Day 24: Transformed By Truth

Question to Consider: What has God already told me in his Word that I haven't started doing yet?

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
-John 13: 17

There are probably several examples that I can use to answer this question, but there is one thing that has stood out in my mind for a while that I haven't started doing yet. If you have ears and eyes that work, you've probably either heard or seen all the opinions over observing Christmas. No, my post isn't going to be over whether or not you should say "Merry Christmas" or "Seasons Greetings" or whether Christmas Trees should be called Holiday Trees. I will say this...

"Why are we so concerned with what everyone else is doing?"

My concern is not how I greet people and what decorations I hang for the world to see, but how I OBSERVE certain days. God says to do these things in remembrance of me...not for the benefit of people.

For a while, I've been researching the observance of new moons. As with most everything these days, there are different opinions as to how or if new moons should be observed. I cannot find anything in the Bible that tells how I should observe the new moon in these days. Obviously, if I observe the new moon like they did in the Old Testament by burning sacrifices, I'd have PETA after me. That made me start thinking about how I observe other days, such as the Sabbath.

Traditionally, from what I can gather, some of the ways that special days were observed were by having feasts or special meals, meditation, prayer and fellowship. I'm sure there are many ways, but these are things that I can do in observance of special days.

What I have been doing to observe the Sabbath is simply going to church and relaxing during the time I am at home. Of course, the relaxing part doesn't come easy. I usually end up washing clothes and getting housework done for the coming week. What I'd like to start doing is preparing for the Sabbath by making sure my housework and the grocery shopping are done so I can relax without feeling guilty that those things aren't done yet. Also, I'd like to take more time in deciding what kind of meal to prepare.

The next new moon is still a few weeks away, but I will be spending some time thinking of how I can observe that day. So far, I plan on making a special meal (nothing too extravagant) and spending more time praying and meditating than I normally do.