August 14, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Friday, August 14.
When I started writing these little daily thoughts - six years (and 1600 devotionals) ago - I sent them out six days a week, Monday through Saturday. After the first couple of years I pulled it back to Monday through Friday. When I began this journey, I was serving as a minister at a local church. For ministers, Sundays are the longest, most demanding day of the week. So scaling back the devotional schedule gave me Saturday as a “day of rest”. Some people call Saturday the “Sabbath” - a word that literally means “rest”. We see this in the Greek New Testament word Sabato, in the Spanish word Sabado, and in the Hebrew word Shabbat.
Our English word Saturday, however, comes from a different tradition. In 2000 BC, the Babylonians devised the seven-day week, based on their concept of seven planets - Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn - and they named the days accordingly. The Romans kept this practice and, over time, “Saturn Day” became Saturday. But, except for Sunday and Monday, the rest of our weekdays are named for Anglo-Saxon gods. In the name Thursday you can hear echoes of the god Thor.
The Jewish people begin each day at sunset. That may seem strange to us, but when you think about it, beginning a new day in the dark of midnight is kind of strange too. And so, Friday sunset to Saturday sunset is the Jewish Shabbat, their Sabbath, their day of rest. Where does that leave Christians? It leaves us with Sunday, a day that isn’t always filled with rest, but one that the New Testament calls “The Lord’s Day”. I like that name, don’t you? So, as we end this work week, have a restful Saturday, and let’s meet in His house on The Lord’s Day!
Meet you back here on Monday,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
