The Joy of Sabbath Keeping: Unexpected Benefits of God's Day of Rest

Here we talk about the impact of taking part in Sabbath rest and the positive benefits that brings to our lives. We look at the Sabbath with the perspective of having a weekly day of rest and worship as a benefit to us. Many people will tell you that the Sabbath is impossible to keep or not worth it, but for myself and many others - including friends and family I know personally, and hearing from other Sabbath keepers around the world - that is just not the case. I find that that those who claim the Sabbath isn't worth it are those not keeping it.

The Sabbath, or Shabbat, is a break. A time to rest and relax. To pause. It's happy. On top of being obedient to a commandment, you also see your life get better. When I first started honoring the Sabbath (and I would define that as not just knowing you should rest on it, but proactively arranging your life so that you are not at work or doing chores), I did so because I felt like God was asking me to listen to his instruction. My hope wasn't that I would get something out of it, but it didn't take long to realize I was.

Having a day off is wonderful, but that also overflows into the rest of the week. Hectic work weeks became less overwhelming. My energy level went up and I didn't have to drag through busy months exhausted. I had more joy being able to look ahead to a break that was never far away. Life didn't feel like endless work. Keeping the Sabbath has brought more peace than I know how to describe.

And I'm not alone in this belief! I've asked other Sabbath keepers how honoring the Sabbath has impacted their lives. Here's what they've shared.

 

What are the benefits of Sabbath rest?

It's wonderful to have a guilt free rest every week.

"I have learned more about YHWH in the last three years while keeping the Sabbath, than I have in my whole life attending church. Same with my kids. It has brought us closer as a family. There is so much freedom and blessing from keeping Shabbat."

"It's not only a rest from working, but the only day of the week when I get to be around other believers."

Peace has increased in our home and lives.

"I am a hairdresser. I prayed about stopping work on the Sabbath. YHWH said if I would remember the Sabbath he would bless my work days. He has, and I have work to give away."

I am finding greater meaning and significance in my life.

"The physical and spiritual aspects are healing and restoring."

My relationship with God is closer.

"It is so rewarding! One of the greatest gifts that I didn't expect was how much more i could accomplish on Sunday after truly resting from the week."

It gives us something wonderful to look forward to each week!

It reminds me that the Holy Spirit is with me.

"My faith has grown so much! I always used to wonder if I was doing what God wanted, and now I know I am!"

It is a time set aside that brings peace to my soul and allows me to focus on God.

Having time to learn more about YHWH and his ways has lead me to a closer relationship with the Messiah.

"I feel refreshed and more focused."

Rest and peace is a blessing!

"We have started family traditions surrounding the Sabbath that feel warm and inviting."

"Observing the Sabbath has improved my health physically, emotionally, and spiritually."

I used to only rest if I happened to have the time, which made me constantly feel worn-down. Now I know I can prioritize the rest I need. 

"The quality of our family time has improved!"

"I am becoming better at raising my children to follow YHWH!"

"It re-energizes me."

"It's the only day I can just rest and do Bible study without interruption. There are too many rewards to even name, but i am so much happier (like the Bible promises!), way less stressed during the week, and I get so much more Bible study done! Keeping Shabbat has been one of the best decisions I've ever made."

"During my studying abroad I really had to fight to keep Shabbat, but in the end it was so rewarding! I ended up leading a small group of other young women into the Shabbat tradition - that group became the heart of my community." 

"I think one of the greatest rewards has been keeping Shabbat with my family, in our very busy and diverse lives having the same day of rest has given us more uninterrupted time together."

"Since I started taking care of my physical and spiritual self by resting on the Sabbath I don't get sick as often or feel like I'm fighting something off. I feel so much healthier!"

"I can get through crazy work weeks without breaking down because I know rest is coming soon!"

"Gives me time to worship!"

"I always know that there is one day each week that we slow down on purpose, and it blesses us to slowly enjoy our day."

"It's a frequent conversation piece. My employer scheduled this year's annual company party on a Shabbat. This gives me opportunities to share the truth about YHWH when people ask why I won't be attending."

"My marriage has bonded stronger."

"Acknowledging the set apart day has deepened our connection with God and our commitment to him, and has opened up new channels of provision and favor in our lives too."

When you keep the Sabbath, it truly brings unexpected gifts into your life! It strengthens your faith, helps you know the love of God in a practical way, and is refreshing to your body, mind, and spirit. Many people say that it has benefited their relationships with their spouse and other family members. When God gave us the Sabbath it was truly one of his most extravagant gifts.

More posts about the Sabbath:
Five Things Christians Should Know about the Sabbath
Did Jesus Break the Sabbath?
What To Do on the Sabbath Day

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.

Why I Stopped Celebrating Christmas as a Believer in Messiah (Quitting Christmas Q+A)

For the first 20 years of my life I was an enthusiastic Christmas celebrator. Christmas was special to me and I felt it had spiritual significance. My family loved celebrating the birth of our Messiah. We never did much with Santa and our family emphasized that the point of this season was Yahusha. We meant well.

Of course, Scripture doesn't teach that we can do what we want as long as we have good intentions. As with Hanukkah, there are no passages of Scripture telling us to celebrate Christmas, or even the Messiah's birth. Most of us have heard of the paganism involved in this holiday, so I don't want to take the time to extrapolate the pagan connections to Christmas, but I would recommend this video if you are interested in learning more.

I stopped celebrating Christmas and I know that most people don't get that, especially at this time of year. It's not a subject that most people are willing to talk about. I get that because I used to get defensive about it as well. I thought I would address here some of the questions I've gotten over the years about deciding to no longer celebrate Christmas. Sometimes it's easier to learn when you're alone with an article than when you're confronted by a person you disagree with. :)

Why did you decide to quit Christmas? It started with a prayer, "Take away things in my life that don't honor you." This was at a point where we had already made some changes in our faith practice, like observing Shabbat. Soon after this prayer lots of things about the origins of Christmas came up, and we also heard of many others who stopped celebrating after a closer look at the origins of this day. We knew that YHWH was speaking to us.

A big eye opener for me was realizing that most of the world, religious or not, believers in Messiah or not, celebrates Christmas. If other cultures and religions have no problem with joining in with our holidays, how 'faith based' can they be? Because outside western culture most people can see Christmas for what it really is, and that's not a celebration of the Messiah.

Was it hard to stop celebrating Christmas? Very! We didn't choose to walk away because we didn't enjoy it nor value it. It felt like something was missing when we didn't put stockings up or bake Christmas cookies, but we knew we wanted to follow YHWH. The first year or two is like working to lift a very heavy weight from your chest, definitely a difficult process and not fun at the time, but afterwards you feel so much better. Each year gets easier.

But I love Christmas! Yeah, I did too. The songs. Family gathering. Giving presents. Stockings. The classic stories. Favorite Christmas movies. Manger scenes. Me loving something doesn't equal YHWH's approval though.

But isn't Christmas in the Bible? Actually, many elements of traditional Christmas celebrations get a mention in Scripture, only in a very negative, don't-do-this sort of way. For instance Jeremiah 10 expressly tells us not to learn the ways of those who cut down trees and then deck them with silver and gold. The word Christmas, like Easter, does not appear in Scripture.

What about the 'Christmas' story? The Luke 2 story - angels appearing to Mary and Joseph, the shepherds in the field, Mary giving birth to Yahusha in a sukkah with animals - is absolutely a precious part of Scripture. It's unfortunate that many elements of this have been totally misconstrued. The wise men didn't arrive for a couple of years after his birth. The shepherds didn't have their sheep grazing on winter's snow. The date was certainly not December 25. And the name that the angel declared the Messiah would be called was not Jesus. And of course at the time of the Messiah's birth no one in Bethlehem had a tree up in their home or told their children stories of elves making toys on the North Pole.

Shouldn't we celebrate our Savior's birth though? Should we be grateful that Yahusha came to earth in the flesh to bring us correct understanding of the Word and ultimately to die for our sins? Of course! May we always be. That said, Scripture does not tell us we should and birthday celebrations aren't a Hebrew idea. The two or three birthdays Scripture mentions (Pharaoh, King Herod, possibly Job's son) all end in death. If you still find yourself wanting to celebrate his birth the appropriate time to do that would be when Yahusha was actually born, in the fall during Sukkot.

I know the Messiah really wasn't born in December but this tradition is important to me and I mean well. There is another story of a group of people that feared and loved YHWH who decided to throw a festival in his honor. Offerings were made. Time was spent making a beautiful decoration. They feasted on food and drink. They laughed and played games. How did YHWH respond to this? Was he appreciative? Did he say, "well it's the thought that counts"? He was ready to kill them. You can read about this incident in Exodus 32.

Can't God redeem pagan things? Reading through Scripture this doesn't seem to be his approach. He could have redeemed the golden calf (they did mean it as a celebration to YHWH after all - Exodus 32:5), but didn't and the people were punished. He could have used that temple of ba'al as a worship center for himself but instead had it turned into a public toilet (2 Kings 10:27). He could have re-purposed some of those asherah poles but always ordered them to be smashed. He could have told us to accept our culture but he said, "Come out of her and be clean."

What about the kids? Yes, making changes can be disappointing for children. Changing holidays is tough for all ages. But it's far better that children grow up learning truth and how to walk in YHWH's ways, than to be blinded by cultural lies in the name of fun. Not celebrating Christmas doesn't mean you have to be miserable though. Replacing pagan holidays with the seven festivals of YHWH can be tremendously joyful as you set apart his times. Plus, YHWH's feast days make up 19 days of the year, not to mention the weekly Shabbat. That's a lot more celebrating than the five or six days of cultural holidays.

Don't you miss celebrating it? My siblings both live out of state so I'm often nostalgic for days when my whole family is together, including at Christmas. There are a few Christmas songs that I really liked that I miss. Other than that, no. I don't find myself wishing my house was decked in red and green or anything like that.

Wait a minute, are you just trying to take Christ out of Christmas? Well, sort of. I think Christ should be removed from Christmas because, well, he doesn't have anything to do with it in the first place. I think it's sad and ironic one of the few causes Believers are willing to rally behind is this. Not the persecution of Believers in the Middle East, not the Ten Commandments being removed from public buildings, not the rights of students to be able to pray in schools, just that cups at Starbucks aren't plastered with the name of a holiday the Messiah didn't celebrate. I have yet to hear anyone who is upset about a "happy holidays" greeting complain that Starbucks doesn't go unleavened during Matzah Week or that no major retailer has a Shavuot section.

How do you feel when you see Christmas stuff? Okay, so no one has actually asked me about this but maybe it's something people wonder about? When I walk into an office with a tree up or visit a friend's fully decorated home or see manger scenes in the neighborhood my heart sighs. I think, there is so much more for you.

What's the best part of not keeping Christmas? My faith has grown so much by taking this tangible step to follow YHWH! It's nice to read through Scriptures like Jeremiah 10 and not make excuses for what I'm doing, and also to be able to relate to people like Ruth who left their culture to live YHWH's way.

Also, this sounds odd but seasonality has been something I've worked on lately. Things like eating the foods that are seasonally available, and adjusting sleep patterns with sunlight and so forth. And it always felt unnatural to me that during what is typically a cold and icy month we would travel so much, to stores and parties and so on. Having December as more of a low key time makes so much more sense to me. The lovely Spring and Fall weather of Passover and Sukkot is when I want to be out doing things. Does that make sense? It might not be something you can appreciate until you've been there.

What's weird about Christmas now? So many things, but mostly the Santa pictures I see on social media. Can we talk about how weird it is that suddenly handing your baby off to a random stranger is acceptable? Doesn't it seem unwise to teach your child it's okay to trust this man they don't know? Should college girls really be sitting on the lap of some guy in costume? The really bizarre thing is that my not-so-religious friends don't seem to care much about this but the ones on staff at a church or who went to seminary or Bible college? They are hunting Santa down! I don't get that, okay?!

How do family and friends feel about you not celebrating? Some have taken it better than others. But usually it's a range from confused to offended. And for that, I am sorry. The last thing I want is to hurt feelings. This change doesn't impact that I love the people in my life. I get why they enjoy Christmas, because I did for so long too. I just feel like YHWH has called us to better things.

How do you handle Christmas parties? On one hand, I definitely get wanting to avoid all connection to and appearance of celebrating Christmas. On the other, it does seem in John 10 that Yahusha was at the temple during Hanukkah festivities. Of course, he was not throwing the party or leading the songs or making the donuts. He was teaching truth. So I think a lot of this decision depends on what you would be doing at the party. Wearing an ugly sweater, giving a secret Santa gift, and just participating in whatever the Christmas party is doing is very different from the family reunion type of events where you can share with a pro-life cousin what is so horrific about a yule log. Obviously you need to pray and ask YHWH for direction on this, but chances are you will be less busy than normal.

How do you reconcile viewing Christmas as ungodly with good childhood memories of it? All I can say is that we did what we thought to be true at the time. 2 Peter 3:18 tells us that we should grow in the knowledge of Yahusha. Growth means changing. Just as a mature flower looks different than it did when it was a seedling, we can grow without resenting our past. My family celebrated what we believed to be was something that honored YHWH. Now that we know differently our lives should reflect that.

How about you? What kind of questions do you get asked? Is this something you're comfortable talking about?

Related posts:
Sharing Your Faith When Someone Wishes You a Merry Christmas
The Hebrew's Guide to Getting Through December
What C.S. Lewis Was Wrong About
Five Things Every Believer Should Know About Christmas

Why I Don't Celebrate Hanukkah

Well, this is awkward.

I want to share with you why there are no dreidels nor latkes on my side of the internet at this time of year. But I also don't want to hurt feelings or cause arguments. I value each of you that takes the time to read Land of Honey and want to continue having good relationships with you guys. I've decided to share about this because I get questions and want to clear up any confusion. As always, thank you for your grace and kindness.

I don't celebrate Hanukkah. Okay I did, a couple of times. As someone who grew up celebrating Christmas there is a big void every December. It was easy to embrace Hanukkah as a beautiful and inspirational story of YHWH's provision, especially since it validated precious family time, special foods, and gifts at this time of year. And it certainly made the transition away from Christmas easier. I think the Maccabee story is stunning in so many ways. But I no longer celebrate it.

The realization came one day when someone asked why I don't celebrate Christmas. My answer was that I only celebrate the festivals of YHWH. They asked if I kept the other 'Jewish' holidays like Hanukkah and Purim. "Well yeah," I stumbled. "Since they are biblically based and all." I knew it had to stop.

That was the it moment for me. I am so tired of justifying why my life is different than how Scripture says it should be. Of making excuses for why I add to or take away from YHWH's instructions. Isn't that what I was doing with Christmas? That obviously has biblical tie ins. I have made too many changes to do this again in a different way.

But Hanukkah is the festival of lights and Yahusha is the light! This reasoning is one most in the Messianic movement use. The verses that speak of Yahusha being light are some the most beautiful passages in Scripture, in my opinion. We take them and apply it to the miracle of the oil miraculously burning for eight days. Who doesn't get goosebumps over the 'he is with us' symbolism? There's just a small problem here: while YHWH certainly could have caused one day's supply of oil to last for eight there is no record of that actually happening. Even if there were, I personally don't see how that would justify modifying the menorah as designed by YHWH.

Okay, but Yahusha celebrated Hanukkah. Did he? John 10:22 does say that he was at the Temple during Hanukkah but it doesn't say he was celebrating. One does not read John 10 and picture him manning the latke fryer. I doubt he made punch or lit a nine branch menorah. He definitely wouldn't have uttered the traditional Hanukkah blessing that describes this festival as a command of YHWH. In fact, he was such a buzz kill that the leaders of the Hanukkah party actually tried to stone him there.

If Yahusha wanted us to associate him with Hanukkah wouldn't that have been an excellent opportunity for his 'I am the light' speech? Instead--and this is what got him into trouble--he went with a simple phrase, "My sheep know my voice." In verse 26 he even goes as far to say those at the Hanukkah celebration don't trust him and aren't his sheep.

What's wrong with celebrating a miracle of YHWH though? Well, nothing, as long as we are doing it YHWH's way. And as beautiful and meaningful as Hanukkah celebrations can be, I'm not sure if that's his way. You see, many cultures have a 'Festival of Lights' at this time of year, including the Hindu celebration of Diwali and Persian/Babylonian festival of Chaharshanbe Suri, which has been around since at least 1700 BC. Can you think of another holiday in December that takes historic fact and spiritual significance and then mixes it with pagan tradition? How do you feel about that? Let us not forget that the enemy masquerades as an angel of light.

To clarify, here are a few things I am not saying:
The story of the Maccabees isn't true.
That the miracles YHWH performed at that time aren't amazing.
There aren't good intentions behind those that celebrate this.
I don't have friends I think highly of that celebrate Hanukkah.
Hanukkah can't be fun or special, or even have spiritual significance.

For me it comes down to wanting my faith to be simple and approachable. I want the changes in my life to be based on Scripture and for others to be able to see that. I want to base my life around the things of YHWH and not add other things in, even if they are special and meaningful. I want to emphasize YHWH's set apart times more than manmade holidays.
This is why I have decided not to celebrate it. There are many people and ministries I think very well of that would disagree with me on this. As always, you should search out Scripture and pray about how YHWH would have you to live. 

If you do celebrate Hanukkah I would ask you to consider:

-Making it clear that this is not a commandment of YHWH. The traditional blessing of, "Blessed are you, Adonai our God, king of the universe, who sanctifies us with mitzvot, commanding us to kindle the Hanukkah lights" is a blatant lie. Don't teach that something is an instruction of YHWH when it is not.

-Treating it as a minor holiday. It's sad that Hanukkah is better represented in culture than the actual festivals of YHWH. Don't put more effort, time, or money into a manmade holiday than you do YHWH's.

-Using a seven branch menorah. Accurately represent YHWH's menorah to friends and family by using the dimensions he laid out.

-Exploring the historic facts around the Maccabean revolt. And asking some hard questions about the oil, the priesthood/kingship the Maccabees established, and historic facts about the beginning of Hanukkah. Did you know the Pharisees actually started as a protest against the Maccabees? There's a lot to learn here!

So there you have my thoughts on Hanukkah. My goal is never to tell anyone what to do, but since I get asked this a lot I decided to share. I hope this helps to clear up any confusion!

Related posts:
Five Things Every Believer Should Know About Christmas
Why Hanukkah is Not a Biblical Holiday
Why I Stopped Celebrating Christmas