Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur:  The Day of Atonement

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

            For Christians, Yom Kippur celebrates the atonement of Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection.  Through His atonement, the price for our sin has been paid, and we are reconciled to God.  

            The first step in receiving that atonement is repentance.  Repentance involves a heart change in direction and in life, from sin and self-centeredness to holiness and God-centeredness.  Repentance is the first step toward God, and  involves a permanent change of mind and direction. Romans 12:2 reminds us, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV)”  When we have truly repented, we think God’s thoughts about the nature sin rather than our own thoughts.

            In the atonement, we enter into a new covenant with God the Father.  In scripture, Jesus is called “the last Adam.”  1 Corinthians 15:45 (NKJV) “ And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”  Because Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins, we can walk in fellowship with God just as Adam did before Fall.  The atonement has made that possible because of the Holy Spirit who resides within us.  

            1 Corinthians 15:48-49 (NKJV)  “As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”  Because of the atonement, we can be like Jesus, full of the fruit of the spirit:
^“22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
²⁴  And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
²⁵  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25 (NKJV)”

            In our renewed minds, we then perceive the commandments of God, not as impossible restrictions in our lives, but as the pathway to the abundant life.  We perceive the commandments as beatitudes:  

1.  Happy are those who worship God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

2.  Happy are  those who do not allow anything to become more important to them than God is.

3.  Happy are those who understand who God is and do not misuse His name.

4.  Happy are those who keep the Sabbath day holy.

5. Happy are those who honor their Christian heritage.

6.  Happy are those who do not allow hatred and unforgiveness to control their lives.

7.  Happy are those who are faithful to their commitments to God and to one another.

8.  Happy are those who respect the property of others.

9.  Happy are those who do not make false or unfounded accusations against others.

10.   Happy are those who are thankful for the blessing of God in their lives and who do not desire what others have.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the atonement of Jesus Christ that allows me to live in victory over sin and the sorrow it can bring into my life.    I worship You on this Yom Kippur.

Nothing But The Blood by Robert Lowry

What can wash away my sin

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

What can make me whole again

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

Beholding His Glory

Beholding His Glory

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

In the Temple of God, the Ark of the Covenant sat in the Holy of Holies.  The Ark demonstrated the terms and provisions of the covenant God has made with us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The glory of God rested on the Mercy Seat, the lid of the Ark.  Two cherubim sat on that Mercy Seat and the glory of God rested between them.  Hebrews 9: 2-5. “For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.”

In ancient Israel, Hezekiah was a king not a priest.  He had never seen into the Holy of Holies, yet he knew the presence of God rested there. Isaiah 37:15-16.  Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: "O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.”  God dwells between the angelic beings commissioned to guard His glory which is manifested in His mercy.

The Hebrew word translated as mercy is kabod meaning "weight" or "heaviness." The same word is also used to express importance, honor, and majesty. To behold the mercy of God is to behold His glory which sometimes appeared as a cloud and/or a pillar of fire.

We see the glory cloud in the passages describing the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.  It was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  Exodus 13:21 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”

The glory of God is sometimes referred to as the Shekinah which means “the one who dwells” or “that which dwells.”  God’s desire is to dwell among His people. 

Until the veil was opened, only the High Priest was allowed to see the glory of God and only on one day during the year, Yom Kippur. During the time of Jesus, the Ark of the Covenant was not in the Holy of Holies.  It had disappeared during the Babylonian captivity.  Today, many Jews and Christians alike yearn for reappearance the Ark of Covenant.  We want to experience that depiction of His Glory.

Sadly, too many Christians do not fully understand that we are the Temple of God, that the Glory of God dwells within us, that we are the guardians of His Holiness.  The Apostle John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

In Jesus Christ, the glory of God is revealed.  When we love Him and are obedient to Him, we behold His glory. How, then, can we do anything but worship Him?

On Pentecost, the shekinah glory physically appeared as tongues of fire over the heads of all those in the Upper Room. (Acts 2:1-3) “Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.”  Glory to God in the highest!!

In the Revelation, John peered into the spiritual realm and saw Jesus in all of His Glory: (Revelation 1:12-16) “Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.  His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.”

His glory shines forth in a radiance that we cannot behold because His light is more magnificent than the sun.  No wonder that the Lord hid Moses in the cleft of the rock and allowed the man to see only the backside of His glory.

Think of it! This magnificent, powerful, radiant God calls us His children and loves us so passionately that He sent His Son to the cross so that dwell with us forever and ever.  Let’s bring the song back to Zion and the praise back to Him.  The darkness in the world is crying out to see the glory of our God in our lives.

The Judgment of God?

The Judgment of God?

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Worldwide political turmoil, chaos, earthquakes, wildfires, catastrophic weather patterns—are these the judgment of God for the wickedness in our world?  Perhaps.  They are, at the least, a wake-up call.  Who are the sleepers that need to arise?

Although in ages past, the prophets warned of God’s judgment against the world, they also warned His people about their impending judgment and declared it was time for them to awaken, to step out of their sin and into His righteousness.

When judgment does come, where does it begin?  (1 Peter 4: 17) “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

We have experienced much repentance for the sins of our nation during the past months.  However, many of us have had our eyes set only on the sins of “the other guys.” But what about our own sins, the sins of the born-again, Spirit-filled, Bible believing Christians? 

On the day after Palm Sunday, Jesus cleansed His own house.  He cleansed the Temple.  If we want a turn-around in our nation and in the world, we believers must first cleanse our own temples, for we are the temple of God indwelt by His Holy Spirit.  The spirits of evil will be defeated in our nation, when Christians step out of darkness and into the light.  The spirit of abortion will be broken when Christians stop having abortions.  The spirit of substance abuse will be broken when Christians stop abusing substances.  The spirit of sexual sin will be broken when Christians stop practicing sexual sin.  The spirit of lying will be broken when Christians stop lying.

It was at the dedication of the first Temple in Jerusalem that the Lord spoke to Solomon saying, (2 Chronicles 7: 14-15) "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Later God spoke through the prophet Isaiah: (Isaiah 60: 1-3:) “Arise, shine; For your light has come! and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles (unbelievers) shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.”

Jesus said to His followers, (Matthew 5:13-15) "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”

The world must see Jesus in our countenance and in our behavior as well as in our words.

People of God, reveille has sounded.  It is time to rise and shine and proclaim His glory.

It Only Takes a Moment

It Only Takes a Moment

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Remembering that the Tabernacle is a picture of Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him, we must understand that we can be saved and remain in the outer court.  The outer court is good, but God has something even greater for us—intimacy with Him and other believers in the Holy Place, the front room of the Tabernacle. However, our God is a God of abundance.  He has even more for us.

In the Tabernacle, a heavy veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.

Exodus 26:31-33:  "You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, upon four sockets of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.”

The blue in the design represents the revelation of heaven; the purple, the Kingship of God; the scarlet, His sacrifice for us—the blood of Jesus which seals our covenant with Him.  The cherubim picture the mighty warrior angels who guard the holiness of God Most High.  The pillars of acacia word represent both the cross and the Tree of Life—first seen in the Garden and again in the eternal Jerusalem. The gold symbolizes His divinity.  The veil, itself, is a picture of holiness, power and authority of Yahweh, the Great I Am, Lord of Heaven and Earth.

The veil also shows that our sin separates us from God. Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Simply put, we sin when we settle for less than what the Lord has for us, when we settle for less than the best.

The veil reveals to us where Old Testament believers were, walking in His light, fellowshipping with other believers, interceding for the Kingdom, yet separated from His glory.

But in the most definitive moment in time, that moment when our Lord cried out, “It is finished” and slipped out of His earthly body, something amazing, something too wonderful for unregenerate understanding to grasp, happened: Matthew 28: 51: “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.”

The division between man and God was torn asunder from heaven to earth. God made a way for us to sing and dance on that Holy Highway right into the presence of our King.

Hallelujah! What a Savior.

As I mediated on this, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind a phrase from Hello Dolly by Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart: “It only takes a moment to be loved a whole life long.” 

We are eternal beings.  Our life is forever.  Our moment is the tearing of the veil.

Holy Highway

Ginger Hendricks | Jim Hendricks

There's a road called the holy highway
That once was a desert land
Very soon you'll hear the sound of
A holy marching band
Everlasting joy upon them
There's a remnant strong and true
We bring the song back to Zion
We bring the praise back to You

We exalt You God almighty
You are worthy to be praised
Let all nations bow before You
Holy ancient of all days

There's a road called the holy highway
Where the people dance and shout
For the enemy is running
With confusion all about
Wave our banners in the victory
Raise them high His Word is true
We bring the song back to Zion
We bring the praise back to You

We exalt You God almighty
You are worthy to be praised
Let all nations bow before You
Holy ancient of all days.