Welcome to Teshuvah Day 38-The Days of Awe
Plant a Seed Reap a Harvest
In my October heart
I feel His tender touch
The one I’ve come to know
That comforts me so much
The warmth of His pure touch
Alive making all things new
That precious sacred nearness
That changes darkest view
Not a matter of climate
Determined with weather or mood
We know there is always hope
And it is found with gratitude
Harvest is coming seed is supplied
Hold steady and do not negate
The course is moving speedily
Plant His truth never debate
For the words of eternal life
In Jesus Christ are found
We must never doubt
His truth completely surrounds
Can we establish eternity
Yet knowing it is real
We cannot fathom or measure
But to our spirit He reveals
Sow a seed and reap a harvest
Plant and continue to believe
Like earth bringing forth her fruit
It is by faith we shall receive
© laurette laster
October 2019
This morning I was reminiscing the emotions felt when the human heart begins to love and trust someone and be safely loved in return. Sometimes we use the terminology “falling in love.” We know we are made in God’s image and likeness, and God is love so actually we are grown and designed with the God kind of love. We also know our God is a jealous God, a consuming fire. That is a picture of the weights or scales of justice.
Do you remember when you fell in love? Do you remember the newness of life your heart felt? I know I sure do.
The anticipation of when we would see each other again. I would think I can’t wait to tell Greg ‘this’ or I cannot wait to share ‘that’ with Greg, when we talk next. After Greg proposed my mind was thinking of planning our wedding. My thoughts changed and I included Greg’s desires in many of my decisions. I would wake up excited with a sense of expectation; simply because I had grown to trust and love Greg, and I knew he was God’s choice. Greg and I each had made poor choices in our past so getting it right was vital to our calls and peace of mind.
Oh the joy I felt in my heart, overwhelmed because I loved and was safely loved in return.
How much more The Father safely loves us.
God is love and He wants us to feel the emotion of love and enjoy love, just like Him. He gave us the ability to feel love, to give love and to receive love. We love because He first loved us. Without a relationship with our Heavenly Father we cannot fully experience the love He longs for us to know. This comes from receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He is our Bridegroom, Our First Love.
The mystery of Christ and the church, Jesus our Heavenly Groom, and we are His betrothed. Love is covenanting talk and God is our covenant keeping Father. Our Beloved is coming, Don’t miss the Bridegroom’s call.
RETURN to the passion of your first love.
Revelation 2:4 Jesus says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” He continues telling us to Repent, Return, and Teshuvah.
Without RETURNING to our first love, with our whole heart and soul, human love is superficial and unsatisfying or perhaps worse a cheap compromise or filler. We are designed by God and therefore fashioned to connect to a sincere love that only God can supply, then love for other’s will flow (in and out) from this genuine love.
Without genuine love and devotion we have faulty and frail expectations of human love.
RETURN-TESHUVAH, to your first love and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, return to Me.
Don’t miss this season of Teshuvah, my favorite time of the year.
The blowing of the Shofar and its relationship to “Awakening” is very interesting.
The shofar (ram’s horn) is often used as an instrument of spiritual warfare, though it is primarily used to rouse the soul to face reality… Maimonides writes: “There is a hidden message we are supposed to infer by listening to the shofar. It suggests saying: ‘Sleeping ones! Awaken from your sleep! Slumbering ones! Awaken from your slumber! Examine your deeds. Remember your Creator and do Teshuvah.” This idea was earlier stated in the New Testament writings: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Messiah will shine on you” (Eph. 5:13-14). This theme of “awakening from sleep” is used elsewhere in the Scriptures (John 11:11, Rom. 13:11, 1 Thess. 5:6, Dan. 12:1-2, Psalm 78:65, etc.). The sound of the shofar calls us to return to the LORD and seek His face. And since finding God is our greatest joy, King David rightly wrote: “Happy is the people who know the Teruah [i.e. the shofar blast]” (Psalm 89:16).
Indeed, the word shofar (שׁוֹפָר) comes from a root (שָׁפַר) that means to “beautify,” alluding to the beautification of our ways as we turn to God in Teshuvah, Repentance.
[Hebrew for Christians]
Covenant love is designed to mature and grow while becoming more fruitful each season. This kind of love is sustainable only through mutual affection and adoration. The season of our repentance is a renewing of our vows or a reawakening of our purpose. God’s love will never change, however we can repel His devotion by ignoring His call and disregarding the gifts He offers. If we are truly in love, how can we ignore Him?
Wake up to a deeper love. Wake up to this rehearsal appointment and seek His face. Wake up to an eternal covenant. Wake up to the upcoming harvest of blessings. The Day of Atonement is almost here, are you ready? Or have you been hitting snooze, thinking there is still plenty of time for me to get ready? Maybe there is plenty of time, and maybe not. But why would we want another season of crops that do not have eternal lasting covenant value?
I know I don’t want to miss this appointment. I want all He died to give me.
God bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you. The Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you Shalom.
Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette
Through All Seasons 