a few thoughts / shared experiences before Sukkot

God is good.

So many things I want to share. My last post was on entering into this new season. After Rosh Hoshonna, and the things God placed upon my heart at that time, I did a lot of reflection on the following days leading to Yom Kippur.

On my heart at that time was a desire to be selfless, to serve, and to love with God's love, be compassionate with God's compassion, and do it all in God's strength, because none of those things could be done in and of myself. I knew that if I were to truly serve and love my brother/sister as myself I, would fail, but God wouldn't so I'd have to surrender it to Him.

The messages/sermons I received during those days helped to strengthen my focus spiritually also. They were all given by men of God at my new congregation home...

the sermons were on,

"Giving our burden's to God" (not, not dealing with it, but giving it to Him in spirit and in faith)

"Keeping our Eye on the Ball" ( the analogy of baseball in our life, and examining where our focus should be, for instance, a batter would never stare out into the crowd when the ball is about to be pitched)

"Its time to Clean Up" ( the phrase we hear our parents tell us as children, and what we decide to do when that command is given, do we hide, play like we didn't hear, or literally go down stairs and start cleaning up)

" You Could be doing damage even if you feel fine" (this sermon was given with the example of a young man in our congregation, who is strong and relatively healthy, but has diabetes; his doctors orders are to take his insulin, yet he feels fine, he was asked one day by someone what would happen if he stopped taking his insulin, and the doctor stated simply, you'd be doing damage even if you feel fine.......contrast this to our spiritually lives.......many of us feel fine, but we could be doing damage, this sermon gave scriptures on how to be mindful of doing damage, and avoiding it)

The last sermon took place (as well as the one before this one) on the actual day of Yom Kippur...and it was on "Relief".....and how there are so many things in this world that we look to for relief.....11 Billion dollars annually are spent by American's on massage therapy for example.....but where is permanent and lasting relief?...it is in Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ).

These sermons throughout those ten days added to the spiritual focus that I sought. During the services on Yom Kippur I remember being content but not feeling a connection and nearness to God that I wanted, I was simply just content. But deep down I wanted to see the depth of my sin so that I could be abased before Him, and to take hold of His grace and be refreshed, but it didn't come during those night services.

Yet that very night I had two instances that brought some of my greatest sins to the surface. There was something that came up that made me angry...and it brought out my sin of pride, evil assumption and casting of judgement. And then hours later that night I had something come up that nurtured the lust within me. So needless to say with these sins at the forefront of my mind I woke up in quiet meditation and prayer, and as I went to morning services and we did the liturgy reading out almost seven pages of confessions of various sins, all I could do was cry and pour out my heart to God as I realized the depth of sin within me. And as we stood as a congregation saying these confessions aloud in the liturgy, ending in the petition for forgiveness in Yeshua's name.....I felt that connection to God's grace that I yearned for the night before.

I was blessed to spend the rest of Yom Kippur with a few close friends, strong brothers in the faith that I really love and admire. We studied and talked and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather outside. As the sunset and darkness came, we headed out to the store and bought items to cook to break our fast in a meal together. It was sooo good. :)

As I type this blog I am 2 days away from the first night of Sukkot. I am really excited about the joys of this time. To spend it with loved ones and grow in the blessings of this season and the maturation of my walk in this faith. I have made a number of commitments spiritually and I want to move forward in them.

Tonight I get to help a very close friend build his Sukkah...that should be nice...

one more thought before I close.......this morning as I walked to my desk here in the lobby of the dorms a student was sitting down on a couch writing a paper, he asked me could I think of any other way Hip Hop has influenced culture other than how people dress and how they speak. I mentioned to him how Hip Hop, in most cases has become the culture of youth around the world, more so than just influencing it. There are communities of youth in Japan, London, and the Caribbean , who grow up embracing hip hop as their culture, often in the same way that one would embrace the language of their native tongue, or the music and cuisines of their native people.

He thanked me, and then I thought to myself shortly after about how the same is true of Israel's Messiah. Yeshua, (Jesus) has become the culture of countless peoples, all over the world, throughout generations in some form or another all through the expression of faith in Him.

From my own experience as an African American male I know that the Black Church in America has been the bedrock of our peoples experience.

Our expression of faith in the Messiah of the Jewish people and Savior of all mankind, has given us strength to endure the hardships of our earliest experiences in this country, it has been the nucleus of our families,the foundation of our educational institutions, and the guiding force behind our progression through Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement and still is in grained in our identity as a people group to this very day.

Thank you reader for your time, Shalom, shalom.