Elul Check-In and Opportunity

We are two weeks away from the Jewish New Year and two weeks into a forty-day period of self-examination, prayer, giving, and communion with God.

One of my favorite descriptions of this time of year is “The King is in the Field.” While we know we can come to God at any time, it’s easy for us to become distracted and even pulled by the thoughts of man away from our God-ordained course in life. The thing I personally want most out of this time of preparation is to break the cycle of being bound by the opinions of others and even the thoughts of others.

Each of us is equipped with a Bible and the Holy Spirit. While I value the role of teachers, I believe that each of us has a unique assignment from God. We will be judged based on our calling, not on the expectations of others.

You may be familiar with First John saying that we have an anointing from the Holy One, know all things, and do not need a man to teach us, but the Holy Spirit teaches us all things. We know teachers are not bad because Jesus gave them as a gift to the Church. There is a larger context to the anointing in First John.

1 John 2:15-28 LSB “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever. 18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they were of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out so that it would be manifested that they all are not of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth but because you do know it and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, let that which you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. 26 These things I have written to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 And as for you, the anointing whom you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as He has taught you, abide in Him. 28 And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He is manifested, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.”

Notice that there are antichrists, and then there is the antichrist. There have always been those who have acknowledged Jesus but taught against the truth of the Word of God. In this context, John is telling us to be confident in the Holy Spirit’s ability to lead and guide us into all truth (John 16:13).

We are also reminded of the importance of abiding in Yeshua; He spent time making sure His disciples understood in John chapters fourteen and fifteen. The chapter ends with a reminder of His coming, which is the fulfillment of the Fall Feasts.

As we continue through the month of Elul and go into the Ten Days of Awe, Remember the Words of David in Psalm 27, “One thing I have asked from Yahweh, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of Yahweh And to inquire in His temple. For in the day of calamity He will conceal me in His shelter; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with loud shouts of joy;I will sing, and I will sing praises to Yahweh.” (Psalm 27:4-6 LSB).

We are preparing to enter the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus came and tabernacled with us so that we might tabernacle with God. A great preparation is our giving. Northern Israel is currently being evacuated as they prepare for retaliation from Lebanon, and we have an opportunity as Israel fights this Swords of Iron War to provide tangible shelter and help during the day of calamity.

If you are able, please give to help those in the north, and as this war continues, keep the Israel Defense Forces and the citizens of Israel in your prayers. You can also contribute to the Friends of the IDF and the American Friends of Magen David Adom (Israel’s Ambulance Service).

If you would like to stand with Israelis living in the Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, what the world calls the West Bank, you can buy products from those in the land at BlessedBuyIsrael.com

I pray that this journey of reflection has been eye-opening and that by the time we all reach the High Holy Days, we have each been transformed by the power of returning to God in every area of our lives and that we walk in all the good things that God has for us in 5785/2025.

May we each have a blessed and sweet new year, and may all the remaining hostages be brought safely home.