enjoy the sabbath by not cooking on it :)

How to prepare for the Sabbath
Most of the following is found in Testimonies for the Church, Volume6, by Ellen White.

All thru the week we are to have the Sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandment.

We should not make ourselves so weary that we cannot enjoy the Sabbath.

Friday is to be the special preparation day.

All should have special Sabbath clothes, to be worn on Sabbath in God’s house.

Before the setting of the sun on Friday, let all secular work be laid aside and all secular papers be put out of sight.

On the preparation day all differences between brethren, whether in the family or in the church, should be put away.

Before the setting of the sun, let the members of the family assemble to read God’s word, to sing, and to pray.

Let not the precious hours of the Sabbath be wasted in bed. On Sabbath morning, the family should be astir early.

The food should be more simple and less should be eaten, in order that the mind may be clear and vigorous to comprehend spiritual things.

While cooking upon the Sabbath should be avoided, it is not necessary to eat cold food.

Provide some kind of food that will be regarded as a treat, something the family do not have every day.

In pleasant weather let parents walk with their children in the fields and groves.

Thus parents can make the Sabbath as it should be, the most joyful day of the week.

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db: 2RH
pt: Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
dt: 05-08-1883
at: Practical Thoughts for the Campmeetings
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And let us not come to the campmeeting to break the Sabbath by cooking on that day. The instructions which God gave to Israel should not be disregarded: “Bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe;” for “tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord.” God meant what he said; and shall we who are presenting to the people the claims of the divine law, break that law ourselves, merely to please the appetite? God forbid! I know that frequently the Lord has withheld his blessing because we have failed to honor him by keeping the Sabbath according to the commandment. There has sometimes been nearly as much cooking done on the Sabbath as on other days. I would prefer to eat bread and water only, rather than to run any risk of breaking the fourth commandment. All needful preparation for the Sabbath should be made on Friday. On Sabbath morning, if the weather is cool, let hot gruel be provided. Further than this, all cooking should be avoided as a violation of the Sabbath.

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db: 2ST
pt: The Signs of the Times
dt: 05-25-1882
at: At the Southern Campmeeting
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The Lord gave the children of Israel explicit instructions prohibiting unnecessary labor upon the Sabbath. “Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that which ye will seethe.” Carelessness in the observance of the Sabbath has crept in among us as a people. Many have sought to please themselves rather than to honor God. If we would enjoy the blessing of the Lord, the Sabbath day must be kept holy. All cooking should be done on Friday. On the campground, when the mornings are cool, hot water or hot gruel should be provided. In winter, at our homes, the food previously cooked should be warmed before it is eaten. In warm weather this is unnecessary. Divine mercy has directed that the sick and suffering should be cared for; the labor required to do this is a work of necessity, and no violation of the Sabbath.

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db: 5RH
pt: Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
dt: 06-08-1897
at: Cooking on the Sabbath (Concluded)
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Speak not lightly of the restrictions placed upon Israel in Sinai regarding the cooking of manna. The Lord has placed barriers around his Sabbath, that it may not be regarded with the least carelessness or irreverence. When the Lord said, “Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe,” he meant that Friday should be our preparation day, in which we are to do all our cooking. The Sabbath is not to be a day when titbits shall be prepared or cooked. If it is really essential to have beans on the Sabbath, let them be cooked on Friday, and kept warm in the oven. They need not be eaten cold unless preferred. But let no remarks be made as though it were a very light thing whether or not we regard the special requirements of God in regard to the Sabbath. It is not left for any man or woman to venture to disregard one requirement of God.

I see no question in this matter as to what we shall have on the Sabbath day. The food which we have provided on the preparation day can be placed on the table warm, especially in cold weather. In traveling, persons eat cold lunches for days together, and realize no inconvenience or harm. We want palatable, healthful food every day of the week; but upon the Sabbath, let your cook have her day of rest, in the place of cooking for a family. Let every provision be made on Friday. But do not let the Sabbath be regarded as a day in which to get something especially gratifying to eat. Educate your children and every member of the family to enjoy plain, simple food, and to be ready to receive the blessing which the Lord of the Sabbath is waiting to bestow upon all who are in an attitude to receive it. He has this for every one who shows his love for God in keeping holy the Sabbath day, God’s great memorial of creation. Speak softly, walk softly. Let not a word of lightness or trifling come from your lips. This is God’s day. He has blessed the seventh day, as his Sabbath, to be sacredly observed.

Let the mind be directed to the lessons of the book of nature, and to nature’s God, who made the world in six days, and rested on the seventh; “wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Do not make light of the Sabbath requirements; and when it comes to eating on the Sabbath, those who would feed on Christ, who would have the rich blessing of God, will partake of a very simple diet on that day.

In this perilous period, when we see universal contempt placed upon the law of God, when the world is choosing between the holy Sabbath of the fourth commandment and the spurious sabbath, shall we say one word that will detract from the words of the Lord of the Sabbath? The Lord God of heaven knew what a deadening influence the abounding iniquity would have upon the chosen believers, what a paralyzing power it would be against piety and true loyalty to God. In giving us the statement of the occurrences which would mark the approach of the second advent of our Lord and Saviour, Christ says, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” We see this fulfilled to the letter. The experience of many is becoming dwarfed and sickly and wonderfully deformed. Everything that surrounds us creates an atmosphere that is saturated with unrighteousness. Even under the most faithful surroundings, it is difficult to hold fast the Christian profession of faith unto the end, to stand decidedly and earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. But it is most difficult to keep true and loyal to God’s holy commandments, when there are few in number to help and encourage one another, and when many of these are sickly and ready to die because they do not honor God by keeping his commandments truly and loyally.

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pt: The Gospel of Health
dt: 04-01-1898
at: Camp-Meeting Hygiene
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Preparation for the Sabbath.–The Sabbath should be as sacredly observed on the camp-ground as it is in our homes. We should not let the bustle and excitement around us detract from its sacred dignity. No cooking should be done on that day. The instruction which God gave to Israel should not be disregarded: “Bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe;” for “to-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord.” Ex. 16:23. God meant what he said when he gave these directions; and shall we, who are presenting to the people the claims of the divine law, break that law ourselves, merely to please the appetite?–God forbid. There has sometimes been almost as much cooking done on the Sabbath as on other days; and the blessing of God has been shut out by our failure to honor him in keeping the Sabbath according to the commandment.

2 thoughts on “enjoy the sabbath by not cooking on it :)”

  1. I like the part about making the Sabbath meal a special treat; something not normally eaten during the week.

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