Celebrate

Read Leviticus 23-25
 
Leviticus 23:44 So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD.
 
THE festivals the Lord God gave his people were designed to celebrate God’s great works to become Israel’s God.
    The appointed feasts looked back to mark the literal ways God’s goodness came to his people. God had formed them as a nation, delivered them from bondage, provided food and shelter in the desert, prepared a land for their future and established an order to their society.
    These feasts also looked forward. The Day of Atonement, the Passover (the Feast of Unleavened Bread), Pentecost (Firstfruits – the giving of the law) and the Feast of Tabernacle or Booths would be fulfilled in Jesus, the Savior, and his church. As a result, these celebrations are now for you. We celebrate Easter to remember God passes over our sins as Jesus’ blood has marked our hearts. Pentecost reminds us of the Holy Spirit bearing the firstfruits of the church into the apostles in Jerusalem. And Tabernacles is a reminder that God’s Spirit dwells with and within us.
    Yes, it is good each day to remember God for his mighty work in your lives. Today the church is one of your “celebration places”. The church worship each Sunday should be a time of remembering what God has done and desiring to respond to him with faithful obedience. Our homes, too, must joyfully mark God’s work in our lives. Each meal in some way can be a feast of remembering God’s grace. And our daily lives are to exhibit an attitude of joy as God reminds us of his gracious care.
    When you remember  the wonder of God’s creation, the glory of his salvation and the promise of your eternal resurrection, be of mind to celebrate his festival promise: Psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
 
How Will your church, your home and your life become a celebration place?