I love the month of September, so much so, it is my favorite time of year! The weather is often a perfect blend of summer and fall, being neither too hot nor too cold during certain times of the month. I absolutely love it! Where I live, September is also one of the most beautiful times of the year. In September, our sky is often a deep blue color, trees are lush and green, and we enjoy many sunny days with large puffy, white clouds floating across the sky - creating the perfect storybook picture. The month of September makes me think about several different things.
September also makes me think about when God created the world. According to the Hebrew Bible, this is the time of year when that happened. Rosh Hashanah, literally meaning "head of the year" on the original Hebrew calendar, is when that happened the Jewish people say. So special.
Every September, I also think about the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) and the return of the Lord. I think about the verses that say:
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
It is amazing to think that the Lord Himself is literally going to shout! And He is going to blow a trumpet - a shofar! I used to wonder… why is the Lord going to shout? I think He is going to be so excited to get His bride - a bride that He has waited a long time for!
When you understand the Bible in its proper Hebrew culture and context, the connection of this event to the Feast of Trumpets is undeniable. Every year on the Feast of Trumpets, I enjoy blowing my shofar, and I cannot help but wonder... will this be the year of His return? Maybe. Maybe not.
The Bible says that no one knows the exact day or hour of Christ's return, but we will know when it is near, even at the door. (Matthew 24:33) God's Word tells us about many things that will happen in the last days, just before the return of Christ.
My Dad loves Bible prophecy; he has as long as I can remember. My Dad would sometimes tell us what things would look like before Christ's return. I remember hearing about some "end time" things in the Bible as a young girl in our little brick home in Michigan. I remember hearing about more "end time" things in our home in California when I was becoming a young lady. I always wondered how some of those things might "play out" in our world. I admit, some things seemed "far out" to me in every sense of the word, but I knew the Bible talked about certain things, so I knew those things would happen someday. I would nearly shiver at the thought of the "antichrist" and the "mark of the beast". I still shiver at those things. Not exactly pleasant topics.
Now at 40 years old, I am hearing about things happening in our world that make me very uncomfortable, things that remind me of things I heard about as a child. Reading about Amazon introducing their new "palm payment" (literally using the palm of your hand to purchase things!), makes me extremely uncomfortable. I sure won't be doing that. And no, I don't think that is the mark of the beast; not at all. But it’s getting too close for comfort. There are signs everywhere that show that the return of Christ is getting very close. That part is super exciting. The other stuff, not so much.
The month of September, especially Labor Day, also reminds of a Godly, older man I met years ago at the grocery store I worked in close to our home. This elderly man was in his 70's and had a very close walk with God. I met him while cashiering one day, and we soon became good friends. He shared some wonderful things with me, and over the span of nearly 5 years, I learned some things from him. He had such a wealth of knowledge from the Scriptures.
On Labor Day of 2015, that elderly man asked to see me and a friend (a coworker of mine) at his home that evening. He was dying of cancer and relayed his wish to an elderly woman who also knew us and shopped at that grocery store. My friend called it a "dying wish" - something I wrote about on a former blog of mine. We went to see him that Monday evening, September 7th, 2015. We came in and sat at his bedside. He looked so old and fragile; he was indeed dying. In his late 70's, he looked like a 90 year old man. His skin looked terrible. He lost so much weight. He even lost some teeth. But his soft, blue eyes shone with the bright hope of "going home" soon. He shared some things with us, and I played my small lap harp for him. He cried, and I cried. He said he saw angels of heaven welcoming him home with my harp playing. I cried even more while singing... "Shalom, my friend… May blessings attend thee, angels defend, shalom, shalom!" This elderly man shared more things with me and my friend that evening, encouraging us in our walk with God. He also blessed us before we left that evening, holding each of our hands in his. He died less than a month later. I will remember that evening for the rest of my life, it made such an impact on me. I cannot help but think of him on Labor Day. His name was David. David Kenders. I cried today thinking of him. I look forward to seeing him in heaven again someday.
Thinking about that elderly man, along with the return of Christ, made me think about other Godly men and women I’ve known, as well as many Godly people in the Bible who have gone on before us. They have died. They finished their course; they finished their race.
Hebrews 12:1-2 says:
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..."
God's Word likens our walk with God to a race, a race where those in the stands of heaven are watching and cheering us on. The Bible calls it a "great cloud of witnesses". Jesus Himself is at the finish line.
Thinking about a race made me think of my homeschool days back when we were living in Santa Barbara, California. We were part of a homeschool group that met for different activities. One of our homeschool activities was something called "track and field" - a day where many in our homeschool group met on the grounds of a local college campus to enjoy some healthy, outdoor exercise. I always enjoyed it! We did all kinds of things, ranging from stretches (that I can't do anymore), to hurdles, to many different kinds of races. So fun!
One of the races we used to do was called a relay race. Our relay races had maybe 5 or 6 on a team with 4 or 5 teams total. It has been so long (almost 30 years ago!), my memory is a little fuzzy, but I think each of the teams had a baton that was a different color. (red, yellow, green, and blue) We would line up on our track and spread out evenly, getting ready to pass the baton onto the next person on our team after we had run our "lap". I remember those relay races so well.
It seems like one time, I got to start the race for my team, holding the baton tightly, ready to pass it on to the next person on my team when I reached them after running my lap. From there, they would run their lap to the next person, who would then pass it onto the next person. The last person on each team would run with the baton to the finish line with some cheering them on loudly! Relay races were, truly, a team effort. One person did not win; an entire team won. Such fun!
I also remember getting to be in the middle of our relay races, eagerly waiting for the baton, ready to run with it to the next person on my team. I remember one of our coaches (a homeschool mom or dad, I think!) telling us that we needed to begin running a little bit before we were handed the baton, and if we dropped the baton, we were disqualified. We could not continue running until we picked the baton back up. (which would cost time!) Sadly, I think I remember some dropping the baton. I felt so bad for them.
I enjoyed the excitement of running in the middle of the race - waiting for the baton, running with it, and then passing it onto the next person.
One time, I think I was the last person on my team to run with the baton to the finish line. Though running with the baton was the same throughout the entire race, being the last one to run with it was thrilling, but very intense. Your team depended on you to finish well. I remember being handed the baton to run that final lap. I ran as fast and as hard as I could while my team cheered loudly:
"Run, Erin, run!"
I don't think I came in first place, but I think I may have come in second place for my team. Those relay races gave us good, healthy exercise and good, healthy competition. This was, after all, team effort. I remember that running track so well and even saved a picture I found of it online many years ago.
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| The exact running track our homeschool group ran on at Westmont College, Montecito, California. |
Thinking about those relay races back in my homeschool days in California, made me think about the race we are in as Christians.
As Christians, we are running a race together as a team.
Sadly, we live in a day when many Christians, running the race, are dropping the baton - God's Word. They don't care anymore what God says. It's painful to watch it happen. But, like my relay races in school, I had to keep running, even when I saw others dropping the baton.
My fellow Christian friends, we have been handed the baton, God's Word. And I truly believe that, right now, we are running the final lap.
Yes, it is thrilling beyond words, but it is also extremely intense.
Hold tightly to the baton. That is, hold tightly to God's Word. Even more, hold tightly to God Himself.
If you have to let the tears flow at times because of the intensity of the race, let your tears flow, but keep on running. Jesus is at the finish line.
That "great cloud of witnesses" is cheering you and me on. Many of them are listed just before those verses I shared above in Hebrews 12. Many of them are named in the faith chapter of Hebrews 11.
My fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are cheering me on.
Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel are cheering me on.
Joseph is cheering me on. Moses and David, and Peter and Paul and so many others are cheering me on.
And like my homeschool team, they are cheering your name, and they are cheering mine:
"Run, Erin, run!"
