God says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." If we carefully follow a list of Sabbath-keeping rules, is it possible for us to somehow make Saturday a holy day? Of course not. All our best Sabbath-keeping efforts can never make the Sabbath day holy. Our Holy Creator made the day holy at creation when He "blessed the seventh day and hallowed it." God reminds us to keep it holy — to not desecrate this holy gift of time with the One who created us in His image.

So how can I keep the Sabbath day holy? When I was a child, I remember my parents teaching me how to treat the Holy Bible. The Bible was always placed on top. Nothing was to be stacked on top of it. I like to think the Sabbath hours are like my Bible. To keep them holy, they must always be given preference. None of life’s clutter should be allowed to accumulate on top of them.

It might be easy to give every new Adventist a list of do's and don’ts for keeping Sabbath. But man-made lists are not very helpful, and they rob us of the adventure of dicovering for ourselves how rewarding the Sabbath can be. So, instead of rules, here is a list of five suggestions for a more positive Sabbath experience.

The first two — anticipation and preparation — were discussed in last month’s Adventism 101 column. If you missed reading "Anticipating the Sabbath," you may read it at www.LakeUnionHerald.org .

Separation

The Sabbath draws its meaning from the difference between it and the other days of the week. Keeping the Sabbath holy means setting the day apart, separating it from the others for special religious purposes. The Sabbath commandment makes a clear distinction between the six days of labor and the seventh day, which has been reserved for rest and worship.

Many Adventists welcome the Sabbath on Friday evening at sunset with a special worship and a traditional meal. Many families make Sabbath dinner a festive occasion and regularly invite guests to share it with them. Some Adventists have special Sabbath clothes, and some parents have Sabbath toys and games for their children. We are challenged to look for creative ways to remember the Sabbath’s importance.

Adoration

Worship is an indispensable part of the Sabbath and a natural time for formal worship services. When we attend church on the Sabbath we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who regularly attended synagogue services on the Sabbath day (Luke 4:16). Sabbath afternoon is a great time to visit the countryside or a park in order to contemplate God’s creative genius in the beauty of the natural world.

Communication

Sabbath is a day for communicating with each other and with God. Solitude can be an important part of the Sabbath experience for busy people; it provides their only chance all week to spend some time alone with God.

Sabbath is also the only opportunity some people have for fellowship with other Christians. Moms and dads who work all week can gather their children together for a day of family worship and quality time together.

So, as we contemplate these five suggestions for a more positive Sabbath experience — anticipation, preparation, separation, adoration, and communication — and how we can preserve the Sabbath’s holiness and receive the blessing God longs to share with us, I leave you with a question and a challenge. How is a holy day different from a holiday? The challenge is to celebrate each new Sabbath as the holy day God sanctified it to be.

Portions of this article were adapted by Ann Fisher from Welcome to the Family, an out-of-print book published jointly by Home Study International and the North American Division, and used with permission. Ann writes from Walla Walla, Washington.