Paul,

Been a while since I read that account in Leviticus. One question. Do you
think Wal-mart handles unblemished sacrificial  lambs hahaha. They sure had
quite a few days of... how do they say... "no laborious work". Although I
don't really see an examination of their lives toward God in print, they
must have done something with that time off. They honored god with the
tasks performed per his request but examining and commiting to various
changes of improvement in their lives as we might do at year's beginning,
where is that there? Yom Kippur doesn't show up in my dictionaries
unfortunately.

Brad

At 01/05/2004 on Monday, you wrote:
>Paul,
>
>I'll read up about that more. Thanks for the clue. And yes it is good to do
>just that, but with conviction to actually and sincerely look at our lives
>with a true heart based on God's principles to change what we find. This is
>why I do not care for the term New Year's Resolutions, as it has become
>diluted in principle and joked about more than taken serious. I think it is
>natural to use the mark of a new year to make such a review, and yet that
>review ought not be limited to just that time of year but to keep  our
>heart in check frequently and examine if we are continuing on a path closer
>to God's own heart, or ours. I'll look up the festival in PC Study Bible
>and read more on it. If people ihn general put as much conviction in eating
>as they seem to do for New Year's Resolutions, they'd binge for a week and
>die of starvation a month later. I guess the difference between the
>festival and resolutions might be the same as worshipping to music or just
>singing songs.
>
>Brad
>
>
>
>
>At 01/05/2004 on Monday, you wrote:
> >Hey, Brad
> >
> >Amen to your main point.  I just wanted to remind folks that the recognition
> >of the new year and evaluating our lives at the New Year is not a secular
> >thing.  It is something established by GOD Himself as the festival of Yom
> >Kippur (Leviticus 23).  There's some debate over whether the holiday of Rosh
> >Hashanah celebrated today was really the new year of the Old Testament, but
> >either way, the LORD did establish that at least once a year we are to
> >examine our hearts before Him and the path our lives are taking.  It could
> >be argued that this type of thing goes along with examining ourselves at any
> >sacrifice in the pre-Crucifixion days and, today, at the taking of the
> >LORD's Supper which Paul warns about taking with a wrong heart.  (1
> >Corinthians 11:28).
> >
> >So the blessings you mention are all the stronger for the fact that the LORD
> >has sewn these things into the fabric of our Life with Him so that we can
> >keep track of those events and milestones more easily.  (As witness the fact
> >that the LORD told folks repeatedly to write things down so that they could
> >look back on them and we could profit from them even today).
> >
> >Thanks for the reminder!
> >
> >Paul
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "BD" <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 8:38 AM
> >Subject: Today's events are tomorrow's testimony... if you let them
> >
> >
> > > With the ringing in of the new year came also my regenerated hope for new
> > > beginnings based not off of the fad driven knee-jerk response to a new
> >year
> > > accompanied by a false desire to make New Year's Resolutions, fueled by
> > > pressures of society or family and friends who are doing similar, but
> that
> > > of simply reviewing some facets of my life, making a conscious
> decision to
> > > change some old habits and increase various aspects of my daily life.
> Many
> > > times, often times, people make New Year's resolutions because they are
> > > just that "re-solutions" to the same problems they had a year earlier.
> > > You've heard them all I'm sure, I know I have before and from my own
> mouth
> > > at that. Things like... loose weight, begin working out, quit smoking,
> > > spend more time with family, or if a Christian, more time with God
> >perhaps.
> > > And I suppose I need to recognize that even my desire to review some
> daily
> > > habits is due to the convenient mark of a new year falling upon me, but
> > > hopefully the commitments I make near this time of year, do not come
> to be
> > > New Year's re-commitments next year at this time with excuses of
> > > circumstances that caused a change in plans, but rather have looked back
> >to
> > > see I stood the test of endurance with God's help to overcome those
> > > circumstances and complete what I feel he is telling me to do. Still yet
> >we
> > > ought never lose hope of erasing the slate and starting over, we have a
> >God
> > > of allowing us many beginnings in our trek to keep focused on him, but as
> > > he also said let our yeses be yeses and our noes be noes. With that mind
> > > set, we ought have a more serious motivation of those things we feel we
> > > need to change. Also ringing in the New Year this morning, after coming
> >out
> > > on top of a battle with some sort of infection/illness, was the
> ringing of
> > > my alarm clock. Bright and early it beeped only once at 4:30 AM, and only
> > > once because I was already awake with excitement of not only feeling
> > > somewhat human again, but also to begin making the most of the days
> ahead.
> > > Still yet in some planning stages, I knew however that my days would
> start
> > > with an early rise, something to drink, time with the Lord in either
> > > reading of his word or taped sermon, and prayer.
> > >
> > > Having hit the snooze button, and then turned off the alarm clock, I
> > > started up the coffee pot with the half and half, decaf and regular
> coffee
> > > to continue my trek to decaffeinate myself, I then carefully and quietly
> > > grabbed up my tape player and a tape to listen while I let the warm drink
> > > soothe a recovering throat. The tape I listened to was not the preacher I
> > > had hoped but I had decided to listen anyway. As he began to preach
> he had
> > > a very pointed, very short message with four points regarding having
> faith
> > > to endure through things we may find ourselves plowing through. One, keep
> > > your eyes on Jesus. Two, remember who God is. Three, remember who you are
> > > in Christ. And four, trust in God 100% to take you through. He then
> > > proceeded to give a testimony of his adopted daughter. This man and his
> > > wife are missionaries to Thailand. They happened across a young lady
> whose
> > > mother was a prostitute and  the daughter, or mother for that matter, had
> > > no idea who the father was. This man and his wife had taken her in and
> > > helped bring her up for just over a year now. She attended school in
> > > Thailand and of course Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country.
> > > Fortunately  the leader of that country had past two articles in their
> > > government. One that gives freedom of religion, and the other to have
> > > freedom to express that religion. It happened then that this young lady,
> > > Ann, was to attend a drug prevention class in her school based from
> > > Buddhist precepts. She did not want to attend so this man and his wife
> > > wrote a note to the teacher stating they  wished them to honor Ann's
> > > request to not attend. The teacher tried to tell Ann to attend anyway,
> > > because her parents would never know the difference. Well Ann, walked out
> > > the room and placed a call to this man and wife, who she now calls
> mom and
> > > dad. They go to meet the principle of the school and after an hour and a
> > > half of Ann preaching at the principle, he finally said  "OK! OK!  you do
> > > not have to attend". She then became the target of verbal abuse stating
> >she
> > > was a trader to her country and heritage, trader to her race, and this by
> > > teachers not, just students. She came home that day and they prayed about
> > > what to do with a nasty situation now on their hands. They decided to let
> > > God take control. She went to school the next day and no one abused her
> > > verbally. In fact there were some kids that never before wanted to be her
> > > friend, now wanted to be her friend. And three weeks later the principle
> > > and many of the teachers, the ones that assaulted her verbally, were
> > > removed from the school for corruption.
> > >
> > > I sat back and pondered about how a 17-year-old girl, in a foreign
> > > country,  with a foreign religion to that land, was strong enough to take
> > > on her school and make such a difference. I thought how great that sounds
> > > after it is all said and done. How powerful it is and like our pastor
> from
> > > our former church mentioned afterwards, it is so much different hearing
> > > such testimonies from those who lived it, as it tells so quickly but
> lasts
> > > so long. And with my repeated rendition of it, I'm sure it does it an
> > > injustice, but for the purposes of my point of ponder hopefully it will
> > > suffice. It sure sounded great, the power and passion in this man's voice
> > > of the details of how this all came to pass in a country where
> >Christianity
> > > is a minority and persecution is on the rise all over the world. How he
> > > encouraged his newly found daughter to count herself honored to be in
> good
> > > company as Peter, John, James and of course the rest of Christ's
> followers
> > > as well Jesus Christ himself, to be persecuted for upholding the truth.
> > >
> > > When I hear these stories I look at my own life as a point of reflection
> > > and see how a 17 year old young lady has proved more courage, lived out a
> > > testimony, and made a difference in those around her more than I had in a
> > > long time living in a Christian based country with persecution being
> > > primarily that of "Oh don't preach religion to me" or "Oh save your
> > > preaching for the next guy". It also occurred to me that in the midst of
> > > this family's encounter, had they recognized that that day's event is
> > > tomorrow's testimony in the making? If they hadn't, they will from here
> > > out, based on the four points that accompanied this testimony. If they
> >went
> > > in that situation with the four points he made, that of  focusing on
> >Jesus,
> > > knowing who God is, knowing who they were in God, and trusting god, then
> > > they had to be conscious of what they were living was a testimony in the
> > > making.
> > >
> > > This realization helps give a new sense of expectation in my life. An
> > > expectation to recognize that what we are living now, this minute, is
> part
> > > of some sort of testimony in the future to how God has worked in our
> life,
> > > and if it is not, than am I really living life with God as center? Have I
> > > gotten side tracked to where I do not recognize or have expectations of
> >his
> > > hand in my life? Testimonies do not have to be a dramatically wowing of
> > > awesome proportions but it may well be walking away from a conversation
> > > knowing God gave you the words to say to help that person better know
> God,
> > > or a step closer to knowing him for the first time. It could be standing
> >in
> > > the midst of financial difficulties and seeing provision coming in, or it
> > > could be standing in front of hundreds or thousands of people citing how
> > > God spared your life miraculously while doing his work and having many of
> > > those want that loving God in their life and accept him at that
> time.  And
> > > when we  cannot seem to find a testimony complete or  having reached a
> > > solution, we certainly can stand  with expectation knowing that what we
> >are
> > > living now is tomorrows testimony, and that hope will cause us to look
> > > harder for God in a situation, to listen closer for his voice.
> > >
> > > I know this man's points were focus on Christ, know who God is, know
> who I
> > > am in God, and trust in God, but what I remember hearing most in-between
> > > his words, in the pauses of his testimony, is the summation "today's
> >events
> > > are tomorrows testimonies".
> > >
> > > Brad