The Thief
A thief takes what does not belong to him. A thief thinks about what he does not own and then desires it, determined to take it by slyness and force if necessary. Truth becomes a lie. Honest work and honest pay are fictions. Compassion died a long time ago. Desire will be satisfied. Feeling good will happen when the thief has claimed what belongs to someone else.
God owns Sundays. He made Sundays. Sundays are holy. Sundays are days of rest. Sundays are part of the divine plan to keep man, the created, heart-connected to God, the Creator.
In the beginning every day was Sunday. Adam and Eve lived in the very presence of God. Every day they spent time with God. God would come to visit them in the Garden (paradise) where they lived.
The Thief could not be happy for their happiness. He plotted. Planned. Connived. Took on various forms. Courted. Wooed. Enticed. Planted seeds of rebellion. Lied. Cheated. Betrayed. Accused God.
Adam and Eve fell for the lies of the Thief. They lost their innocence. They lost their paradise. They found themselves put out of the Garden. No one has ever imagined the terror of that first night outside the Garden.
Time passed. The children of Adam attempted to build a city to heaven. If they could walk up to heaven on their own they would not have to honor the Sabbath nor the God of the Sabbath. Babel was destroyed.
God wrote on stone for the Children of Abraham and all humanity a law to Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8). In response to God's attempt to keep man on track, the Thief had a lot of work to do. If the Thief could steal Sundays it would deal a huge blow to heaven and unload a lot of cargo of human souls to hell.
Over the centuries, the Thief worked on human desire. He remembered how easy it had been to been to get Adam and Eve to want something God had sad they should not have. The Thief came up with a game plan: Do not fight Sundays. Steal Sundays.
The Thief introduced idols. Get man to worship anything but God. Do the worship of idols on Sundays. The plan worked for thousands of years.
Life was simple. No motors. No ships. No airplanes. Agriculture was the basis of existence. If people had clothes and food they could take a day off and do whatever, including worship their idol. People would be especially devoted to worshiping their idol if they believed their hard work had earned them rights to sin.
The came the Industrial Revolution. Factories and machines were created that could not be stopped on a Sunday. People had to work on Sundays. Bible scholars decided that people could work on Sunday IF THEY TOOK OFF ANOTHER DAY TO REST AND WORSHIP.
Indeed the Bible does affirm that one day is not better than another. The Bible does affirm that every man should set in his heart a day of consecration each week to worship God. But man given a license tends to speed. Man given an open door to self-will tends to rebel. Man by nature prefers gods man creates to the Creator. Man came to work on Sunday and never take a day off for the Creator. Of course, the Thief lied and told man God was selfish wanting one day every seven days.
What the Thief did not know is that in Heaven every day is Sunday. In the life of those who follow Jesus every day is Sunday. Living in the presence of God is not an on-the-clock and off-the-clock routine but a way of life.
The Thief cared not for what man lost in not resting and worshiping the Creator. The Thief was only bent on taking what was not his. The Thief wanted to do violence against Heaven. The Thief cared not for the pain of souls who now worshiped dumb idols of wood, stone, and metal. The Thief only cared to steal from heaven what God had created. With deaf ears the Thief refused to listen to the screams of pain and terror of souls falling into an eternal abyss to forever be separated from their Creator.
Jesus coming to die on a cross as an atonement for man's rebellion was Heaven's plan to redeem man. Jesus honored the Sabbath. Jesus re-emphasized the sacredness of worship of the True God and the importance MAN taking time to commune and worship God.
I live in 2008. I am a pastor. I see the effects of what the Thief has done. I witness the Thief as he has sold his lies. Many souls have become their own gods. Many souls have denied there is a God. Many souls have succumbed to the lullabies of hell and fallen asleep in the arms of the Thief.
On my way to meet other Christians on a Sunday morning and worship the Creator, I pass people setting up road-side stands at 6 AM to sell worthless items. Folks mow lawns, wash cars, paint houses, go to races, boat, fish, vacation, work, etc., seemingly without any thought that God has not changed his mind. God has not removed his commandment to HONOR THE SABBATH and keep it holy.
Please allow me to speak personally. Sunday is the anchor of my life, my hopes and dreams, and the point of review for making sure my very existence is God-centered. If I ever miss being with others in worship on a Sunday it affects my whole week. Sundays are not punitive. Sundays are not a weight, as if paying a sacrificial price. Sundays are delightful. Sundays are the best. Sundays include seeing my Brothers and Sisters who have common ambition to follow Jesus. Sunday is my opportunity to learn more about Jesus, to strengthen bonds of fellowship, to sing joyful songs, and to invite sinners to join the joyous gathering of Heaven-minded believers.
Sunday is my opportunity to learn from others what God is doing in their lives and what God is doing in far and distant places I have never been or cannot go. Sunday is my time to take tithe in worship of My God. Sunday is my time to give offerings to make a difference in sharing Christian joy and hope with those who have not heard.
I hate the Thief. I am determined He will not steal my Sunday. I am also determined that Sunday at Covenant Church will remain holy. We will worship the Creator God. We will rejoice and praise the God of Heaven. The Thief will not win. Jesus is Our King.
See you Sunday.
Pastor Bare
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Exodus 20:8