SEASONS AT-ONE-MENT

CHRISTIANS OBSERVING THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood,

and I have given it for you on the altar to atone for your souls,

for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.  (Lev. 17:11)

At sunset on Tuesday, October 11, 2016,  we will come to the holiest day of the sacred year, Yom Kippur, or The Day of Atonement. 

One of the scriptures that compells me to observe this day is found in Leviticus 23:27-32.  

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.   And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.   For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.  And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.   Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.  It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.

As Christians and faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we serve a God who was willing to give up His kingly status and become like us.  He loved us so much that He was even willing to die for us.  What other god out there in all of the religions of mankind has ever done such a thing?  This is evidence that The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is The One True God. 

So how does this tie in with Yom Kippur traditions? 

Isn’t the Passover more symbolic of Atonement? 

In some ways, for the Christian, the answer is yes, Passover is more about Atonement for sins, but Yom Kippur is more about realizing that time is drawing short for everyone to receive that atonement. 

Passover is more about our individual sins, and Yom Kippur is more about the sins of our nation and the world as a whole. Has there ever been a more urgent time for this?

Passover is more about mercy and forgiveness, Yom Kippur is more of a statement that Judgment Day is coming, and a warning sound to help us to get ready. 

The Lord is going to return soon!  

There are many out there who do not know Him.  They do not yet have atonement; not because it is not available and freely offered to them, but simply because they have not believed that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and repented of their sins.  This is especially true of our nation, America.  

Satan has been very busy deceiving people because He too has a clue that the time is short.  He is on his usual favorite subject; himself.  He is worried that his time is coming to be put away forever.  He enjoys being loose and wrecking havoc on our world.  He has deceived the world with materialism, false doctrine, churches that want to entertain instead of worship, and “buy” their congregations, luke-warm worship, false worship, evil, death and lust.  His tools are always the same.  He rarely changes his techniques,

 yet the world falls for his tricks constantly. 

In the traditions of the Fall Holy Days it is said that on Rosh Hashanah the doors of heaven are opened.  This is God communicating with mankind saying, “Come closer to me.” 

In order to come closer to God you must be clean.  Those of us who have The Holy Spirit working in us are continually being led to come before God and confess our sins.  We have long ago repented and turned, trying to imitate Him more and more.  We have the good sense to realize and be constantly aware that we are not perfect, and that Jesus must keep us covered with His righteousness.  Yet, there are those who have not yet repented.  I am continuously shocked these days to find those who have never been taught the basics of repentance.  God is listening for them, waiting on them to begin a conversation, waiting on them to say “I repent of my sins, please blot them out of your book.” 

As a Christian I know my sins have been blotted out.  I totally understand that Christ died on the cross once for all.  But this is a time period when I am praying more for the souls of those who have not yet repented.  

As the ordinary priests, ordained after the Order of Melchizedek when we came to Christ, we Christians, as a holy nation and a divine priesthood, have the opportunity, just as the Old Testament Levitical priests did, to intercede for the sins of our people and our nation daily. 

The ordinary priests took the sacrifices of the people daily and offered them up to God.   Once a year the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies and offered up the sacrifice for the sins of the whole nation.  Our High Priest, Jesus Christ STILL carries these intercessions into The Holy of Holies for us and God hears and receives our prayers.  Unlike the high priests of Levitical descent, our High Priest, Jesus Christ, is perfect in every way. 

So can you see how I have come to relate that Yom Kippur should be a strong time of intercession by Christians for the souls of the world?  

Judgment Day is coming.  

It is said that after Yom Kippur the doors of heaven are closed.  On Yom Kippur whatever God has written for the year is sealed.  It is finished.  It is done.  You will either be a sheep or a goat when you enter into judgment after the final seal is sealed.  

If you know Christ, you are covered by the blood of the atonement.  You are separated into the fold of the sheep; and you will be allowed to go into the Marriage Supper of The Lamb.  

If you do not heed God's call and believe on the name of Jesus and repent, you will be separated into the group called the goats.  You will not be allowed to go into the marriage feast, because you are not “covered” by the blood atonement of Jesus.  You will be sentenced to eternity in hell.  The DOOR WILL BE SHUT, and anyone without a wedding garment will not be allowed inside.  

Do not let the doors of heaven close on you.  

Repent and be saved by the blood of Jesus.

In the traditions of Yom Kippur the “books” of God are often discussed.  The tradition is that the destiny of the righteous is written down into The Book of Life.  

The destiny of the eternally wicked is written down in The Book of Death.  

If you have come to Jesus Christ and accepted His blood atonement to cover your sins, you are written in The Book of Life.  Every sin you have ever committed will be blotted out of the heavenly records.  It is His blood that covers the sins.

It is ONLY all that Jesus did that allows you to stand clean before God on The Last Day.  It is nothing that you have done.  

There is a period of 10 days during The Days of Awe, from Rosh Hashanah until the end of Yom Kippur where you can be reassured (by talking to God) that your sins have been covered and you can pray for those that you love that do not have this blessing.  

The tradition says that many people are not yet written into either of the books of heaven.  This is because God gives us free-will and many have not yet made a final decision.  

You can plead with God for them, to do whatever it is that will change their hearts, open their eyes, help them to see the truth.  Our Jewish brothers and sisters fall into this category, but God has promised that many of them will one day wake up and believe.  There will come a day when their eyes will be opened and they will mourn for the One they have pierced.  This tells me they will repent and turn to Christ as The Messiah. 

Our prayers of intercession are important for everyone who has not made a decision to follow Christ.  This is an important time of intercession.  

The 10 Days of Awe are comparable to the period of grace that the church is living in today.  There will come an end to these times.  Judgement Day will arrive, whether the world is ready or not.  Yom Kippur is all about getting ready for Judgement Day.  It is a time to be purchasing oil for your lamp.   

Our High Priest, Jesus Christ, is returning to this earth.  When He does, there will be a great battle.  It is our place, as Christians to be ready to join in with Him.  All Christians will be right there with Him, riding on white horses into battle, riding by the side of our Groom.  We must be ready and prepared for that battle.  Yom Kippur is a reminder of this fact.  

When the last person that is going to repent has done so, the doors of heaven will be closed.  The writing in the books will be finished.  Christ will return for the final battle that will destroy all evil and usher in His 1000 year reign on earth. 

Are you ready? 

So many of my Christian friends are saying we MUST heed II Chronicles 7:14: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 

Isn’t it ironic that we speak these words continuously in our congregations and sermons.  We clearly know the answers; yet many Christian churches still turn away from acknowledging or observing Yom Kippur, the very holy day that God, Himself set aside for all nations to do the very things that we are always so loudly proclaiming should be done?  

God doesn’t change.  He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  If He said it to the nation of Israel, He meant it for everyone.  He isn’t just the God for the Israelites, He is God of ALL.  

If every Christian church in America would put aside their politics of the world for the period of time called The Day of Atonement and devote that time to prayer and fasting and intercession, as is the tradition for Yom Kippur, and begin praying for our nation and praying for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are still living in sin; we would fulfill the commandments of God.  

God would hear us, for this is the time that He has proclaimed that He will be listening with attention and deciding.  He would save us from ourselves and heal our land, just as He promised.

God says what He means and means what He says.

He always keeps His promises. 

As fall brings it's beautiful red covering to the trees across our land, it is my earnest prayer that  the people of our nation turn to Jesus and receive His precious atonement covering. 

May God heal our land and bring peace to the earth.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah!

COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 38 - WHO WILL GO WITH ABRAHAM

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

While we have been studying the biblical  Abraham (and we will continue on - I promise) who rescued Lot from King Cherdorlaomer and his allies, I have also been reading about current day battles going on in modern times in the same area of the world.  I have pondered the way both times seem so similar in nature.   I have wondered about the prophetic significance of it all for the Christian people who claim to be The Church of today’s world.  

Will we be like Abram?   

Will we go to rescue God's people in need?

As I studied modern times, I read a modern-day story about another man named  Abraham.  The words printed in the next paragraph are from some of the writings of Mat Staver.  Mr. Staver speaks of a ministry he is trying to help called RUN Ministries.  RUN Ministries is now sending people over to these war torn and terrorized lands that are living right in the midst of a horrid nightmare.  These people are voluntarily risking their lives to help our brothers and sisters in need.  Many of them have also been killed and/or tortured in the process.   They are trying to help people who have been run off their land simply because they are Christians with humanitarian relief, shelter and food.  

Many of the people they have helped are recovering from months of torture and seeing the ones they love being murdered right before their eyes.   RUN Ministries has a mission to help the helpless.  This is an excert from the borrowed story that I read:

“Abraham had been working non-stop for more than two days and was completely exhausted. But he knew that he could not rest; he had to go out one more time to look for those hiding in the Sinjar Mountain area of northern Iraq.  Earlier that day, he had gotten word that families may be still be hiding.  So he and his teammate set out in the middle of the night. Within a couple of hours, Abraham spotted a family huddled together, eyes closed and trying to hide silently to avoid terrorists or wild animals. Abraham approached them and quietly announced that he was there to help, offering food, water, and safe passage to a peaceful camp.  Their fears subsided, and then the long journey through the mountains began. Hours later, as the sun began to rise, the "Community of Hope" refugee camp appeared. Abraham had rescued another family and led them to safety.”

This modern-day family must have felt like Lot did when the ancient Abram came with his army to rescue him and bring him and his family and many others back to safety.  It is nice to know there are still people like this around.  You may help their cause if you wish.  Their website is:  www.runministries.org.

As I read this article pertaining to the horrible times we are living through and prayed and thanked God for this ministry,  I thought of how Abram and his men attacked in the middle of the night, and brought the captives home with their possessions restored.  Perhaps RUN Ministries thinks a lot like our Father Abraham.  I’m sure they are both listening to the same God.  Their actions certainly seem to state this.  They trust in God and have no fear in rescuing God’s people from terrorist.  These good people are risking their lives to help save people who have not sinned or committed no crimes other than being Christians. They are fighting a growing cancer spreading across the land.  Today this is in a far away land, tomorrow who knows?  Oh Church - Arise!

Abram’s plot was similar in many ways.  His men also voluntarily risked their lives in order to save God’s people from danger.  They too attacked the enemey in the night and brought the captives to safety.  God never forgets of forsakes his children in need.  He uses His church as hands and feet.  A church is not a building full of members, a church is a land of people full of The Holy Spirit.  Abram was not the "organized" force in this battle, yet he won because he followed a God who knew all things.  No king ruled over him and no taxes supported him.  He was simply a good and godly man using the abundance provided to him by a Mighty God.

I thought of the name RUN Ministries and I remembered that one of the Jordanian kings who won with the help of Abram was Shemeber and his name meant "gazelles" or "strong and fast."  

Please pray for these people who have been terrorized for being believers.  As you consider how Abram rescued Lot pray for the same for them.  Pray for God to provide for those who are willing to risk their lives in His name.  

As I pondered all of the above, we were going through the time of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement).  I celebrate the Christian understanding of this day.  It is customary to read the story of Jonah at Yom Kippur.  Of course, it is because the story relates to repentance, but as I studied Jonah this time I also read an  up-to-date modern article about the city in his story called Ninevah.  It seems that ISIS has driven all Christians out of Ninevah and it has been proclaimed that communion is no longer held in that city.  I thought of Melchizedek coming to Abram after the battle was over and offering the blessings of God and bringing bread and wine.  How sad to learn that a city that Jonah preached to so long ago which had repented at one time was now desolate of the people of God and that no more communion (handed down from Melchizedek to Abram to those of God's church) was taking place in that land.   It seems that the enemy would like to wipe out the name of God in association with this old ancient city.  They have even gone so far as to blow up the burial place of Jonah in this land.  

My friends who seek God with the heart of a child, please pray for them.  History is repeating itself.  This often happens, first God will show us a physical situation and then it will be repeated so that we will understand the spiritual significance of it all.  This story says the same thing to me that it did to Jonah.  People MUST repent and turn to God.  All people.  All nations.  Can we drink this cup?

The whole earth must be restored to knowing and serving a loving and merciful God.   Ninevah and their king believed the truth of God that Jonah brought to them.  For the short span of about 100 years they turned and repented.  Can it happen again?  Pray that God's will prevails and these people will be restored.  Pray that God's people all over the world come together in repentance and turn from evil and spport their brothers and sisters who are staying true to the course set before them.  Pray that the evil be ended by a mighty God, The One True God of Heaven and Earth.  Pray that we are worthy to be left standing when it is done.  

Also pray that America, who is showing the same ugly immorality that existed in the city of Ninevah in the days of Jonah, will be led to repentance as a nation.  Do we stand like hypocrites praying for another third world country without first repenting in our homeland?  God forbid.  We must repent and turn.  This is where our hope for the future lies.