Today is a Holy Day of God and my mind is full of The thoughts on Atonement. Last night after the sunset God’s clock officially turned to The Day of Atonement. This day is the sixth Holy Day of the Annual Holy Days of God. We have described the days of God’s clock many times here. This link is one reference for The Day of Atonement: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/days-of-awe-10-a-christian-observance-of-the-day-of-atonement/.
God’s people spend this day in prayer and fasting.
BECOMING STILL AND SILENT
I have been praying all through the last month and especially last week, asking The Lord to show me any sins of this past year I’ve forgotten to confess. By The Day of Atonement, I like to be completely caught up on my prayers. This is so that I can be still before God and silent and just listen to what God is saying whenever The Day of Atonement arrives.
The scriptures give many vivid examples of times when God doesn’t speak to His people who are living in sin until they decide to turn and repent. One of the thoughts on Atonement is that our sins drive Him away, but Our Heavenly Father is always listening for a change from his children. He is always on alert to know that moment when we turn away from our sins. Then He is faithful to rescue us from ourselves. God then comes and speaks to us of His plans for our lives. His plans are always so much better than ours. This matters so much as we step into a new sacred year on God’s calendar.
GRACE AND HOLINESS
The thoughts on Atonement kept coming forth. This morning, I woke up pondering the difference between grace and holiness.
So many well-meaning friends don’t understand that I truly do understand the meaning of God’s mercy and grace. They mistakenly think, because I put emphasis on The Day of Atonement each year, that I don’t realize Jesus has already died for my sins and forgiven me forever. In processing my thoughts on Atonement though, I DO realize that God provides divine mercy and grace. That is part of why I observe this day.
Not understanding my annual observance of The Day of Atonement, others sometimes think I might not know or realize that I’m already forgiven. Some of them have even been bold enough to tell me that what I observe is silly. They could not possibly grasp all of the meanings in my thoughts on Atonement. As a forgiven sinner, I completely know what I’m doing is God’s will for my life.
Acting out of past experience and following these thoughts on Atonement, I will remain silent and let God give them the answers they need. Obviously, they are not interested in hearing what God has told me to do.
All I must worry about is how I stand before God. He is the One who will confirm my own thoughts on Atonement.
Except to treat them with kindness and patience, there is nothing further I can do to reassure these well-meaning friends. Of course they might understand more of what I do on these Holy Days if God decides to open their own eyes to see and their own ears to listen. I pray for God to show either of us if we are wrong and to direct our paths in the right direction. However, most often we agree to disagree and revert our conversations so that we do not argue with one another. One day God will heal this fact. I can’t wait until all truth is revealed and we all KNOW because Jesus has returned and is reigning in peace and harmony. I’m sure I’ll find I’ve also made mistakes in judgement.
My point is that those who do not understand the significance of this day miss a huge blessing from heaven. What sounds like so much hard work and humility actually culminates in so much glory. I wish for everyone to know it!
LISTENING WITH THOUGHTS ON ATONEMENT
Listening seems to be very important in this lifestyle we call Christianity.
For me, the Day of Atonement is all about listening. I can hear the moaning blast of the shofars. They say to me that God means business.
After finishing up my prayers yesterday, I began my usual pattern of opening my heart to listen for God’s will. By spending this set-aside time I have enjoyed the luxury of God’s reassurance. I’ve heard that still small voice inside my soul whispering that I am on the right path for my life purposes. The things that were getting off-point have now been corrected. God and I have worked on our goals together. That being duly noted, today only the sweet voice of encouragement has been felt inside my soul.
MEDITATIONS
On that morning after listening the evening before to the sermon for The Day of Atonement, I woke up with many new thoughts.
Some of my first thoughts pertained to the subject of cleanliness. It is traditional not to take baths on The Day of Atonement. I know I’m not legally held under these old traditions today, but I’ve learned a lot by studying and considering some of the symbolism I see in them.
Why would the ancients feel it isn’t a day to bath?
I felt as if God was telling me something new.
“One who is clean does not need to take a bath.” The last 40 days of Elul, The Ten Days of Awe, and The Feast of Trumpets have prepared us to become holy. Those of us who have faithfully followed the ancient paths are clean. At the end of this time, we stand before God totally saved and as clean as humans can get.
If you spend 40 days repenting, confessing and turning, you are bound to become more holy. Not because of your own deeds, but because of the fact that God comes closer. So, I catch myself pondering this huge idea that holiness brings us closer to God.
THE THIEF ON THE CROSS
Yes, I know.
It is true that the thief on the cross obtained forgiveness even if he had done nothing right or holy during his life. I get that fact, and I do believe it to be true.
However, as he hung on the cross, he was able to do what the faithful do when they want to become holy. He was in his last moments attempting to live CLOSER to God than before. He was so close that he could practically reach over and touch Jesus. Jesus heard him repent. Coming so close to Jesus helped to make him holy, even in this sad last earthly state. The thief had heard God’s voice. That day he must have known God’s Glory, even in death.
This really isn’t much different than those who are today practicing the shaking off of the dust from the world from their feet at the end of the year during The Day of Atonement. Both episodes of forgiveness from God depends on the heart’s desire to come closer to God.
Holiness simply means coming closer to God.
If you want to come closer to God, you must repent of your sins. It is a never ending process. We live, we sin, we repent and we are forgiven. This is the way it will be until Christ comes again.
HOLINESS AND DELIVERANCE
That concept of holiness began its progressive work in my own life during the days when my husband and I did deliverance ministry together.
If you are about to face demons; you need to be prayed up.
You must have confessed your own sins and be clean with God before you can help another person to clean the demons out of their life.
I’ve seen this work for healing when the person in ministry was well-prepared and ready to do this ministry. Also, I’ve seen it work backwards when someone careless and not prepared before God oversees the ministry.
Don’t mess around with demons unless you are completely clean before God.
BECOMING COMPLETELY CLEAN
There is that same sort of thought again. Once more, I’m thinking about being completely clean before God.
Some people follow a tradition to go to the mikvah and become emersed before The Day of Atonement.
I can see how this is a symbolic sign of a spiritual act involving the finalization of the inward cleansing of the last 40 days of their lives. The whole concept is very similar to baptism, only baptism is the first major cleansing. The second annual cleansing involves simply shaking the dirt of the world off of our feet.
Jesus set this example for us too. John confirmed it.
AN ANNUAL SHAKING
Remember how the ancient priest went into the Holy of Holies once a year? It was the time of the annual cleansing of the nation of Israel before God. Atonement is both individual and corporate. Most of us think of both on this great day.
Now I’ve caught myself thinking about Jesus again.
Will he return on a holy day?
Could it happen on The Day of Atonement?
Only the Father knows but think of the patterns He left behind for us.
RESURRECTION POWER
Jesus was sinless and that gave him resurrection power.
By confessing our sins and repenting of the sins of the last year on each annual Day of Atonement, we come closer to this resurrection power which raised Jesus from the grave. I wouldn’t exactly call that silly; it seems important to me.
ASCENSION POWER
Then I think of what happened next with Jesus.
He walked the earth for 30 more days before He ascended into the heavens in order to sit next to God The Father on his throne. That is the place where He pleads for our Divine Mercy from God. He is waiting there to keep us acceptable before God until He returns to us.
So, I suppose staying clean and holy for those next 30 days contributed to the power of Ascension He obtained from God The Father.
BECOMING HOLY BEFORE GOD
Scriptures tell us that only the holy will ascend unto God’s Holy Mountain. I think this speaks symbolically of New Jerusalem which will ascend from Heaven at the end of all time.
Those of us whom God has cleansed and made holy will be in the first resurrection. We will have attained resurrection power. Then we will also join Jesus in The New Jerusalem where we will reign with him for 1,000 years. This event will require holiness. Only God can grant holiness. Men are not capable of producing it; but they can be granted it from God.
The pattern of men coming closer and closer to God happens first through salvation, then sanctification, next is resurrection, and then ascension.
Each new event requires a new amount of holiness before God.
Jesus lived out these patterns.
THE CULMINATION OF THESE THOUGHTS ON ATONEMENT
The ancients believed once they had confessed for 40 days and asked God to cleanse their souls, they would be completely clean before God when He applied Atonement and covered their sins.
This great Atonement would allow them to be lifting holy hands in worship by the time of the most sacred Day of Atonement.
Their hands would be clean.
Spiritually, their souls would be clean.
These next few moments in time would be the cleanest moments of the year. They would be starting out the new sacred year clean and atoned before God.
GOD’S GLORY POURS OUT
So, this would bring about a most sacred moment from which the new year begins.
I speak of the moment of God’s Glory pouring down from heaven upon clean and holy people as they worship.
This amazing event can only happen to those who have been faithful. It comes to those who put themselves before God in a state of cleanliness.
The best part of this day is the very end of this time for confessing. It is in this culmination of the moment in time when God’s glory pours down upon us from heaven.
WHAT THE DOUBTERS MISS
Would you confess your sins and come clean before God over a period of 40 days to be filled with God’s glory?
This is the most priceless moment of the day.
The moment of complete Atonement is what our hungry hearts are always seeking.
It is a time of completely knowing with all our hearts that we will see The Face of God in the land of the living. We will be starting a whole new year covered in the glow of The Glory of God which lands upon mere humans for the few beginning moments of a new and sacred year.
This is comparable to how the scarlet thread from the ancient temple turned white whenever God accepted their worship. It means that God has answered our prayers, and we are good for yet another year of service for His Kingdom.
The Glory of God is all we need to start our time over again.
THE BLESSING OF THE GLORY
Deeply pondering these final thoughts of Atonement I hear that final blast of the shofar.
This blessing at the end of a well-lived annual Day of Atonement is what we need to be able to walk on through this world for another year. This is the blessing and the glory that will help us to conquer giants in The Name of God, and to continue being The Church.
I’m excited to see this year’s glory come forth from God’s true Church as we begin to walk into a new year of blessings.
The Glory of God falls upon his faithful people at the end of the Day of Atonement.
It is the golden highlight of the whole sacred year.
This Glory will help us to walk out this year living in the Ascension power of God.
May His Glory multiply so much that it fills and covers the earth!