| WEDNESDAY | May 20 |
Modeling Sabbath Rest to the World
Read Isaiah 58:12-14. What principles can we take away from these verses about Sabbath keeping that help us better experience the blessings God has for us if we remember the Sabbath properly?
It is an extremely unfortunate reality: Many Adventists do not truly enjoy God's Sabbath. Some remember with utter frustration the ways in which the Sabbath was kept in their parental home. Even in Adventist institutions, Sabbath keeping can leave much to be desired. Rules and regulations are supposed to ensure that the Sabbath is kept "holy." Some of these rules are based on biblical principles, but many have, in actual fact, more to do with tradition and culture than with a "thus says the Lord."
The Sabbath never must be a day mainly associated with prohibitions and restrictions. If we are looking for a model to follow, we must let ourselves be inspired by the example of Jesus.
Look carefully at the following passages and discover how Jesus, our ultimate Example, kept the seventh-day Sabbath "holy." Mark 2:23-3:6, Luke 4:16, 6:1-11. 
"Heaven's work never ceases, and men should never rest from doing good. The Sabbath is not intended to be a period of useless inactivity. The law forbids secular labor on the rest day of the Lord; the toil that gains a livelihood must cease; no labor for worldly pleasure or profit is lawful upon that day; but as God ceased His labor of creating, and rested upon the Sabbath and blessed it, so man is to leave the occupations of his daily life, and devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds. The work of Christ in healing the sick was in perfect accord with the law. It honored the Sabbath."—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 207.
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