What day was the first day?

"God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day." (Genesis 1:5)
"Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day." (Genesis 1: 14-19)

The evening and the morning were the first day. What time did evening begin? When is sunset? What day of the week was the first day?

From my perspective, in current times, Saturday is considered the seventh day and Sunday the first day. But that isn't true everywhere. What is Saturday and Day 7 here may be Friday or Sunday somewhere else. And then, of course, evening-morning was changed to morning-evening (12:01 a.m. to midnight) as Day 1. And the same calendar is not used by everyone.

Does it matter? Is it important? We won't know, not as long as we live in this world. The day we are ushered into the presence of our Lord, then, we may know. If its important to know. Worshipping and praising our Lord and Savior just may be more important than trivial pursuits of knowledge.

Show mercy and compassion

The Lord tells us (in Zechariah 7:9-10) to
"Execute true justice,
Show mercy (or lovingkindness) and compassion
Everyone to his brother.
Do not oppress the widow
or the fatherless,
The alien or the poor.
Let none of you plan evil in his heart
against his brother."

Verse 11 says,
"But they (the Hebrew people) refused to heed,
shrugged their shoulders,
and stopped their ears
so that they could not hear."

And so, as says in verse 13, "...I (the Lord) would not listen."

Who do you think your brother is .... ?
Who is the widow?
Who is the fatherless?
Who is the alien?
Who is the poor?

Do you, do we, are we any more obedient to God than the people of Old Testament times?

The 4th Commandment of the Lord

Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy

So, what is the Sabbath? when is the Sabbath? When do we observe the Sabbath? When and how do we keep the Sabbath holy? How does the 4th commandment relate to the other commandments?

These are my my own thoughts based on what I have gleaned from the Scriptures.

God's law is principally about faith. Listening, waiting for God's answer, earnest prayer, then following through. The Ten Commandments are instructions God gives us. We are to learn and pass it on. Learn what God says, teach others what God says. Not learning and teaching what we think, what others think. We will know when we wait on God, seek him earnestly in prayer. Our faith makes us whole.

"Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law." (Romans 3:31)

Without faith we can not understand all that God's law entails. We can not know the whys and wherefores, we can not fully comprehend, not even partially. Obeying the commandments, the law, without faith is of no use. Works alone gets you nowhere. Works do not make you righteous. If you're not righteous, you are not in right standing with God. You are unrighteous, unholy.

"Observe the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. ... And Jesus said to his disciples - The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. ... Therefore the Son of man is also Lord of the Sabbath." (taken from Exodus 20, 23, 31, Mark 2)

The Sabbath is a sign between God and believers throughout generations, that you - we may know that "I am the Lord who sanctifies you - consecrates, makes holy, cleanses? purifies? sets you apart? We are to keep the Sabbath therefore because it is holy to you. A day of rest and refreshment.

"One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day (such as the Sabbath), observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day to the Lord, he does not observe it." (Romans 14:5-6)

What day is the Sabbath? - the 7th day. But worship is not just one day a week - it's an everyday happening.

What does it mean, 'remember the Sabbath - keep it holy? "And God blessed the 7th day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation." (Genesis 2:3) It does not say He doesn't bless days 1 through 6 or that those days are not holy. Remember the Sabbath - a day of rest from work - keep it holy - reflect on the Lord, on all He is, all He has done.

The first day - the evening and the morning, sundown to sunrise - what day was the first day? When God created, days of the week were not established. There was no calendar. Where does it say day 1 is Sunday or day 7 is Saturday?

"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." (Genesis 2:2)

Again, as Jesus himself said, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

A corporate day of worship - be it Saturday or Sunday or some other day - we have no individual right to judge the reasonings thereof. In this day and age, how do we remember, observe? How do we keep it holy?

Stimulus money - how grateful are we?

Ah, what a break! The government says, or so we hear, if you file a 2007 income tax refund, you will get $600 back for an individual, $1200 for a married couple ..... It's what in the very fine print .... where it says you will get up to $600, up to $1200. ... where it says you might get $600 or $1200. It's not set in stone. There are all sorts of scenarios the government has set up. If you make this amount, of if your net income liability is less than another amount.

A married couple filing jointly may only get $600. A single individual may only get $300. Depends on how much income you brought in last year.

But look on the bright side .... no matter how much or how little the amount is, its still a gift ... we didn't earn it. ... Where is our graditude?

BIBLE TRUTHS

• When confrontation is necessary to resolve conflict, Christians are to confront in love in order to restore relationships.
• Christians are to take the necessary actions to be reconciled to others in a conflict situation.
• Disobeying God has immediate and longterm consequences, including boggind down in one's journey of faith.
• Jesus desires to forgive our past sins and directs us to live pure lives in the future.
• When Jesus transforms a person's life, no arguments can convince that person that his or her experience is not valid.
• Like a good shepherd, Jesus knows, sustains, and protects His sheep. He even sacrificed Himself for them.
• Even when situations seem hopeless and are irreversible, Jesus is able to help people through tragedies and restore hope to their lives.
• Jesus, the Messiah-King, died on the cross for our sins.
• Because Jesus rose from the dead, His followers are to tell others Jesus lives for them and that He ascended to God the Father for them.
• Jesus wants His followers to serve others humbly as He did.
• Those who love Jesus do what He tells them to do and produce fruit that lasts.
• Christians should anticipate the world's hating them, continue to testify of Jesus during times of persecution, and remain steadfast and faithful.
• Conflict situations provide opportunities to please and honor God.
• In a conflict situation, believers are to accept responsibility for their attitudes and actions that contribute to the conflict.
• God wants His people to obey Him and blesses those who diligently do so.
• The Lord is God, and His people are to remember He is God in their difficult times as well as in their good times.
• When believers come before God in worship, they should seize the opportunity to renew their devotion to Him.
• Believers demonstrate unity by supporting one another.
• God calls each of us to use the gifts and skills He gives us to serve the body of Christ.
• Because God's offer of salvation is for all people we are to share the gospel with all people and invite them to faith in Jesus Christ.