I apologize for not posting in almost a year. I took a slight hiatus to work on my book, which is now published in e-book form on Amazon. Hopefully by the end of next week it will be in book form also. It is a novel entitled An Unexpected Bend In The Road. It is also the first in a series I have entitled 5776. I think the series will have three books, but who knows!
Last fall my company was at an all time record high in build plans which required mandatory six day weeks for nearly six months. I was exhausted and overwhelmed, to say the least, wanting to finish the book I had begun, and writing this blog. Something had to go, and well the rest is history.
Now I feel it is time to pick the blog back up and go on with it. I have also changed medications which is a very good thing. If you have read my previous posts you will understand that my brain was in overdrive and I can see now that some things just clearly didn't make a lot of sense. Seizure medication is like that. They all come with side effects!
This past week I began to see a picture of what I should write for my first comeback post. Today is the fourth day of the Jewish month of Elul. This month is so special, because it is a time to spend cleansing ourselves of sin and our own personal demons, so to speak. Personal inventory time! If there are bad habits in our life, this is the time to purge them. God has planned a special time for us to meet with Him. I don't know about you, but I don't want to get caught in my underwear! How embarrassing would that be?
In our western thought process we have a hard time understanding why this month is the optimal time to purge our lives of the dross within. Can this not be done at any time? Certainly, but when we understand the way God works and His timetable, it becomes very clear. The sages have always taught that God has a calendar and there are special times He has placed on it.
I want to think of it in this manner, we can visit a family member at any time, but think of how special the times are when you are specifically invited to their home. Sometimes it is for a time of heartbreak, to share in a sorrow, but most of the time it is for a celebration. How wonderful it is to be invited to share in an extra special occasion. Which has more meaning to you, to have someone wish you a happy birthday on social media or to give you an invitation to meet with them to celebrate it in person? To think that this person loves you so much they would take time to plan a birthday party for you!
This is the way God's calendar works. Before the beginning of time He planned a calendar with special events scattered throughout and gave you an invitation to each and every one of them the day you were born. The best part is that this calendar has a purpose with each event; communion and connection with God Himself. It is not like those dinners to which you are invited with the purpose of signing you up for a "job" that will bring you great wealth and prosperity at the expense of others. An invitation with the host's interest in mind, not yours, kind of like a political fundraising campaign.
God's purpose has your best interest at heart. You can certainly celebrate your birthday at any time of the year, but isn't it just the best when someone loves you enough to plan a special celebration ON your birthday? Elul is the special time of year where God placed on His calendar a time for you to take care of business in your own life. Yes, we can do it anytime, but this month of Elul was the time set by the Creator just for this purpose. Call it a personal fall cleaning or preparation for an even more special day, because an even greater celebration is coming and we must be ready.
Just around the corner, beginning the evening of the 3rd of October on our calendars, is Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement. This is the most Holy day of the entire year, for it is on this day that God applies His redemption to His people. It is THE DAY OF ALL DAYS! It is the day when the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies in order to atone for the people, (Hebrews 10:19-25 http://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/hebrews/10.htm ).
Sandwiched in between the beginning of Elul and Yom Kippur is another day of great importance....Rosh Hashanah, which this year is Sept. 24-26. It is the civil new year, also known as the Feast of Trumpets. Hint, hint.... It is the day when we will personally meet with Him in order to go over our spiritual inventory list together. I want to hear Him say, "Well done good and faithful servant! You spent your time of preparation correctly and came ready for the celebration." I certainly do not want Him to say, "Can I ask you why you weren't prepared for this day? This is a palace and I am a King. Why are you still in your pajamas?"
I think perhaps as western Christians it is hard for us to see this day as more special than Good Friday or Easter, but it is those two days which make Yom Kippur even more special. Before Jesus came to earth there was Yom Kippur. God's grace and unmerited favor were already being poured out on those who wanted a relationship with Him and were willing to prepare correctly to meet with Him. Want to know what those preparations were? Check out Leviticus 16:1-34. Now that Jesus has come to Earth, we can understand even more clearly why this day and the role He plays in it are so special.
Think of it in this manner; those who love the King and yearn for a relationship with Him, when invited to a special event, will do everything in their power to be prepared for that event. Those who do not take that relationship with intense sincerity will not properly prepare. They will most likely say, "It doesn't matter, because it really isn't that big of a deal to me." They will not prepare and then be totally embarrassed or horrified when they arrive. Then there are also those who gladly receive the invitation, but either don't fully read it or they read it and interpret it from an outside point of view. Some may say, "I can go without all those preparations. They are old and archaic and really don't matter anymore, besides I'm not perfect just forgiven." Or to even say, "Look everyone I am with the King! He and I are buddies!" (Have you ever attended an event to which you were invited and you didn't really read the entire invitation? Did you show up in casual clothes only to find out formal wear was to be the attire or vice versa? Or have you attended an invitation only event hoping someone would think you were special? Oh goodness, there is that "I" again!)
All of the festivals and Holy Days will be celebrated perfectly when the King returns and we should be prepared to celebrate them with The King. The really bad thing is that all of those things we are asked to give up or eradicate during the month of Elul (preparation), are things which if left unchecked will result in us ruining the event for ourselves.
Let me enlighten you with some examples: if you are a relatively heavy smoker will you be in that event not enjoying the time with the King, because you are waiting for a break to go catch a smoke? (I am not picking on smoking, but thinking about things we are addicted to that cause us to not be able to focus on the beauty before us, because we are too busy feeding the monster inside. That monster could be ego, smoking, drinking, drugs, drama, sugar...etc.) If your heart is full of unforgiveness or anger will you erupt with emotions and outbursts if that person's name or a particular issue is mentioned? Do you really want to be a drama king or queen at The King's event? How much of your life has already been spent feeding the monsters inside of you? Time which could have been spent in peace and health.
We have been invited for a one on one meeting with The God of all creation. Will He see us looking back at Him with total admiration or will we be preoccupied with the things we are still harboring in our lives? The Mishna, which was written less than 100 years after Jesus, is a collection of oral traditions among the Israelites. Regarding Rosh Hashanah it says: "At Rosh Hashanah all flesh passes before Him like the members of a flock." (m.Rosh Hashana 1:2, cf b. Rosh Hashanah 16a). As each person passes before Him, their name is either written in the Book of Life or the Book of Death. It is 10 days later at Yom Kippur that God Himself, closes the books on and proclaims the fate of those who passed before Him, for another year. Ultimately there will be a final day for this and itwill never take place again.
If this is true and Jesus believed these things, then Matthew 6 ( http://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/matthew/6.htm ) and Luke 12:1-32 ( http://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/luke/12.htm ) along with Matthew 25:31-46 ( http://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/matthew/25.htm ) make perfect sense. The first two scriptures tell of Jesus speaking and states, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness..." The last scripture is a reference to all the nations of the world being gathered before Him and he will separate the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. The rest of the sermon is in regard to a King pronouncing judgment on those who are on each side and why. If you read the entire discourse you will see that those on the right were the ones who prepared adequately while those on the left did not. In other words, the ones on the right did the correct preparations without thought to themselves. They did not do it for personal gain since they had no idea they were doing it for the King Himself, but they did it because their hearts were pure and had been purged of all unrighteousness. There was no "I" distracting them.
Introduction over and now I am ready to share with you the thing revealed to me about this post. Please do not become offended if you have a true illness and are doing everything the doctor says or within your power. This comment is not meant for you. People all around us are sick with various symptoms or diseases. You are properly preparing yourself for the next visit to your physician. The others gripe about their symptoms or complain about them. They have been told that certain measures can either alleviate their symptoms or eradicate the disease, yet they don't want to do the treatment.
I will give you one example. I have a condition known as Celiac's. This entails eating nothing made from wheat, barley or rye. I also have an allergy to dairy...ALL OF IT! Now I could have chosen to continue eating whatever I wanted from the day of my diagnosis and paid the price or I could follow the doctor's orders. By following the diet restrictions as much as I possibly can, (there can always be something hidden that is not listed on the package....ugh!), I am relatively symptom free! When I do make the choice to eat a "forbidden" item I pay a hefty price.
There are tons of people around me daily who have many of the same symptoms I had and I have talked with them about being tested, yet they wave me off. Their reasoning? The doctor's diagnosis of this disease would require denying themselves something which is a fleeting and temporary gratification. They do not want to be healed, but would rather indulge and worry about the consequences later or even live with their pain. After all, the pain and discomfort is familiar. Changing their diet would mean also changing their lives and they are too complacent to make that move. Oh my, there is that "I" again. Satisfying the self at all cost.
Elul is upon us. Do you wish to purge your life of the things which are making you sick or do you wish to continue wallowing in your pain in order to receive a moment of gratification? Shalom!
