Why Should We Observe Hannukah?

I know a lot of people who have been asking me this question lately, especialy my close family members. The answer that I have been giving, and it has been a good response is located in John 10:22

And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

As I have begun to take a closer look at this wonderful miracle that YHVH did during a time that many theologians have written off as a time that the Lord did not speak thru His prophets for 400 years. Allow me to explain;
The Greco-Syrian army had taken over Jerusalem. The wicked emperor Antichius began to pass anti Jewish laws forbidding any practice of Torah. Imagine, no Sabbath, no circumcision, no longer able to eat healthy according to the Word of God. If you were caught doing any of these things or any thing that was considered "jewish", you would be put to death. There were many Jews who adopted these Greek practices whole heartedly. But there was a remnant who decided to take a stand against tyranny and flat out refused to bow down to Greek gods or eat unclean meats. There is one particular testimony that truly catches my interest. There was a woman named Hannah who had 7 sons. She watched as one by one the Greek soldiers murdered her children as she watched, all of them refusing to bow down to a statue of zues or eat the swine that was sacrificed on the altar in the temple. Hanna's last son was offered a chance to live, all he had to do was retrieve the general's ring from the base of the statute of zues. The boy refused deciding he would abstain from the very appearance of evil. That young boy sacrificed his life for truth. That he would not even comprimise. Afterward, Hannah was killed because she too flat out refused to worship a false god.

How many of us would have done the same? Would we be able to watch as our children die one by one because of our service to YHVH? There are many stories like this one but the crux of the story comes from the Macabee brothers whos father led the revolt against the mighty Greek army. Town by town, this family led a revolt with little to no weapons and fought with a band of farmers and sheep herders. The amazing thing is this small band of people continued to win. It wasn't what they had done, it was the Lord who had His hand upon them. When the father of the Macabees died, he charged them with continuing the fight. And they did, all the way to Jerusalem and freed the temple.

The temple of the Lord had been ransacked and decicrated. The altar had been trashed with the the sacrifices of pigs and humans. The people had the daunting task of cleaning up and replacing all of the elements of the temple that had been destroyed. A new menora (the temple candles) had been made but there was only one small vial of kosher oil left in the temple and it would be 8 days until more could be made available. The brothers decided to light the menora any way and trust G-d because that one vial of oil was only supposed to last for 24 hours. Here is the other miracle: that one vial lasted for 8 days. To comemorate the lamp staying lit for the 8 days, the Macabees declared a time of rememberace for 8 days to remember the rededication of the temple of the Lord.

I know it may not mean a lot to our brothers in church but had this small band of people had not stood up for the Lord, we would not have had a line of Judah and therefore no Messiah. No Messiah, no salvation. No salvation, no reason for the church. (good or bad) No church, no reason for anyone to come over to the New World for the freedom of religion. When you think about this little known "jewish" holiday, there is so much to be thankful for. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says:

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Our bodies are supposed to be the temple of the Lord. We as a people have compromised our faith for years. Whether we realize it or not, we have inheirited lies just as Jeremiah 16:12 says. These 8 days that we light our candles in memory of the awesome miracle that G-d has done in a time when it is believed that G-d was not even speaking should be more than enough of a reason to at least look at it. If not, then remember that John 10:22 records that Jesus went into the temple preaching and healing people during the feast of dedication (Hannukah).

A Brief Look Back

I'm am always grateful for my mother raising me in church. My earliest memories are of various services we had to attend because my mother sang in may community choirs. Therefore I was always in a church setting. I cannot tell you when my mother became a Christian, I just tagged along with her whether I wanted to or not. It was not until I was 12 years old that I made a choice that has forever changed my life. One Sunday afternoon, my mother and I were at a particular church and I cannot tell you what the minister taught that day, what the Sunday school lesson was, or what the choir may have sang. I was not even in a seat that particular day. (of course my mother did not know that at the time or I would have been in serious trouble) What I do remember is standing in the back and waiting for the altar call. I just wanted to say that I knew God for myself. I went down the isle and handed my coat to my aunt and sat in the awaiting chair that was set in front of the entire congregation. The pastor was obviously shocked and made it a point of asking me if I understood what I was doing which I answered yes. I do not remember if anyone else came down that isle that day but I do remember that particular Sunday that changed my life. From then on, all I wanted was to read the stories from the bible. I had three or four bible story books and I think I read them so much I had memorized them. Years would pass by before I was introduced to the Strong's Concordance of the bible. But thanks to the Holy Spirit guiding my mother I began to walk the Christian walk the best I knew how. I taught Sunday school, led praise and worship services, worked tape ministries, ran camera, board oped, you name it, I have done it in church. (except pastor) It is amazing now that I have gone 25+ years in church and it's been the past 4 years walking in Torah that I feel the way I did when I took that "leap of faith" so many years ago. I look back thankful for everything that I have gone thru. I can see how the Lord was slowly bringing me closer to Him. I am grateful because now I can teach my children at an early age to walk in His ways. I am grateful that they will not have the same struggles that I had growing up. They will struggle in certain areas I'm sure but they won't have to worry about fighting years of false traditions that have been handed down from past generations. They will know that they are a part of YHVH's plan. My children will be better than me in every area.I thank Him for where He brought me from and I thank Him for where He is leading my entire family. Please no matter what may happen in our nation, let's not forget that God is in control and He always takes care of His own.
"Shalom I leave with you, My shalom I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

Watch As Well As Pray

1 Thessalonians 5 tells us

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober.

Many people are asking questions concerning the book by Joe Kovacs, "Shocked By The Bible". I was on a blog found by my wife of a person asking if the Jehovah Witnesses had the ban against all holidays right. I answered and said that there are some things that are correct because America has adopted practices and holidays that were birthed in paganism and we have taken them and put them under a "Christian" banner and say there is nothing wrong with it as long as we are showing love and cheerfully giving to our neighbors. I am of course referring to christmas and easter as well as halloween. There are many who have written background information on all of these holidays so I will not go into them but what I would like to speak on the very "times and seasons" that are in 1 Thessalonians 5. From the very beginning, God has set appointed times and seasons for us to follow. Genesis 1:14

1:14

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

That word seasons is the Hebrew word mow' ed: appointed place, appointed time, meeting

1. appointed time
   1. appointed time (general)
   2. sacred season, set feast, appointed season
2. appointed meeting
3. appointed place
4. appointed sign or signal
5. tent of meeting

We see this again in Leviticus 23 concerning the feasts of the Lord and it is this that Paul is referring to when writing the epistle to the Thessalonians. I realize that many are going their way saying ,"tis the season", and despite our economy being in the toilet, many are going their way shopping for gifts to give their loved ones but when God has told us to pay attention to HIS feasts, we do the very opposite. God has reasons for us to keep His appointed times and it's not just for holidays, but also for the days that are coming soon which are the end times aka the day of the Lord. With all the things that are happening in this time of life, we cannot afford to fall asleep at the wheel. It is unfortunate that when tribulation comes and we are on the edge of it, many of our Christian brothers and sisters will be caught sleeping on the job. Why? Because the majority of us have proclaimed that these seasons are no longer in effect for today or we have just completely ignored them. It is my prayer that God opens our eyes, wake us up to see the lies we have inherited and let us return to Him and His ways that are biblical. Not the ways that we think are right and pleasing to our own selves.