(Yom Kippur service –runneralan2004 via Flickr)
Today is Yom Kippur –the Biblical Day of Atonement—actually it began yesterday evening at sundown on Sunday September 27 and ends at sundown today –Monday September 28.
Most associate it with being a Jewish holiday and that it is—the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. A day when Jewish folk fast & pray and take a look at their lives-particularly the last year and commit themselves to do better—they seek forgiveness for sins committed against others (beforehand) and against God. Traditionally it is also the day when God decides the fate of each human being over the next year.
You might ask—What does that have to do with Christians?
In one respect, what Jewish folk do on this day should be an on-going process for Christians-we should always be seeking to reconcile ourselves to those around us and we should continually be asking for forgiveness from our Heavenly Father in the name of His Son Jesus.
However, it is always good to recognize that today is a special day on God’s Biblical calendar. While we may not want to celebrate the special days like Jewish families do, there are still important Biblical principles to be learned and observed non-the-less.
I know quite a few prophetic ministers who take this day in particular very serious and usually spend it in prayer and fasting—believing that it is a time of evaluation—a time when ministries are pruned or expanded.
In my own life, most of the significant changes having to do with ministry seem to always happen this time of the year.
Blessings, Michael