joelstrumpet

Today, Sept 30, 2008 is the beginning of Rosh Hashanah on the Biblical calendar. It's the 'head' of the year, the beginning of the New Year biblically. It is the 'announcing' by the blowing of the Shofar the coming Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths. The coming of the Living God to dwell amongst men. It is the beginning of the '10 days of Awe' preceding Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It's called the 'High Holy Days' for a reason. Incidentally, Yom Kippur is only two days after the end of Ramadan this year. A very good friend who converted from Islam to Christianity says that her perception is that this close proximity is a design of satan to keep Muslims deceived at the end of their period of fasting. It's a scheme, in her estimation, to keep human beings from knowing the Truth of the Living God. It's also (at least by tradition) believed to 'set the pattern' for the coming year.
I read Oswald Chambers writing each day from'My Utmost for His Highest'. This one for this day (there are no mistakes in the Kingdom of God) is particularly revealing and auspicious in my view. Seek the Lord about the meaning for you.

The Commission of the Call

Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake. Col 1:24

We make calls out of our own spiritual consecration, but when we get right with God, He brushes all these aside, and rivets us with a pain that is terrific to one thing we never dreamed of, and for one radiant flashing moment we see what He is after, and we say___'Here am I, send me'.
This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured out wine. God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with. If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured out wine in a special way!..But when He uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, and makes those the crushers, we object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom. If ever we are going to be made wine, we wil have to be crushed, you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.
I wonder what kind of finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you, and you have been like a marble and escaped? You are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you, the wine would have been remarkably bitter. To be a sacramental personality means that the elements of the natural life are presented by God as they are broken providentially in His service. We have to be adjusted into God before we can be broken bread in His hands. Keep right with God and let Him do what He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.