A word of encouragement:
1Chr. 16:8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
1Chr. 16:9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
1Chr. 16:10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
1Chr. 16:11 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
1Chr. 16:12 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
1Chr. 16:13 O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
1Chr. 16:14 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
1Chr. 16:15 He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,
1Chr. 16:16 the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
1Chr. 16:17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
On Monday evening, in Israel and throughout the world, the Israeli people took time to remember all the men and women who have lost their lives in the different Israeli wars. In the past few years there has been another group who were added to this day – the people who have lost their lives due to terror attacks. During that time, the Israeli flags are at half-mast. About 24 hours later on Tuesday right before sunset there is a special ceremony where the flags are going back up and throughout Israel the celebrations of Israel’s Independence are starting.
This season is always a very special season for me as only a few weeks ago, we celebrated Passover, the physical deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. Last week, the Jewish people throughout the world remembered the horrible events that took place in Nazi Germany and Europe not too long ago. As we look at the history of our people from its biblical days until today, we see a repeat of events. The God of Israel has been and is and will always be faithful to His promises. As in days of old, He delivered His children from slavery to freedom. On one hand, Yom HaShoa, as we call it in Hebrew, is a day where we stop to remember and mourn one of the most horrific events in our modern history, and on the other hand, to recognize that out of this tragedy, came the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring back His children to the land He promised to our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob; once again, we see God bringing good out of tremendous evil.
Throughout the Scripture we can see the principal of remembrance. God gave the children of Israel special days to remember, God gave the children of Israel special feasts to remember and I believe that God want us, the followers of Messiah, to take the time daily and remember.
During this time of Yom Hazikaron (The day of remembrance) I take the time to remember, remember those friends of mine who died, remember their lives, and their stories. I also take the time to remember my own life story, as I reflect on God’s grace over my life. The way that God took me from a place of no hope, no hope for my life, no hope for my people and no hope for the world and gave me a new Hope for the future. As I reflect upon these things I remember the importance and the responsibility that we His followers have on this earth: The importance of bringing the Good News of hope to this hopeless world.
I would like to encourage all of us who are disciples of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, Jew and Gentile alike, to daily take the time to reflect and remember. Reflect and remember on our lives, on His life and His calling on each of our lives.
In His service
Moran