CELEBRATING CHRIST

In Genesis 3:15 God promised to send a “SEED” - the first promise from God about Christ redeeming us from sin and the devil’s work. These words written thousands of years before His death on the Cross, prove that God established His plan of redemption through Jesus Christ from the very beginning (Ephesians 1:4).

The first introduction to “Christ” was made in John 16 when Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am? “Peter answered, “You are the Christ the Son of the living God!”  He was predicting Christmas– a Christ celebration!

THE CHRISTIAN TRILOGY OF HOLIDAYS

I love holidays! For the Christian there is a trilogy of holidays, and they all rolled into one,

1. THANKSGIVING – Focus on what you are thankful for. The Pilgrims thanked God for His protection on their journey and for bringing them to a place of new beginnings.

Leviticus 23:26-32 tells us that the Jews are called to acknowledge The Day of Atonement (which is October 11-12 in 2024). It is not a joyous feast, but rather a strict time of prayer and fasting for the acknowledgement of sin and a blood payment  required for sin. On the Day of Atonement the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year, sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat to make atonement for the sins of Israel for the past year. Today Jesus is our High Priest and He Himself has sprinkled His own blood on the true mercy seat in heaven—the throne of grace – “once for all.” (Hebrews 9:23–26)  

             And because His sacrifice is perfect and He is perfect, we, who are in Christ, have perfect standing forever before God so we can come boldly to the throne of grace. (Hebrews 9:23-26) We must have a reverence and awe for Jesus laying down His life for us – that repentance for any sin is forgiven!

Here are 7 Blessings of the Day of Atonement which are applicable to us today (Joel 2:23-32).

1.     Christ is the power of every blessing (Joel 2:23)

2.     A harvest overflow like the threshing floor (v. 24)

3.     Restoration of all lost (v.25)

4.     An explosion of miracles (v. 26)

5.     The divine presence of Jesus Himself (v. 27)

6.     Increased revelation knowledge (v. 28)

7.     Deliverance from anything blocking you.(v. 32)                              

Now let’s continue on with Holiday #2…

2.      CHRISTMAS – Celebrate the gifts God has given you – new birth, forgiveness, eternal life, the Holy Spirit and your family!

3.     NEW YEAR – Holiday #3 – From BC to AD - A new year is a time to recalibrate, wiping the slate clean, by celebrating what worked, releasing the past and getting positioned for the next 12 months.

We have been given an inheritance in Christ Jesus. We have a “Treasure” in earthen vessels.  Ours is to acknowledge and be obedient to His calling on our lives.

On the Road to Emmaus Jesus spoke to the two bewildered disciples, “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26) Luke used this to explain the resurrection. This phrase reveals the deeper meaning of the resurrection by developing it as the glorification of Jesus.