When you find those thoughts creeping in, ask the Father to help you focus and pay attention. It’s true that HaSatan, may his name be blotted out, has many schemes to distract us and it’s also true that in today’s world we are very easily distracted. It takes effort for us to focus and pay attention, I struggle with that as well at times. But don’t give up! Keep on keeping on. Ask for help from the Father and surely He won’t deny you. But it’s not a magic incantation where He’ll magically make things work out, we still have to work at it too. He will give us the help we need but we need to do the work.

I’m glad to be of some encouragement. You may enjoy some of the audio files that are located in the right sidebar under “Audio Teachings”. Consider adding some of these to your regular schedule to find encouragement and some good teachings to consider.

Shalom,
Lisa

Be careful that your desire for Him isn’t based on fear, the fear of “what will happen to me?”. You know, I appreciate it when my children are obedient because they love me. It blesses my heart to know that they enjoy to obey because they love me. But to think that they would consider me a tyrant and they only obey me because they fear the consequences, that wouldn’t make my heart glad one little bit! Yes He is soverign and holy, He is G-d. Whether or not we’re near “the end” I don’t know. But I do know that His heart is blessed when we love Him and obey Him from a heart of love. Don’t focus on “the end” but focus on the Father. Perfect love casts out all fear so when we love Him we know that what He does is good and we trust Him to work all things out for good, even when it looks like it might be bad. He sees all things, we only see a fraction. Trust in Him, love Him and do what He asks.

It’s never too late to worship G-d and to do good. It’s not too late to do teshuvah – to turn around, stop sinning and to obey the Father. The trick is to just get up and do it, and when we fail (because we all do fail) to acknowledge our failure, our sin, and to keep walking the path toward righteousness. Nobody said it’d be easy in this world, but with His help we can do it.

Good for you for wanting to take your faith seriously and for being obedient. Continue on the good path, keep fighting the good fight! We all make mistakes, the thing we need to focus on is not our failure but His holiness and do our best to obey Him. We all fail and there is mercy when we repent (do teshuvah).

You asked if it’s too late to keep the feasts? The dates have indeed passed, though there are still some who keep to the Lunar Calendar who may still be celebrating Sukkot for another day or two. But that does not mean that it’s too late to do good and to worship our Father in Heaven!! For this it is never too late.

If giving money for charity is important to you, then consider some of the charities that are important to you. A local food bank, a ministry that distributes the whole Bible, a ministry that cares for the poor, orphaned, homeless, widows, sick, elderly, etc. Maybe take some of your spare time and work with a group to do good deeds for people in need. Even when we don’t have money we all have time.

As far as what to do for the festivals, learn more about them and put them on your calendar for the spring. Be prepared when they come around, read the Scriptures every day (or at the every least, every week) and ask the Father to prepare your heart for the next cycle of festivals that are coming. He is faithful.

May you be blessed by His presence as you seek His face ~
Lisa

This entry was written in 2006 so the specific days are different this year. On Wednesday October 1, 2008 the new moon was sighted from Israel. This means that 10 days later will be Yom Kippur. Since the day begins at sunset, Yom Kippur will begin (according to the lunar cycle) the evening of October 10, 2008 and continue through the day to the evening of October 11, 2008. This whole day (from sunset to sunset) will be Yom Kippur.

According to the traditional calendar that was established by the Rabbi’s many years ago, Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah was a few days earlier – September 29/30, 2008 and that makes Yom Kippur October 8/9, 2008. The reason for the difference in the two sets of dates has to do with calculations many centuries ago. Over time we’ve acquired a one or two day difference between the lunar cycle and the calendar every month.

According to various sources the new moon was calculated on the 29th of September where it wasn’t sighted in Israel till the first of October. This is because there are two ways to calculate the new moon. One way, the way I understand it had always been calculated in the old days, was to watch for the first sliver of the new moon. As soon as the first sliver, a 3% moon, was seen with the naked eye it was declared the new month. However, science today tells us that the moon is renewed when it is at 0% visibility, in complete darkness.

Some say that the rabbi’s calculated the new moon the same way the U.S. Naval Observatory and others do. That may be so, but the references I’m aware of in the Talmud speak of the first visible signs of the moon being the criteria. There is much debate over this issue and much relational damage has been done over this issue alone. It is one of those things that we’ll have to wait to resolve until the Master comes and sets all things straight.

I hope this answers your question.

According the Scripture the Feast of Atonement falls on the tenth day of the lunar month. According the U.S. Naval Observatory and Calendar.com and everyone the new moon was on the 29th of September. That would make the Wednesday the tenth day of the lunar month. So why is Yom Kippur held on Thursday? This is the eleventh day of the lunar month and a day late for the holy day. Is it not the same as the Atonement day spoken of in the scripture? I understand starting the evening before. The evening before is tonight.