Day 6 – A time to prepare

Thank you for joining me for these 10 Days of Awe, the holiest days on God’s calendar.  I hope these devotional teachings have been a blessing to you!  If you would like to review the teachings from the past several days, click the link below:


As I’ve shared in my previous teachings, I believe with all my heart that one year or another, this Tabernacles season of Atonement will be the season of the coming of the Lord. 


Faster than a hoof ever struck pavement: He’s coming.

Faster than a wheel ever turned upon an axle: He’s coming.

Faster than lighting from the east crashes into the west: He’s coming.

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”  - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Of course, no one can know the day nor the hour (Matthew 24:36).  But we can know the season.  And THIS could be the year!

But if it is not, God promises everyone who obeys His command to honor His Feast will become the recipients of 7 blessings only available this one time each year.

Just this past Monday, at Rosh Hashanah - the Head of the Year & the Feast of Trumpets, the 10 Days of Awe began: A time to search our hearts, to reflect on the goodness of God despite our own failures, and to prepare for His presence.

The ancient Israelites observed these powerful days at the beginning of the Hebrew year as a "reset" for their lives; a time of repentance and introspection ... a time to forgive your neighbor and mend broken relationships.  A time to right the wrongs they caused and draw away from the "normal" in preparation for the divine. 

This annual custom was necessary as they approached the presence of God on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the single holiest day of the year.

“After all,” they thought, “How can we expect God to forgive us on Yom Kippur if we cannot humble ourselves, repent, and forgive each other?”

You and I know the Lord Jesus Christ fully and completely accomplished the work of our atonement by His Cross.  Tetelestai — “It is finished” — Jesus declared. 

Salvation is a gift of God, “by grace through faith.”  Our observance of the Days of Awe and the Day of Atonement is not about doing anything to earn the atonement.  Rather, it is a celebration of thanks for God’s gift as we prepare for His presence again.

Whether the Lord Jesus returns for His people this year or not, of one thing we can be assured: He is coming, He is moving, and He is working.  Either our Canaan King will split the Eastern sky to call us away, or by His Spirit, He will pour out 7 blessings of Atonement on those who are prepared for His presence.

How do we prepare?  We get the leaven out!  In Matthew 16, the Lord Jesus warns His disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” – a group of hyper-religious Jews He often rebuked:

“You Hypocrites. … you clean the outside of the cup and the dish but the inside are full of greed and selfishness. …  You are like white-washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones.” — Matthew 23

Friend, the Spirit of God is calling us to live like we believe the full and true Gospel … to live lives of consecration.  Why?  Because God in His mercy picked us up from an utterly fallen, depraved, wicked state – and restored us to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This good news should affect every aspect of our lives.  It should cause us to behave differently, to conduct relationships differently, to make us more generous, more merciful, to help us be faithful even if it means self-sacrifice.  It should affect the deepest parts of our inwards selves, and not only what others can see.

Truth in its rawest form is power.  Hear the words of the Lord Jesus Himself praying for us in John 17:17 saying, “Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth.”

I want to pray with you for your deepest prayer needs every day between now and the Day of Atonement – Wednesday, October 5. Send me your requests – whatever you’re believing God for – TODAY so I can believe with you for all 7 blessings of the atonement to be released into your life!



My prayer for you today:

Father, thank You for my dear friend, who desires to know Your truth, to seek Your presence, and be filled by Your Spirit! We are believing You to make us ready for your coming and to prepare our hearts to be everything You desire us to be. We rebuke the spirit of the Pharisees, of hypocrisy and pride, and declare Your truth and Your mercy SHALL move us in every aspect of our lives to be a holy habitation in which You shall live and dwell. Amen!

Yours for the harvest,


Pastor Rod Parsley