A TIME TO GET READY
God’s Fall Holy Days are coming up!
At sunset on Sunday, August 21st in the year of 2020 we began the Hebraic month of Elul. This begins a 40 day period of time when we draw closer to God.
When we reach the month of Elul we know it is a time to prepare, but do you understand what we are preparing for?
Do you know about the Holy Days of God that happen every Fall? Taking things up even a notch further – do you realize that The Second Coming of Christ is eminent?
We are coming into the time leading up to God’s Fall Holy Days called: The Feast of Trumpets which is followed by The Day of Atonement which is followed by The Feast of Tabernacles. The Hebraic names of these holy days would be Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kipper and Sukkot.
The days before and leading up to these days are important in many ways.
A TIME TO REHEARSE AND PRACTICE FOR COMING EVENTS
The word translated “festival” in the Hebrew is “hag” or “moed” and it means “set times,” or “appointed times.” According to the Holy Scriptures, these are times of sacred assemblies before God. In the ancient times men did not just go before God; they prepared first. They washed themselves and they dressed properly. They got ready to meet Him. We are going to meet with God on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and Sukkot this fall! Of course every born-again Christian should be meeting with God each and every day; but these meetings are very special occasions. It is time to wash our souls and dress our selves fully in the righteous blood of Jesus.
It is time to draw closer to The Father.
How do we need to go about this?
PRAYER AND REPENTANCE
Elul is a time of prayer and repentance. On the day of Rosh Hashannah (The Feast of Trumpets that comes at the end of Elul) the doors of heaven are said to open. The Hebraic thinkers have taught this theory for years and this Holy Day proclaims a new sacred year around the time.
In light of this; I found a quote by the evangelist named Lou Engle very interesting. He said: “There are moments in history when a door for massive change opens, and great revolutions for good or evil spring up in the vacuum created by these openings. In these divine moments key men and women and even entire generations risk everything to become the hinge of history, the pivotal point that determines which way the door will swing.”
So we say; repent of your sins, especially recalling the sins of this past year. On Rosh Hashanah (The Feast of Trumpets) you want to know that God will blot them out of his book forever on Yom Kippur.
Pray about this.
Talk to God and submit your petitions during Elul.
The season of Elul is more of a season of fasting than a season of feasting.
TURN IN LOVE
If any of your sins were against God it would mean you have turned your back toward Him.
Repair those types of sins by turning around and facing God with the things you did wrong. Correct this by making a turn into the right way as you go about your days.
Are you following the ten best ways to live?
The commandments still matter to God.
He never annulled them.
Though our sins have been atoned for by the blood of Jesus; the law is still in effect. We must be keeping God’s commandments because that is how He has asked us to live before Him. That is why every year during the time of Elul this blog posts articles about the ten commandments.
They matter in our turning.
We must not overlook them!
If any of your sins involved harm to a fellow man; now is the time of your annual reminder from God to turn from that sin by reconciling with that person and beginning to treat them with love instead of hate.
Elul is all about turning around from hate and moving in another direction toward love.
BEING FILLED WITH GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT
Once you have repented you have emptied yourself of all the things that are wrong for dwelling inside your physical sukkah; your body. You need to fill that empty space left deep inside you with goodness from God.
Pray for God’s Holy Spirit to fill your soul to the brim; so much so that it runs over and pours out to others that you meet along the way.
BEGIN REHEARSING FOR THE FUTURE
In the Hebrew language the words “sacred assembly” mean “rehearsal” or “recital.”
During these fall holy days that is exactly what we are doing; we are rehearsing for the things to come and celebrating God’s overall plans for mankind.
Are you living as if the Wedding Feast of The Lamb will happen at any moment?
Start living that way right now so that when it DOES HAPPEN you are constantly ready.
It will happen in the twinkling of an eye.
This whole time period of Elul could be compared to the time leading up to a wedding. As you get ready for a wedding you begin to remember the important things that have happened through your lifetime and you think of all your fond (or even not so fond) memories of the past.
You are also thinking about and looking forward to something even more special in the future.
As a spiritual comparison; this would be very similar to the time we are spending during the month of Elul.
We consider our lives before we knew God and how things have changed because we now know Him. As Christians we think of how our relationship with Jesus has changed everything! This makes us look forward to a time when we can be with Him forever.
The Church is the Bride of Christ and there is a wedding day coming in Heaven.
Are you listening?
LISTENING CAREFULLY
Elul comes thirty days before Rosh Hashanah. There are thirty days to listen for the sound of the shofar.
Also; there are thirty days to listen for the sounds of God’s voice speaking to you.
This time is more about listening to how God is speaking than speaking to God ourselves.
If you listen, God will reveal ways that He wishes to transform your life. This transformation is part of the preparation process. It is similar to the time that a caterpillar is in the cocoon waiting to be transformed into a butterfly.
Things must happen unseen on the inside before they become apparent to the world from the outside.
Are you listening?
CHANGING YOUR CLOTHES THROUGH REPENTANCE
As you are listening to God’s instructions for transformation; you need to be changing your clothes and putting on a new wardrobe that is wedding worthy.
Is there anything that you have forgotten to confess? It will be a stain that you do not want on your garments. Take care of that now while there is still time and while your beloved is listening and instructing you about how your life should be lived with Him at your side.
When you are preparing for a wedding you spend hours and hours talking to your chosen mate about how the wedding should go and what your life will be like when you are married.
During Elul, you should be speaking to Jesus; your Beloved about how to live life in the Kingdom of Heaven. As the Bride of Christ; you must be prepared for the big day BEFORE it arrives.
Before Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) arrives; you must have repented of the sins that have remained like dust on your feet from another year of walking through the world. Elul is our annual reminder.
You must have told your lover all your secrets; even the things you regret that you have done wrong. There is no room for secrets with true love.
You are beloved!
This means you will be forgiven and accepted.
Begin to turn now; long before Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) arrives.
When the lover of your soul gives Himself completely to you (Jesus gave His life on the cross) your sins will be blotted out of the records of Heaven forever.
You will enter in without the baggage of your past mistakes; a whole new Bride that is ready to live a Kingdom life!
THREE VERY IMPORTANT DATES ARE COMING
As previously noted; Elul is known for being a time leading up to three very important dates.
Those dates are Rosh Hashanah (The Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles.)
Elul is a time which helps us to remember to be prepared and ready for these events. It is a special time period set aside to get ready for the future events of God. We observe these days as we go about our daily lives; it is not a time of feasting or a required appointment; it is something that we do from our own desire to move closer and closer to God.
At Sukkot; (The Feast of Tabernacles) you will be so glad you prepared properly. When the time of joy arrives you will be carefree and able to join in the great celebration of Life in The Kingdom of God forever. Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles) is the most fun part of the rehearsal; a time of thinking about how it will be to live in God’s Kingdom forever with Jesus.
What a wonderful time to anticipate!
It all starts with all of the meditating, prayer, repentance, turning, and the filling of God’s Spirit, that we do in Elul. Today’s labor brings tomorrow’s joy!
How is your preparation going?