been changed. Instead, they continued to observe it. What about the city of Corinth? Did Paul keep the Sabbath in that city?

Acts 18:1-4

18 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

We can see by Paul’s example that he kept the Sabbath with Jews and non-Jews in both Galatia and the city of Corinth. Paul’s directive in I Corinthians 16 was to take up a one-time offering for those in need. It required work, which is why he asked them to do it on the first day of the week.

This just shows us that context is key to understanding verses!

Kelly McDonald, Jr.
BSA President www.biblesabbath.org

Note: A Strong’s Concordance and Thayer’s Concordance were used to explain the Greek language used here.

 

How I discovered The Sabbath

By David Baxter
Thirsty for Truth Ministries

I’ve been a minister for almost 14 years now and have worked alongside staff in many denominational organizations.  I helped rebuild programs, start new programs and counseled in many ways. What I learned during the first 11 years of that time comes nowhere close to the knowledge bomb that dropped in my life just only 3 years ago. My wife and I watched a video about the differences between traditional holidays and the Biblical Holy Days. From beginning to end of this 2 hour long video, I was captivated by the scripture and historical information that was being presented to me. In all my years of ministry how could I have not heard about these things? As much as I have studied how could this have slipped by me? As I watched and searched my heart, I realized that for years I had ministered under the umbrella of organized religion. I had preached, taught, and discipled people from someone else’s point of view and not the Father’s. I felt like the Tin Man receiving his heart for the first time and it was clear to me that I needed to reprogram my mind, body, and soul to rededicate myself to Him.

Once I felt more clean and useable I focused on the issue at hand and began to dig deep into this information I had received. These Holy Days led me to study the Old Testament in depth and I began to unfold what would be a whole new world of Yahweh’s word to me. Page after page, I would go from one subject to the next. One thing lead to another finding myself learning the foundation of what our entire lives were built on. I was rebuilding my life through Yahweh’s word and it was nothing like what I had heard or been taught before. As I read these things that people called the Law, I remembered how I was taught that we no longer had to do them because the Messiah supposedly abolished them with His sacrifice. It confused me so I found a new avenue of study and I had no clue as to what I was in for. I had never in my entire life read so much hate and anger over a topic. What made me upset was not that they were mad, but the fact that His people were fighting amongst themselves over this. As I prayed for clarity, I began to understand why unbelievers were so fed up with us. They couldn’t see the Father’s Word working in us, so why would they want it? It only caused confusion and arguments between us. I finally realized that the reason for so many unbelievers out there wasn’t their fault, but ours. We shot ourselves in the foot and had no stability at all, with regards to the Father’s Word.

As my study lead me to the New Testament with my new knowledge, I began to see things that I never did before and realized things I had said and were taught were never in scripture. The one thing that got me was the whole food debate, clean versus unclean. I read and watched so many debates, my mind became like jelly. I decided to look up the animals myself to see what they told me. Did you know you can see a huge difference in the structure of these animals when you separate them by His list? I now realize why Yahweh used words like clean and unclean. Each animal has a sole purpose on earth once you know how their bodies work. Once I discovered this I had a thought, “If what they say is true and we can now eat these so called unclean animals, then why wouldn’t Father Yahweh change their molecular structure to be more healthy for us?” I did a lot of research on them to find nothing has changed about them. People are dying all the time because of the disease and bacteria contained within them. I found that nowhere in scripture does it actually say that we could start eating them. If I was wrong about this, then what else could I be doing wrong?

With all the information I had gone through and put to the test like Yahweh said we should, I came to the conclusion that He is the creator of the entire universe and all that it contains. Because of this, He deserves our utmost attention in every avenue of our life. In everything we say and do we should represent Him. It should be known by all that are around me that I belong to a set apart people. I don’t need to try and fit in with others to reach them. When the Father’s love is truly represented, then they will see it and run to it.

What does all this have to do with the Sabbath? I now know that Yahweh put in His Law that the seventh day is a day for us to rest and recognize Him in our lives. A day for focus and reconciliation through Him so that we can continue in His will and be blessed. We were created in His image. He set the example for us from the very beginning when He took his own Sabbath rest after He created the world. It was also important enough for Him to include it with the other laws He gave as the foundation of our lives. If I am to obey Him in one, then I should in all. I couldn’t find any real evidence where we shouldn’t obey His Law or that the laws were abolished. I understand that I can’t do them all, as some are meant for certain people at certain times and places, but I will do what applies to me and to the best of my ability. Scripture never tells me to do otherwise and so I will keep on living my life in obedience to Him. For my obedience of keeping that Sabbath, my family is blessed in return with peaceful family time. For some reason He decided it was a good idea to place me on this earth for His purpose. Why? I don’t know but I will spend the rest of my life finding out and putting it into practice. I will represent my creator and no one will ever stop me from doing so. If it takes my life then so be it. He’s worth it. I pray that His ways find you where you are right now and that your eyes be opened to the truth as I’ve come to know it.

David Baxter is co-founder of Thirsty for Truth Ministry, which seeks to bring about a restoration of God’s truth. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. www.tftministries.wordpress.com

 

Laying Down Your Burdens for Sabbath

In Jeremiah 17:19-27, God spoke through the Prophet Jeremiah and told the people of Judah to not work on the Sabbath or carry a burden through the gates of Jerusalem. We know that God spoke to the people of Judah on a literal level. He wanted them to completely obey the Sabbath, which included not picking up heavy shipments for business or personal reasons.

However, we know that burdens can have a spiritual meaning. What is a burden? It is anything that weighs on your mind and thoughts. Burdens distract us from focusing on the task at hand. Some people are burdened about a situation at work. Others may be hindered by a difficult financial circumstance. Those attending school (of all ages, including college), may be weighed down mentally by an important assignment or a test coming up. There can be family problems involving parents, children, or grandchildren.  Of course, there is the state of our country and world affairs.

My point is – we all have mental burdens. These can cause us to exert emotional energy. They can cause physical fatigue. They cause us to be ineffective workers.

The Sabbath is a day of freedom where we give our time and attention to the Lord. The Lord does not want us to carry these burdens into the Sabbath with us. We might pick these up during the week, but Sabbath is the time to lay down these burdens at His feet.

In our fast-paced world, we must learn to stop, recognize these burdens and put them down before we enter into the Sabbath. One way to address this is to have the attitude that the Sabbath is the day where you don’t have to have the burden. In other words, you take authority over the Mountain of your burden and tell it that it cannot come with you into the Sabbath.

Over the years, I have learned to do this. Any stress, anxiety, or worry that tries to accumulate during the week automatically gets checked out just before Sabbath begins. You are free from the burden. As I have practiced this, I have noticed myself not picking up those burdens when the Sabbath ends.

There are things in life we can control and things we can’t control. Often, our burdens come from things we can’t control. The Sabbath teaches us every week to put things in God’s hands so that the one who controls all things takes the burden away.

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President

 

Sabbath Truth – Free Videos!

This free website has instructional videos and articles about the Sabbath. One of the prominent features available through this group is a 10-part series understanding the history of the Sabbath.

Just click the link below to access this FREE resource!

 

http://www.sabbathtruth.com/free-resources/seventh-day-video-series/id/966/the-seventh-day-part-1

Short List of Languages Around the World that confirm the Sabbath

By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

The Hebrew word for Sabbath is Shabbat. One of the proofs that the Sabbath is from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset is that many different languages call Saturday some version of Sabbath, sabado, saptu, etc… Let’s take a look at a short list:

Indonesian – Sabtu

Tagalog (Philippines) – Sabado

Latin – Sabbatum (ancient Latin also used Sabata)

Italian – Sabato

Spanish – Sabado

Portuguese – Sabado

Greek – Savatoh

Koine Greek – Sabbata and Sabbaton (koine Greek was spoken from about 300 BC to 300 AD)

Russian – Subota

Polish – Sobota

Arabic – Al Sabt

Somali (East Africa) – Sabti

Mandingo also called Mandinka (West Africa) – Sibiti

Ormo or Galla (East Africa) – Sanbata tenna

Kisii, also called Gusii or Ekegusii (Africa) – Esabato

In modern Greece, Friday is called paraskevi or Preparation day. It comes from the ancient Jewish and Christian custom of preparing on Friday to keep the Sabbath. One reason why this happened is because the Sabbath begins Friday at sunset. In the Bible, days begin/end at sunset.

We can see that on different continents and different countries, one thing remains constant: the Sabbath is preserved by language.

To learn more about when the Sabbath is, check our our FREE article “When is the Sabbath?” – CLICK HERE to read. 

Kelly McDonald, Jr. BSA President www.biblesabbath.org