Messianic Jewish Holidays and Celebrations

November 05, 2019

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “the heart is deceitful above all things.” The New King James goes on to say it is “desperately wicked” while the Tree of Life Version calls it “incurable.” That’s a startling verse, and it’s tough to see that it includes no caveats indicating it’s only referring to “the really bad people.” The Bible boldly claims that we all have wickedness in our hearts, and therefore, we’re all vulnerable to getting carried away by it. Mob Mentality Eighty-one years ago, Michael Bruc...

October 16, 2019

Remembering Our Relationship with Him The booths of Sukkot offer us symbols of the fragility and transient nature of life. Tents are temporary, and so are our earthly lives. This physical world is the only one we’ve known, and though we accept that we’ll someday leave it, life-in-the-moment on planet Earth can feel rather sure. But it really isn’t. Our life could end in any given minute. Besides which, this world won’t last. God is preparing to reveal the New Heaven and New Earth, and thi...

October 16, 2019

Remembering God’s Presence Remembering Israel’s wilderness days reminds us of how God’s presence dwelled with them during their decades-long wandering. As they roamed the desert, they did so by the guidance of God’s presence represented to them in a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. After the tabernacle – a tent – was built, God’s glory resided in the innermost room called the Holy of Holies. The booths, or tents, of Sukkot depict God’s desire to live in fellowship with His peo...

October 16, 2019

Remembering God’s Divine Protection The booths that we build today for Sukkot represent the tents that God had the Israelites live in during their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness. Their tents protected them from the elements and serve as reminders of God’s divine protection of us today. In the Scriptures, God is shown to be our protector. He has been faithful to Israel throughout history when time and time again, enemies have attempted to annihilate her. She is still here, regathered int...

October 16, 2019

Remembering God’s Holiness In thinking back to the Israelites in the wilderness, we remember that the first generation’s disobedience cost them the Promised Land. Because of their rebellion and sin, none from the generation that left Egypt was permitted to enter the Land God said He would give to His people, except Joshua and Caleb. The multitudes died in the wilderness, and only their children after them entered. God is holy. He is merciful and kind, but He is also holy. Moses was only pe...

October 15, 2019

Remembering God’s Provision God instructs us at Sukkot to remember that He made the Israelites live in tents in the wilderness. Their wandering experience was more complicated than merely living in temporary housing as they traveled. The barren desert offered no food or water for them. They could not have survived it without God’s supernatural provision. He supplied food out of nowhere with a fresh crop of manna each morning, giving the Children of Israel one day’s nourishment at a time. H...

October 13, 2019

God gave Israel the Feasts to remember historical events, and He explained how to commemorate them before Him. Jewish people say a blessing that honors and thanks God for new things or when they do something for the first time in a new year. They bless God for their waking in the morning and again at night for Him seeing them through the day. And, they have a day set aside to intentionally celebrate God’s Word. Simchat Torah (SIM-khat TOR-ah) means “Joy of the Torah.” Speaking precisely,...

October 13, 2019

Remembering God’s Deliverance The Feast of Sukkot invites us to remember the Israelites journey in the wilderness and what God did for them. Leading to their release from captivity is a trail lined with miracles of deliverance. For instance, the plagues that God brought upon Egypt affected the whole nation except in the area of Goshen, where the Jewish people lived. The final plague – the angel of death – visited all Egypt but passed over every Jewish home with doorframes covered by the blood...

October 13, 2019

Rabbis teach that at Sukkot, we recount four things: that God is a God of remembrance, deliverance, holiness and provision. There are three more that, as Messianic Jewish Believers, we find appropriate to celebrate during the Feast of Sukkot: God’s protection, His presence, and our relationship with Him. Join us each day of Sukkot for another devotion focusing on one of these remembrances. Our God of Remembrance God knows us. He knows how forgetful we are. Thus, He established certain Feas...

October 11, 2019

Have you ever gone camping – the kind where you sleep in a tent and go without electricity and running water? Close quarters, hard ground, no kitchen – the experience makes everyday tasks a little more difficult. Life while camping is a bit less comfortable, but it’s worth it, right? Getting away from our usual routine and customary conveniences can refresh us. The simplified living can help us return to important thoughts that our regular lives tend to crowd out. We engage around the campfi...