Do You Know What Day It Is?

I will admit at times I can be rather slow in catching on. It actually took me a number of years to come to realize the truth about how to number our days, literally. Most of us work five or six days and then we end our week on Sunday. If we can just make it to the weekend is what we say. However, Sunday is not the end of a week, it is the beginning of a brand new week.

There’s much that goes into why we have positioned ourselves into this day order confusion. Much of it is cultural because we are inundated with a 24x7 marketing campaign that promises fun, games, and relief for the weekend. However, when we see the day order in its proper perspective and understand the significance of the first day of the week, Sunday, it can radically change our outlook and our lives.

God gave the pattern in creation itself whenever He rested on the sixth day. That day was hallowed and for thousands of years the Jewish people have observed it. The pattern is a day given over to something other than the normal activities of life. When Jesus came on the scene He fulfilled the types and shadows reflected in the Old Covenant and instituted a New Day with His resurrection on the first day of the week. The early Church pattern for meeting is clearly established in New Testament writings as being the first day of the week.

What happens whenever we begin to start our week on Sunday instead of ending it? So much it’s hard to even explain the changes that take place in one’s viewpoint, orientation, and attitude. Add to this a commitment to honor God on this day by participating in worship, praise, and hearing from God through the presentation of His word and you have a completely different life, a different world view, and a different preparation for the rest of the week, that is, days 2 through 6.

It sounds simple but in my life this has had a profound impact. Instead of dragging myself up on Sunday morning, I go to bed Saturday night with an anticipation and expectation in looking forward to honoring God on the first day of the week. Does it change your schedules and how you manage your time? You better believe it does! It’s like every Sunday is a brand new page, a blank page, for a new day, a new opportunity, and a new week. Beginning that by honoring the Savior adds preparation and potential for the new things to be explored and encountered in the upcoming days.

This may sound like game playing with the calendar but it isn’t. It’s actually based on reality and regardless of the number of days one works, it’s still the same. If you have to work six days you will have a greater new six days whenever you honor God at the very beginning. You will not have missed out on anything because He has a way of providing all we need to function as He would have us to. I’m up at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning because I desire to be at my best whenever I arrive at the meeting place where God’s people assemble. Some might say I am a Church fanatic or I don’t have a life outside of my religious convictions. Jesus said the way to find true life is by giving up the one the world defines. I am well aware that even within our community of faith the majority drags in half awake on Sunday morning. It’s their loss. Some might have good reason but for most it’s nothing more than failing to appreciate the great privilege of starting a new day and a new week in a way that honors God and seeks His provision as we face life and all it brings.

This works for me. It will work for you. So next time someone asks you what you are doing for the weekend, tell them what you are doing Saturday, and then share what you will be doing to start the brand new week on Sunday. Try it! It will help! More later…….