YOM KIPPUR
"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."
Jonah 3:10

Tonight is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This holiday has for a long time standing been considered the most holy day in the Jewish biblical calendar. It is this in history that once a year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and make atonement for the nation. It is a perfect illustration of regeneration for those who follow God's atonement.
In Leviticus 16 we read concerning the ceremony first performed by the children of Israel following their great exodus. The ceremony began with two goats. One goat was named the Chatat and would be slain as a blood sacrifice as a symbol of the covering of sins for the people. The second goat named the Azazel, or Scapegoat, would be brought before the priest. The priest would lay his hands on the goat's head as the sins of the people were confessed. Whereas the first was slain, the Scapegoat was released into the wilderness as a representation of the sins being removed from the people.
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He did so for our sin. Jesus, who knew no sin, became our sacrifice and Scapegoat. As his body was beat and cut, His blood flowed becoming our Chatat. Yet He also became our Azazel in that He took our sin away from us. It is only because of His sacrifice and forgiveness of our sins that we have the ability to stand in His presence.
The Greek word Kapparah means propitiation. In Greek mythology this word was used in showing appeasement to the gods. But this word also means atonement. On the cross, Jesus was displayed as our kapparah, our sacrifice, the fulfillment of all that is celebrated at Yom Kippur. The atonement has been made.
As time moved forward and the ability to perform animal sacrifices became a lesser approved option, the rabbis of the first century assisted with substitutions that would still portray original reasons of Yom Kippur. The holiday now consist of the Tefilah (prayer), Teshuvah (repentance), and Tzedakah (charity). So in this time of Yom Kippur we are challenged to this and reflect on forgiveness. In the last ten days between Rosh HaShanan and Yom Kippur, known as the Days of Awe, we were to present forgiveness to those we have offended and confess our sins to God. For today, I urge you to reflect on the truth found in the book of Jonah, that if we confess and turn from our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us as He did the people of Ninevah. God has forgiven you, now take your place ON THE VANGUARD!

SERVICE ENGINE SOON
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
Philippians 4:8

We've all been there at some point, some of us more often than others. In our quest to drive from one place to another, the car begins to make a funky sound. It may be a clunking, or tapping, or grinding, but usually it is followed with the red light district across your instrument panel. Then those three words are highlighted that literally could mean anything. SERVICE ENGINE SOON.
I am not a fan of those words and have seen them more often than I have wished. The issue could be in something as small as low gas to something as major as the transmission. A fix of a few dollars, or of hundreds, can only be estimated in that moment. It is in that moment also that our minds seem to go automatically towards thinking the worst and expecting to pay the most.
In some ways, though, the same should be true in our walk with Christ. The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:8 to think on the things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. As we are human, though, we do not always think on these things. We get sidetracked and think on money, personal goals, life, family, work. For me, these items can take up more time than I want, and more time than I spend with God.
I have found it funny, but true, that when I do find myself more consumed with other things than with God, that my spiritual "service engine light" comes on. You're asking, what does he mean? Simply put, when I am about to break down due to my lack of upkeep, God sends the Holy Spirit as my service light to blink and guide me to see the service I need. When I am not thinking about the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy things, this service engine soon light serves to convict me that I am in need of help.
One thing I have learned about this service light, however, is that the choice I make when it first flashes can save or ruin the car even more. The longer I delay to have the car looked at and fixed, the more potential there is for other parts to break. This principle is the same spiritually. Once the Holy Spirit shows me that I need to correct my lifestyle, I need to obey. Failure to obey the Spirit and continue my ill lifestyle will only cause me to go more off course and eventually out of commission.
So, is your "service engine soon" light on? Not the one in your car per se, but the one that relates to your spirit. Do you need maintenance? We all can find a way to get busy and make other items our priority. But is the Holy Spirit flashing the light and convicting you to let a few things go? If so, go ahead and get the maintenance needed. Allow God, our mechanic, to work and fine tune the engine of your heart. Trust me, it will save you in the long run. Don't ignore that light, and come join me ON THE VANGUARD!

I WILL GO
"But Ruth replied, 'Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.'"
Ruth 1:16-17

We hear these words at weddings when the bride and groom are making their vows to each other. And why not? This is a powerful statement and fits well with Matthew 19:6 stating they are no longer two but now one and what God has joined, let no man separate. But I feel these verses are meant for so much more than a fancy wedding phrase. This passage is one of devotion.
Ruth was a Moabite and had married one of the sons of Elimelech, from the tribe of the Ephrathites. The Mosaic law did not specifically forbid this mixed marriage. In events unknown to us in the Bible, Elimelech, and his sons Mahlon and Kilion, had all died and their wives were left alone. It was in this time that Naomi received word that her home land of Moab was again growing prosperous. Taking her daughter's in law with her, the trip to Moab was underway. As they were traveling, however, Naomi turned back to the women and requested that they go back to their homes as they were young and still able to marry. Orpah did so, but Ruth remained.
As Naomi worked to convince Ruth that she had nothing to offer, Ruth worked to show her determination. After Naomi reminded Ruth that she herself would not marry and therefore have no other sons for Ruth to wed, as was the custom, and pointing out that Orpah had left, Ruth hushed Naomi with her words.
"Don't urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."
The story continues and Ruth did go with Naomi to Moab, where she was married to Boaz. Boaz became the father of Obed who was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David (Ruth 4:21-22), but that is a story for another time.
Not long ago I watched a movie on Ruth and must confess that the acting and power of this scene where Ruth protests going back drew me in. As I watched and later went back to read this account, I could not help but wonder if this was the same speech I would have given. If God laid before me a choice to go home, (a worldly lifestyle) or follow Him not knowing what laid ahead, would I have been so determined? Or how about when God desires I step into a new career or mission field and I have the decision to go or stay in the land of comfort I know. Will I go?
Here is the best example I can relate to personally. For some time now I have known through ancestry that my family line is Jewish. I, however, have been slow to acknowledge it. I feared the comments from friends, co-workers, and mainly my ex-wife. But as I have secretly been doing more research myself, I have felt the leading to embrace my culture. You may have seen it coming or wondered based on some of the past devotionals and the writings I had done concerning Jewish holidays and such. Yet for me, the words of Ruth have taken on a whole new meaning; a calling to a new place. The fork in the road has been given and I have made up my mind.
Today I say the words of Ruth. I say them to God, and I say them to my family:
Where you go I will go and where you stay I will stay.
Your people, (the people of Israel), will be my people,
and your God, (YHWH), will be my G-d.
You may not be of Jewish descent, but the question is still posed before you. Will you follow him, going where He goes and staying where He stays? Will His people or nations be yours. And most importantly, will God be your God? Will you answer 'yes' and travel the right path to the fork set before you? I will go. Who will come and join me ON THE VANGUARD!

JEHOVAH TSIDKENU
"'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.'"
Jeremiah 23:5-6

When God made Adam and Eve, He gave them a simple instruction to not eat of a certain tree within the Garden of Eden. Through trickery and doubt, and a little word play, the serpent had convinced Eve who then convinced Adam that this instruction was a hoax and punishment would not come. But punishment did come, in the way of sin. It was this sin that separated man from God due to the lose of righteousness within God's sight. Simply put, because man did not keep God commands, man could no longer be within God's perfect presence.
In Leviticus 11:44a, we read the words of God as given to Moses. "I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy." But as man had made a separation and Jesus had not yet come to die in our place, how could this happen? In reading the scriptures we see where God had stepped into covenant with His people.
First in the Adamic covenant (Gen 3:21), we see where God fashioned clothes for Adam and Eve. This action could not have been done unless God also shared with them the importance of forgiveness and the offerings for sin that He desired. The Noahic covenant wold follow where God placed a rainbow in the sky following Noah's sacrifice, promising at that time that never again would He allow a flood to cover the entire earth (Gen 9:12-15). In the Abrahamic covenant God promised the descendants of Abraham the Promised Land (Gen 15:18-21). Within the Mosaic covenant God had the Israelites consecrate themselves as God chosen people and gave them the Ten Commandments. Finally, in the Davidic covenant, God vowed to give David a son who would succeed him and build the Temple, as well as have a kingdom that would be established forever (II Sam 7:4-17). This covenant was fulfilled as we see in Matthew 1 the ancestry from Adam to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ.
But how does all this fit in with righteousness and the words penned by Jeremiah? The righteous branch that Jeremiah spoke of in the line of David was Jesus Christ. Up until Jesus' death on the cross all sins were covered by sacrifices and scapegoats. But Jesus did an awesome thing in giving up His life in that He, knowing NO sin, became sin for us. We were unrighteous, and our deeds were are soiled as dirty rags. Even in our sacrifices we were not able to be fully whole. Then Jesus, the spotless lamb, took our sin and erased it. It is when we confess our sin that we are made righteous again.
Romans 7:14-24 reminds us that there is nothing good or righteous in us. I thank God, however, that I have been made righteous through His Son. I am able to declare God as my Jehovah Tsidkenu - my God of Righteousness. Put on this breastplate of His righteousness as written of in Ephesians 6, and join me ON THE VANGUARD!

HAPPY ROSH HASHANAH!
"You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
Micah 7:19

It may seem funny to announce "Happy New Year" in September, but according to the Jewish calendar, that is exactly what today is. Starting at dusk, or around 6:00pm, Jewish believers will celebrate their new year. So let us take a few minutes to learn the history of this season and how it relates to us today.
Rosh Hashanah kicks off what is known as the high holy season, ushering in the holidays of Yom Kippur and Sukkoth, which I will write about on those dates as well. The purpose of this holy day can be placed in a single word - regathering. It is in this season that we are encouraged to regather into a pure faith in God and repent for sins past. History reveals that on this day, the Israelites were urged to take account of their spiritual condition and make changes needed which would insure the next year would be pleasing to God.
In the forty days between the first day of Elul through the tenth day of Tishri, known now as Yom Kippur, we are urged to prepare ourselves spiritually as we enter this new year. This preparation is based on the dates in history when Moses ascended Mount Sinai and received the second set of Tablets, or Commandments. It is also in this forty day time that rabbis have thought that Jesus went into the wilderness following His baptism. Historical evidence indicates that the month of Elul served as the perfect time of preparation for the greatest spiritual message to ever come to Israel: return to God.
Since the theme of this season is repentance, the shofar is sounded daily to alert the faithful that the time of repentance is near. As evening draws tonight, families will engage in a meal of customary dishes and attend synagogue for the evening service where again the message, music, and prayers will revolve around repentance. In some traditional groups, the following afternoon will be spent near a body of water where the ancient service of Tashlich will occur. Taken from Micah 7:19, people will cast bread crumbs or pebbles into the water to represent their sin, and rejoice in their forgiveness.
There is so much more to write concerning this high holy day, but the theme and purpose have not changed and is not only for the Jewish people. It is a message for us all. As we stand on the brink of a spiritual new year, let us also prepare. I urge myself - I urge you - to take this day and confess any sins to God. Maybe you may even want to throw a few rocks into the lake or river as an outward sign of an inward expression. However is best for you, I encourage you to repent so that as this new year starts we walk into it blameless and blessed by God, and ON THE VANGUARD!

THE DESIRES OF THE HEART
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4

When I was in college I met the woman who would later become my wife. Our dating adventures were a little different than the normal in that we spent the bulk of our relationship as pen-pals. We met in 1996 during a missions festival being held at my school. She visited with a missionary group known as Youth With a Mission (YWAM). I took a sudden interest in her and we began talking which then led to an exchange of addresses. I began the writing of letters back and forth and 22 months later we were still writing. During this time frame we had shared more about ourselves and our desires and with so many that were in common we decided to take our letter writing to the next level.
In November of 1997, armed with a ring and a bus ticket, I made my way to Montana where on Thanksgiving night I proposed. She accepted, despite the fact that my proposal was terrible and my nerves had the better of me. But as we walked through the next nine months of our engagement, things began to get hard. It wasn't that we weren't willing to make the sacrifices that come with marriage, but we began to see that the information we had passed in letters was not full truth and therefore was putting a strain our on relationship. Call it sexual tension or nerves or the Holy Spirit, but one thing is true, I wish I had paid attention to God.
See, in the final three months of our engagement I began to realize that although ready to face the world with my degree in hand, I was not ready to face marriage. At the time I was still involved in porn and was working a news paper route to make any money. My relationship with God was at times based on prayer to make it through the day without another fight. I stuck my feet in the ground about marriage and held the reigns despite people sharing with me what God was saying.
Here is where I went wrong. All these red flags that I was seeing were warnings that I was not heeding. God had told me through people and through my own prayer times that I was not to marry yet. But I made the mistake of defiance and expected God to bless my mistake. We all do that. We read this verse about God giving us the desires of our heart and then make a move on something that He may be warning us against and then expect and demand that God bless it. I am not saying that my now ex-wife was bad, nor that marriage is bad, but rather that my lack of obedience to God was bad.
Yes, it is true, God wants us to have the desires of our heart. But, we have to make sure that our desires match His overall desire to bless us. My desire now is to re-marry, but instead of me being too stubborn to let go when He says to let go, I want to walk in His will. What is His desire? God has a time and person picked out for me and no matter how urgent I feel my desire is, I will only find the right time and person when I obey Him and delight myself in Him. Without this, I am only a stubborn mule again.
What are the desires that are on your heart? What are your passions and goals? Are you so focused on these things or are you taking the time to delight yourself in the Lord and trusting that He will bring them to fulfillment in the right time? Don't be a stubborn mule like I was and be forced to have the troubles instead of the triumph. Delight yourself in the Lord and then He will bless you. Delight yourself in the Lord and join me ON THE VANGUARD!

SH'MA ISRAEL
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts."
Deuteronomy 6:4-6

שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל: יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְהוָה אֶחָד.
Sh'ma Israel, Adonai Eloheynu, Adonai echad

Deuteronomy 6 opens with Moses delivering to the people of Israel the words of God as they were about to enter into the Promised Land. As Moses would not be allowed to go into the Promise himself, he made sure that those who did would know God's commands. Moses also charged the people of Israel to pass these words down to their children, and children's children, but more importantly, to fully obey God so that they could walk in God's blessings. In this charge we read the Sh'ma.
In the Jewish culture, the Sh'ma is placed within a m'zuzah and affixed to the door frame. The term "m'zuzah" itself means door frame in Hebrew. The message within the box is powerful, but the message of the box is just as bold in that it shares with all who see it that inside that house is one who honors God and is dedicated to his service. Tracing back to the roots of this custom, the door frame was a place that portrayed ones identity. This then seems to shed light on why forty years earlier God commanded Israel to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to the door frame. The blood marked those who were dedicated to God.
There is no reference or story within the New Testament of the m'zuzah itself, but the message of the Sh'ma was referenced by Jesus. In Mark 12:28-34, Jesus is approached and asked which commandment is the greatest. Jesus responds with the same words Moses delivered. And then, to bring clarity, Jesus speaks that the greatest is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is to love your neighbor.
Here we are, years later, and those words of Jesus still ring true for us. God is not into competition as He commands us to have no other gods before Him (Ex 20). And in the words penned by David in Psalm 51, He is not into sacrifice as instead He demands our obedience. So what can we offer to God as a testament to Him and to others that we are devoted? I see no other option or privilege than to love God with ALL that is in me; my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let us hear, O Israel, the commandments God has given us upon our hearts and obey. Join me ON THE VANGUARD!