How May The Breach Be Repaired

D. Suresh Kumar

The spiritual restoration of which the work carried forward in Nehemiah's day was a symbol, is outlined in the words of Isaiah: "They shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities." "They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." Isaiah 61:4; 58:12.

1. Marriage -- "Marriage is honorable" Heb. 13:4.

God celebrated the first marriage. "Thus the institution has for its originator the Creator of the universe. ‘Marriage is honourable’; it was one of the first gifts of God to man, and it is one of the two institutions that, after the fall, Adam brought with him beyond the gates of Paradise. When the divine principles are recognized and obeyed in this relation, marriage is a blessing; it guards the purity and happiness of the race, it provides for man's social needs, it elevates the physical, the intellectual, and the moral nature." AH 25.

"God designs that the families of earth shall be a symbol of the family in heaven. Christian homes, established and conducted in accordance with God's plan, are among His most effective agencies for the formation of Christian character and for the advancement of His work." 6T 430.

2. The Sabbath – A Sign Between God And Man.

Eze.20:20. "And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I [am] the LORD your God."

Two Institutions Attacked.

Satan is attacking every divine institution so that the original work of God may lose its glory and holiness.

1. A Woman for the Man

"And the LORD God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." Gen. 2:18. Notice here, not a helpmeet, nor a helpmate, but – two words -- a help meet for him, that is, fit or suitable for him. Man’s companion or help was to correspond to him. Each was to be suited to the other. "And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." v.23.

2. They Two Became One

The formula of marriage is, Leave and Cleave. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Christ recognizes marriage as coming from God. He said, "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Mat. 19:6

Thus was the marriage institution ordained of God in Eden, before man sinned. Like the Sabbath it has come down to us with the Edenic dews of divine blessing still upon it. It was ordained not only for the purpose of peopling the earth and perpetuating the race, but to promote social order and human happiness; to transmit truth, purity and holiness from age to age. Around it cluster all the purest and truest joys of the home and the human race. When the divine principles in marriage are obeyed, marriage is a blessing. When they are disregarded, evils are sure to follow.

3. Marriage With an Unbeliever

Intermarriage with the ungodly was a great mistake made by the professed people of God. God did not like that. "Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." Due.7: 3,4. The apostle Paul reemphasizes that in 2 Cor 6:14-16, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." No Christian can marry an unbeliever without running a serious risk. Faith and domestic happiness can be maintained where both husband and wife are believers of same faith.

God established the marriage institution, and man for his perverted convenience invented divorce. A few things contribute to the weakening the sacred link:

More and more homes have, today, become permissive. God’s standards are given only lip service; there is a sad gap between profession and practice. Adults and youth often show loss of confidence in some of the basic religious beliefs.

Other gods have entered many homes. Personal devotion is sporadic; family worship is neglected or practiced mechanically, and, even where it is carried on, it seldom involves the whole family. If Bible study is held more frequently, it is an expression of personal need rather than a family endeavor. This points to another problem:

Loss of family cohesiveness is creeping into many families. Everyone is going his own way, doing his own thing. The most serious consequence is loss of confiding relationship. We have more money to spend but less time, less personal concern.

Another problem is the assimilation of the thinking and practice of society. And, as a consequence, families about us are in trouble, "trouble so deep and pervasive."

What are the problems of the home? Here are seven of the most significant ones:

a. Disintegration

b. Transition from a spinning wheel society to a steering wheel society.

To sum it up in one word: "Mobility" has transformed the household from an "extended" or "kinship" family to an "isolated" or "nuclear" family.

c. Woman’s changing roll

Her aspirations are now often focused outside the family; 45% of the American women are employed.

d. Affluence and materialism

The affluence of our society has made it easier for families to have more things, which has in turn created an appetite for still more things, thus demanding more income, more work, more family separation. The result is a society where families give one another things, instead of giving themselves.

         e. Weakened societal support for families

The battle today is not between children and parents; the battle is between society on the one side and the family on the other, and we’ve got to reorder things so that human values can again get some recognition.

f. Weakened moral values

Today many think sin is relative, if not fiction. Good and bad are determined by society rather than by unchanging moral standards. Good is dead; and a man who has left his father’s house to go alone is too proud to cry, too frail to check the tears, and is caught between two conditions -- night blindness and death. These are the problems of the home today.

g. Negative influence of the media

What does TV provide?

1. It provides an interpretation of life. A set of perceptions, a filter, through which life is subtly distorted.

2. It distorts vocations.

3. It cheapens love.

4. It conditions children to quick solutions.

5. It promotes disrespect for law and order.

6. It fosters vandalism and violence.

7. It arouses base emotions.

8. TV programs and Ads beamed at children encourage greed.

9. Cartoons and fiction introduce children to an unreal world.

Dear brethren, the purpose of Satan is to destroy the image of God in humanity. He is doing it by corrupting our interpretation of life, cheapening love, presenting phony families as a model, encouraging greed, freezing sound emotions, distorting our sense of reality, until at last we become insensitive both to the appeals of the Holy Spirit and to the needs of our fellow men.

Spend time with your children and your family. Listen to them.

Have you heard of a minister’s wife who dropped a visitor’s card into the offering plate of her husband’s church, requesting a visit from the minister? It is possible.

I am not condemning. I am remembering….

An incident puts me to think. John may have been four when he walked proudly into my office. I can still see his face, saying, "Look, Daddy, I am walking in your shoes."

"Uh-huh." I gave him a cursory nod, and continued my study.

" See, Daddy, I can walk in them," he said, approaching the desk.

"Uh-huh." Much stronger emphasis now. A more grimly determined punching of keys on the typewriter.

"What are you writing, Dad?" he asked.

"Nothing you would understand." A frown now. Irritation. On with the Lord’s work at sixty words a minute.

He stood beside the desk, quietly, for a few minutes. "Daddy, I will go to bed now." He shuffled out the door in my shoes. Poor me. I let him go, never hearing what he was really saying to me: "Dad, I need you. Don’t you have time for me, Dad? Don’t I matter to you?"

If we do not do the work of faithful parents, Satan will gladly undertake the work and train the child as it pleases him. And realize how much of this work is left to him!

"Nothing can excuse the minister for neglecting the inner circle for the larger circle outside. The spiritual welfare of his family comes first. In the day of final reckoning God will inquire what he did to win to Christ those whom he took the responsibility of bringing into the world. Great good done for others cannot cancel the debt that he owes to God to care for his own children." AH 353.

Every family should have its altar of prayer, realizing that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. "Fathers, mothers, you need to seek God morning and evening at the family altar, that you may learn how to teach your children wisely, tenderly, lovingly." CG 517. Family worship should not be ritualistic or formal. It should not be made tedious, monotonous or burdensome. The manner in which the family worship is conducted is very important. It should be made so pleasant that it will be looked forward to with gladness. As the saying goes, "The family that prays together stays together and live together."

We want to get to the hearts of our children, to hold them, and help them, and bless them, and take them to heaven with us. The home is the child’s first school, and it is here that the foundation should be laid for the life service.

The highest class of education is that which will give our children a knowledge and discipline that will foster in them the best development of character. Such an education will fit their souls for that life which measures with the life of God.

Deuteronomy 6:7 "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

"Such an education must be based upon the Word of God. Here only are its principles given in their fullness. The Bible should be made the foundation of study and of teaching. The essential knowledge is knowledge of God and of Him whom He has sent." CG 296.

1. Use gentle but persistent effort. To a great degree this will prevent those later conflicts between the authority of the parents and the will of the children, in whose minds alienation and bitterness toward their parents may arise. Three key words for correction are: "a loving look, a gentle touch, kind words."

2. Never allow arguments or evasions. The first care of the parents should be to establish good government in the family. The word of the parents should be the rule, precluding all arguments or evasions. "Your children, who are under your control, should be made to mind you. Your word should be their law." CG 87.

3. Children should be taught from infancy to implicitly obey their parents.

4. Permit no exceptions. "Disobedience must not be allowed. Sin lies at the door of the parents who allow their children to disobey." CG 85.

5. The requirements of the parents should always be reasonable. Kindness should be expressed, not by foolish indulgence, but by wise direction.

6. Reasons for obedience should be given.

A church within a church, a republic within republic, a world within a world, is spelled by four letters—‘H O M E’! If things go right there, they go right everywhere; if things go wrong there, they go wrong everywhere.

"The home is an institution of God. God designed that the family circle, father, mother, and children, should exist in this world as a firm. The work of making home happy does not rest upon the mother alone, fathers have an important part to act. The husband is the house-band of the home treasures, binding by his strong, earnest, devoted affection the members of the household, mother and children, together in the strongest bonds of union." AH 211. The wife is the mother and the queen of a happy H O M E.

"The fourth commandment has been trampled upon, therefore we are called upon to repair the breach in the law and plead for the desecrated Sabbath. The man of sin, who exalted himself above God, and thought to change times and laws, brought about the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. In doing this he made a breach in the law of God. Just prior to the great day of God, a message is sent forth to warn the people to come back to their allegiance to the law of God, which anti-Christ has broken down. Attention must be called to the breach in the law, by precept and example." LS 96.

The precious promises of Isaiah 58:12-14 apply to those who labor for the restoration of the true Sabbath. "The third angel proclaiming the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, (REVELATION 14:9-12), represents the people who receive this message, and raise the voice of warning to the world to keep the commandments of God and His law as the apple of the eye; and that in response to this warning, many would embrace the Sabbath of the Lord." Ibid.

The origin of the Sabbath. Our word "Sabbath" comes from the Hebrew word "Shabath", which means literally "to cease" from labor or activity. The first record of this word is found in Genesis 2:2, where we read that God "rested" on the seventh day. Actually, because God is omnipotent, He doesn't need to rest, so the original meaning "ceased" would be more appropriate. However, God didn't only cease from His work of creation on the Sabbath; we also read in Genesis 2:3 that God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. So the Sabbath was one of the first things taught to man on this earth.

Exo.20: 11. "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

By three distinct acts the Sabbath was instituted: God rested on it; He blessed it; He sanctified it. To sanctify means "to make it sacred or holy," "to consecrate, to set apart as sacred "

Mar.2: 27. "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

The necessary inference is that from the beginning man knew the primary use of the day and received the benefits, which it was designed to impart. The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This commandment begins with the word "remember," showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote His law on the tables of stone at Sinai.

The Sabbath is indispensable to man. It prompts his highest good, physically intellectually, spiritually and eternally. Hence its observance is connected with the best of promises, and its violation with the severest penalties. The Sabbath was a test in Israel. So it is today. It is the test of our loyalty to the commandment of God.

"The sign, or seal, of God is revealed in the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, the Lord's memorial of creation… The mark of the beast is the opposite of this--the observance of the first day of the week."--8T 117

2. Memorial of Deliverance and Redemption

Due. 5:15 " And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and [that] the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day."

The recollection of their bondage and oppressed condition in Egypt was to be to the Israelites an additional incentive for keeping the Sabbath in the land of freedom. The Sabbath therefore, besides being the memorial of creation, was to be to them a memorial of deliverance from bondage and of the great power of God manifested in their deliverance.

Eze. 20:12 "Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I [am] the LORD that sanctify them."

Sanctification is a work of redemption, of making holy sinful or unholy beings. Like the work of creation itself, sanctification requires creative power.

Psa. 51:10 " Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

Joh. 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Joh 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

Eph. 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Sodom and Egypt were noted for sin and cruelty. So, as Sabbath was the memorial of deliverance from Egypt (Deu. 5:15), it is also a sign of deliverance from the bondage of sin.

The Sabbath is the memorial of creation. God designed that through keeping it man should forever remember Him as the true and living God, the creator of all things. "The importance of the Sabbath as the memorial of creation is that it keeps ever present the true reason why worship is due to God, because he is the Creator, and we his creatures. The Sabbath therefore lies at the very foundation of divine worship; for it teaches this great truth in the most impressive manner, and no other institution does this." GC 437-438. The Sabbath is synonymous with true conversion. It is a memorial of God’s creative power in our life. If we do not have his experience we cannot keep the Sabbath properly.

Why Remember? "At the very beginning of the fourth commandment the Lord said, ‘Remember.’ He knew that amid the multitude of cares and perplexities man would be tempted to excuse himself from meeting the full requirement of the law, or would forget its sacred importance. Therefore He said: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’ Exodus 20:8." Vol. 6, Testimonies for the Church, p. 353:3.

"As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God". DA 283.

What should we then do?

We as reformers ought to be restorers and repairers. Isa 58:12. What is the breach that was made? Doing our own pleasure on Sabbath. Isa. 58:13. Because of the disregard of this commandment, the people are restless. Jesus calls them to find rest. Mat. 11:28

There is need of a Sabbath reform among us, who profess to observe God's holy rest day. Some discuss their business matters and lay plans on the Sabbath, and God looks upon this in the same light as though they engaged in the actual transaction of business.

We should give careful instruction as to the proper observance of the Sabbath. The line of demarcation is to be made clear and distinct between those who bear the mark of God’s kingdom and those who bear the sign of the kingdom of rebellion. "Far more sacredness is attached to the Sabbath than is given it by many professed Sabbath-keepers. The Lord has been greatly dishonored by those who have not kept the Sabbath according to the commandment, either in the letter or in the spirit. He calls for a reform in the observance of the Sabbath." Vol. 6, Testimonies for the Church, p. 353:1,2

The Sabbath is to be on our minds all through the week. All through the week we are to have the Sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandment.

Six days of work and the seventh day rest is the proper combination. Exodus 20:9. Many do not realize the importance attached to the first part of this commandment. If one would break the first part he cannot keep the Sabbath properly.

Sabbath is kept from the evening of the end of the sixth day till the next evening. Genesis 1:31 (1:5,8,13,19,23); Nehemiah 13:19.

The sixth day is the Preparation Day. Mark 15:42. All cooking is done on this day (baking and boiling) Exodus 16:22,23.

What is to be done on the preparation day—Friday? "While preparation for the Sabbath is to be made all through the week, Friday is to be the special preparation day. Through Moses the Lord said to the children of Israel: ‘Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.’ ‘And the people went about, and gathered it [the manna], and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it.’ Exodus 16:23. Numbers 11:8. There was something to be done in preparing the heaven-sent bread for the children of Israel. The Lord told them that this work must be done on Friday, the preparation day. This was a test to them. God desired to see whether or not they would keep the Sabbath holy." Vol. 6, Testimonies for the Church, pp. 354-355.

Specific things to be done. "On Friday let the preparation for the Sabbath be completed. See that all the clothing is in readiness and that all the cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked and the baths be taken. It is possible to do this. If you make it a rule you can do it. The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing of garments, to the cooking of food, to pleasure seeking, or to any other worldly employment. Before the setting of the sun let all secular work be laid aside and all secular papers be put out of sight. Parents, explain your work and its purpose to your children, and let them share in your preparation to keep the Sabbath according to the commandment." Vol. 6, Testimonies for the Church, pp. 355-356. Then, around the family altar all should wait to welcome God’s holy day as they would watch for the coming of a dear friend.

Even shaving should be done on the preparation day: "The violation of the fourth commandment is not confined to the preparation of food. Many carelessly put off blacking their boots, and shaving, until after the beginning of the Sabbath. This should not be. If any neglect to do such work on a working day, they should have respect enough for God’s holy time to let their beards remain unshaven, their boots rough and brown, until the Sabbath is past. This might help their memory, and make them more careful to do their own work on the six working days." Signs of the Times, Vol. 1, p. 303 II:5 (May 25, 1882).

Resolve all differences. "There is another work that should receive attention on the preparation day. On this day all differences between brethren, whether in the family or in the church, should be put away. Let all bitterness and wrath and malice be expelled from the soul. In a humble spirit ‘confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.’ James 5:16." Vol. 6, Testimonies for the Church, p. 356.

"The Lord is no less particular now in regard to his Sabbath, than when he gave the foregoing special directions to the children of Israel. He required them to bake that which they would bake, and seethe (that is, boil) that which they would seethe, on the sixth day, preparatory to the rest of the Sabbath. Those who neglect to prepare for the Sabbath on the sixth day, and who cook food upon the Sabbath, violate the fourth commandment, and are transgressors of God’s law." Vol. 1, Spirit of Prophecy, pp. 225-226.

Temporal things are not to encroach upon the spiritual. "When the Sabbath is thus remembered, the temporal will not be allowed to encroach upon the spiritual. No duty pertaining to the six working days will be left for the Sabbath. During the week our energies will not be so exhausted in temporal labor that on the day when the Lord rested and was refreshed we shall be too weary to engage in His service." Vol. 6, Testimonies for the Church, p. 354:3.

How to appear before God on the Sabbath ? "Many need instruction as to how they should appear in the assembly for worship on the Sabbath. They are not to enter the presence of God in the common clothing worn during the week. All should have a special Sabbath suit, to be worn when attending service in God’s house. While we should not conform to worldly fashions, we are not to be indifferent in regard to our outward appearance. We are to be neat and trim, though without adornment. The children of God should be pure within and without." Vol. 6, Testimonies for the Church, p. 355:2. God is insulted if we come in His presence with unclean bodies and unclean clothes. Exodus 19:10, 11;

"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." DA 207.

1. No cooking . Exodus 16:23.

2. Associated with this was no fire kindling. Exodus 35:2,3.

3. And no stick gathering. Numbers 15:32-36.

"Soon after the return into the wilderness, an instance of Sabbath violation occurred, under circumstances that rendered it a case of peculiar guilt. The Lord’s announcement that He would disinherit Israel had roused a spirit of rebellion. One of the people, angry at being excluded from Canaan, and determined to show his defiance of God’s law, ventured upon the open transgression of the fourth commandment by going out to gather sticks upon the Sabbath. During the sojourn in the wilderness the kindling of fires upon the seventh day had been strictly prohibited. The prohibition was not to extend to the land of Canaan, where the severity of the climate would often render fires a necessity; but in the wilderness, fire was not needed for warmth. The act of this man was a willful and deliberate violation of the fourth commandment—a sin, not of thoughtlessness or ignorance, but of presumption." Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 408-409.

4. No work at all. Exodus 20:10; 31:14.

Even during very important work periods. Exodus 34:21.

No business operations whatever. Nehemiah 10:31; 13:15-22.

5. No burden bearing. Jeremiah 17:21, 22.

6. No unnecessary traveling.

"In harmony with the light which the Lord has given in regard to the observance of the Sabbath, we should be more careful about traveling on the boats or cars on this day. In these matters we should set a right example before our children and youth. In order to reach the churches that need our help, and to give them the message that God desires them to hear, it may be necessary for us to travel on the Sabbath; but so afar as possible we should secure our tickets and make all necessary arrangements on some other day. When starting on a journey we should make every possible effort to plan so as to avoid reaching our destination on the Sabbath.…When compelled to travel on the Sabbath we should try to avoid the company of those who would draw our attention to worldly things. We should keep our minds stayed upon God and commune with Him. Whenever there is opportunity we should speak to others in regard to the truth. We should always be ready to relieve suffering and to help those in need. In such cases God desires that the knowledge and wisdom He has given us should be put to use. But we should not talk about matters of business or engage in any common, worldly conversation. At all times and in all places God requires us to prove our loyalty to Him by honoring the Sabbath." Vol. 6, Testimonies for the Church, p. 359-360.

7. Not our own words, pleasures, thoughts. Isaiah 58:13.

1.To build the old waste places—Isaiah 58:12, 13.

2. To enjoy the Sabbath to the full—delight. Isaiah 58:12, 14.

Because it was made for man’s benefit. Mark 2:27, 28.

Man was created before the Sabbath. Genesis 1:26-28; 2:1-3.

A person cannot enjoy the Sabbath to the fullest if he spends most of the time in bed. "Let not the precious hours of the Sabbath be wasted in bed. On Sabbath morning the family should be astir early. If they rise late, there is confusion and bustle in preparing for breakfast and Sabbath school. There is hurrying, jostling, and impatience. Thus unholy feelings come into the home. The Sabbath, thus desecrated, becomes a weariness, and its coming is dreaded rather than loved." Vol. 6, Testimonies for the Church, p. 357:1.

3.To gather together with like believers— a holy convocation. Leviticus 23:3 (Luke 4:16) Acts 15:21; Hebrews 10:24,25.

4.To do good (that which is necessary and lawful). Matthew 12:10-13; (Mark 3:1-5; Luke 6:6-10; 13:11-17; 14:16; John 5:1-9.)

"There will always be duties which have to be performed on the Sabbath for the relief of suffering humanity. This is right, and in accordance with the law of Him who says, ‘I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.’ But there is danger of falling into carelessness on this point, and of doing that which it is not positively essential to do on the Sabbath." Medical Ministry, p. 50:1.

Ordinary treatment and operations are to be deferred till the next day.

Physicians and nurses are to do no unnecessary work. "Ordinary treatment, and operations that can wait, should be deferred till the next day. Let the patients know that physicians must have one day for rest. The Lord say, ‘Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations.’ Exodus 31:13." Medical Ministry, p. 214:3.

"Physicians need to cultivate a spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice. It may be necessary to devote even the hours of the holy Sabbath to the relief of suffering humanity. But the fee for such labor should be put into the treasury of the Lord, to be used for the worthy poor, who need medical skill but cannot afford to pay for it." Medical Ministry, p. 216:2.

5. To Read the Scripture. Acts 13:27.

6. To be communion with God and in contact with nature. Acts 16:13; Exodus 20:8-11.

The Sabbath school and the meeting for worship occupy only a part of the Sabbath. "The portion remaining to the family may be made the most sacred and precious season of all the Sabbath hours. Much of this time parents should spend with their children. In many families the younger children are left to themselves to find entertainment as best they can. Left alone, the children soon become restless and begin to play or engage in some kind of mischief. Thus the Sabbath has to them no sacred significance." Vol. 6 Testimonies for the Church, p. 358.

In order to keep the Sabbath holy, it is not necessary that we enclose ourselves within walls, shut away from the beautiful scenes of nature and from the free, invigorating air of heaven. "During a portion of the day, all should have an opportunity to be out of doors. In pleasant weather; let parents walk with their children in the fields and groves. Amid the beautiful things of nature tell them the reason for the institution of the Sabbath. Describe to them God’s great work of creation." Vol. 6 Testimonies for the Church, p. 358.

"Those who would have the seal of God in their foreheads must keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. This is what distinguishes them from the disloyal, who have accepted a man-made institution in the place of the true Sabbath. The observance of God’s rest day is the mark of distinction between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not (MS 27, 1899)." S.D.A. Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 970. When the people of God are sealed in their foreheads, they are settled into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved.

May God help us to be settled in the truth, to be repairers of the breach and restorers of paths, and to be fitted for the receiving of the Holy Spirit. It is our duty and responsibility today to restore all the original institutions of God. These are "the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." Acts 3:21