Keeping the Torah Printable

Who has heard this verse before, "It makes no difference if a man is circumcised or not"? Usually the speaker goes on to explain that it doesn't matter at all if we follow YHWH's instructions. We are 'free' to do whatever we want, without any consequence is the line. But the very next sentence of the same verse says, "Keeping the Torah of YHWH is everything."

Sure, granted that translation is from the Restoration Scriptures and not something more mainstream. But even the NLT reads, "The important thing is to keep God's commandments." Keeping his instructions is important.

To understand the seeming contradiction in this text (circumcision is something YHWH commanded) we can read the verse this way, "It doesn't matter if you're circumcised or not - you still need to be obedient to YHWH." Many of us have treated our heritage as an exemption from keeping YHWH's commandments, thinking the instructions of Scripture are only for a different people group. And there was contention over this in ancient Israel as well. The use of the words 'circumcised' and 'uncircumcised' alludes to the two houses of Israel - Judah being the circumcised and Ephraim being uncircumcised. There was much confusion over how these distinct groups should behave and Paul is clarifying that here.

He is saying:
Even if you're circumcised and following the Torah, you need the Messiah.

Even if you have the Messiah, you need to follow the Torah.

The message here is that it's not enough to be circumcised out of family tradition or to celebrate Passover and then not wholeheartedly follow YHWH. We should honor the commandments because we love YHWH and want to serve Yahusha. We aren't to treat Torah observance like a free pass to get to Heaven. The point is love the Messiah and live in the way he instructed.

I made this printable because I want to be reminded of how important my obedience is to YHWH. While he knows my heart, he doesn't just ask of me that I love him or mean well. He wants each of us to truly follow him and walk in his ways. I hope this will remind you of that truth as well.

Click here to download. This printable is free for your personal use.

Torah Portions Coloring Book + Giveaway

I've been wanting to do this post since I first saw the Doodle Portions coloring book! It seems that coloring books for adults have exploded in popularity in the past year or so. Several of my friends and family members buy them by the stack, and I have spotted them for sale in book stores, gas stations, and home improvement centers. They've been popping up on blogs and social media too. After seeing a few Christian versions I thought how nice it would be to find one with a little more of a Hebrew bent, and that's exactly what Amy from Torah Sisters has provided us with here! Amy has been generous enough to agree to give two of you a copy of Doodle Portions Florals! Get entered to win at the bottom of this post.

Really it's no wonder why people are loving these coloring books so much. Studies show doing something with your hands is a tremendous reliever of stress and anxiety and a good way to combat depression. Seeing this we don't need to wonder why 1 Thessalonians 4:11 gives us the admonition to work with our hands. These benefits can come from carpentry work or chopping vegetables or crocheting or coloring. Of course coloring is something that practically anyone can do, no matter their skills or abilities.

Doodle Portions is made to go with the weekly reading of the Torah portion, so each design has a verse from the corresponding week. The pages also have the information of the the Scripture passages for that week's portion. Amy was kind enough to gift me with a copy of her floral edition and each page is lovely! I was so happy to see her call attention to some of the themes that are so often skipped over. In Doodle Portions you will find mentions of Shabbat, Ephraim, Passover, and so on. Yehovah is mostly used for the name of YHWH, but Yahweh appears as well.

Obviously Doodle Portions makes for a great Shabbat activity for both the young and old. But as we wrap up the yearly Torah reading cycle, how fun would this be to give as a gift for Simchat Torah or Sukkot? You can have a brand new coloring book to kick off a fresh start of the Torah readings when we dive back in at Beresheet 1. Of course, this book can be used any day of the week to help you unwind and relax after a stressful day. Completed works can go on the wall or refrigerator to help with Scripture memorization.

Whether you win or purchase this book you will receive it as a PDF, which means you can instantly download and print it off. I liked being able to print it because, unlike with hard copies of coloring books, you can lay this flat to color. (It's the little things in life, am I right?) It's also up to you if you want to print off all 50+ pages at once or just one or two at time. A simple folder or binder would be a great way to store these. Or a clipboard.

Are flowers not really your thing? Or maybe there's a little boy you'd like to give a Torah portion coloring book to? (This is totally kid friendly by the way.) Amy just released an animal edition of Doodle Portions. Right now she is offering sale pricing of almost half off.

As a special gift to Land of Honey readers Amy is offering 20% off any digital product in her store. That's good with either Torah portions coloring book, the under the sea coloring book, her Sabbath keeper organization kit, decorative printables, and the recipe collections. Be sure to grab the free Shabbat print while you're there which is only free for a limited time. There's also an entire section of freebies to download and, along with the Shabbat print, no purchase is necessary.

Use coupon code: HONEY2017 at the checkout to receive 20% off any digital product. This will be good through September 15.

And now for the giveaway! We have two PDF downloads of the Doodle Portions Florals book up for grabs so we will have one winner per household. Get entered below and be sure to browse around the Torah Sisters Store and let us know what your favorite item is in the comments. As I mentioned, Amy kindly sent me a download of Doodle Portions but all opinions are my own. This contest is open to US and international residents. You have until midnight on September 6 to enter. Thanks so much to Amy for providing these giveaways!

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Increase Our Numbers Like Sheep

Who's heard this verse before? Ezekiel 36:37 - "This says the Master YHWH: I will once again allow the house of Israel to call upon Me, to do this for them: increase their numbers like sheep." 

The house of Israel is the name for the ten northern tribes. Tribes that are now lost in the nations: they left the land of Israel, intermarried with other cultures and basically disappeared without a trace. However they are not lost to YHWH. He knows where his people are and promises that one day he will restore all twelve tribes together.

Since these people are not lost to YHWH, how are they considered lost? It's because the world and the people themselves have no idea that YHWH longs for them to turn to him and come back into his kingdom. Most people in our culture are lost. They've lost their bearings. They've lost the compass of YHWH's instructions as directions to live by. They have no idea that it's likely they have physical ancestry in the people who spent forty years wandering the desert. They have not been taught how to follow YHWH. He longs for individuals worldwide to turn back and become part of his people. He wants them back.

Do you see the implications that this verse gives? Since all who turn to YHWH and serve him get grafted into Israel (whether or not they have family lineage there), that means that you get to pray this. That Israel would grow and grow like crazy.

YHWH has given us the gift of this prayer. Something he will bring about, we can be part of by praying for him to bring the lost sheep of Israel back. More and more people will become part of the community that serves YHWH, keeps his feasts, sets apart the Sabbath day, follows his instructions, and glorifies the life and death of Yahusha. He will bring them back.

Increase our numbers like sheep.

Related posts:
The Two Houses: Israel and Judah in Scripture
Understanding the Other 88% of the Bible

How To Hang a Mezuzah

This post is done in conjunction with the mezuzah giveaway from Turtle Lane Pottery.

Let's talk mezuzahs. Deuteronomy 6:9 says that we should have the words of YHWH on the doorposts of our homes. A mezuzah is a case that holds a scroll of part of Scripture, usually the surrounding passage from Deuteronomy. Mezuzahs are one way to keep this commandment. Other ideas would be hanging a plaque on the door, writing a verse on the door frame, framing a verse for the entrance, or even painting or inscribing a verse on the door itself. Whichever you decide will serve as a reminder and encouragement when you go in and out.

Traditional Judaism has more than 2,000 laws on how to properly hang a mezuzah. If you are looking for those instructions, you will not find them here. The commandment that we have from YHWH regarding this is simply to do it, so I will be sharing one way of going about that.

When you purchase a mezuzah, what you are buying is the case. Typically it will not come with the scroll inside, though sometimes that is an option for an extra charge. Chances are, any sort of color or pattern you may be interested in is out there. You could also make your own using anything from clay to wood to Legos if you are so inclined. My Turtle Lane mezuzah did not come with a scroll so my first step in hanging it was to write out Scripture. Judaism teaches that this should be done by a qualified scribe who will hand write it, but I don't see that requirement in Scripture. In fact when Moses said, "You shall write this," he was speaking to all Israel, not just a group of qualified scribes. At our house we want to take responsibility for our faith so we wrote it ourselves instead of outsourcing that task.

We chose to write out Deuteronomy 6:4-6, which Yahusha of course described as the most important commandment. You could write more or less depending on what you feel is best. Feel free to write it in your native language; include Hebrew if you would like.

You will want to measure your mezuzah and trim down your paper as needed to fit.

Once your Scripture is written out, roll it tightly to fit into the mezuzah.

Turtle Lane Pottery's mezuzahs come with the two small screws you will need to affix this in your house. If you need to supply your own screws the ones we used were half an inch.

You will need to decide where your mezuzah is going. Inside or outside? Which side of the door? To the left or the right? On the door, the frame, or next to it? This really isn't complicated, though Judaism has rules for all these things. Pick what works best for the design of your home to showcase your mezuzah. If you would like to put one outside, be sure it can handle the elements.

If you are familiar with mezuzahs, chances are you have seen them at an angle. There's nothing wrong with this, but if you are going to do it you should learn the story behind it. Hundreds of years ago, in the 13th and 14th centuries there were conflicting opinions about how to hang a mezuzah. One school of thought was vertically, another was horizontally. In lieu of picking a side or letting homeowners make their own choice, rabbis began instructing that mezuzahs should be placed at a slant so that both sides would be placated. So there you have it.

When YHWH commanded us to have his words on the doorposts of our homes he was not very specific. He did not add, "at a 45° degree angle," or "in this font." It would be wrong to say otherwise. He gives us room for creativity. Make your own choice about this. We chose to hang ours vertically because we thought it looked the best. :)

With the scroll inside, use a drill to screw the mezuzah into your door/post/wall. Use a lighter hand when you drill as mezuzahs don't weigh much and you don't want to crack or break yours.

It is traditional to say a blessing when you hang the mezuzah. You could say, "Blessed are you YHWH our Eloheinu, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to have his words on our doorposts." You could also pray that your home would be a place where YHWH's commandments are kept and guarded, and that this mezuzah would be a reminder to turn to him each day.

There you have it: the mezuzah is up. This lovely thing has reminded me to say a quick prayer each time I see it. Who knew an object could help you to turn your heart to YHWH? I want to thank Corrine from Turtle Lane for this thoughtful gift. If you are in need of your own mezuzah be sure to head over to our giveaway post to win a set of your own!

Menorahs in Scripture

How familiar are you with menorahs? Growing up in the Christian faith, I don't think I ever heard them mentioned. Sure, I read the descriptions of the Tabernacle and later the Beit Hamikdash but I don't think I ever paused enough to consider what that looked like. A candelabra with three branches on either side of one central branch, a place for seven lights. I know for sure I never saw one of these, in person or even a picture, at any of the churches we attended, the Christian camps I went to, Bible colleges I visited as a prospective student, or ministries I have worked for. 

Is that a big deal? If you believe that all Scripture is useful for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16), it matters that we are completely ignoring a symbol that YHWH gave us. While menorahs are mentioned more than 40 times in Scripture they actually appear far more often. Think of the unspoken details of cultural events in your world. A friend mentioning they were at a high school football game speaks volumes of details I instantly assume, without verbal communication. I know it would have been on a Friday night, it was probably very cold, the marching band played the school fight song, the stands are usually full, popcorn is for sale, what color jerseys our team wore, the layout of the place and so on. There is no need for my friend to describe these details because I know exactly how these games work. But if you aren't familiar with high school football, a lot of this is going to be lost on you. You might get the gist of the story and have a rough idea of what it was like but these details are going to go right past you.

The menorah is a detail like this. Yahusha would have seen its light each time he was at the Beit Hamikdash. It would have been nearby when he spoke the words, "My sheep know my voice." It was there when he cleansed the Temple. Many could have heard his teachings while looking at the light of the menorah. I missed that for a long time.

We should note that the appropriate number of branches for a menorah is what YHWH instructed: seven. Of the limited menorahs we see today, I would estimate that 75% are the nine-branched Hanukkiahs that were created for the man-made celebration of Hanukkah. While that is similar to YHWH's design, it is not what he commanded. Since YHWH's thinking is far above ours we can be certain there is a reason he chose his light to be represented in sevens.

The menorah is significant enough to YHWH that he had it put in the Tabernacle and weaved the significance of seven and light throughout his word. Yahusha spoke of it often as well. Let's get better acquainted with it, shall we?

15 Places we see Menorahs in Scripture:

1. Exodus 25 is where YHWH first orders a menorah to be made and described what it looked like. Can you imagine how beautiful that must have been? Made from one piece of gold with details of almond blossoms on it. This provided the light for the priests in the Holy Place.

2. The first sentence of Scripture goes like this in Hebrew, Beresheet bara Elohim et hashamayim va'et ha'aretz. The phrase is seven words and contains a beautiful picture. The first three words refer to YHWH (the one who was in the beginning, he created), and the last three refer to earth (the heavens and the earth). If you picture these words taking either side of the menorah, you are left with the word et in the middle as the main branch that brings them together. What is the word et? In Hebrew it is simply spelled aleph-tov, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Most of us are familiar with the Alpha and Omega translation of this word that is used as a title for Yahusha. When we pair each word of the first sentence of Scripture to the branches of the menorah we can see that Yahusha is what connects us to YHWH.

3. Luke 4:16-21 - When Yahusha read the prophecy of Isaiah 61 in the synagogue something very significant happened that modern readers don't see. The tradition of synagogues in that day was to have three elders on other side of the reader standing in the bema seat. So when Yahusha began to read, "The Spirit of YHWH is upon me," the picture in front of those in attendance was that of a human menorah, where once again Yahusha was in the center.

4. Revelation 1:4 - Did you know that there are seven spirits of YHWH, not just one? This verse tells us that he has seven spirits standing before his throne. It's not a far leap to see the parallel of the seven spirits in Heaven where the seven lights of the menorah were in the Beit Hamikdash.

5. John had a vision of seven menorahs in Revelation 1:12, and Yahusha decoded this for us. The seven menorahs that you saw are the seven Israelite congregations. There is crazy significance to Yahusha using the symbol of the menorah to represent his people!

6. Revelation 2:5 - I will remove the menorah from you unless you make teshuvah. If we don't repent he takes the symbol from the faith from us. Do you see a lot of menorahs in faiths that supposedly follow YHWH? In Judaism 'menorahs' are falsely represented as nine branched for the most part. This passage also leads me to believe that if we have repented of our sins and turned to YHWH that the menorah would be with us, in the spiritual sense of Yahusha's light, but also physically.

7. Yahusha makes mention that he walks in the midst of menorahs in Revelation 2:1. We can see the allegorical sense of his presence with his congregations, but we shouldn't stop it there. Yahusha surrounded himself with menorahs the many times he visited the Beit Hamikdash and has menorahs before him in heaven.

8. The Seven Feasts of YHWH can also be seen as a menorah. If you take their chronological order, Shavuot falls in the center. Significant events that occurred at this feast are the giving of the Torah and the giving of the Holy Spirit. Another picture of Heaven connecting with earth like in Beresheet 1.

9. Zechariah 4:11 - YHWH showed two menorahs to Zechariah in a vision to teach him the deeper truth of the two houses of Israel.

10. John 8:12 - When Yahusha said, "I am the light." There are two significant pieces here. Firstly, the root of the word Torah is or, meaning light in Hebrew. I can't help but think he made a little play announcing that he is the living Torah. And second, the Greek word that is used here is phos, which of course means light but also speaks of the lamp that is emitting said light. Now if he said that he was the lamp that emits the light, which lamp do you think he had in mind? There was and is no light of more significance than the menorah. Could he have been saying, "I am the menorah,"?

11. Yahusha did many things in sevens. The book of Yochanan contains seven instances where Yahusha said, "I am." Scripture records him healing seven times on Shabbat.

12. When Jerusalem is sieged by King Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonians carried off many temple items including the menorahs, in Jeremiah 52:19. Made of solid gold these were incredibly valuable (millions of dollars each in today's money), but the spiritual loss was more devastating for the people of Judah who had disobeyed YHWH.

13. Revelation 11:4 - The two witnesses in the last days (houses of Judah and Ephraim) are likened to menorahs before YHWH. 

14. Isaiah 11:2 - Attributes seven ruachs to the Messiah. Of YHWH, of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel, of might, of knowledge, and of the fear of YHWH.

15. Matthew 5:15 - A parable hidden in good advice. You wouldn't put a menorah under a basket. Yahusha using this terminology shows us that he expected his followers then and now to be familiar with what a menorah is.

There is a lot to be learned from each of these Scriptures but what really gets me is that last one. Yahusha intentionally spoke in ways that could be understood by those in his day as well as for the next thousands of years. His agricultural allegories show us this. We can understand the Parable of the Sower because gardening and food production is more or less still works the same. Him using the menorah in a parable clearly shows us that he didn't want us to get rid of them. And like he communicated to John in Revelation he sees his people as menorahs.

Shavuot Scripture Reading List

Happy Shavuot if you are celebrating today! If you already celebrated I hope your set apart time was a lovely burst of growth and truth. If you are new to celebrating the Festivals of YHWH, hang in there! It gets better each time, as we understand more. The best is still ahead.

I wanted to share a few passages of Scripture that I enjoy reading at this time of year to prepare for and celebrate Shavuot. Since this is a time to reflect on the Word of YHWH and the Ruach HaKodesh I picked Scriptures related to that, but this is by no means an extensive list! The Set Apart Spirit is mentioned hundreds of times throughout all the books from the very Beresheet to the judges and prophets and the Psalms, Yahusha spoke of the Spirit, and it appears throughout Revelation. Not to mention how hard pressed you would be to find a passage of the Word that doesn't emphasize or point to the importance of the instructions of YHWH. So feel free to add your favorites to this. Here's a few of mine.

Scriptures to Read During Shavuot:
Exodus 19-20 - the giving of the Covenant after the Israelites left Egypt.
Vayikra 23:15-21 - this passage is about Shavuot itself.
Deuteronomy 16:9-12 - this passage gives further instruction for Shavuot.
Ten Commandments - this is in Exodus 20:1-17. I like to emphasize these because of course the infamous Golden Calf story also happened around Shavuot, so it's important to know how to live correctly so we also do not break Covenant with YHWH.
Book of Ruth - this is traditional to read because the story takes place around the spring harvest time, like Shavuot itself. It also beautifully parallels the story of many of us who weren't born into a Torah based community but chose that path with the help of a redeemer. 
Jeremiah 31:33 - the Torah will be written on our hearts.
Ezekiel 36:27 - talks about the Holy Spirit helping us to keep YHWH's instructions.
2 Chronicles 8:13 - Israel kept the Feasts under King Shlomo.
John 14:15-29 - Yahusha talks about the Ruach HaKodesh.
Luke 24:49 - Yahusha's instruction to wait.
Acts 1:4-5 - the disciples wait to be immersed.
Acts 2 - this is where the Ruach HaKodesh was poured out on believers, just ten days after the ascension of Yahusha. It happened at Shavuot. 
Book of Acts - I love Acts because it is about those who lived both as followers of Yahusha and as keepers of Torah. This is the lifestyle we should have today.
1 Corinthians 12 - the gifts of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22 - the fruit of the Spirit.

Free Ten Commandments Printable for Shavuot

Because Shavuot is a special time of celebrating both the giving of the Holy Spirit and the giving of YHWH's instructions I thought a printable of the ten commandments would be fitting. Recently I admired a simple ten commandments piece of art in a friends home and decided to make a more Hebrew version of that. My free printable uses YHWH, as well as Shabbat. The structure of the commandments is also a bit different. I studied wording in various versions and arrived at an amalgamation of my own.

Did you know there is some dispute over the ten commandments themselves? For the most part, Christian teaching and translations start the list of ten commandments off in Exodus 20:3 - "you shall have no other gods before me." But the Hebrew movement would argue that the first and most significant commandment is found in the second verse. "I am YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the Egyptian house of slavery." Because knowing the name of the God we serve is incredibly important, right? This goes along with the third commandment of not forgetting the name of YHWH or bringing it to vain emptiness and ruin.

I am really happy about this new piece of art in my home! Hanging the ten commandments is a great way to learn them by heart, and keep your focus on how YHWH wants us to live. It also shows visitors that his word is important to you. While I think this is especially fitting for the Shavuot season, I plan to keep mine up year round. In a cute frame this would also make a great gift!

Click here to download my ten commandments printable. It is free for your personal use.
You can get a large print of this at a local printing place to have it as more of a statement piece. Mine was printed as an 18" by 13" for about $8.00. Or this prints great at home in a regular printer as an 11" by 8" or even smaller if you prefer.

A very happy Shavuot to each of you!

Why I Started Keeping Shabbat

Shabbat keeping is a choice.

There is a growing movement of people who serve Yahusha as their Messiah and who have decided to start honoring Shabbat, including most readers here at Land of Honey. Most of us weren't born into homes where the seventh day of the week was set apart. So what caused us to make this change in our lives?

My route was probably easier than most. Growing up my family never really found a Christian church that was a good fit for us, which caused us to bounce from place to place and hear wide ranges of doctrines, opinions, etc. on Scripture. This in turn forced us to constantly evaluate what we believed and why. I strongly believe that if someone is studying Scripture for what it says - and separates that from what they have been told - they will eventually get to a point where they see YHWH's commandments and instructions as life-giving and not burdensome. And that's really what it was like for our family, and by that time, small group. After admitting that what we had been taught wasn't consistent with what Scripture actually says, it seemed so obvious that this was a change that needed to be made. My husband and I were engaged at that time and were both willing to try this together. Our small congregation then changed it's meeting time from Sunday morning to Shabbat afternoon, and the 'peer pressure' of that was helpful. We began with just attending service on the seventh day, and then slowly realized other elements of setting the day apart like having time off from work, not shopping or eating out, and intentionally resting.

This is the point in the story where many of my Christian friends, coworkers, or relatives interject with something like, "You know that's legalism and Christ did away with that, right?" And I know where they're coming from because when I first considered the possibility of keeping Shabbat those were my thoughts too. Up until then my faith, though growing, was pretty mainstream (albeit with an extra dose of 'the Holy Spirit is real and does stuff'). I went to FCA at school, saw Rebecca St. James in concert, went on a couple of mission trips, attended youth group and summer camps, interned at a Bible college, and was on staff with several churches and non profits. I had the 'normal Christian' beliefs. We didn't know anyone who kept the Sabbath day on the seventh day of the week. We certainly didn't decide to make this change because it was convenient. This wasn't a decision made on a whim. It came after months of Scripture study, listening to teachings, reading books, and praying and asking for understanding. It was a decision we made because we felt very strongly that YHWH was asking us to do this, even if this idea was unpopular and misunderstood.

This is one of the best changes we have ever made! Shabbat adds so much peace to our lives, something wonderful to look forward to after a hectic week. I have more energy and feel like my time is more under control. And after experiencing this you can't feel like a day of rest is a burden. It's a gift.

Why did you choose to start keeping Shabbat? Remember that Shabbat survey I asked you to participate in a while ago? Well, I am going to share some answers from that today. :) I hope for those of us who are in the Hebrew community that it will be edifying to hear of others who have made the same choices we have. For those of you who are new to the idea of Shabbat observance I hope it will clear up any questions you may have.

Why did you start keeping Shabbat?

"Because Scripture clearly states and stresses the importance of it."

"It says in the Bible to keep the Sabbath, which is on the seventh day. We figured God did it, Yeshua did it, and he told us to, so why not?"

"Reading Scripture convicted me. If I'm grafted into Israel, and Israel was commanded to observe the Sabbath for all their generations, then the commandment now applies to me."

"We (my wife and I) started observing Shabbat because we did some research and found out that the Catholic church changed the day and meaning of observance."

"We realized it was the Biblical day and God commanded it."

"My mom had been convicted off and on almost her whole life.... She eventually just put her foot down and said she was going to keep it. My sister and I thought it was an okay idea at the time too, but now we would never go back!"

"I could read it in the Bible in black and white that it was for me to do if I was grafted into the Vine. It  had never been removed. And why would we only keep nine out of ten commands?"

"It was a part of my kids homeschool curriculum. It was a beautiful teaching and I wondered why Christians stopped so I've been reading and researching on my own."

"My wife showed me in the Bible."

"Because I realized the beauty of what it means to disconnect in order to reconnect with what actually matters in life."

"Out of a hunger to show obedience as a fruit of my relationship with YHWH."

"God woke me up and revealed to me [Shabbat] is not Jewish and it wasn't done away with after Christ."

"I began worshiping with a congregation and learned the importance of keeping Shabbat."

"Learned it was the right thing to do, that Sunday is not the Sabbath."

"My husband told me to! Haha!"

"After some studying of Torah and [the] commandments, we saw it made perfect sense that this is something He desires us to do."

"My family came to the understanding that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and that in keeping His commands we find blessing."

"I knew by Scriptures that Saturday was Sabbath. I have lost a lot to observe it but it's been worth it."

"To have a richer family life and to share the old ways with our children."

"We keep Shabbat, because we love our Father, and want to obey His instruction on how to live."

"I grew up in a Christian church, and also a Messianic congregation. I decided upon becoming an adult, that I wanted to embrace my Messianic side. Observing Torah, and consequently, keeping Shabbat is integral to that."

"I read my Bible from front to back and was convicted."

"My husband and I received the revelation of Torah over seven years ago, and Shabbat is one of the most obvious/important things that you find when you first start reading and learning Torah."

"To experience more gratitude and intimacy with YHWH."

"I felt convicted to start setting Saturday apart. To truly use it as a day of rest, a day of connection with my kids and husband, a day to get into deeper study."

"I started studying the Word of God from a Hebrew perspective and saw Christianity from a whole new light."

"My husband started it at home... I wasn't happy with the idea.... but I did what I know best - praying. I asked the Father if this is good and is Yours, lead me to understand, manage the time, enjoy, rejoice, and love your Shabbat."

"God tugged at my heart about the commandments and to keep Shabbat."

"I got my eyes opened to what Yah says is a sign between us."

"Once I learned that it was really Biblical, not only for "the Jews," not abolished, and not changed/abrogated, it was the only choice I could make."

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the Shabbat survey! So many responded that it's not really feasible to share everyone's answer but I have so enjoyed reading each one. Thank you for sharing your story. How do you guys feel about posts like these? Is it fun for you to hear from others? I know I love it.