Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet (shofar in Hebrew) in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is near at hand;
Amazingly another year has passed and tomorrow night begins the feast of Yom Turah -- or Rosh Ha Shannah -- the Feast of Trumpets.
At the end of summer, the Hebrews are commanded to blow the shofar -- the ram’s horn, all day long. The sound of the shofar was a sound of alarm -- it told the people to get ready. It marked in the calendar that the summer harvest was over and the day of atonement was near and it was time to stand before God.
The feast of Trumpets is amazingly prophetic. Right now, we are in the midst of the great harvest and the next major event is the sound of the trumpet -- just before the great day of the Lord. Within the feast of trumpets contains a personal message for us. It’s God’s wake up call: We don’t have forever! We only walk through this life once -- and as quickly as steam rises from hot water and quickly disappears, so it is with our lives.
Soon it will be passed and we will stand before our Maker. If we are going to do great things for Him -- now is the time! If we need to repent for anything -- now is the time. The Lord commands us to arise and shine and let our light shine throughout the world! The shofar is sounding, the summer harvest is nearing completion, and the day of the Lord is near.
Become God’s shofar, sound His warning of judgment and radiate the love He’s given us through His Son, that those around you will be able to stand pure before God!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]As Israel celebrates Yom Ha'atzmaut – Independence day – Israelis are often reminded of the price that was paid for freedom. But today, in that spirit, I want to recall a time when a heavy price was paid for a translation of our Bible.
A friend writes: "My father did some pretty nasty things to me. But at the end of his life, as I kneeled by his bedside, I told him how thankful I was for every good thing he had done and every way he had blessed me, and there were many. We were good friends when he passed away." One of the greatest regrets you can avoid at the end of your life is the failure to praise others when they deserved it, (and even when they didn't).
Of course, the celebration of Passover for believers normally emphasizes the revelation of our Passover Lamb -- the Lamb of God, Yeshua, who was delivered up, a Lamb without blemish, and sacrificed in our place as an offering for our sins. As Israel celebrates deliverance from slavery, we celebrate deliverance from the bondage of sin. We celebrate knowing that death no longer has power over us since we pass from this temporal world into the eternal when we die.
In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. “Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.” “I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” “Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”
Pesach (Passover) celebrates Israel’s final departure from Egypt – that’s why we read about it in “Exodus!” Leaving their former lives of slavery, the Jewish people now pressed forward looking toward the “Promised Land” and a new way of life. Their purpose was not only departure – it was also arrival to a new destination. Now there was a significant 40 year delay in the wilderness….
“Blessed are the peacemakers”…when the term “peacemaker” is used the initial thought is of someone who keeps the peace between two opposing parties. A “peacemaker” solves dilemmas often without the force of violence, although the threat of violence is sometimes present and to be used if necessary.
Leonardo da Vinci, who excelled at many things -- as a painter, sculptor, poet, architect, engineer, city planner, scientist, inventor, anatomist, military genius, and philosopher said a wise thing...