dream-awakener

new beginnings

Garden Path
Originally uploaded by 18mm.

"though your sins are like sacrlet, they shall be white as snow."

yom kippur began at sunset on 10/12 for jewish people. yom kipper comes ten days after rosh hashanah, the new year, and is the culmination of the days of awe, the ten days of penitence. yom kippur is a chance for a new beginning. it is a day typically set aside for worship and fasting. it is the day of atonement.

velveteen rabbi shares three different messages of what yom kippur means for the jew today.

but what does it mean for those who follow messiah yeshua "jesus christ?" while harvey cox gives a fascinating, thorough and thought provoking account of what it means for the christian. my attempt here is just to give you one simple but amazing thought.

one of the amazing things that we learn as we read the book of hebrews is that jesus is our high priest, who went into God's tabernacle to become a sacrifice for our sins.

in hebrews 10 we are told, “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

“But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifices for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made PERFECT FOREVER those who are being made holy.”

we of all people in the world should take sin seriously, and forgiveness just as seriously. this is the day to contemplate and confess both your known and your unknown sins, for yourself and your community. because we are human beings, we are created with the freedom to examine our lives - and with the help of God and of fellow human beings, we can mend our ways and alter our courses.

this is also the day for you to remember your savior. this is a day to look at the cross, not yourself. receive the forgiveness that jesus christ offers you. don't carry your sins with you another day. confess them to christ. then confess them to a trusted fellow "priest", and according to james, God will bring healing to your life.

in turn, that healing will bring a greater sense of wholeness, and from a greater sense of wholeness, we can live our life differently this year, than the year before. we can be more caring, more loving, more forgiving. we can bear our cross and follow jesus. we can actually learn to return evil with good and make the world a better place. no more evil for evil, but blessings for curses. wait a minute - that could change the world!

meditate on how clean christ has made you, and as you think about how christ has forgiven you, go and forgive others in the same way. today is a new day, a day of new beginnings. enjoy it.

posted by J.R. Woodward @ 11:58 PM