Free to Feast

 Categories : A Culture of Listening

 

A month thick with celebration is about to culminate in the most joyful eight days of the year. And every time I share my excitement about the Feast of Sukkot, people ask me how long we’ve been celebrating the Jewish Feasts.

 

It’s a legitimate question. I  admit when we started, I thought that’s what we were doing. We wanted our kids to understand their Jewish heritage. We saw it as an intriguing yet distant cultural exercise.

 

What we discovered was intriguing, and closer than we imagined. We discovered a way to enter into God’s rhythm of work and rest, preparation and celebration, expectation and fulfillment.

 

I want to be really careful how I say this, because I’m not preaching the Gospel of Judaism. I love the Jewish people. I’m thankful for their example of living as a set-apart people for thousands of years. But I’m not suggesting that anyone convert to Judaism or adopt rabbinical traditions.

 

But these aren’t Jewish Feasts, these are God’s Feasts.

 

Yeshua instructed us to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, and we are committed to Him and to that Gospel. The thing about a kingdom is, the king decides which holidays are celebrated in His realm.

 

And that’s exactly what God did. He gave us His calendar, complete with the holidays that are celebrated in His kingdom. He calls them His Sabbaths, His Feasts. He also calls them appointments that we are instructed to keep forever. They aren’t optional. They aren’t obsolete. They aren’t for somebody else.

 

If God is your God, this calendar is your calendar, and these are your Feasts.

 

If you’re thinking, “I don’t have to celebrate these holidays to be saved”, please remember that

 

Saying I’m free to not celebrate God’s holidays is a bit like insisting I’m free to not kiss my husband. It might not seem that serious. After all, if I stopped kissing him, he wouldn’t divorce me. But I’d be going against God’s instructions for husbands and wives. My husband would be deeply hurt. And I’d miss out on something beautiful God wanted me to enjoy. Why would I exercise that freedom?

The Gospel of the Kingdom is that you are free.

The Gospel of the Kingdom is that you are free. Free from sin, free to obey, and free to delight. God’s holidays are a delight, but they can also be confusing if you’re just getting started.

 

If you’re don’t know where to begin, sign up below to get a free Faith Quest. It’s a fun flexible activity to help your family connect with God and with each other, and experience the most joyful holiday on His calendar.

 

If you keep His feasts, what’s been the most life-giving part for you? If you’re just discovering them, what would you like to know more about?



Sign up for Free Faith-Building Resources Here:

Facebook Comments
  • Bevirlea

    I have been keeping God’s Holy Days for 6 years now. They are deeply spiritual and full of symbolism and significance for me personally and in community with like believers. My church keeps the 7th day as Sabbath but will not even entertain the possibility that the rest of the feasts in Leviticus 16 have any relevance at all. Only a handful of fellow members are beginning to learn the everlasting nature of His holidays. I am so blessed in celebrating God’s holy calendar instead of the one belonging to the world which has pagan origins.

    • mlekallio

      It’s wonderful to hear that you’re experiencing the feasts as the blessing they truly are, and that other believers around you are beginning to see the beauty in them too. Blessings to you!

  • Janine

    I think it’s fabulous that you and yours celebrate these feasts. I get a little concerned when it comes across as this is something everyone should do. It feels strive-y to me.

    • mlekallio

      I hear that Janine. Again, salvation is by grace through faith. Obedience is our response to God’s grace, not a means of earning it. He instructs us to respond to His grace by celebrating these feasts, among other things.
      If you adopted a child, your adopted child would celebrate the holidays that your family celebrates, just like your biological children. Since we’ve been grafted into God’s family, His holidays are now our holidays.
      I would never impose anything on anyone that Yeshua Himself didn’t do and teach, and He celebrated all these Feasts, as did all of His followers, even after He was taken up to Heaven.

  • http://www.amyjbennett.com Amy J. Bennett

    I’m a newbie! I would love to know more about the calendar, what the feasts are, when they are and ways we can (freely) celebrate them as Christians. One I have looked into is the Feast of Tabernacles. After this year of learning to really abide in him, he showed me some verses where the Jews celebrated him tabernacling with him after coming out of Egypt. As Christians, I believe we can celebrate that He has come to live inside us now and that we can celebrate that one day, we will be able to see him face to face and live with him. I believe the Jews also celebrated this future day as well. I’m sure there is much more to it and it makes me excited to learn more!

    • mlekallio

      Amy, That’s so exciting that you’ve studied the Feast of Tabernacles! It’s the biggest, most joyful celebration of all, and it’s also the one with the richest layers of meaning. I love hearing stories of how God begins inviting people into celebrating with Him.
      This year Sukkot(Tabernacles) starts on Sept. 27th at sundown, and lasts until Oct. 4th at sundown. I created a free guide for families that want to begin celebrating Sukkot, and it’s available as a free download here:
      http://hannahkallio.org/faith-quests/
      (Since you’ve already subscribed, the link is at the top of the newsletter, so you don’t have to sign up again)
      I hope you and your family enjoy it! You’ll have to let me know what questions it raises for you. I’ll be making one for each of the Feasts. My goal is to share these life-giving celebrations with as many families as possible.

      • http://www.amyjbennett.com Amy J. Bennett

        So funny, after I typed up this comment, I finally saw your Faith Quest and had to chuckled when it was on the Feast of Tabernacles. I love this idea!

        • mlekallio

          Great, have fun!