THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES -- Also called Sukkoth

by Molly Noble Bull

The Feast of Tabernacles (also called the Feast of Booths, Feast of Shelters and Sukkoth) is a time of rejoicing when the harvest is gathered in and Jews live in booths as they did in the wilderness with Moses. It is the third of the fall feasts of the LORD and lasts for seven days. In 2012, the Feast of Tabernacles begins at sundown on September 30^th and ends at sundown on October 7^th. 
See the Book of Leviticus, chapter 23 and verses 33-34. 

Believers rejoice because of what Jesus did for us on the cross by willingly dying in our place. Christians also believe that Jesus will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the city of Jerusalem for a thousand years during the Millennium Kingdom. 

.   The Sacrificed Lamb—music video by Joel Chernoff 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zue9Dfbmxos  

.   This video explains the Fall Feasts of the Lord—about seven minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gtJ78ZZtrg&feature=player_detailpage

According to the Book of Zechariah, the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated during the Millennium Kingdom.

“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

Zech 14: 16-17

.   Feast of Tabernacles video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSErU89wqEg&feature=relmfu 

NOTE Postscript:
If you scroll down and click on the cover of Christian Fiction Online magazine, you can scroll down again on the left side of the page and click to read my interview of Jeff Gerke in that magazine.
  

Joints and Ligaments

A few weeks ago I mentioned how much I love the idea of the Body of Christ. Today, I’d like to focus on what ties it all together: ligaments.

Remember the old song, The head bone’s connected to the … ? Sure ya do. This is how children learn their body parts, parts so crucial in moving around and working, but no mention of the part that binds them. Poor ligaments. No respect!

But check out what the Bible says about joints and ligaments. Colossians 2:19 tells us joints and ligaments join us to the Head (Christ) allowing us to be nourished and knit together as a Body and growing us with the increase that is from God. Ephesians goes on to explain that this connection is what makes us effective in sharing the work. You ever hear the saying, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts?” That’s because of ligaments.

Why am I blathering on and on about soft tissue? It’s because of the ligaments in my life. The people who, when I need help, if they aren’t the ones to give it, they’re the ones to point me to someone who can. They’re resource people, information disseminators, and team organizers. They often put together groups of people, then wonder whether or not they have a function in it. Well, yeah!!! That is their function, thank goodness. Imagine our bodies without joints or ligaments. A pile of bones and organs, wrapped in skin, in a mound on the floor. Gross! That’s what the Body of Christ would look like without Its ligaments. But certainly not what our Father in heaven designed.

So I just wanted to give a shout out to the ligaments in my life. Thank you. And a special thanks to the lady who inspired me to write this particular blog. Carrie Fancett Pagels. The ligament of our ACFW Midatlantic Writer’s group ;o).

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Connie is a 2012 Genesis semi-finalist for Women’s Fiction. She was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Winter 2012 WOW Flash Fiction Contest for her entry, Why Not to Kiss on a Park Bench (aka. Harold and Violet). She also writes the What’s Your Story column, interviewing debut fiction authors for the My Book Therapy Ezine. Come visit her on one of her other blogs:

Living the Body of Christ

InfiniteCharacters.com

Throwing out the first pitch--at a writers' conference, that is.

The annual ACFW conference begins tomorrow in Dallas. Alas, I am not going this year, but my agent Terry Burns has several projects of mine that are in need of a home. Anyone who's ever gone to the ACFW conference or any writing conference knows you have only a moment to make an impression on that elusive agent or editor. Hopeful writers headed for Dallas have been practicing and perfecting their elevator pitches to make the most of that moment. What is an elevator pitch? A quick, one or two sentence blurb about your book that will hook the hearer. Condensing a four-hundred page novel into one sentence is brutal. But it must be done as I'm sure you already know. Let's use Writer's Rest to practice. Even if you're not going to conference, share your best pitch for your current or latest work in progress. Those of you who are going should be able to rattle yours off in your sleep. Here's mine from a women's fiction/suspense entitled JOY REDEFINED. Joy Kessler has always felt more like a mouse than a spiritual giant. When her best friend disappears, she must turn to God to find the courage she never knew she had to save her friend and herself from a killer. Now your turn. I wish I could offer a book contract to the best one, but I'm probably a terrible judge anyway. This will be just for fun. Whether going to the conference or just throwing ideas around, we want to hear from you.

ROSH HASHANAH 2012: Happy New Year

Article by Molly Noble Bull 

www.mollynoblebull.com

At sundown on Sunday, September 16, 2012 and on Monday, September 17th, Jews from around the world as well as Messianic Jewish Congregations will gather to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets. Ten days later on September 26th, they will celebrate Yom Kippur. These ten days are called the Days of Awe.

All the Feasts of Israel are mentioned in the Book of Leviticus chapter 23. The Feast of Trumpets is mentioned in verse 24, noting the Jewish New Year with the blowing of a ram’s horn called the shofar. 

Click below to hear a very short blowing of the shofar.

http://youtu.be/lIHMf30IQEY  

The Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah, falls on the first and second day of the Jewish month of Tishri and is the first of three feasts held in the fall of the year. Rosh Hashanah is the first of the Fall Feasts of Israel mentioned in the Bible and one of the Jewish High Holy Days, a time of reflection and prayer.

The actual date when Rosh Hashanah begins on any given year is determined by the new moon. Since nobody knows the day or the hour when the new moon will appear, Rosh Hashanah is a two-day celebration instead of a one-day feast.

In Judaism today, Rosh Hashanah is known as the Head of the Year. 

According to the Book of Exodus, chapter nineteen and verses 13 and 16 to 19, it appears that perhaps the LORD Himself blew the shofar. Perhaps He will blew it again according to 1 Thessalonians chapter four and verses 16 and 17.  The blowing of the shofar in both these scriptures seemed to be a sort of announcement that God was about to manifest Himself.

To Christians, the sound of the shofar reminds us that Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach, is returning soon, and on that day, the trumpet will sound once again.

POSTSCRIPT:
If you are reading this article on Sunday, September 16th, it might not be too late to tune in to CBN to hear a program, celebrating Rosh Hashanah. The program is scheduled for tonight, Sunday, at 6:30 PM central and 7:30 PM eastern. I cannot recommend this program because I haven't seen it yet. However, I have a feeling it is going to be great.
Praise the Lord.

  

My Writer’s Body

I’ve always been fascinated by what I call “systems.” I love to ponder how different parts come together with specified tasks to become a whole. Each part is different, and necessary, though none is totally functional on its own. This is why I love the idea of the Body of Christ, and why I named my ministry blog “Living the Body of Christ.”

There is a wonderful system at work in my writer’s life. I call it my “writer’s body.” It is my critique group. And oh, what a system it is.

As you may know, I am writing a novel. To take on such a task it's a good idea to join a critique group. When I first looked into doing this, I prayed a lot! And boy was God generous! Not only did He drop me into two critique groups, but He created a Writer's Body within them.

First Corinthians 12:4-11 tells us we are all given different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit; different kinds of service, but the same Lord. These are to work for the common good. And that's what my "Writer's Body" does. What an amazing group. Not just because they are so skilled as writers, but because God put them together in such a way.

For those of you who don't know what a critique group is, it's a group of writers who look at your work and tell you how to improve it. You send it out to them, after you've poured out your heart and soul on paper, and it comes back looking as though it met a dragon in battle :o). But just as God allows us to go through the Valley of Shadow and Death to stretch and grow us ... so do my critique partners spar with my Work-In-Progress in order to make it better. And that they most certainly do!

My "Writer's Body" is fully equipped with arms, legs, a torso, eyes, ears and all the rest. In writer's terms that means the following: Someone who can spot my telling (when it needs to be showing), my overuse of words, my cliches and my long-winded diatribes that make no sense. Other members will give me examples of how to describe something more fluidly, use commas appropriately, and to tighten up my language.

Oh there is so much more. And my critique partners do this. I send out my WIP and each sends it back with their own set of skills having polished out the smudges. And even though I am sometimes weary at the newly created work on the chapter I thought was done, I know down to the pit of my being, God has been very, very good to me! I am truly blessed by this group and my writing has shown their hard work on my behalf.

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Connie is a 2012 Genesis semi-finalist for Women’s Fiction. She was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Winter 2012 WOW Flash Fiction Contest for her entry, Why Not to Kiss on a Park Bench (aka. Harold and Violet). She also writes the What’s Your Story column, interviewing debut fiction authors for the My Book Therapy Ezine. Come visit her on one of her other blogs:

Living the Body of Christ

InfiniteCharacters.com

Falling in Love...for FREE

The days are getting shorter. Here in Ohio leaves are starting to fall, alas without changing colors this year thanks to a very dry summer. But nothing puts me in the mood for romance more than the changing seasons. Tomorrow & Thursday you can fall in love for free. Susette Williams' Falling in Love, from her Seasons of the Heart series is available as a FREE Kindle download on Sept. 5&6. What it's about: Falling in Love Katie Morgan has her future planned. It doesn’t include becoming serious about anyone before she achieves her goals, not even her handsome boss. Just because she does not have time to date, doesn’t mean her boss shouldn’t. Her new mission…to make her boss happy, whether or not he wants to be. Wade McAlester fell in love with Katie the first day she walked into his clinic looking for a job. He hired her, content to settle for friendship until she lives out her dream of becoming a vet. Against his better judgment, Wade allows her to fix him up with a couple of her friends. The dates are disastrous. He can’t believe the kind of women Katie seems to think he’d enjoy spending his life with. However, when Wade’s old colleague, Dr. Laura Redmond shows up, Katie is rethinking how happy she wants her boss to be, and with whom. Definitely not the gorgeous doctor. So if you're ready for a fun, fast-paced romance to usher in the changing of the seasons, get your hands on Falling In Love, Sept. 5th or 6th for free. About the Author: Susette Williams loves writing various genres; anything from romance, mystery, and suspense to name a few. She usually can't resist the urge to let her ornery sense of humor shine through in one of her characters and has always believed that laughter helps you deal with the obstacles life puts in your way. It is her desire to write fast paced books that readers will devour and be hungry to read more. Her books are sure to entertain and delight readers. Susette married her hero in 1983, and together they have six wonderful children, all with intriguing and different personalities, like the characters she creates in her novels.

THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD

                                                                                                                                            

by Molly Noble Bull

www.mollynoblebull.com

Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Ephesians 6: 11

King James Version. 

From scripture, I knew that Christians were expected to put on the whole armor of God. I also knew who the enemy was—principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places and that none of these were flesh and blood people. Therefore, I needed to wear my armor in order to withstand the evil day.    

What I didn’t know was whether there was a right or wrong way to put on the whole armor of God. Some tend not to do things they don’t know how to do, but I wanted to do it right.

Since then, I’ve come to realize from scripture that there is no set way to do this. Nevertheless, a friend was kind enough to tell me how she did it, and I am passing that info on to you.

First, she touches her waist and says in prayer, “I girt my waist with the belt of truth.” She touches her chest and says, “I put on the breastplate of righteousness.” She touches her feet as she puts on shoes to declare the gospel of peace. She takes up the shield of faith in order to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and touches her head as she puts on the helmet of salvation. Finally, she takes up the sword of the spirit—which is the Word of God, doing all these things in the order they are listed in the Bible.

Some people know how to do everything spiritual. They pray with conviction. They praise with deep emotion. They teach Sunday school and do other chores around the church with ease. Others who really want to do these things are handicapped via the fear of doing it wrong. Messing up. And we all know from whence fear comes.

Let us put on God’s armor daily and ask the Lord to show us how He wants it done.

  

Heavenly Father, teach us to put on the whole Armour of God daily and remind us to do it. Some of us are forgetful at times.

In the blessed name of Jesus,

Amen and amen.