Six Reasons Why Believers Should Keep the Sabbath

Keeping the Sabbath day is the only one of the ten commandments that is widely ignored by believers today. But the Bible says we should be resting on the seventh day and using that as an opportunity to worship God. This instruction hasn't been done away with; we will see that New Testament believers continued on with honoring the Sabbath, even after the Messiah's death and ascension into heaven. Let's look at a few more reasons why all believers are still called to keep the Sabbath.

Reasons believers should keep the Sabbath:

1. Scripture tells us to. We could stop the list right here and call it good, because if our Creator tells us to do something then we should, plain and simple. Honoring the Sabbath day is one of the ten commandments (Exodus 20:10), as I'm sure you've heard before these are commandments, not suggestions or principles. We are accountable for our decisions, and there are consequences to choosing to honor or ignore something that Scripture says.

2. YHWH himself rested on the Sabbath. One of the first things that Scripture tells us in Genesis 2, is that YHWH rested on the seventh day. It wasn't because he didn't have anything left to do, and it wasn't because he physically needed rest. I think there is a significance here that we miss, when the Creator literally set the example for us. Genesis 2:3 says that YHWH blessed the seventh day and set it apart because that's when he rested from his work. If he did it, we should too.

3. The Messiah kept the Sabbath. The authors of the Gospels made it plain that Yahusha honored and rested on the Sabbath day. And he always spoke of it highly! Are we followers of him and his ways? 1 John 2:6 says that if we are then we should live as he did! Observing Shabbat is a practical way to do that, no matter where or when we live. We should work to follow the Messiah's example.

4. New Testament believers kept the Sabbath after the resurrection and ascension of Messiah. Those that spoke with and walked with the Messiah continued to honor this commandment, even after he ascended from the earth. These were people that were obedient to the Messiah even unto torture and death, if he had told them to stop resting on the Sabbath then I'm sure they would have. But they kept on following his example in this manner, and not one of them ever suggested they wanted that to change or that we should do things differently.

5. Because you're busy. I know many of you are thinking that you're way too busy to set aside 1/7 of the week for rest and worship. Hear this though: you're too busy, not to do this! Life will always be pulling at you from a million different directions; it's time to take a stand against that. I think every Sabbath keeper I know would agree with me when I say that I accomplish a lot more now that I keep the Sabbath. Resting one day of the week helps me to have more energy and use my time better. If I'm not willing to keep this instruction from Scripture, that holds me back from living the abundant life that he has for me...because I'm too exhausted and overwhelmed from not letting myself rest to enjoy his fullness.

6. Your soul needs this. Do you want more peace in your life? Do you find yourself aching in need of refreshment? Are you weary and burdened? Is joy hard to find? Are you struggling with your faith or with not feeling close in your relationship with the Messiah? Do you feel like there has to be more to life? Sabbath rest helps with all of that an so much more. It's time to stop believing the lie that Sabbath keeping is too hard or not for us or a burden. It is none of those things. I'm closing in on a decade of Sabbath observance and it is joy, freedom, refreshment, and peace. You owe it to yourself and your family to walk in this gift from our Creator.

Want to learn more about the Sabbath?
Here are fifteen things Scripture says about it.
This is what the Messiah taught about Shabbat.
And why I started keeping Shabbat.

Hebrew Holiday Dates 2020 + Printable

Here are the 2020 Hebrew holiday dates! As usual, I'm providing a free printable so you can stick it in your planner, take it work, put it on the fridge, or whatever else you need to do to make sure that you'll be free to celebrate the special times of our Creator. All of these holidays are significant, and some of them are called Sabbaths in Scripture, which means we are instructed not to do any work on those days. I've made note of those so that you can plan accordingly. You can read more about no-work days here.

There are several different calendars out there for celebrating the feasts, and once again I'm giving you two sets of dates. My goal is not to convince you of one over the other (or even necessarily either of these), but to encourage you to pick a calendar to use so that you can honor Scripture's set apart times to the best of your ability. As always, pray about how you should live and be willing to make changes and adjustments as your faith grows.

Traditional calendar:

The traditional calendar has days going from sundown to sundown. Holidays start at sundown on the day listed. For example, Passover starts at sundown on April 9 and ends at sundown on April 10. The traditional calendar also gives an extra day for Shavuot and Yom Teruah, though Scripture treats both as one-day holidays.

Passover - April 8-9
Feast of Matzah - April 9-16
First Fruits - April 11-12
Shavuot - May 28-30
Yom Teruah - September 18-20
Yom Kippur - September 27-28
Sukkot - October 2-10


No work days:
First day of Matzah Week - April 9-10
Last day of Matzah Week - April 15-16
Shavuot - May 28-30
Yom Teruah - September 18-20
Yom Kippur - September 27-28
First day of Sukkot - October 2-3
Last day of Sukkot - October 9-10

Click here to download the traditional calendar Hebrew holiday dates.

Torah to the Tribes' calendar:

This calendar uses daylight to daylight dates. This means Passover starts at daybreak on April 2 and ends at daybreak on April 3.

Passover - April 2
Feast of Matzah - April 3-9
First Fruits - April 5
Shavuot - May 24
Yom Teruah - September 16
Yom Kippur - September 25
Sukkot - September 30 - October 7

No work days:
First day of Matzah Week - April 3
Last day of Matzah Week - April 9
Shavuot - May 24
Yom Teruah - September 16
Yom Kippur - September 25
First day of Sukkot - September 30
Last day of Sukkot - October 7

Click here to download the Hebrew holiday dates from Torah to the Tribes.

Start planning to keep the Feasts this year!

Biblical Instructions: Have To or Get To?

If there's a line I've heard more in faith discussions I can't think of it. "We don't have to do that anymore," gets blurted out at the mention of Biblically clean eating, celebrating the set apart times, and honoring the Sabbath day. It's usually followed up with some sort of explanation about how, yeah, those poor people in the Old Testament really had to do a lot of stuff, but the Messiah came to set us free from that.

Call me crazy, but I think the Messiah had something a little more significant in mind than freeing up our Saturday schedules for his time in the flesh. He didn't teach that we can eat anything we want. And I can't think of any of his parables that might lead us to believe he wanted to revamp the holiday seasons. (Changing the set apart times is something Scripture mentions the anti-Messiah will do though - see Daniel 7:25.) He called himself a shepherd, and whenever he talked about sheep his message was that he would seek them out to bring them back into his flock. He told no stories where he set them free to do whatever they wanted.

I know when most people tell me, "We don't have to do that anymore," they are just regurgitating what they've heard many pastors and believers say. Rarely, if ever, does this statement come from who has significantly studied these topics themselves. But I think what this boils down to is not trusting in the character and nature of YHWH.

A friend of mine is married to a man who used to be very abusive. Thankfully, he has found a lot of healing and their lives have changed significantly. She is no longer not allowed to leave their home or use the phone without telling him. She doesn't have to do those things anymore. But before she did because her husband was then unhealthy and mean. Have you ever heard someone say the God of New Testament is different than the God of the Old? Do you think the Creator was just a cruel taskmaster until the Messiah finally calmed him down?

YHWH stays the same. He is filled with loving kindness. He hears our cries and has mercy on us. Our names are written on his hands. He loves us and has good plans for us. And that's how has always been. He didn't change from an angry and uptight character to a more laid back one in that page between the Old and New Testaments. He has always been the same.

If we believe that he is good today, then we have to believe that he was good yesterday and at the beginning. And if we believe he has always been good then it only makes sense to believe that the instructions he has given us have been for good reason.

While I strongly believe that we are commanded to do things like celebrate his set apart times, observe the Sabbath, and follow his dietary instructions, I don't do those things "because I have to." I get to do those things! I am privileged to have instructions from the Living God on how to live.

Related posts:
Keeping the Law: Ten Commandments as Marriage Vows

King David's Final Advice
Traffic and Laws: The Benefits of Scripture's Instructions

The Christmas Question - Interview with Kayte Abaffy

Let's talk Christmas! Kayte and Luke, the husband and wife duo behind The Way documentary have teamed up with 119 Ministries to create an eye-opening new documentary - The Christmas Question. 

Have you ever wondered why the Messiah's birth gets celebrated on a date the Bible doesn't specify? Or wondered what evergreen trees have to do with his birth? Maybe your kids have asked why Santa comes down the chimney? Did you know that Christmas used to be illegal in the United States? Or maybe you've found yourself wondering if these traditions matter to the Living God? In The Christmas Question, Kayte and Luke travel around the world to talk to experts to find answers!

I enjoyed the documentary so much and I'm excited for you to see it too! During the holiday season I like to remind myself of why I no longer take part in the traditions I once loved, and The Christmas Question definitely brought fresh conviction! While hearing from the experts was educational (I especially enjoyed Dr. Philipp Nothaft), my favorite was hearing from believers, such as sisters Michelle Glasgow and Kay Smith, and Abraham and Jane Lockwood, about their own experiences with starting to question Christmas traditions. If you feel like you're alone in your convictions, hearing from them will be so refreshing!

Fellow Christmas-questioners, Abraham and Jane.

That said, this film is really made for believers who do celebrate Christmas. And it does an awesome job of asking thought-provoking questions, and then shedding the light of historical truth about where Christmas traditions - and even the idea of celebrating it - come from. I loved that they decided to stick to facts supported by history! There are a lot of pretty wild hypotheses out there about some Christmas traditions, and while those aren't necessarily wrong, it's easy for people to wholesale write-off any problems with Christmas when others say things that can't be proven. The format they chose is clear, and leaves less room for doubt or arguing. Yay for that!

I don't want to give too much away, but there are a couple of quotes I want you to hear from the movie:

"I find it amusing when people say, 'put Christ back in Christmas,' because if you are Christian and you really do want to follow the teachings of Jesus then, yeah, it probably doesn't make much sense to have all of these pagan things that represent fertility because that's not really about the birth of Jesus." -Scarlet Ravenswood, tarot reader and solitary witch

"On comparing the Christian calendar with the pagan one, it is impossible not to be struck by the great concordance between the two." -John Calvin, A Treatise on Relics

"For people that just want to say that it doesn't come from pagan origins, my opinion on that is you're just turning a blind eye to what history has told us. ....When we deny that these origins exist we actually do a disservice to Christian intellect." -Dr. Jonathan Smith, resident minister at Convocation of Anglicans in North America

"Where in Scripture do we find that the Father redeems anything from a pagan god's worship and redeemed it for himself? I don't see that anywhere in Scripture." -Michelle Glasgow

Are you eager to check it out? You don't have to wait because it's completely free to watch online! I'm totally pumped about that, because I know those who are curious are going to be way more likely to watch something without a cost. Who wants to pay $14.99 to find out their favorite holiday isn't the best? But if it's free your curiosity just might get the best of you. Thank you to those of you that supported the making of the film because many more people will be reached this way. You can watch The Christmas Question here.

Streaming not your thing? Would you like a hard-copy to share with a friend or add to your congregation's library? Want to support Kayte and Luke so they can keep making amazing documentaries? DVDs are available for purchase here.

Norse mythology and religious history expert, Maria Kvilhaug.

Kayte and I were able to connect, and she was kind enough to share with us some of their experiences with making the documentary, as well as their own experiences with how to handle the Christmas season now!

Land of Honey: What inspired you to make this documentary?

Kayte: 119 Ministries reached out to us about making this film. A few years back, we'd traveled to Costa Rica to interview Jon Sherman for The Way documentary and that's how we met. 119 Ministries had an incredibly impactful video called Sunburned that they wanted to redo in a new format. They wanted to make a documentary, to look at Christmas' history in the most journalistically sound way possible, and to forgo including any ideas that might be speculative in nature in the discussion.

So that's where we came in. We prayed about our involvement and thought about whether we felt we could add something helpful to the discussion on Christmas - and when we felt like we had the go-ahead, we dove in!

The aim of the film is to get to the bottom of why Christians celebrate Christ's birth in certain ways, and then to help the audience examine whether Christmas and its traditions pass the test of worshipping our Creator in both spirit and truth.

Can you tell us some the places you went while filming?

Fortunately, we were able to secure interviews with some of the world's preeminent scholars on all kinds of topics related to Christmas - and many of those people are in Europe. We ended up traveling to seven countries make the doc - England, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Canada, and all over the US. 

You can learn more about everyone we interviewed here.

Did you learn anything about Christmas that surprised you in the process of making the film?

Oh man! There are a weird factoids about mistletoe and strange legends about St. Nick and why Santa comes down the chimney instead of through the front door! And there's a lot that I've learned about the date, December 25th and what was happening on that day, long before anyone ever celebrated Christmas.

Another truth that's been highlighted in this process is that the word Christmas means a lot of different things to different people. It's loaded, like the word "religion." When some people say Christmas, they're conjuring up images of time spent with family reading the nativity story in the Bible, sitting around the tree. Christmas for them is synonymous with the Christ's birth and family time. Other people picture hoards of insane shoppers trampling each other and all of the stress and commercialism of the season. Other people are thinking about how amazing it is that during this one season, strangers are all of a sudden so much more kind! Others think of pagan sun god worship! ...And some are just thinking about Home Alone.

Acknowledging where a person's coming from can make our conversations so much more fruitful.

One of my favorite parts was hearing from this panel of believers!

Has the journey of this film stretched or challenged your faith at all?

The biggest challenge is just remembering to stay prayerful through the process. Remembering to pray first when there's some inexplicable tech glitch and the audio file won't transfer to the sound engineer. Remembering (during the process) that God already sees what the project will be when it's completed and having faith that He'll help us get there... because it's tricky work at times with what feels like millions of decisions to make. 

The release of the film has been a little nuts with some strange hiccups! We were definitely tested this past Shabbat, when things were going wrong with the film's release and we were pushing up against Shabbat starting. When you've promised something and haven't quite delivered yet AND have to stop working because it's time to rest - that's a hard one. But we've learned and continued to learn that obedience to God first is always the right answer. We can't lean on our own understanding - we have to keep Him first. 

What has your personal experience been like walking away from Christmas? 

Christmas used to be my favorite! So having Christmas become just a normal day was faintly weird at first, haha. It's an interesting sensation, having what feels like the whole world celebrating Christmas, in every store you step into and on every street you walk down...and knowing you're not doing those things. And on the flipside, it's also been funny, celebrating, say Sukkot, and having the Amazon Prime delievery guy wonder why you're camping out and cooking breakfast over an open fire in your own yard. (I would have told him, but he left too quickly!) 

Sidenote: some "Christmas" carols are still wonderful songs to sing, I think. They have such beautiful messages about the Savior's birth! And if anything, that's something we can all celebrate. I tend to sing them during Sukkot instead...or just any time :) As a new mama, it's kind of exciting and also a big responsibility to create wonderful new family traditions around our new special days. That's part of why I love Land of Honey! You have so many fun ideas for building a festive atmosphere from scratch.

How have you been able to share the changes you've made with no longer celebrating Christmas with friends and family?

I think it's really helpful to focus on the positive when talking to friends and family about why you no longer celebrate Christmas. I've heard so many people say, "We don't celebrate Christmas!" Period. End of sentence. It's so abrupt! Haha And when we say that, the person we're speaking to might be hearing, "We don't care that God sent His Son to live among us and die for our sins." ...which of course is not what we want to convey!

It's so important for people to understand that it's not the facts of his birth that you're avoiding, it's the trappings that have snowballed around His birth. We've simply traded out Christmas for other (more Bible-based) ways of celebrating Him instead. 

Why not tell people that you've discovered the holidays God gives us in Leviticus 23 are chock full of beautiful symbols and traditions that all point to our Messiah and His life and ministry? Tell people how much of a blessing it's been to celebrate these special times. 

Do you have any tips for believers who are navigating away from celebrating Christmas? 

When it feels hard, go back to why you're doing what you're doing. Go back to what you know for sure. Remind yourself of the truths that you've seen that you know it's impossible to un-see now. I always find that reassuring.

Where can we go to check out the movie and stay in touch with you guys?

You can watch The Christmas Question, for free, forever here on 119 Ministry's YouTube channel.

You can also buy hard copies and digital downloads of the move if you'd like special features (and the ability to watch the movie without being online). Just head to our website. 

More posts on Christmas:
Five Things Every Believer Should Know about Christmas
What CS Lewis Was Wrong about in the Chronicles of Narnia
Why Some Christians No Longer Celebrate Christmas