As we wind down the summer months our thoughts are turning to the fall festivals. Even though they are five weeks away it is time to turn our hearts and minds toward the festivals God has given us as a time of rejuvenation and focus. Nothing is more important than the message and meaning of the upcoming holy days. Nothing is more vital for the world at this time than to understand the plan God is bringing to pass. We have a had what I call a summer of distraction. The Beijing Olympics provided two weeks of entertainment for the world. During that time Russia invaded Georgia and nobody did anything about it. Most of us went about our business taking little note of what it meant. It meant that events in Europe took another step forward in prophecy. Western European leaders were caught napping while Russia demonstrated it could run about Eastern Europe much as it pleased. Now we are in the midst of the political conventions. This week it was the Democrats and next week it will be the Republicans. Nowhere do you hear a clear analysis of our current world scene. No one sees the storm clouds gathering on the horizon and the threats to America and its way of life. No lasting solutions are offered for the deep moral and spiritual problems in our society. Instead, we hear vacuous speeches that echo partisan politics and the same failed ideas of the past. We are in a very perilous period and people are looking for hope and answers. As they look to the politicians for the vision and hope they come up short. Right now many of you are feeling the same way. You are looking for encouragement and comfort for the trials of your lives. You, like everyone else, are burdened with the weight of events in your life. Sickness and other trials are sapping our spiritual reserves. This is normal and cyclical as we come to the end of a season just before the festivals. All the more important for us to realize where we are and regain that focus on the spiritual. With this Sabbath (tomorrow) we begin a forty day period ending on the eve of the Day of Atonement. In the Jewish tradition this is called Elul-Tishrei. They use it as a time to let go of the pain of the past in order to embrace the future with hope. Forty in the Bible is a number assigned to periods of testing and self-examination. The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years. Christ fasted for forty days before He met Satan in the temptation. Let me suggest that we all use this period ahead as one of testing and self-examination. This period can serve as a “bridge” between the regrets of the past and what we want to become. A bridge that carries us from habits and mistakes of the past to the success and hope of a future. When we arrive at the Day of Atonement we will picture the time when we become one with God through Christ the Lord. That is when we will experience the perfect peace of God in a lasting and loving relationship. We will talk more of this in the days to come.