​For as long as I can remember, my brother has always been intentional about encouraging others with special cards on their birthdays and anniversaries. He just sent me a birthday card that delights me. It says, "Cupcakes are muffins that believed they could be so much more. It's your birthday; reach for the stars." As I read this card images began to form in my mind of steps I want to take to be so much more than I am. I think this is God's desire for all of us. In fact, a line in His prayer says, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God's Kingdom is the kingdom of more, so why not for us?
 
Psalm 139:13-15 reminds us that God made us uniquely:  "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place..." Every individual on the face of the earth has a distinct call on their life. It is what allows us to contribute, in a positive way, to the plans and purposes of God for humanity so that everyone will be saved and join the Lord in heaven for eternity and that everyone will live life to their greatest potential.
 
When the book of Genesis describes creation, it is very clear that God intended for us to be like Him. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So, God created man in His own image in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:26, 27) Imagine for a moment what being created in the image of an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God looks like for us! Think about the latent talents and abilities that lie within us!
 
Let us also remember what the angel Gabriel said to Mary when she was told that she would bear the Son of God. "For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37) We have been created by One whose word contains seeds of life. The Lord reminded the prophet Isaiah of this:  "My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purposes for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)
 
When the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he wanted them to understand what God had placed within them. Here is some of what Paul wrote:  "...He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all those in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In Him we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:9-12)
 
Paul reminds us in Ephesians 3:20 that He "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us." He told his protege Timothy to "fan into flame the gift of God which is in you..."  (2 Timothy 1:6) He also said, "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Timothy 1:14) So, why don't we get out of the “muffin mindset” and aspire to be a “spectacular cupcake”? Let us stir up the gifts that are in us and spend more time with the Lord. The more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him.

​Could our Thanksgiving feast be patterned after the Jewish feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot? This week-long harvest festival commemorates the 40-year journey that the children of Israel had in the wilderness as they made their way to the Promised Land. It is the final festival of the year and always occurs in the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar. There is a dual significance in this festival:  historical and agricultural. God desires that the generations remember that the Israelites lived in booths in the wilderness when He brought them out of persecution in Egypt. (Leviticus 23:43) Thanksgiving was to be the focus of this festival because God had blessed them mightily.
 
Thanksgiving in America was started by the pilgrims who settled in our country. When they came to America they were fleeing persecution in England. Some of them, before arriving in America, settled in Holland and found the Sephardic Jews who had been exiled from Spain in 1492. Because of this and other reasons, some surmise that our Thanksgiving feast could be patterned after the Jewish feast of Sukkot. Let's look at some of the similarities between the two feasts:
 
    - Both began with people that were being persecuted and escaped from their homeland.
    - Both festivals celebrate harvest.
    - Both happen in the fall.
    - Both are based on Biblical commands to give thanks.
    - Both include family gatherings.
    - Both involve feasting.
 
I read on the "One Israel" web site about the first Thanksgiving in America. It reports that ninety Wampanoag Native Americans joined fifty-three Pilgrims in a fall feast. It was these native Americans who befriended the Pilgrims and taught them how to plant corn, fish, and gather nuts and berries. Because of the help of the Indians, the Pilgrims survived the challenges of their new homeland.
 
As people of the Bible, the Pilgrims would have read all the admonitions to give thanks contained therein. I am sure they must have recognized that without God's help they would not have been able to survive. In addition, they most assuredly read about the yearly Jewish feast of thanksgiving called The Feast of Tabernacles. Being people of faith, the Pilgrims would have recognized that their relationship with God was strengthened when they praised Him and gave thanks for His provision and care.
 
When President Lincoln gave his speech describing the purpose of Thanksgiving he said it was, "to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks." We must keep gratitude at the forefront of everything we do. It is God who oversees our lives and gives us provision, peace, guidance, and love. Not only so, but He sent His Son, Yeshua or Jesus, to earth as a human being through the people of Israel to "tabernacle" with Him. Jesus sacrificed His life for us, taking our sins upon Himself so we could have eternal life. This truth needs to be at the forefront of our Thanksgiving celebration.

​Drought has decimated life in the eastern part of the United States this fall. What usually is a rainy season has become a parched one. As we drive around Bucks County, PA we see how the lack of rain is taking its toll on farm fields and ponds and streams. There is a pond that we pass every time we drive to our church. For decades it has been the home of birds, turtles, and insects. All that remains now is a depression in the land with a cracked, muddy bottom. I thought of the Scripture in Jeremiah 2 where God is chastising Israel for forsaking Him. Here is what God said through His prophet: "'...But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror.' declares the Lord. 'My people have committed two sins; They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.'" (Jeremiah 2:11-13) Verse 19 continues: "'Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me.' declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty." 
 
In the parched lands of Israel, spring water was and is extremely rare. Cisterns, hewn out of rock, were frequently used to collect and store water. No sane person would trade a clean and flowing spring for an unreliable cistern. In His discussion with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, Jesus identified Himself as the One who dispenses living water. (John 4:10) Referring to Jacob's well, He says, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13, 14)
 
God was telling the Israelites through the prophet Jeremiah that their worship of false idols had subjected them to slavery and allowed the destruction of their lives. Their broken cisterns (religious systems with false promises that had become idols) could not be sustained. What are the unstable cisterns of today? What are the idols we as individuals and as a nation have allowed to take the place of God? There are multiple ways in which this can happen. Here are a few: Striving for power, putting our trust in religious systems, depending on money, looking to technology to solve all our problems, or consuming drugs and alcohol.
 
God reminds the people of Israel how they turned their backs on Him yet cry out to Him in times of trouble. He says, "You have as many gods as there are towns in Judah. Why do you accuse me of doing wrong? You are the ones who have rebelled,' says the Lord." (Jeremiah 2:27-29 - NLT) In spite of their sins, God holds out hope. He says, "'O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against Him by worshipping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I the Lord have spoken.'" (Jeremiah 3:12, 13 - NLT) "'My wayward children,' says the Lord. 'Come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.'" (Jeremiah 3:22 - NLT)
 
We should examine ourselves today to determine if we have replaced the worship of the Lord with any idols. When we have, we can repent and return to the Lover of our souls. Mercy and grace are always flowing from God's throne for those who repent. We must destroy cracked cisterns that cannot hold water and return to our Fountain of Living Water, a constant source of love and mercy and wisdom.

​God has always been looking for a people who will be faithful and obedient to His Word. In the days of Noah, the Lord was grieved by the explosion of evil in the world. He said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet their days shall be 120 years.” (Genesis 6:3 - NKJ) We understand that these 120 years would be the time it took Noah to build the ark. Verse 6 goes on to say, "So the Lord was sorry He had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke His heart." He determined to destroy every living thing except for one family. It should be of particular interest to us because it happened during the month that we are in, the eighth month on the Hebrew calendar called Cheshvan. Eight is known as the number of new beginnings. Appropriately, the flood began on Cheshvan 17, and one year and ten days later, on Cheshvan 27, the flood had ended. On Cheshvan 28 Noah brought God a sacrifice.
 
Genesis 6:9 reports that "Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God." (NLT) God decided to share His plan to destroy the earth and all living creatures with Noah. He was instructed to build a huge boat. The length of it was the length of one and a half football fields and as high as a four-story building. The footnote in my Bible explains that the boat was six time longer than it was wide which is the same ratio used by modern ship builders. The boat would be the mechanism by which God would save Noah and his family (eight people) along with a pair of every kind of animal. (male and female)
 
Imagine the commitment Noah and his three sons made to build a ship in the desert on dry land!  In doing so, he became the second father of the human race. His obedience and persistence paved the way for a new generation of people and animals to be born on the earth. The writer of Hebrews explains the importance of Noah's faith in his relationship with God. "Faith opened Noah's heart to receive revelation and warnings from God about what was coming, even things that had never been seen. But he stepped out in reverent obedience to God, and built an ark that would save him and his family. By his faith the world was condemned, but Noah received God's gift of righteousness that comes by believing."
(Hebrews 11:7 - TPT)
 
Noah was 600 years old when the flood waters came. He and his wife and three sons and their wives, along with the animals, entered the boat in pairs, male and female. There were enough animals taken on the ark for eating and for sacrificing to God for an entire year. Scripture reports that the "rains fell in mighty torrents," for forty days and nights. So much water covered the earth that the boat rose twenty-two feet above the highest mountain peaks. For 150 days the floodwaters covered the earth. Five months from the time the flood began the boat rested on the mountains of Ararat. The meaning of Ararat is "curse reversed." How appropriate! One year and ten days later, on Cheshvan 27, Noah, his family, and the animals left the ark so that they could "be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth," as God had originally planned.
 
Noah's first act upon leaving the ark was to build an altar to the Lord so that he could sacrifice burnt offerings. The pleasing aroma filled the nostrils of the Lord, and He promised to never again destroy all life by flood waters. (Genesis 9:11, 15) A covenant made between Noah and God was confirmed with the sign of a rainbow. God said, "The rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures." (Genesis 9:14 - NLT)
 
Today, when the storms of life crash down on us, we have the ark of Jesus to run to. He is the one who is faithful to calm the storms and bring us to a safe haven. With this in mind, I believe it is our season to establish an altar to the Lord so we can bring Him a fragrant offering. Just as God made a covenant with Noah, He has made one with us through His Son Jesus. He is worthy of our sacrificial worship.

​Similar but not the same are the words faith and trust. Let us see if we can discern the difference between the two of them. Faith is described beautifully in Hebrews 11:1. "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (NLT) The prayer written by Paul in Ephesians 3:16 and 17 puts words to God's desire for us where faith is concerned. "I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." 
 
Faith comes from God. It is a state of belief that God is who He says He is. We believe that God sent His Son to die for us because of His love. Faith is a noun; it is something we possess. Henry Morris IV of The Institute for Creation Research wrote on July 29, 2016, "Faith in God is the confident belief that He is sovereign Creator of all things and that He is and will do what He claims." Romans 12:3 warns us "...think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."  
 
Trust is an action that comes from faith. We trust in God because of His nature. While faith is a belief system, trust is an action. By acting on our faith our trust in God grows over time. When we decide to trust in someone or something we make a willful choice and take a deliberate action. Trust grows out of faith, and yet as we daily renew our trust in Jesus our faith also grows. Remember the man who asked Jesus to heal his son from the violent seizures that possessed him? Jesus responded, "'Anything is possible if a person believes.' The father instantly cried out, 'I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!'" (Mark 9:23, 24 - NLT) This father was asking Jesus to increase his faith and realized he had to trust his son's wellbeing to Jesus.
 
Let us look at some examples of people in the Bible who had faith in God and put that faith into action by demonstrating their trust. Genesis 6:9 says, "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." He trusted God by taking the action of building the ark. Hebrews 11:7 puts it this way: "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to receive his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."
 
Hebrews 11:8 and 9 talks about the faith of Abraham:  "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, (action of trust) even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country..." Hebrews 11:17-19 talks about another astounding act of trust that Abraham took because of his faith in God. "By faith Abraham, when God tested him offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death."
 
The bottom line is that we must grow our faith in God by demonstrating our trust in Him. Proverbs 3:5 and 6 says it perfectly: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Use your faith in God to take actions of trust and both your faith and trust in Him will grow.

​George Mueller, Christian evangelist, and director of the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol, England experienced tests of faith on multiple occasions, many through caring for over 10,000 orphans in his lifetime. That is why his conclusions on how faith grows are ones we should respect. He said, "The only way to learn a strong faith is to endure great trials. We learn faith by standing firm amid the most severe of tests." "Faith does not operate in the realm of possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends." "Trials, difficulties, and obstacles are the food of faith. God delights in increasing the faith of His children."
 
Looking at these statements, I cannot help but wonder if we are in a time where God is expanding our faith. The recent losses and challenges that are before us tend to shake our faith. The catastrophic events of the past year, including fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, terrorist attacks, severe illnesses, economic downturns, and financial challenges, have landed in our backyard bringing great loss and resulting in emotional shock and trauma. It is during these times that we find it easy to question the truth upon which our lives have been built. Trust in God and His Word is where we must take a stand, especially during trials.
 
King David, the King of Israel that was hand-picked by God, had multiple opportunities to express his trust in God, and his psalms are ripe with the fruit of it. He made a choice to trust in God and His plans for his welfare. Here are a few of my favorites: Psalm 16:8 - "I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 62:1, 2, 8 - "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken...Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him for God is our refuge." Psalm 125:1, 2 - "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore."
 
It is our focus and our confession that will help to build our faith. We must focus on the Father heart of God when circumstances shake our foundation. He is a dad of compassion and love that promises to redeem whatever shakes our faith. As we stand on the Word of God, we must confess it. Hearing the truth from our own lips will strengthen our foundation. Before Jesus returned to heaven He reminded His disciples of this truth:  "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) And let us remember 1 John 5:5. "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
 
When George Mueller had a need, he and those who helped him at the orphanage kept it a secret. They agreed that they would only share their needs with God in prayer. There were times when George did not know how he would feed the orphans. But provision always came, albeit frequently at the eleventh hour. Imagine what this practice did for his faith! Pastor John Maxwell said, "There are a lot of things in life that our difficult to understand. Faith allows the soul to go beyond what eyes can see."
 
Let us cling to the words of Peter in his first book. "...You may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even through refined by fire--may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:6, 7) It is through our faith that we reveal Jesus to others, and isn't this what we are called to do?

​There is a divine order to the fall feasts. God planned that repentance would come before celebration because repentance leads to joy. Sin holds us back from God's purposes in our lives. When we have cleansed ourselves through repentance before God, we are freed from the hindrances that stop the Lord's blessings from flowing. When we repent before the Lord a door is opened for times of refreshing to come. Consequently, five days after Yom Kippur the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot takes place.
 
After getting right with God, the Jews celebrate in fellowship with Him for seven days and nights. Preparation for this feast occurs through the building of a sukkah or tabernacle. This dwelling was frequently constructed of broken branches. The roof of the Sukkah is to be open enough for its occupants to see heaven from earth and pray for the meeting of the two. It is a reminder that God takes us from the wilderness and bring us into the Promised Land. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:12) This is what brings us into intimacy with the Lord. The Feast, as it is often called, is the culmination of the seven yearly feasts. It is the seventh of seven yearly feasts occurring in the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar. The number seven is the one of perfection and completion.
 
There is a greater significance to this Feast. God's great desire has always been to dwell with us, His people. What He planned is described in John 1:14. "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father full of grace and truth."  In essence, God came to dwell in a temporary body so that we could get to know Him and He could draw us closer to Himself.
 
When the priests in the temple called their people to join them in the celebration of Sukkot there were two main themes:  Light and Living Water. The festival included illumination of the temple by placing four enormous gold candlesticks about 75 feet high in the Court of Women. There were four golden bowls, filled with pure oil, on top of the candlesticks that were lit for all to see. It is reported that when the lights from these candlesticks shown, every court in Jerusalem was lit up. Did Jesus not say, "I am the light of the world?" (John 8:12) He lights up our lives and calls us to be lights to the world.
 
The other part of the celebration was called "The Water Libation Ceremony." The priests drew water from the Pool of Siloam, walked through the Water Gate at the temple, and then poured the water over the altar. This was a significant sacrifice, because Israel would have been without rain for six months. Prayers of thanksgiving to God for the fall rains to come would then be prayed. It was during this portion of The Feast that Jesus declared who He is. John 7:37, 38 says, "On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.'"
 
Why don't we let Jesus light up our lives and quench our thirst for Him in this season of the Feast of Tabernacles?

​Saturday, October 12, was a Yom Kippur like none other. There was a convergence of events that only God could have put together. Humility was the foundation for them as described in 2 Chronicles 7:14, 15. "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place." The holiest day on God's calendar is Yom Kippur or The Day of Atonement. It was the only day when the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies to make a blood offering for the sins of Israel. It was and continues to be the one annual day that God summons His people to repentance and renewal. Today we understand that God removed ungodliness and poured out redemption through the blood of His son, Jesus. His sacrifice removed our sin and shame for all time. The sacred Day of Atonement is to be one of fasting and prayer in acknowledgement of who God is and what He has done.
 
Joel 2:12-16 expresses God's heart for HIs people. "'Even now,' declares the Lord, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity...Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly..."
 
In 2017 God set into motion another event that He wanted to happen on the Washington, D.C. Mall on the Day of Atonement. He gave His servant, Lou Engle, a dream of one million women coming to the Mall to pray for the next generation and our nation. At the time, Lou did not realize this would be The Day of Atonement. All he had was a date and an understanding that "the Lord was opening a door of opportunity for the saving of our nation." He was encouraged by his friend, Pastor Francis Frangipane, who had studied the history of revival. Francis learned that an organized prayer movement preceded every revival except one—The Jesus Movement of the late sixties. He spoke with God about this mystery and was told:  "I answered the prayers of a million mothers." Those prayers broke the chains of evil that tried to capture our youth.
 
Remembering how Queen Esther, along with Mordecai and the Jews in Persia, had fasted and prayed for their nation, Lou knew that another Esther moment was before America. He was greatly encouraged when he realized that the target date was The Day of Atonement. Lou set up a web site to explain what God was up to. The site explains that the "public battle for the revival and reformation of America" would occur at the seat of the US government. It was Esther's intercession before the king that saved the Jews from genocide. “Now, her story has become the divine template and inspiration for every generation who lives under the shadow of anti-Christ legislation, persecution, and anti-family ideologies which threaten to destroy the very social fabric and foundation that a nation was built upon, was preserved by, and by which it prospered."
 
The God-given, "holy prescription" to heal our land is still Joel 2:12-16. This prescription was followed yesterday at the D.C. Mall on Yom Kippur. The assembly of about 250,000 people consecrated themselves in what was called a "Global Esther Moment." In a posture of humility, sins were confessed, repentance took place, and the spirit of Ishtar (one of rebellion, sexual immorality, and perversion that is trying to possess our nation) was broken. Decrees were made to agree with the Kingdom of Heaven. The ten-hour gathering concluded with communion where we were reminded that we are a Covenant people, led by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is time for us to take back our nation! Who knows if we were not put into our positions for "such a time as this?"

​It happened on October 7, 2023, a special Sabbath day called Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in Torah), the eighth and last day added to the Feast of Tabernacles. In Israel, this day is celebrated with dancing in the streets and the synagogues with Torah scrolls. It marks the end of the annual cycle of public reading of Torah. The end of Deuteronomy is read, the scrolls are rewound to begin a new cycle of reading, and the beginning of Genesis is read. There is great joy and excitement on this day.
 
I imagine that Simchat Torah will never be the same in Israel because last year the Israelis were attacked by Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip in an unprovoked assault at the beginning of this day. At the end of the day twelve hundred Israelis were murdered, and two hundred, fifty victims were kidnapped. The brutality of the terrorists from Gaza is difficult to comprehend as many were raped, tortured, and terrorized.
 
The outcome of the Sabbath attack on October 7 was the beginning of a war that still rages. Other players have come into the fray including Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels from Yemen. All these terror groups are encouraged and supplied with weapons and ammunition from Iran. Whenever there are conflicts of this nature innocent people get caught in the battle and suffer from injury, loss of life, and displacement from their homes. Even last week, Iran upped the ante by sending about two hundred missiles into Israel. The threat of a regional war is very real. Those who are living in the aftermath of October 7 have been traumatized and bear the scars and injuries from their losses, both internally and externally.
 
Add to this situation the fact that antisemitism has been on the rise. This mindset is global! Chosen People Ministries published a report that confirms that antisemitism has tripled in the last twelve months against Jews living outside of Israel. It is my opinion that the growing display of antisemitism is demonically inspired. With the one-year anniversary of the attack on Israel being upon us, how should Christians respond?
 
Scripture must be the foundation of our commitment to the Jewish people. Our Messiah handpicked Jews as His chosen people. However, "...His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which He put to death their hostility." (Ephesians 2:15,16) According to Genesis 15:18, God's first covenant with Abram declared that His descendants would have the land of Israel. However, years of lies and prejudice have fueled hate against the Jews and Christians.
 
We are in a spiritual battle led by Satan himself. History shows how he has attempted to irradicate the Jews in every generation because God chose His people to be His instrument of redemption and blessings for all nations. He also ordained that our Messiah would come through His covenant people. As Isaiah 62:1 says, "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch." We must stand for the Jewish people and pray for them along with others who need to know the love of Jesus. The Jewish New Year, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles are upon us. Let us pray for the tender-loving mercies of God to be poured out upon all people, but especially those hurting families in the Middle East.

​The Biblical feasts are called God's appointed times. The Hebrew word for a God appointment of a feast is "Moed." When Moses had appointments with God, he would meet Him at the "tent of meeting" or the "Ohel Moed." Thus, Rabbi Jason Sobel calls the Biblical feasts "a tent in time." On Wednesday night at sundown a new Hebrew year will be upon us, the year 5785, and this is a time to go to our “tents of meeting” to connect with God.
 
I believe that the Old Testament feasts have much to reveal to the Christian Church and that it would be to our benefit to study them. In doing so, we would see that the Jewish New Year is a significant time to meet with God. Here is what it says in Leviticus 23:24, 25. "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month (Tishrei) you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.'" The Jewish people believe that the world was created on this day and call it by the names Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year) or Yom Teruah (The Day of Blowing).
 
The blowing of the shofar at the beginning of the year is a call to intimacy for God's people. It is time for those who love God to encounter Him and to prepare for the next sacred festival called Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. There are ten days in which to do this. These ten days are called "The Days of Awe." It is significant that on the two days of the New Year the shofar is blown 100 times on each day. This is a call for God's people to prepare for the year to come to remind us that God has made an everlasting covenant with us. One hundred is a significant number in that it stands for fullness in terms of a measure, reward, and recompense.
 
There is also a connection between the number 100 and Abraham and Isaac. On Rosh Hashanah the story of Abraham being called to sacrifice Isaac on Mt. Moriah is read. It is called the "Akedah" or the "binding" in Hebrew. Abraham was 100-years old when he climbed up the mountain with Isaac. His righteousness with God stands as an example to all of us. We should ask ourselves, "Do our human failures merit atonement?" The story of Abraham and Isaac points us to a deeper understanding of God's infinite mercy and grace. He sent us Jesus as our "ram in the thicket."
 
The blowing of the shofar is meant to be a reminder of the ram caught in the thicket as a sacrificial substitute. The horn of a ram is what is blown to herald the new year. God promised Abraham a blessing of abundance because of his obedience. That blessing was passed down through the generations. God said, "I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities or their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." (Genesis 22:17, 18) In Genesis 26:12 we see how Isaac benefited from this promise. "Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him." Today we are still reaping the benefit of this promise because we are Abraham’s descendants and have faith in the Lord.
 
The mercy or grace of God should hit home for us as we go into the new year 5785. Five is the number of grace and redemption, and this year we get a double portion. As we enter the new year, let us consider blessing God by worshiping Him for sending us a Savior.