Joh 8:56  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 
Joh 8:57  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 
Joh 8:58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

The text is one of those rare passages in which Jesus Christ appears to stand upon His own dignity, in which the Lowly, the Humble, the Unresisting Son of man asserts His high origin, claiming to be God, for it amounts to no less: God from everlasting. "Before Abraham was, I am."

I. Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Christ. He had a glimpse of that day of the birth of Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, as He had a glimpse also of the manner in which Jesus Christ should work out our redemption. He took his son Isaac and offered him up on Mount Moriah—that Isaac so exceedingly dear, of whom it was said, that "in Isaac shall thy seed be called." He offered him up, his one hope of becoming the father of many nations. And that act of Abraham—that act of faith, was counted unto him for righteousness; and he is held up for ever as the father of the faithful. To him, as St. Paul writes, "The Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed."

II. Jesus Christ Himself lived before Abraham was born. Whenever God is spoken of as holding communion and as being visible to man, it is in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, God, the Son, Jesus Christ. It is He who declares to us the Father. It is He who represents God to us, and is Himself God, even Jesus Christ. This was He who talked with and was called the friend of Abraham. It was He who was the Giver of the Law to Moses, it is He by whose agency the worlds were made, God the Supreme Deity dwelleth in the light which no man can approach: but Jesus Christ who is the image of the Invisible God, hath manifested, made known, declared to us, what God is; how good, how gracious, how ready to forgive, and how rich in mercy to those who call upon Him. It follows, then, that we should honour and worship Him as God, we should draw near with all reverence, with all holiness, with bowed heads and bowed hearts, to present our supplication before Him. (​R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons)

I AM THAT I AM
Joh 8:58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. ​

​Exo 3:13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 
Exo 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

The full expression: that is, “I am what I am.” The words express absolute, and therefore unchanging and eternal Being. The name, which Moses was thus commissioned to use, was at once new and old; old in its connection with previous revelations; new in its full interpretation, and in its bearing upon the covenant of which Moses was the destined mediator.

​From John 8:58 we understand that the One speaking to Moses at the burning bush-and during this commission-was Jesus Christ. This is why the people wanted to stone him, when Jesus made this proclamation, they knew he was claiming to be God.

​Joh 8:58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 
Joh 8:59  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus cemented his victory on the cross, and proclaimed to the disciples, and all who stood by:

​Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 
Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 
Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. 

Jesus received worship- giving more evidence of His deity, that He is God:
​Mat_28:9; Psa_2:12, Psa_45:11; Joh_5:23

Crucified With Christ
​Gal 2:19  For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 
​Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me,
​and gave himself for me.
(Excerpt from David Guzik comm.)

​I through the law died to the law that I might live to God: When Paul died to the law, then he could live to God. As long as he still tried to justify himself before God, by all his law-keeping, he was dead. But when he died to the law, then he could live to God.

i. “When a person is a Christian he is above law and sin. When the Law accuses him, and sin wants to drive the wits out of him, a Christians looks to Christ. A Christian is free. He has no master except Christ. A Christian is greater than the whole world.” (Luther)
ii. “We are not to think that the Law is wiped out. It stays. It continues to operate in the wicked. But a Christian is dead to the Law. For example, Christ by His resurrection became free from the grave, and yet the grave remains. Peter was delivered from prison, yet the prison remains. The Law is abolished as far as I am concerned, when it is has driven me into the arms of Christ. Yet the Law continues to exist and to function. But it no longer exists for me.” (Luther)
iii. “Blessed is the person who knows how to use this truth in times of distress. He can talk. He can say: ‘Mr. Law, go ahead and accuse me as much as you like. I know I have committed many sins, and I continue to sin daily. But that does not bother me. You have got to shout louder, Mr. Law. I am deaf, you know. Talk as much as you like, I am dead to you. If you want to talk to me about my sins, go and talk to my flesh. Belabor that, but don’t talk to my conscience. My conscience is a lady and a queen, and has nothing to do with the likes of you, because my conscience lives to Christ under another law, a new and better law, the law of grace.’“ (Luther)

c. I have been crucified with Christ: Again, Paul anticipates a question from those who disagree with him. “Paul, when did you die to the law? You like pretty alive to me!” Paul is happy to answer, “I have been crucified with Christ. You want to know when I died to the law? I died to the law when Jesus died on the cross. He died in my place on the cross, so it is like it was me up on the cross. He died, and I died to the law when He died.”

d. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me: Since we died with Christ on the cross, we have a different life. Our old life, lived under the law, is dead. Now we are alive to Jesus Christ, and Jesus is alive in us (but Christ lives in me).
i. Paul realized that on the cross, a “great exchange” occurred. He gave Jesus his old, try-to-be-right-before-God-by-the-law life, and it was crucified on the cross. Then Jesus gave Paul His life to life - Christ came to live in him. So Paul’s life isn’t his own anymore, it belongs to Jesus Christ! Paul doesn’t own his own life (that life died); he is simply “managing” the new life Jesus gave him.
ii. The life Jesus lives in us is glorious. “Christ is no sheriff. He is ‘the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world.’ (Joh_1:29)” (Luther)

e. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith: Paul can only “manage” the new life Jesus gave him by faith. You can’t live the new life Jesus gives on the foundation of law-keeping. You can only live it by faith.
i. When Paul says I now live in the flesh, he doesn’t mean that he lives a chronically sinful life. “By the term ‘flesh’ Paul does not understand manifest vices. Such sins he usually calls by their proper names, as adultery, fornication, etc. By ‘flesh’ Paul understands what Jesus meant in the third chapter of John, ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh’. (Joh_3:6) ‘Flesh’ here means the whole nature of man, inclusive of reason and instincts. ‘This flesh,’ says Paul, ‘is not justified by the works of the law.’“ (Luther)
ii. The point of this verse isn’t the flesh, it is faith. “Faith is not simply a topic about which Paul preached from time to time. Nor is it a virtue which he practised occasionally. It is central in all that he does.” (Morris)
iii. “Faith connects you so intimately with Christ, that He and you become as it were one person. As such you may boldly say: ‘I am now one with Christ. Therefore Christ’s righteousness, victory, and life are mine.’ On the other hand, Christ may say: ‘I am that big sinner. His sins and death are mine, because he is joined to me, and I to him.’“ (Luther)

f. In the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me: The faith Paul lives by is not faith in himself, faith in the law, or faith in what he can earn or deserve before God. It is faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ - who loved me and gave Himself for me!
i. Before, Paul’s relationship with God was founded on what he could do for God - his faith was in himself. Now, the foundation is what Jesus Christ has done for him - his faith is in Jesus. And Paul found a marvelous person to put his faith in! It is a person who loved him. It is a person who demonstrated that love when He gave Himself for Paul.
ii. What confidence Paul can have in giving his life to, and living His life for, someone who loves him that much! When we realize the great love God has shown for us, it makes everything in the Christian life easier.

g. Who loved me: Paul can confidently give himself to Jesus because of the love Jesus has demonstrated in the past. “It is true that he loves us now, but Paul also wrote truly, ‘Who loved me.’ The verb is in the past tense. Jesus loved me upon the cross; loved me in the manger of Bethlehem; loved me or ever the earth was. There never was a time when Jesus did not love his people.” (Spurgeon)
i. Loved . . . gave Himself: The past tense is important. William Newell, in his commentary on Romans, speaks to the importance of the past tense in the word loved. “It is this past tense gospel the devil hates . . . Let a preacher be continually saying, ‘God loves you, Christ loves you,’ and he and his congregation will by and by be losing sight of both their sinnerhood and of the substitutionary atonement of the cross, where the love of God and of Christ was once for all and supremely set forth.”
ii. “Did the Law ever love me? Did the Law ever sacrifice itself for me? Did the Law ever die for me? On the contrary, it accuses me, it frightens me, it drives me crazy. Somebody else saved me from the Law, from sin and death unto eternal life. That Somebody is the Son of God, to whom be praise and glory forever.” (Luther)

h. Gave Himself for me: “For me is very emphatic. It is not enough to regard Christ as having died for the salvation of the world; each man must claim the effect and possession of this grace for himself personally.” (Calvin)
i. “‘Loved me, gave Himself for me.’ He appropriates to himself, as Chrysostom observes, the love which belongs equally to the whole world. For Christ is indeed the personal friend of each man individually; and is as much to him, as if He had died for him alone.” (Lightfoot)
ii. “If any man might have said, ‘The Son of God, whom I have loved, and to whom I have given myself,’ it would have been the apostle . . . but here he thinks not of himself, or of what he had been led to do for the Lord, but only of what the Lord had done for him.” (Spurgeon)
iii. “Take these blessed words of the apostle, and put them in your mouth, and let them lie there as wafers made with honey, till they melt into your very soul: ‘Who loved me, and gave himself for me.’“ (Spurgeon)
​
​Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 
Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Weary from several days of dealing with many trials, I opened this devotion tonight-and the Spirit of God pierced my heart with it's message; because it spoke directly to my condition, and yes, I shook my head in agreement, I felt just like that worm described in those verses. And failures, Oh yes, I've known failures; of many kinds. But, when I want to turn and walk away, or lay down and not get up again- I feel the Hand of God, moving me on. I get back up, and start again.

Why, because God is greater than any problem, or enemy I may face. In comparison to The Creator of this universe-I am a worm. Whatever I may be facing-God is greater, and He can handle it. What I have to do is remember how He's seen me through every problem and trial in the years behind me, and know He hasn't changed-and He has the power to help me get the victory in whatever I'm facing today, just like He did then. The Holy Spirit drove this home to me, and healed my spirit, and restored my soul. May it do so for those who read this, as well.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Isa 41:10-15

Could any two things be in greater contrast than a worm and an instrument with teeth? The worm is delicate, bruised by a stone, crushed beneath the passing wheel; an instrument with teeth can break and not be broken; it can grave its mark upon the rock. And the mighty God can convert the one into the other. He can take a man or a nation, who has all the impotence of the worm, and by the invigoration of His own Spirit, He can endow with strength by which a noble mark is left upon the history of the time.
​
And so the "worm" may take heart. The mighty God can make us stronger than our circumstances. He can bend them all to our good. In God’s strength we can make them all pay tribute to our souls. We can even take hold of a black disappointment, break it open, and extract some jewel of grace. When God gives us wills like iron, we can drive through difficulties as the iron share cuts through the toughest soil. "I will make thee," and shall He not do it? -- Dr. Jowett

Christ is building His kingdom with earth’s broken things. Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling with earth’s broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty. He can take the life crushed by pain or sorrow and make it into a harp whose music shall be all praise. He can lift earth’s saddest failure up to heaven’s glory. -- J. R. Miller  (Streams in the Desert)

​"Follow Me, and I will make you"
Make you speak My words with power,
Make you channels of My mercy,
Make you helpful every hour.

"Follow Me, and I will make you"
Make you what you cannot be
Make you loving, trustful, godly,
Make you even like to Me.
-- L. S. P.

​Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,
​there ye may be also. Joh 14:1-3

Jesus was about to go to the cross, suffer and die. He had just been betrayed by one of his own, even as he sat at the table with his brethren. In this atmosphere of sadness and despondency, he knew they at table with him would be left like sheep without a shepherd after his death. 
​
Lifting his gaze upon them, he discerns the sad, dejected state of anxiety in their faces, and speaks these words of comfort. He discloses his purpose in going, not as a final parting, but a further mission; in preparing a permanent place for them, to abide with Him forever, a home in heaven. 

With these words he placed seeds of hope, and faith, that would endure beyond the horror of the coming cross, and these seeds would remain. Satan would not be able to destroy what Jesus had instilled in them in the three years of ministry, and what they had witnessed while they were with him, and watched him daily as he ministered to the people and taught them. 

These words would solidify the bond of love, and relationship with them, that even death could not destroy. The memories of the miracles he had performed, and the integrity of his daily life, lived before them, would sustain them, even in the coming darkest hours; and beyond. A quote by Spurgeon brings clarity to this:

"He will place us eternally where He is that we may be with Him. Can we not now, once for all, dismiss every fear in prospect of the endless bliss reserved for us?" (C. H. Spurgeon.)

As we, His people in this day and hour look out on the troubled world scene we face daily, these words of comfort, hope, and the promises he gave to the disciples that night at supper with them before his death, are meant for us also. 

Another aspect of the Lord's comforting, described in Biblical Illustrator:
Relief comes by belief. To be able in some overpowering grief to throw the weight of one’s care upon another and to trust wholly in that other’s help is an eminently satisfying process; while the trustless soul is without the least gleam of comfort. In these times of daring denial and of timid doubt it is well to be reminded that in the great crises of life—poverty, bereavement, affliction—denial is mockery and doubt is impotence, and that only an honest and hearty belief will secure sufficient solace. Christ solicits our faith on the ground of:

A prior acknowledgment of the Divine. “Ye believe in God.” Christ desires nothing contrary to already existing and inborn Godward conceptions of the soul, but merely that we enlarge those conceptions so as to include Him.

The defectiveness of our belief apart from Him. “Ye believe in God;” yes, but that is inadequate, it needs supplementing. The most anxious moments of humanity have been spent in searching's after such a view of God as would enable man to approach Him without dread. Humanity’s great longing has waited until Christ for its complete satisfaction. He has extracted from the thought of God all that is calculated to give pain and introduced everything calculated to give comfort. “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.”

His personality. Trust must repose on a person to be trust at all. Christ asked for immediate trust in Himself, for with that would come a hearty belief in all He said and did.

Finally, in these few verses, Jesus instills principles which are meant for all of us, who have put our trust and faith in Him:

"Christ intends us to have “strong consolation.” Hope is as important a contribution to comfort as faith; the two together, exercised rightly, never fail. Without a future what is the present worth? An English nobleman once asked himself why there should be a future existence, and answered, “Because, on any other hypothesis, the world would be a piece of magnificent nonsense.”

Christ, implying human immortality, reveals heaven. He bids the troubled be comforted by directing their hope to the positive existence of an absolutely untroubled state. Heaven is rendered attractive to us as much by its exemptions as by its possessions (Rev_21:4). Christ does present also a positive view. Heaven is a home. “In My Father’s house!” A house is not necessarily a home, but a father’s house always is, or ought to be. A happy earthly home is the nearest approach to an adequate conception of the life of heaven. “My Father’s house” is a happier home than the happiest of earthly ones." (excerpt  from Biblical Illustrator)

​As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, we can put these promises from Jesus in our hearts, and keep them embedded there, and march on, to the finish line.

2Ti 2:3  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 
Lorna Couillard

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. John 8: 3-11

This story has been a source of controversy, and debates as to whether the event really took place-those who put together the King James version of the Bible has included it, I believe for good reason; and I believe it really took place. I'm not surprised there would be so much debate over it; it reveals the cunning wickedness of peoples intentions and cuts through the hypocrisy of peoples hearts.

This mob of self-righteous Pharisee's and Sadducee's along with the rest of the town's busybodies' dragged the woman to Jesus, who sat teaching the people. They openly accused her and brought up the law of Moses, that she should be stoned-and tempting him, asked Him what should be done to her. Their outrage didn't come from a sincere heart of purity, but from a cold calculating attempt to trick Jesus, and cause him to stumble in His judgement of the situation. They knew that Roman law would override the Law of Moses, and she would be spared, but perhaps be banished by her husband, if married. Jesus was very familiar with the decadence and heathen degradations of daily life in his day. He also knew and discerned the hearts of these serpents, that they were accusing her of what many of them were guilty of themselves.
​
The motive for them was to trick him into casting a sentence on her, that could not be upheld. Jesus knew this, and his response was perfectly fitting.

I'm guessing, but, I can see how this would get the reaction that happened-and I believe Jesus would do it. When he told them "he that is without sin among you cast the first stone", they all dropped their rocks and walked away. God knows how to stop the mouths of his enemies, and yours. He knows the strategies, and manipulations of our enemies, and how to deal with them. The best weapon we have against our enemies, is prayer, and giving them to Jesus-He can handle them.

When they had all left, he took the woman, stood up and said "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" "No man, Lord"-then Jesus tells her  "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
​
That is the answer to everyone who sincerely comes to Jesus, with a repentant heart, seeking His forgiveness, and mercy.

There's nothing we can do about our past. We can't go backward and change anything. We may be able to go to someone who we've wronged, and apologize, and repay a debt, and make restitution to a degree. But, our past sins can only be atoned for by the precious blood of Christ, and by coming to Him with an honest heart, confessing our sins and receiving His forgiveness. He has paid our sin debt, we need to humble ourselves and be willing to come to the cross and ask for his forgiveness, like this woman. In His eyes, we are all the same, sinners in need of a Savior.

His warning to go and sin no more is something many do not want to hear, but it's there for good reason. The devil never stops trying to destroy us. Living out our walk with the Lord is a life-long process, and staying in line with Jesus and His word is necessary to overcome. When we fail, and fall into sin again, be quick to repent, and turn away from it, Jesus will not reject you just because you stumble. Get back up, turn away from the sin again, and get back in His word, this is how we gain victory over sin in our lives. 

When people, or the devil comes to you and condemns you of your past, use these verses and others that go with them to put him in his place, under your feet:

Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
Gal 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
 1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. 

You could spend weeks studying and cross-referencing these verses, to build your faith, and relationship with Christ, I recommend taking the time, it's worth it. The only way to learn to know who God is, and what is in His mind, is to spend time with Him.

Whatever your life has been like, regardless of what sin you may have allowed to overtake you, Jesus knows about it, and has the power to help you change. His blood washes away our sins, when we confess them, and forsake them. When God forgives us, He never condemns us for it again, His word tells us He forgets them, and we can too:

Psa 25:7  Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.
Psa 103:12  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 
Isa 43:25  I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. 
Heb 8:12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 10:16  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 
Heb 10:17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 

The devil does not want people to know these truths', nor what God's word tells us about righteous living. He is out to kill, steal and destroy.  It takes diligence and discernment, to stay close to the Lord in these perilous times. But, God also says, those who seek Me with all their heart, will find Me.

Jesus stands waiting and is more than willing to take you, forgive you, and make you into the person he created you to be. He's waiting for you, to make the choice, to reject the world and turn to Him. He loves you, he gave His life for you. 

May you come to know, and receive that love, and make Jesus-the Lord and King of you life.
Lorna Couillard

​If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:  Isa 58:13

Among some circles of Christians there is a controversy about keeping the Sabbath, and many of them use the main verses of Old Testament scripture on the subject to make their point. But, they will intentionally omit those in the New Testament, that speak clearly that they are in error, if studied in context. This short teaching will be all I will go into, to speak about this, because for me, it settles the entire issue.

Christians are not required to keep the Sabbath today. The New Testament makes it clear that Christians are not under obligation to observe a Sabbath day (Col_2:16-17; Gal_4:9-11), Jesus fulfills the purpose and plan of the Sabbath for us and within us (Heb_4:9-11).

Christians aren't bound to observe days and months and seasons and years. The rest we enter into as Christians is something that is to be experienced every day, not just one day a week - it is the rest of knowing we don’t have to work to save ourselves, but that our salvation was accomplished in Jesus (Heb_4:9-10).

The Sabbath commanded here and observed by Israel was a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (Col_2:16-17). We have a rest in Jesus that is ours to live in every day. Therefore, since the shadow of the Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus, we are free to keep any day - or no day - as a Sabbath after the custom of ancient Israel. However, though we are free from the legal obligation of the Sabbath, we dare not ignore the importance of a day of rest - God has built us so that we need one.

We keep the Sabbath when we set aside every day to honor Him, and by not going our own way, and justifying ourselves.

In Col 2:16-22 Paul speaks of the freedom Jesus gives, of keeping the laws of sabbath days:
Col 2:16  Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 
Col 2:17  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 
Col 2:18  Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 
Col 2:19  And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. 
Col 2:20  Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 
Col 2:21  (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 
Col 2:22  Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

In Galatians Paul goes on to say of them:
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

Again, in Romans Paul makes it clear; the freedoms we are to live in:
Rom 14:5  One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 
Rom 14:6  He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. 

These verses make it clear we are to let no one judge us in food, drink, or regarding festivals new moons, or sabbaths, which, as Paul states are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Christ.

When this subject comes up and you are challenged by those who still believe keeping the Old Testament Sabbath is binding today, take them to these scriptures, and simply stand your ground in the freedom Christ has given us. Apart from this, if they continue to want to make it a point of contention, we are told to not argue and debate on these things, just let it go, and refuse to argue.

Rom 12:18  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 

Sometimes it is impossible, sometimes people are out for a fight, but, we aren't to avenge ourselves. Speak what the Bible says about it, and then let people choose to receive or reject what the scriptures says. The day will come when God will avenge what needs to be avenged. We are to speak the truth in love, and patience as much as possible, and then leave people to make their own decisions.

We are living in a day when people have a very low tolerance level, if you won't agree with them, many times it can escalate into even physical violence. As Christians we are to overcome evil with good. If the disagreement can't be resolved by dialogue, leave them to themselves, and pray for them. Then leave them to God.

This sums up the matter on how to treat the adversaries we face in our lives. 

1Pe 3:9  Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 
1Pe 3:10  For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 
1Pe 3:11  Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

May the God of peace-bring peace concerning this subject, to many.
Lorna Couillard

Those who fly through the air in airships tell us that one of the first rules they learn is to turn their ship toward the wind, and fly against it. The wind lifts the ship up to higher heights. Where did they learn that? They learned it from the birds. If a bird is flying for pleasure, it goes with the wind. But if the bird meets danger, it turns right around and faces the wind, in order that it may rise higher; and it flies away towards the very sun.
Sufferings are God’s winds, His contrary winds, sometimes His strong winds. They are God’s hurricanes, but, they take human life and lift it to higher levels and toward God’s heavens.
You have seen in the summer time a day when the atmosphere was so oppressive that you could hardly breathe? But a cloud appeared on the western horizon and that cloud grew larger and threw out rich blessing for the world. The storm rose, lightning flashed and thunder pealed. The storm covered the world, and the atmosphere was cleansed; new life was in the air, and the world was changed.
Human life is worked out according to exactly the same principle. When the storm breaks the atmosphere is changed, clarified, filled with new life; and a part of heaven is brought down to earth. -- Selected
Obstacles ought to set us singing. The wind finds voice, not when rushing across the open sea, but when hindered by the outstretched arms of the pine trees, or broken by the fine strings of an Aeolian harp. Then it has songs of power and beauty. Set your freed soul sweeping across the obstacles of life, through grim forests of pain, against even the tiny hindrances and frets that love uses, and it, too, will find its singing voice. (Streams in the Desert)

​"Be like a bird that, halting in its flight,
Rests on a bough too slight.
And feeling it give way beneath him sings,
Knowing he hath wings."