Sacred Sabbath

Is the Sabbath sacred to you?  Do you even practice Sabbath or is the seventh day simply another just like the ones before it....full of commerce, play and entertainment?  As a believer, we should give value to those things that God tells us are worthy of our attention.  We should be concerned with that which concerns Him.  
The writer of Exodus tells us that the Sabbath was so important to God that He commanded any who broke the Sabbath, that is worked on the day that God had set aside for rest, was to be put to death! Exodus 35:2 (NIV) "For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death."  They were not even allowed to light a cooking fire!   
Many will say that in a modern, mostly secular society, keeping Sabbath is impossible...but that is not so.  Mary & I visited Jerusalem a couple of years back. We arrived on the Sabbath and were there for two more.  One day the city was teaming with traffic, shopping and people going about their daily routines. The next, however, almost all of the city, Christian, Jew, Muslim and secular stopped.  The silence was deafening; the peace was delightful.  Businesses thrived, work was completed, the people were fed and housed...but they all stopped for a day of rest and were all the better for it. 
Perhaps we in North America should reassess how we live our lives and take a page from our Israeli brothers and sisters.  A day for intentional worship, rest, family...the benefits should be obvious.  However, that takes commitment and unity.  It takes intentional planning so that we don't shop on Sundays.  If we don't work, shop, play sports & partake of entertainment on Sundays others wouldn't have to work.  It is really that simple.  
God has commanded that we work for six and take a Sabbath on the seventh.  This is the Word of the Lord.  How committed are you to God...committed enough to obey?