Sabbath Thought - Time and Family

The whole concept of time can be viewed as abstract.  That is, time is not a physical thing we can hold, manipulate, or control.  There is also a mental component to our perception of time - time can seem to drag on when we are not enjoying what we are doing, or time can quickly fly by when we are doing something we enjoy.

The upcoming Feast of Trumpets is an amazing part of God's plan of salvation for mankind.  It pictures the return of Jesus Christ to re-establish God's government on this Earth, but it also pictures the resurrection of God's saints - and the beginning of mankind coming to be a part of His spiritual family.  You and I understand these truths through God's calling and by rehearsing the meaning of these Holy Days annually.

God is creating a family but His family will not be a broken family, it will not be a dysfunctional family, it will not be a divided family and it will not be an unhappy family.  God wants His family to reflect Him - full of love, joy, serving and building up one another (2 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 3:26; Hebrews 2:10, 5:9, 8:29-30, 11:39-40).  What a family this will be! 

When this Feast of Trumpets is fulfilled, who do you want to see or meet?  More specifically spiritually, what Saint of God do you want to see in the future when God fulfills this day?  Who do you want to see and talk to that made a personal and direct positive impact on you as you grew in the Faith?  I want to be in God's Kingdom with those I know, especially to show them that Christ's work through them had a positive effect on me as well - I am here in part because of their faithfulness.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as we you see  the Day approaching," (Hebrews 10:23-25, NKJV).  Are we ready for the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets? Do we feel the urgency in our spiritual life as the world around us fractures more and more?  God has us review these Holy Days so we can prepare ourselves.  We must seize the time we have, now!

In order to be ready we must be diligently living our faith (2 Peter 3:10-14).  Part of our diligence involves being an active partner with God in changing our character.  We must be growing in grace and knowledge in God's way of life and reflecting that to those around us (v.18).  Are we growing and maturing - reflecting more and more of God's character?  Do we feel God working in us - changing our character, challenging our spiritual growth?  Do we see God working with us - blessings given to us, events working in our life to God's purpose?  Are we practicing God's judgment in our actions and as we go about our lives?  Are we living up to the example of our Savior, our King, and our Elder Brother Jesus Christ?  Are we living up to the example of our faithful grandparents, parents, spouses and friends who have followed Christ to the end of their life?

God is looking forward to the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets as well.  In fact, He has had a record made of those faithful to Him down through mankind's history.  Everyone, whose name is in the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5) and has died, will rise to meet Christ at His return.  Will we be in that book?

Let's hold on to that hope of fulfillment and rejoice in God's Holy Day plan as the world around us becomes increasingly distant from God's way of life.  Let's be ready for the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets.  Let's be there, when the dead in Christ are resurrected to eternal life when we will fully be in the amazing family of God!

I wish you a very meaningful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

20 September, 2019