The Lord’s Day Dr. Paul Dhinakaran

“… keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors” (Jeremiah 17:22)
Sabbath day is the day of rest, ordained by God Himself for His people to focus on Him.  The neglect of which will result in impoverished soul. Your soul is fashioned by God to depend and focus on His beauty and glory.  So, keep your soul free of burdens because you have a burden-bearer Jesus Christ who cares for you.  The Bible says, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).  Yes! Obeying His commandments is the source of all blessings.

Many years ago, we had been to Singapore for a prayer meeting. There we went to a shopping mall named C. K. Tang. It was magnificent to see the shops glowing in light and filled with people. The founder of the mall, Tang Choon Keng, came from China with nothing in his hand. After he reached Singapore, he started his business on a small scale. After some days, he became very sick. He was brought to a church. There he got to know about the love of Lord Jesus and gave his life into the hands of Jesus. After that incident, the Lord came into his heart and healed him of his sickness. God slowly lifted him up in his business too. God made him build a shopping mall in the centre of the city. Though the mall was crowded with people irrespective of the high prices, they made sure it was closed on all Sundays. All the other shopping malls remain open on Sundays.  Tang Choon Keng justified his decision and said, “C.K.Tang will remain closed on Sundays. Whatever may be the loss, I want to be truthful to God. I need to praise the Lord, for He is the One who lifted me up.”

Yes, you need to take time to glorify the One who enables you to produce wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18).  The beautiful thing about the Sabbath is that God instituted it as a weekly reminder of two things. One is that all true blessing comes from His grace and not from our labour. The other is that we should honour Him by giving our special attention to Him on that day. So, “…keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors” (Jeremiah 17:22).  Our mind should rest on the El-Shaddai and glorify Him at all times. So, cease from your labor and focus on the Almighty God.  The measure of your love for God is the measure of the joy you get in focusing on Him on the day of rest. When you put the Lord first, the Lord too will keep you first in all things you do. He will bless you and will not add sorrow to your riches as promised by Him.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,

You are the One who enables me to produce wealth.  I thank You for the wisdom and strength You have given me. Help me to honour You with my riches and time.  Help me to honour You by giving all my focus on You. Let not my mind rest on the wealth but on You.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.