We meet in our homes, rotating from house to house, just as the early congregations who followed Messiah did. Some people who do not observe Shabbat tend to think of it as a day filled with stifling restrictions and as "being under the Law," as if that were something terrible and burdensome! But to those who observe Shabbat, it is a precious gift from God, a day of great joy, eagerly awaited. It is the end of the work week - and the sense that we are keeping God's commands just as He gave them and entering into the seventh day that HE set aside TO MEET WITH US is just more wonderful than words can express! There is something so very special about knowing we have set aside all the doctrines of men and chosen instead to meet with our God when HE asked us to! He said, "For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for THE GENERATIONS TO COME AS A LASTING COVENANT. IT WILL BE A SIGN BETWEEN ME AND THE ISRAELITES FOREVER...!" (Exodus 31:15-17)
During our Friday evening gathering, we light two candles, pray the Scriptures over one another, break bread and share the Cup as Yahshua commanded us to do. Rejoicing in our time of rest and refreshment, it is possible to SENSE God's Presence among us - as the Shabbat is the sign He has placed on us. Though some think this is "just for Jews," or "Jewish custom or Jewish feasts," the truth is that these are not Jewish feasts, but THE FEASTS OF THE LORD. This is a lasting ordinance that our covenant-keeping Yah never changed or abandoned. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! How blessed we are that we are no longer "separate from Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise!" (Ephesians 2:12-13). As the mother of the household lights the candles, we pray a prayer that lays all our concerns, cares and anxieties of the world aside. I can feel my soul and spirit let go and literally release all those cares. After a long week of work, responsibilities, news of collapsing economies, wars, and political battles, I let all that out in one great, heavy sigh, and then as the sun sinks into the west, the light of our two candles fills the room with the Light of Messiah, who IS our Sabbath Rest! We feast, we laugh, we sing, we fellowship, and we find ourselves spilling over with gratitude and delight that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath! It is a gift to us - and our meeting with Yah on His day, I believe, is a gift back to Him!
On Saturday, the day of Shabbat, our group gathers again in the afternoon to study the Scriptures (both Old and New Covenant) and to worship and pray. Thus, during this entire 24-hour period we do no work, but take delight in this most precious of all days, holy unto our Yah.
I know it may not be possible for many to literally take this 24 hours and set it aside in this way. But what if we did? What if our children were being trained up to know that this is a day of family, of rest, of joy and study, set apart to God? It would transform families, then cities, then our culture and our nation! I may be day-dreaming - but I love to envision that all would return to the Spirit of the Torah and find the profound joy and excitement I have found in keeping the Sign of the Covenant with our God and meeting with Him on HIS moedim (appointed times)!
