Sabbath Thought - Rejoice Before the Eternal

Are you happy to be keeping the Fall Holy Days once again? I am talking about real joy for the spiritual aspects of what these Holy Days represent.

In Deuteronomy 16:11 we read, "You shall rejoice before the Eternal your God, you and your son and daughter...the stranger and the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Eternal your God chooses to make His name abide." We often focus on the many physical things we can enjoy during these days - but we must remember the reason God asks us to keep these days. His Holy Days are not just for us individually, but also for the salvation for all of mankind (2 Timothy 2:4). In other words, we are to enjoy these Holy Days, but especially so because of the knowledge that each of us can play a part in the rest of mankind having salvation. That is a viewpoint worth rejoicing about!

Our primary responsibility is to make our own calling sure (2 Peter 1:10). This involves living by God's Commandments (John 14:15, 1 John 2:4) and keeping ourselves unspotted by the world (James 1:27). We add to our personal calling the opportunity to serve others (Matthew 25:31-45) - especially in the body, but also outside of it - and being an example to others of how beneficial God's way of life is (Matthew 5:14). All of this should be done in the context of joy - to see the positive and beneficial spiritual change within us and others who yield to God's instruction.

The Fall Holy should be days of great joy for us now, but also for us to look forward to the joy their literal fulfillment will bring to all of mankind. Let's make the most of these days of worship before our loving and merciful Father to become more like Him and His Son, so that soon we will be living in the reality of what these days picture.

I wish you a joyful Sabbath and upcoming Holy Days,

Dan Dowd

12 October, 2024