Although Rosh Chodesh Preparation Day isn't a moed (appointment) of Yahweh per se it is significant inasmuch as it reminds us of the fact that long ago, before astronomical disturbances altered the smooth 30 day month that was the normality anciently, that there was cosmic symmetry in our world that also reflected a time when man and Elohim (God) were in harmony in the Edenic Paradise. Like the Son Himself, whose coming Satan both sought to conceal from man as well as physically prevent by destroying the biological line of Isaac, whose Day this is, the 30th day of the month is to remind us both that the Son is very much alive and active as well as the fact that He is very much concerned about us and our needs.

Last time I spoke to you on this day half a year ago we remembered Joseph's great loneliness as a slave and then a prisoner and how abandoned and forgotten he must have felt. The remarkable thing about this exemplarary patriarch, who was himself a symbol or type of the Son, was that he never railed or complained but simply did his best in his in unhappy circumstances. Who amongst can claim such a perfect record of trusting in Yahweh and enduring the loss or parents because of jealous, muderous brothers, and all without complaint? And yet somehow we expect to be propelled into equally advantageous circumstances and all without having demonstrated the same kind of superb character.

Joseph was 30 years old when his circumstances suddenly changed - literally overnight. Grown accustomed to Pharaoh's dungeon, he soon found himself the second post powerful man in the most powerful nation of the known world. Such a transition from rags to fame is unlikely to be our lot but that does not mean that Yahweh cannot, or will not, cause major turn-arounds in our lives when all appears hopeless and lost. The 30th day in the month, which is always Rosh Chodesh Preparation Day, is about such sudden changes that Yahweh brings about when we are ready for them. However, such changes don't come to pass by our simply sitting around idly. Joseph didn't just languish in a prison doing nothing and then find himself the Prime Minister of Egypt because of the waving of a magic wand. Though unquestionably he began at the bottom of the 'prison ladder', it was not long before he was making himself so useful in service that the prison governor took note and at length promoted him into becoming chief prisoner. He worked tirelessly to better the circumstances of those around him.

The message of Rosh Chodesh Preparation Day is that Yahweh does not promote you in life until you have made the best possible use of your time in your limited circumstances. Yahweh does not promote the idle or those who expect to have everything done for them. Those who bury their talent are never rewarded. He promotes those who have done their very best with what is at hand for them. He blesses those with a true servant attitude, who give all that there is to give with all that they have. Joseph was in the worst place anyone could be - in prison - but he gave his best while he was there. His tenure as a slave and as a prisoner is what shaped his character and qualified him to receive a position of honour and great responsibility.

This was certainly true of arguably Israel's greatest king, David. He became the best shepherd there was, demonstrated his courage, and was chosen to be leader of his nation. Even He who would come to be Messiah had a tenure as a humble carpenter in which to learn obedience and grow in spiritual stature, learning from what he suffered (Heb.5:8).

You may consider that you are in a highly disadvantageous situation that is 'cramping your style' or otherwise preventing you from doing 'great things' whilst forgetting that it is often the cramped environment that shapes the character required for greatness. Wherever we are, we are daily making choices for spiritual greatness or infamy, and everything else inbetween. What have you done with your tenure in 'prison', or as a 'slave', or in whatever negative circumstance that you feel life has dealt out to you unjustly? Do you feel you were destined for better things but have somehow been denied them? Your destiny is made by what you choose to make of your circumstances - they are not necessarily your foe and indeed nothing happens that Yahweh does not in some way ordain based on the choices we make.

I meet so many people in the ministry whose life seems to consist of nothing but hell. However, I have noticed that in all their circumstances Yahweh opens doors for them if only they will walk through. But time and time again they refuse, ignoring sound counsel, and then they wonder why they remain interminably in 'Pharaoh's dungeon'. They are constantly waiting for a knight in shining armour to come and rescue them. It doesn't work like that - they must forget the fairy tales and turn to Yah'shua (Jesus) and His Father's Torah. There is only ever one way out and making that exist first requires that we face reality, remain alert and then let Yahweh open the doors. Just be sure to go through them.

Remember too that the devil vigorously opposes every promise made to you, and the bigger the promises, the bigger the opposition.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (2 Peter 1:3-4, NIV).

Consider the dreams that Joseph was given showing his future that so enfuriated his family. Maybe Yahweh has made great promises to you in which case know that the enemy will do everything in his power to thwart them, because he loves to make Elohim (God) out to be a liar if he can. So don't be one of those people who just gives up when the troubles come, and come, and come - rather, rejoice knowing that the enemy has singled you out because Yahweh is calling you to be or do something that Satan absolutely does not want you to be or do. Ride the storm, rise above it, and wait in the spiritual heights until your time has come. Know that those who oppose you will be humbled and be brought to nought so long as you keep emunah (faith). Just don't deny Him or abandon your calling even if the likelihood of it being fulfilled seems more and more remote as the years pass. Circumstances change suddenly for those who walk in the spirit of Joseph.

Unlike the regular seven days of a week but like Rosh Chodesh, the 30th day is set-apart to be different. It is the day that sons rise up into their callings, enduring in emunah (faith) until their time comes, holding out against all the odds. They don't come monthly as we might perhaps wish them to because of the current disharmony of the heavenly bodies but they do come along nonetheless as reminders of the calling of sons. Thus Paul would write:

"You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled" (1 Thess.5:5-6, NIV).

These Preparation Days or Days of the Son are lost to all but those who observe Yahweh's Creation Calendar, concealed as these days are by false pagan calendars which have 'lost' the Days of the sabbaths, the days of the annual feasts, the days of both the Father and the Son, days that mark the beginning and ending of every set of four sabbath weeks. They're there for a reason, to remind the world that Fathers enclose each month, giving silent, invisible shape to the Fourth Commandment and to the mitzvah (commandment) to honour the Sabbath Day.

Though Joseph became a man according to Yahweh's Law when he was 20 he did not obtain liberty until he was 30, the very same age at which the Messiah Himself began His ministry. Sold into slavery as a teenager, his wait was a very long one indeed. Lesser men might have broken down and complained bitterly that their youth had been thrown away but in reality nothing had been lost because it had all been faithfully consecrated to Yahweh.

What is given over to Elohim (God) is never consecrated in vain, be it your time, your strength, your wisdom, your talents or whatever it is He has endowed you with. For whatsoever is dedicated to Him, which you use in His service, whether in prison or out, whether as a slave or a freeman, does not only honour Him and bring His chayim (life) to the people you serve in His Name, but for you it does the most important thing of all: it develops your character, fitting you out for the inheritance you are to one day receive if you remain true. But for those only interested in this world, then their investments will only pay dividends as long as they are alive, and when they have passed into the next world they will inherit emptiness. Their character - or lack of it - will bear witness both in life and in death.

Today we wind up the 8th month in readiness for the 9th that begins at sunrise tomorrow. As America heads for the abyss under its pro-Muslim communist president, elected for a second term in which he will now feel unrestrained, as Europe and the €uro head for financial meltdown and revolution, with our liberties being stripped away faster than ever before, this and the next month are going to be 'showdown' months in more ways than one. Your emunah (faith) in Yah'shua (Jesus) is going to be critical but more of that tomorrow. Amen.