The Days of Awe

Apples, honey and shofar are traditional
items for the Jewish New Year

Today marks the beginning of the Hebrew Calendar New Year. In Hebrew the day is identified as Rosh Hashana. It's also identified as the Feast of Trumpets. 

This is significant because it also marks the beginning of the New Year for God. Even though it's not mentioned often in the mainstream church, the Feast Days of God are still very significant to Him and still extremely relevant as it relates to His dealings with His Covenant people. 

What the church needs to understand and embrace is that even though the church is recognized as the Covenant People of God through the shed Blood of Jesus Christ, God has not nullified His Covenant with the Jews which was established through Abraham (Romans 11). 

One of the biggest mistakes the church has made is to sever the ties with our Jewish roots. We need to keep in mind that Jesus is a Jew! And yes, even though there is no Jew or Greek in Christ (Galatians 3), that spiritual reality does not alter His ethnic background. Therefore, the church needs to return to her Jewish roots in worshiping Jehovah through the Blood Covenant of His Son, Jesus the Christ.

In recognizing the Jewish New Year with Rosh Hashana (September 14, 2015), we also want to recognize the subsequent 9 days as well. The period from Rosh Hashana to the Day of Atonement (which in Hebrew is identified a Yom Kippur) is a total of 10 days. These 10 days are recognized as The Days of Awe. The 10 days from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur are recognized as Holy Days. This is not a period that should be taken lightly. Once again, I'm aware that this is not a Season that the mainstream church generally subscribes to, but we need to. These days are sacred and holy before God, and as His people we need to place the appropriate significance upon them and govern ourselves accordingly.

The general thrust and focus of this Season is repentance. This is a time of internal reflection and examination. This is a time where we need to allow the Holy Spirit to shine the light on our hearts and souls and reveal to us those areas that need to be worked on and addressed, so that we can be in alignment with the Father going into the New Year. 

This is not a time to just "go with the flow." This is not a time to just be "busy and running around." This is a time of contemplation. This is time of introspection. This is a time to put the search light on your heart and see what areas for which you need to repent. Remember, repentance isn't always about overt sin. 

Generally, when we think of repentance, we think of being remorseful (godly sorrow) about something that we've done wrong or some sin we might be caught up in. If this is applicable to your personal situation, indeed go before the Lord and take these concerns to Him. But a lot of times, when the Holy Spirit moves during this Season amongst His people, He's not always identifying sin. He's identifying areas that need to rectified in the course of our relationship with God. 

Already the Lord has revealed some things to me for which I need to repent, and they are not related to sins I am currently committing. He's addressing certain areas of commitment and devotion that I need to address, if I'm going to walk and work with Him successfully in this New Year. Also, repentance doesn't just mean "to turn around," it also means to think again. There are some things that the Holy Spirit is going to reveal during this Season that are going to challenge you to "think again." Your thinking, your perspective, your position, may have been a bit "skewed" as it relates to the Divine Position of God. This will be a time where God exposes that and allows you to repent, think again, in regards to that particular matter.

I would advise everyone to go on some type of fast during this Season. What type of fast you undergo is between you and the Lord, but I would strongly recommend that you implement some type of deliberate "self-denial" during these 10 days so that you will have the necessary capacity to receive from the Spirit what the Lord would have you to rectify and examine going into this New Year.

 Also, be aware of your dreams. The dreams you have during these 10 days won't be arbitrary (not that any of them are). They will be specific to the things that God is trying to get your attention on, so that you will consciously come to Him and have Him work you through them during this period. The Lord may also give dreams to other people regarding you, revealing areas that He would have you to address to be in proper alignment with His Will for your life. I know He's done that with me in the past during this Season of the year, and it has been very, very challenging. So don't resist the revelation, be open. That's why it would be good to fast.

We are entering a season of judgment, Saints. The Bible says that if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged (1Corinthians 11). Let us take advantage of this season (September 14-September 23) and truly allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the areas the Father wants us to examine and to repent. Let us honor the Days of Awe.