Is Saturday the Sabbath?

        The late preacher and writer, J. Vernon McGee, once told of a man who came to him and said, “I’ll give you $100 if you will show me where the Sabbath day has been changed.” 

McGee replied, “I don’t think it has been changed. Saturday is Saturday, it is the seventh day of the week, and it is the Sabbath day. I realize our calendar has been adjusted, and can be off a few days, but we won’t even consider that point. The seventh day is still Saturday, and it is still the Sabbath day.” 

The gentleman, with a little mirth, next asked, “Then why don’t you keep the Sabbath day if it hasn’t been changed?” 

McGee answered, “The DAY hasn’t changed, but I have been changed. I’ve been given a new nature now, I am joined to Christ; I am a part of the new creation. We celebrate the first day because that is the day He rose from the grave.” 

I have been at work in Hebrews the last few months preparing for a preaching series. While I resist the temptation to reinstate the old Sunday “blue laws,” I do believe that we hurt ourselves by trying to cram so much into our Sundays. 

The preacher who wrote Hebrews tries to encourage a discouraged people. His number one application is this—you guys need to be assembling together on Sundays.

After that, the more we can set aside for physical, emotional, and spiritual rest, the more blessing will be a byproduct. Scripture does not tell us God will condemn us if we don’t, but it will be our loss.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Something caught my eye the other day. Somebody wrote, “When you are doing something that someone else on your staff could do 80% as well, you are probably wasting your time. Learning to delegate effectively is even more important in determining the size of your contribution in life than your native intelligence.”

            I think whoever wrote this is right.

2. Just when you think Tim Tebow is done, he comes back and amazes you. What a game against Pittsburgh! Considering Denver’s defense (excellent), and New England’s defense (horrible), I would not put it past Denver to defeat New England on Saturday night.

3. It was hard for me to get excited about last night's game. I looked for LSU to defeat Alabama again. This was an amazing and interesting team from LSU. Yet, Alabama's performance was staggering last night. Considering the quality of LSU athletes, Alabama's defensive performance was perhaps the greatest of all time. Furthermore, the entire Alabama team received only one penalty all night--late in the second half. Is any other team more well-coached than Alabama? I hold no affection for Nick Saban, but I admire him.

4. I’ve never before watched a Muppet movie. I’ve never even watched the TV show for more than a few minutes. Last week I took Annie and Abby to see the recently released movie—THE MUPPETS. I really liked it—funny, heartwarming, nostalgic, witty, and clever.

5. My nine-year-old son, Timothy, got a Red Ryder BB gun from his grandad over the holidays. Consider this your warning. :)