Faith Words: Celebrate!

This coming Saturday, October 4, is Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement. In the Torah, this day was set apart as holy, a lasting ordinance.  Leviticus 16:30 teaches "...on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins."

My knowledge of the Jewish holy days and how they were and are celebrated is kind of thin, but if I understand them correctly, even to this day, Yom Kippur is a day when Jewish people around the world believe they can before God and receive forgiveness and be sealed in the Book of Life for the coming year.  There's a lot more to it than that, of course, lots of preparations and traditions, but I think that sums it up.

Reading about Yom Kippur and the way this holiday is celebrated and the meaning it holds to them reveals the deep love and respect the Jewish community today has for the LORD and His Torah.  They do not take Him, His Torah and His commands lightly.  While I believe that they have not understood that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, I admire them for the reverence they show in the way they try to honor God.

How do we show our deep love and respect for the LORD?  Do we realize the blessings we have in Christ?  I can hardly take it all in - what we have from God through Jesus Christ!  I think that is the main reason for celebrating these holidays - to remind us of Who our God is and who we are in Him.  We have so much to celebrate and honor God for that it can't be contained in just one day.

We see in Christ the fulfillment of the promises of God. We have the perfect High Priest who intercedes for us. We have the perfect Sacrifice in Jesus Christ that doesn't have to be offered year after year, just the one perfect time.  We have been washed clean by His perfect blood. We have confidence to draw near to God Himself, to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood and body of Christ.  We are redeemed - we are HIS!  Not just for the coming year but forever!

Yom Kippur is a holy day, a lasting ordinance, celebrating Israel's cleansing from sin.  The Lord's Supper is also holy, a lasting ordinance, celebrating our Lord's death and our cleansing through His blood.  We participate in them by faith.  One day, these things we do by faith will be realized completely.  So, today, this Saturday, always: remember the promises of the LORD because in Christ, they are YES and AMEN - and celebrate!

Joyfully!

Patrice

Hebrews 10:23  (NIV)

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful."