Day of Atonement and the Numbering of Days - Purity 1156

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of the dwindling light of day, the headlights of passing late-day commuters, and the shop lights of Monroe Muffler on Columbia Turnpike and Rensselaer comes to us from yours truly as I stood outside in Monroe's parking lot last evening, feeling simultaneously victorious Defeated and content after a long day that contained struggles, triumphs, and an abiding sense of peace. Well, it's Tuesday, praise the Lord, and to say that yesterday was something of a roller coaster ride of a day would be an understatement, as we experienced a few surprises and unexpected expenditures to what, uh, to what was already a stacked day of, um, stacked deck of a day of responsibilities. Um, yeah, and in addition to my regular work day, I had the added burden of automobile maintenance to fit in before checking in with my wife, touching base with someone I was discipling, I think, um, doing an assignment on my— for my training with Deeper Walk School of Ministry, and attending a national Freedom in Christ Ministries meeting on Zoom. In hindsight, I suppose getting all those things done in a single day would have been possible, but the Bible tells us that we suffer for a lack of knowledge. And the reason I was at Monroe Muffler last night was because of something I didn't know. My car needs a state inspection, so after a long day of work that included a 6-hour install pulling a drop wire through the trees of a backyard run, I was thrilled to get to the Jiffy Lube on Columbia Turnpike in time to get the inspection and oil change done. But unbeknownst to me, my best laid path plans weren't going to work out, as the tires of my HRV were down to the steel radials on the inside, meaning I needed new tires. Yeah, it's been over a year, and I did drive to South Carolina in February, and I wouldn't pass the inspection. I immediately began to brainstorm how I could get new tires the next day and came to the conclusion that my lack of knowledge and the busy schedule I have really put me at a disadvantage, as I usually order tires and have them installed at Walmart, a definite best cost option. But my inspection is up at the end of the week, and I realized that in order to get her done, I was going to have to surrender my frugal preferences. So I contemplated the overpriced options and left the Jiffy Lube wondering if I would have to take a day off from work to get the new tires. However, one of the options for tires was Monroe, which was open until 7 PM and was just on the street— just up the street and on the way home. Much to my delight, the shop was not busy and I was able to buy new tires there. Although I spent more than I would have liked, as in oof, at least I got her done and we'll have to stop and get the inspection done later today. While at Monroe, I called my wife who reminded me that her minivan was finally repaired, and that was a pretty hefty bill too. So, in a single day, automobile expenses between Jiffy Lube, Monroe, and my wife's mechanic were in the $2,000 range. Lord have mercy. I realize there are— these are necessary expenses, and I'm glad that everything is taken care of, but oh brother. Thus, I am feeling— I was feeling the thrill of victory of meeting those responsibilities and the agony of defeat of having to pay for them. So when I took today's photo in Monroe's parking lot, I had the weight of a challenging day at work and those expenses on me. But the reason I was able to see some good in the day that caused me to capture that moment— the moment was because, yes, I met my automobile responsibilities, but I also got some news earlier in the day that will mark a major transition in my life. In the midst of my busy workday, I received a call from Dennis Wheeler, a real estate agent my ex contracted to sell our joint-owned home in Craryville. I was officially divorced in 2019, and in the divorce agreement, both parties agreed to sell the marital home as soon as possible. Although I moved out in 2020, my ex remained living there. She refused to sell the house, causing me to file a contempt complaint against her earlier this year. Judgment still pending. But finally, yesterday, the house in Craryville is on the market, listed to sell. If you'd like to buy it, I am providing a link to the listing on the blog today. So even though I had a bear of a day because of the auto expenses, I was able to recall the fact that the last thing that needs to be done in terms of my first marriage— first marriage being dissolved has finally begun to come to pass. And I'm not embarrassed to tell you that I have repeatedly gone to the Lord in prayer, begging him, complaining to him at times to move things. And now the writing is on the wall, the die has been cast, and sooner or later that house will sell and it will be finished. So this morning, as I thought about how God rescues us from bad situations and moves all things together for good, I decided to look at the calendar to see if there was anything special about yesterday, September 25th, 2023. I walk in the spirit, so I know that in my past there, there always seemed to be some significance about the times and seasons when major transitions happen. Dates, numbers, and seasons have biblical meanings, and sometimes when you look into what the numbers mean, you see some pretty shocking things. Author Jonathan Cahn is known for pointing out, out how the Year of Jubilee and the numbering of the 50th year has amazing parallels to what has happened in history and is happening in the world today. Check out Cahn's books, uh, latest books, um, Return of the Gods and the Josiah Manifesto, if you want to see how history really is his story, as in something under the control of a sovereign God. In my own life, I've seen significant personal events parallel with quote-unquote good numbers. For instance, the address of River House, 1788. If you add the 1 and the 7, that gives you 888. The date I closed on it was 6/22/2020. If you add the 6 and the 2s, you get 8888, highlight— highlighting the number 8. Or 888. And when I looked that up online, I wasn't surprised to see that 888 represents Christ the Redeemer. So, and I'm including the link to that. Um, so what was yesterday? It was 9/25. No 8s, but 2 plus 5 is 7, and that is the biblical number of perfection or completion. Sharing a link for that. That seems right to me. What about 9? I am including a link on the site to give you all the ins and outs on the number 9, but it has a root of 3, which is the Trinity, and represents completeness. And get this, good versus evil. Sort of, 9 represents good, good versus evil, not 3. I gotta put that— it's not so clear on the vlog. There we go. Represents good versus evil, sort of appropriate for this contentious situation. And also in that article, the number 9 is associated with the Day of Atonement. If you look at the calendar yesterday, you will see Yom Kippur ends. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. So on the day that my old house was listed, the day that will forever mark the beginning of the end of the contentions between my ex and I. It just happened to be the Day of Atonement, the day that is associated with Christians, uh, to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross, declaring that it is finished. So on the day that this personal burden will finally begin to be lifted from me, in effect, it is finished. It just happened to be the Day of Atonement. When I encourage people to walk in the Spirit, I advise them that they will be positively amazed at the things that will come to pass in their lives. While we could easily blow these things off, I believe in a sovereign God that moves all things together for good in the lives of the people who love Him and are called according to His purposes. So keep walking and talking with God, and keep an eye on the times and seasons of your life. And see what the Bible and Bible's interpretations of the numbering of your days reveals. While I have found it is impossible to predict what will come to pass, I have discovered that when we look back at our path, we can see that God was walking with us and had our days numbered in advance. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference Guide for, uh, counsel— a Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on anger.. And today's verses are Proverbs 22:24 and 25. Uh, chapter 22, verses 24 and 25 from the NIV. And the word of God says, do not make friends with a hot-tempered person. Do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourselves ensnared. Today's verse falls under the 8th point of our Counseling Reference Guides resource section on anger. Uh, that 8th point is Proverbs 16:32. Do not associate with a hot-tempered man. Today's verse is good biblical advice. We are highly impressionable as, as humans and often take on the habits and characteristics of the people we associate with. So God's word tells us not to be friends with hot-tempered people because not only can their angry outbursts lead to negative consequences and collateral damage but their angry habits could also rub off on you too. So try to teach others the pathway of peace that Jesus leaves for us to follow. And if they refuse to abandon their angry ways and, and, and learn to love and forgive others, forgive them and give them the space that their anger affords them. As always, I invite all to go to m.t. for christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue from sharing from A.W. Pink's The Holy Spirit as we continue sharing from, uh, chapter 26. And today's, um, today's— probably appropriate— today's, um, section is entitled Groanings, um, as in groanings of the Spirit. So, you know, um, it's not my groanings today, but, um, it could be. Anyway, um, if you want to see that section on groanings from this Holy Spirit, um, go to mt4christ.org and you'll see it at the end of today's blog post. Not surprising with so much going on in my life, I'm sort of short on time this morning, so we're going to wrap it up in prayer. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for moving things to completion and perfection in your timing. Even though we begged and, you know, argued with you to have it done sooner, you do things in your time, and we humbly submit to you and your will for our lives, Lord. And, uh, Lord, um, we also pray for our friends who are listening or reading today's blog. We pray for you to come alongside them and their prayer requests, because I'm sure they're calling out for some things to get done too. We pray for you to be with them and to bless them as they walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. And Lord, we just pray for you to go before all of us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and move our steps to the things you would have us do. Because all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom more, because we've seen how good— and how good you are and how much you love us. And all we want to do is point people to that pathway of peace. Lord, thank you. We pray, we love you, we thank you, we praise you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.