Day 40 or February the 9th. We all need reminders.
Our thoughts today are rooted in Leviticus chapter 23 verses 1 and 2. The Lord said to
Moses, Speak to the Israelites and say to them, These are my appointed festivals, the
appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
What's the big picture surrounding these verses? There are seven feasts recorded in the book
of Leviticus, and they are all in one chapter. Their main purpose was to remind God's people
how faithful their God always is, and how He has cared for them in the past. The best
known one to non-Jews is the Jewish Sabbath day, which is Saturday. Christians have replaced
this with the Lord's Day, the day when Jesus rose from the dead. The Lord's Day became
a day of rest and is commonly known as the Christian Sabbath. There's also the Passover
followed by Pentecost. Jesus died and rose again at Easter, roughly the same time as
the Passover, and the church was born at Pentecost, fifty days later. All of these festivals were
designed to act as memory joggers, to remind folk of what God has done, and how faithful
He has been, and will continue to be.
And now our action step for today. The church in the UK is divided into two groups when
it comes to celebrating the church calendar. Many ignore it altogether, but I find it very
helpful to remind me of events that may otherwise slip to the back of my mind. I keep an online
diary which offers the addition of all religious festivals if you want, and I want. Of course,
Jesus told us to remember Him whenever we celebrate Communion or the Eucharist. The
Bible specifically tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 24, Do this to remember Me.
Even memory joggers are alarms, screen savers, wallpaper and to-do lists on computers and
mobile phones. It doesn't matter which method you use, the important thing is that you remember
God's goodness and give thanks for the way He impacts your life. Do something now so
that you will be reminded of how good God is later today.