Bibledoorajar: Relationship Event(s)

     God pursued a relationship further with Israel, the church in the wilderness (Acts 7:38), much beyond the moral and civil laws that were put in place. He knew people were constituted with memory and feelings and so He instituted three appointed feast times that were to be shared in His presence.These feasts were solemn in that they were carried out in God's presence, but they were to be times to nurture great joy and gladness which culminated in praising God. Don't get this wrong, they were not times of acting stupidly, but there was even a joy that approached a type of giddiness at them.
     Jesus embodied this and saw it in the children when they approached Him with similar joy and gladness. They must have been showing a bit of giddiness, because the disciples tried to shoo them away. But Jesus said to leave them alone and let them enjoy building their memories and feelings about Him and the Father. This same event the Jews experienced literally, Jesus brought into a personal reality.  He experienced with great joy being in the presence of His Father and He had memories and feelings about what they experienced.
     The church of Christ is to experience this great joy and gladness too and to make memories in our appointed assemblies. The apostle challenged us to not forsake the assemblies as some do! And, remember, Jesus said, if two or three of us gathered in His name, there He would be also. Many of us have had some wonderfully appointed times with brothers and sisters over the years. The memories and feelings warm our hearts and embellish the realities of the Father that we have in Christ and each other. Recently, I read this entry on Facebook from a young brother:
"LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE" My friend/coworker saw this message sent to her, and she was EXTREMELY happy of it that God confirmed her answers. I love working with people I work with. They"ll all so full of God's love. Really helps me on days I can't attend church. I've seen so many good things beyond words I can't say, I just love it and I know God's real!" Now, I don't know about you, but I can feel the giddiness in his voice; I am in touch with how much he loves the Father. It's a veritable feast spread before us and it's ready for each of us to partake and be nourished. What a masterful stroke of God's creative genius when He established feasts.