Category Archives: Traditions / Holidays

Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Traditions / Holidays

Do Not Pass Over Passover

God instructed His people to celebrate certain holy days as part of our relationship with Him. Unfortunately, most of us who grew up as Christians do not recognize or truly understand the Biblical “holy” days, such as Passover, which He instructed us to observe.

Christians turned away from His appointed times to follow their own traditions. As an example, Passover and Easter are quite different. Easter has been blended with many pagan traditions. There was a clear intention by man to separate from the Hebrew roots of our faith. We must now each ask ourselves if that was good and decide what we will do personally in our pursuit of God.

Exodus 12 provides a clear example where God places emphasis on celebrating according to His instruction… Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yet many Christians ignore this celebration because the traditions of men have taught them to consider this a “Jewish” holiday. The Bible says it is God’s holy day, not a Jewish holiday.

Remember, that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order that he would not let God’s people go easily. He did so in order that He would demonstrate more signs and wonders so that His people would remember how He set them free from slavery in Egypt. God did not want His people to soon forget the momentous event. So much so that He even commands his people to celebrate it multiple times in scripture.

If it was that important to celebrate in order to look back on how God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, how much more so now that we can also look back and celebrate remembering how Yeshua died as our Passover lamb, setting us free from slavery to sin once and for all. When we celebrate it, the focus is on our relationship with our Father and his power and what he has done for us as his people… unlike common holidays of today in which the focus is on a magical man in red who brings gifts or a mythical bunny that brings candy and lays eggs.

Exodus 12:42-51

Ordinance of the Passover

42It is a night to be observed for the LORD for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the LORD, to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.

43The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat of it; 44but every man’s slave purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it. 45“A sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it. 46“It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it. 47“All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this. 48“But if a stranger sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. 49“The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.”

50Then all the sons of Israel did so; they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51And on that same day the LORD brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

We should remember as well, that God used Passover as a foreshadowing of the sacrifice Jesus was to make on our behalf. God even arranged it so that Jesus was crucified at Passover because He wanted to emphasize the two events together… God setting His people free from slavery in Egypt and God setting His people free from slavery to sin.

For those of us who wish to draw nearer to our Father, prayerfully consider studying and observing Passover, even though it feels strange at first and contradicts what most Christian churches teach.

Considering this change personally can seem very overwhelming to many. Many Christian’s have adopted such a strong tradition of celebrating according to man made pagan traditions that it is hard to turn away from them. It often creates difficulty and stress within a family. Jesus warned us about this type of conflict when we choose to follow Him, even within our own families.

Matthew 10:32-39

32“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33“But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

34“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35“For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.

37“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39“He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Ask yourself… do you wish to please man or God? I encourage you to pray for God to enlighten you and study the scriptures. Amazingly enough, even common encyclopedias identify the pagan traditions in Easter quite readily and consistently. The knowledge is not hidden… but we each have to make a choice about whom we serve and whom we follow.

To say we can only “have fun” by celebrating Easter with eggs and bunnies is not true. My family and I find it can be quite fun to celebrate Passover. It clearly reminds us of God setting us free. We enjoy a Passover seder which is rather informal and observe the Sabbath days of rest to celebrate God and family as we rest. We dress up as if we were Israelites on the original Passover, eating the seder prepared to leave Egypt. We then take up our livestock (ok… a dog and plush farm animals) and march out of Egypt and across the Red Sea (ok… around the house with imagination). We have recently expanded that to include bringing a horse and real dogs with us. The sheep are still plush! We even celebrate the days of Unleavened Bread. Of course it felt unusual at first when we started, but we have found that if we just apply a bit of imagination and creativity toward how we celebrate according to God’s instruction, we can do so in a joyful and fun way. We also celebrate Messiah’s sacrifice and his resurrection as part of this appointed time, which is clearly intentional timing from our Creator.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please draw me near to You in all Your ways. Help me to celebrate Your ways joyfully and without reservation. Grant me courage to step out of traditions that are not what You want and to jump into traditions that are in line with Your word! Amen. 

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Holy / Set Apart, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Traditions / Holidays

Celebrate Yahweh’s Holy Days

YHWH set forth some instructions for celebrating holy days. These are not largely taught or truly practiced in our culture today. We seem to have unlimited appetite for declaring a celebration or recognition day for almost anything under the sun, but we often fail to focus on celebrating what God instructs us to do. Many may point to Easter or Christmas, but in truth neither was instructed as celebration by our Father and both are steeped in deep pagan roots in much of how they are celebrated. Other’s include Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Presidents Day, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Ground Hog Day, Read Across America Day… and we could go on. Some of these may be fine and worthwhile, but we should start first with the celebrations our Father has instructed us to recognize.

The first in Leviticus 23 is familiar… the Sabbath day of rest. Many of us are familiar with it, but most do not actually recognize it anymore. It has become just another busy day for most. They may have a day off their normal job (though many do not), but the day then becomes a busy day for chores and responsibilities at home.  I can tell you though, as one who was there and has now embraced Sabbath with my family, God has some really good ideas! A day of rest to focus on God and family rather than just another day to work is fabulous and has opened up time for me with God and with my family and just to pause and reflect from a busy week.

Celebrating Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are great ways of ensuring we take time to reflect on and give thanks for our Passover lamb, Jesus, and to better understand how the Old Testament (Passover in Egypt) foreshadows the sacrifice of Jesus we are familiar with in the New Testament. Once again we see God’s focus for additional Sabbath rest days. It is an important concept for Him. We are called to rest at times, rather than run busily here and there during holidays as many do…often getting distracted in busyness from the intent of the holiday.

Counting 50 days… Pentecost.  We can again see the foreshadowing of the New Testament in the Old. We can give thanks to God for His provision as with harvest and again for providing us the Helper in the Holy Spirit, who came on Pentecost to the gathered believers in a powerful way as documented in Acts, after Christ returned to heaven. Our Father also reminds us that His provision is bountiful enough to share with others… hence the reminder not to harvest everything in verse 22.

We are called again to a Sabbath day of rest for Feast of Trumpets, and as we continue further in Leviticus we will come next to the Feast of Atonement as the subject of an article another day.

Leviticus 23:1-25

     1The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:

      3‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.

      4‘These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. 5‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD’S Passover. 6‘Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7‘On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. 8‘But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’”

      9Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11‘He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12‘Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD. 13‘Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine. 14‘Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

      15‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. 16‘You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD. 17‘You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD. 18‘Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD. 19‘You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20‘The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before the LORD; they are to be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21‘On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

      22‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the LORD your God.’”

      23Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25‘You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD.’”

There is so much to study and celebrate laid out in this scripture, but to truly understand it and appreciate it, we each need to take time in prayer and study to seek to learn more about these festivals our Lord has instructed us to participate in. I encourage each of you to begin on this journey, as I have over the past few years. Do not try to get it all in one step. Pray, seek, study, and try to implement in steps. I have found this to greatly enrich my relationship with the Lord as I submit to and seek His instruction rather than just “going along with what everyone else expects you to do with the broad spectrum of holidays defined by man.

To study more on this topic, please review our category of posts relating to Holidays/Traditions (scroll down to move from one post to another) and consider the following.

Here are a few resources where you can learn more about the Moedim, the Creator’s calendar (often called the “Jewish” calendar).

I encourage you to invest time studying this topic and do not dismiss it. I have found it to be powerful in transforming the focus of our celebrations off of ourselves and rightly focused toward our Creator and Savior!

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please open my eyes to Your wonderful ways. Give me discernment and courage to transform my life to follow Your instructions over the traditions of men or even more specifically my family. Lead Your people in the restoration of Your ways. Help us find joy and peace as we live more and more according to Your instruction. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John, in service to Christ

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Holy / Set Apart, Purposeful / Intentional, Teachable, Traditions / Holidays, Worldliness

Should A Christian Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick’s day, like so many celebrations in our culture today, has a blend of Christian roots and pagan traditions all mixed together.

Starting with the name, we should consider St. Patrick. Put aside for a moment the Catholic church’s definition of “saint” and the discussion about it’s inconsistency with the Biblical use of the term saint. By all accounts, Patrick was a missionary to Ireland for Christ who had great impact. He overcame great adversity in His life by turning toward the Lord instead of away from Him during trials and difficulty. St. Patrick’s day is supposedly celebrated annually to commemorate Patrick on the anniversary of his death.

To this end it would seem there are some aspects of this holiday that one could certainly focus on that have some merit. However, reflect broadly on how the holiday is actually celebrated. What are the symbols you think of most about St. Patrick’s day today? pinching someone if they are not wearing green, dying a lake green, dying beer green, leprechauns, gold at the end of the rainbow, shamrocks for “luck”? How about the big parade? None of these are Christian in any way or point to Christ or to Patrick’s missionary work. Once again, cultural populism and pagan traditions have overshadowed by far a holiday which men have tried to establish to celebrate God’s work. This is quite common in particular with holidays established by the Catholic church as they have a pattern of allowing pagan traditions into the Christian celebrations to help encourage non believers to participate. In other words, this was never a “Christian” holiday. It was a pagan holiday which the Catholic church adopted and tried to blend in Christianity. With a little easy research this is obvious not only in regard to St. Patrick’s day but also Valentine’s day and especially Christmas and Easter.

God does not want us to worship or celebrate the way the pagans do. If you want to recognize or “celebrate” St. Patrick’s day in a way that honors Christ and our relationship with Him, then I suggest making sure you focus on the missionary work of Patrick and God’s work through Him to reach a lost people and deliberately fade the other traditions to the background.

I personally recommend avoiding these activities or holidays where they are mixed and mingled with the world’s views and instead focus on the Biblical holy days or appointed times that YHWH describes in Leviticus 23 and may other places. These are the holy days that Yeshua and His disciples celebrated rather than all the ones where Christians have tried to push a Christian message into a pagan holiday. It is like adding chocolate to milk… it is very hard to separate once they have been blended. Additionally, if you were going to put effort into honoring God with a celebration or holiday, why not start with the ones He created, the Moedim? Why start with one that is built on a shaky foundation, like St. Patrick’s Day, where it has always really been something other than Christian? Part of being holy is being set apart and separate from the world for God’s use.

I would encourage you to consider learning more about Yahweh’s appointed times, or holy days. Consider our short teaching on Celebrating God’s Holy Days, which also contains links to ministries that can help you with further study in this area.

As always, pray for the Spirit to lead you and then expect His answer and listen for it. And ask yourself in all you do… does this honor Christ or distract from His message? Another good question would be “What did Jesus do (or not do)?” This is even better at times than the hypothetical “What would Jesus do?” As an example, we clearly see that Jesus and His disciples observed the Moedim. They did not observe pagan festivals or celebrations and blend with them to try to make them acceptable.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Love, Loving / Kind, Marriage, Traditions / Holidays

What Is Love?

What is love? This is a very old question with many answers. Context is important. We may “love pizza”, but that is different than when we say we “love our spouse”. Today, the world even steals the word “love” as a replacement for “sex”, which is completely incorrect. These are certainly not the same meaning. Greek, the language in which the New Testament was largely written, had multiple different words for different types of love. In English, we have one word and we must therefore pay close attention to context.

Many put a lot of time and focus into the highly marketed cultural holiday of Valentine’s Day. Candy makers will tell you that you must buy chocolates to show you love your spouse. Greeting card makers insist you must “care to send the very best” and thus spend $5 or more on a card, and send one to everyone you know. Flowers are a must, right? But now they even sell gold dipped flowers. Wow. Of course, not to be outdone, Jewelers insist that you are a buffoon if you don’t buy diamonds for that special someone in your life. Once company even suggests you should buy from them a new luxury car. We do well to remember that this is marketing intended to sell things and get our money. This is not how God tells us to show love to one another.

God calls us to show love to one another daily, not once a year, or on a few annual special occasions!

1 Corinthians 13

The Excellence of Love

      1If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

      4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

      8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

If you want to give a gift, and it is wisely within your budget to do so, go ahead. But don’t do so because you “have to” or are “expected to”.  These gifts mean little and will ultimately have a very limited impact if you do not show love the way God tells us to. Often times just giving gifts on designated marketing holidays comes to be expected and not appreciated as much. If you choose to give an expensive gift, don’t do it because it is Valentines Day. Consider intentionally giving it at some other time besides the widely marketed holidays for an even greater impact.

Warning… when you make changes in how you celebrate these marketing holidays, discuss it openly with your spouse ahead of time! Don’t surprise someone by not giving them something they already expect from years of habit.

When you are ready to truly grow in maturity, turn towards God’s definition of love and begin showing it today to those you love. No warning necessary. They will greatly appreciate how you treat them. However, you may consider sharing the scripture with your spouse and helping one another as you both make the effort to shift focus from the world’s definition of love to God’s.

You can also ask yourself, if I am celebrating love, would it not be right to celebrate loving God as well as loving one another? And to come in thanksgiving to Him for all the love He has shown, shows, and will show us? If we are to focus on love in the Biblical sense, Valentine’s Day just does not match up very well at all. If you explore the origins of this celebration you will find that once again the Catholic church embraced this festival, but it was based first on a pagan celebration. As followers of Christ, we are better off not letting these pagan holidays dictate how we show love for our spouse or loved ones. Instead, love people the way God teaches.

(World Religion News: Pagan origin of Valentines day)

One last parting thought… we can love YHWH and love others because He has first shown me love. Yeshua died for us to make a way for us to be forgiven our sins.

John 15:12-13

      12“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

The best way to show love for one another is through how we treat one another every day of the year.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Teachable, Thankfulness, Traditions / Holidays

Embracing Sukkot by Increasing Our Understanding

Once again, I am focused on Yahweh’s appointed time of Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles. It is a fun celebration that reminds us how God led His people out of bondage in Egypt and looks forward to the return of our King, Yeshua, when He will dwell among us again.

Today I am highlighting two resources for you to consider that can help to broaden your understanding of Sukkot and how to celebrate it. I encourage you to explore both and test them against scripture. Both present a view of this appointed time in the context of scripture and our Messiah. You do not have to agree with everything they say and do in order to learn from the material which is well laid out and I find very helpful.

119Ministries.com will provide a video to watch. SetApartPeople provides personal insight into their journey celebrating this appointed time. You can refresh the search to get more recent articles on their page by searching “Sukkot”.

I include a few additional links below. However, be sure to validate everything you read against the truth of scripture. As a last encouragement, note that Yeshua even set an example by celebrating the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles, despite people seeking to kill Him (John 7). I encourage you to click the link and read all of John 7.

Have fun with it. This is a celebration! Our Messiah returns! Consider even some easy online searches for songs or music videos associated with Sukkot. We have found some that are very cheerful and fun and some that are more spiritually focused and meaningful. Do not be discouraged from these resources because Sukkot is celebrated by Jews. It can be observed by anyone who rejoices in our Creator and His appointed times. With Christ, we have even more reason to celebrate these appointed times.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me to embrace Your appointed times. Help open the eyes of Your followers everywhere to Your celebrations and their purpose in drawing us closer to You. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Children, Parenting, Traditions / Holidays

Let Us Celebrate, Honor, and Love Mothers

We should celebrate, honor, and love mothers all year round. Honoring mothers should be more than a once a year “Thank you, Mom. Here is a gift I bought.” Let’s reflect on some of what the Bible says about the role of wives and mothers.

Deuteronomy 5:16

16‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you.

Not everyone who gives birth is a good and selfless mother, but many mothers sacrifice daily to take care of their household. They work hard. They are compassionate and loving. Good mothers are seldom idle.

Proverbs 31:13-31

13She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.

14She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.

15She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.

16She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.

18She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.

19She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.

20She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

21She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

22She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

23Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.

24She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

25Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.

26She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

27She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

28Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

29“Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.”

30Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

31Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.

Good mothers help to teach and guide their children in righteousness.

Proverbs 6:20-22

20My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

21Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.

22When you walk about, they will guide you;
When you sleep, they will watch over you;
And when you awake, they will talk to you.

Children should live in righteousness and bring joy and gladness to their mother. This is a greater gift than can be put in a box with a bow to be given one day a year.

Proverbs 23:22-25

22Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.

23Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.

25Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

Good mothers exemplify Biblical love, especially for their families. Their children should demonstrate this kind of love to them (daily) as well.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Remember to celebrate, honor, and love mothers all year round. There is no gift that can be purchased once a year that will bring more joy to them than loving and honoring them year round in a biblical manner. As children, let us seek to live in righteousness and lovingkindness, which will bring joy to good mothers and to YHWH.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for raising up compassionate and loving mothers among your people to care for their children and their families. Please encourage those who are overwhelmed or struggling. Please lift up godly examples for others to follow. Help us to show our love, appreciation and respect for them. Amen.

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God, Traditions / Holidays

Our Agenda and Our Traditions Are Not Greater than Our God

We can look around and witness ministries of many sizes and shapes. Some are small and some are large. Some involve missionary work and others remain anchored in one place to feed God’s sheep. When we look closely enough, we can also see that some leaders in ministry serve God while some serve only themselves. We must take heed to remember that our ministry or our mission is not greater than our God. We must be careful to remain focused on God and continue our personal relationship with Him through any mission or ministry He calls us to.

Paul is hailed as one of the most successful missionaries in history. He traveled across many places and faced many hardships. His ministry was characterized by both persecution and also by miracles. In all of it, Paul did not lose focus on God. He avoided the trap of taking credit for the miracles and blaming God for the problems. Paul continued to focus on his personal relationship with God even when he was in the midst of a busy missionary journey with a fantastic purpose and experiencing much success.

Perhaps it seems a small example, but it seems significant to me that in all his planning for his missionary journey, Paul reserved time celebrate with God and fellow man. Two examples in Acts 20 include planning his trip so he was not traveling on the days of Unleavened Bread and also his desire to celebrate Pentecost in Jerusalem. These were important to him as was his practice of honoring the Sabbath (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) and teaching on it consistently, even when he was working full time to make tents.

Acts 18:1-4

Paul at Corinth

      1After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, 3and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. 4And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

Acts 20:1-16

Paul in Macedonia and Greece

      1After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. 2When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. 3And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. 5But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. 6We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.

      7On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. 9And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. 10But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” 11When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. 12They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

Troas to Miletus

      13But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for so he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. 14And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to Miletus. 16For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

Whatever you are doing, whether ministry or employment, do not let it so consume you that you neglect your relationship with God and fellow believers. Observe the Sabbath that God made for men, celebrate the feast as God revealed in the Old Testament. Schedule time for your daily prayer and study first. It is easy to be consumed with things we believe are important and then find we have no time left for deep relationship with God… we must put our time with God first.

I would encourage each of you to research more about the feast days of God and about Sabbath as a start. I began to do so in the past years, and I have been amazed how the things I was taught in a Christian church just do not line up with the scripture. Many churches teach that God’s feasts and celebrations as well as His law and commandments are no longer meaningful for our lives today or have changed. As a simple example, we are often taught by men that God somehow directed us to move Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, but this is nowhere in scripture. In fact, Paul continued to observe Sabbath on the seventh day throughout his life and ministry, after the death and resurrection of Jesus. So did the apostles. Sabbath was changed later, by man.

I have found much growth in my relationship with God when I started changing my life and priorities to line up with His word rather than just what I was taught. I have shifted my focus to put Him first in these and other tangible ways and then conduct my other business around this schedule. I try to test everything against the everlasting truth revealed in scripture rather than just accepting traditions of men.

Ask yourself… “Are my agenda and my traditions greater than my God? What or whom shall direct my path?”

Learn more about application of the Old Testament for our lives today by studying God’s word about the law and commandments. Understanding the Law – What Does It Mean For Us Today?

Learn more about Celebrating God’s Holy Days (Moedim).

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for Your truth recorded and revealed in scripture. Help Your people to re-discover the truth and restore Your ways among those who call upon the name of Yeshua (or Jesus). Help us to embrace and gain understanding about Your law and Your holy days. Let us not lose track of our personal relationship with You due to being too busy. Haver mercy on us! Lead Your people to repentance, revival, and restoration! Amen. 

Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Faith / Trusting God, Fasting, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Learning To Pray Effectively, Persecution / Glorifying God, Seeking God, Teachable, Traditions / Holidays

Out of the Ways of Men and Back on the Path to God

We have been discussing how the book of Ezra, which details the return of people of Juday to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple, compares to each of us individually or collectively in our effort to return to or draw near to the LORD our God. One major theme is that God’s will is behind it, driving it. His people are seeking to return to Him and His ways and extracting themselves out of traditions of men and other cultures that have surrounded them for a few generations.

In Ezra 8, I read an account where a community of God’s people are coming together and working in unity to return to His ways. It is so much more than just one person. They fall back on the roles and tribes into which God organized their people. There is emphasis on family structure as an organizing thread in the community. Priests and Levites each have their appointed roles.

There is fasting and prayer to seek the LORD and draw near to Him for big decisions. There is faith placed in the LORD above even an escort of soldiers from the king.  It is an historical record that is overflowing with activity.

Ezra 8

People Who Went with Ezra

      1Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; 3of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list; 4of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 males with him; 5of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him; 6and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him; 7and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him; 8and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him; 9of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him; 10and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him; 11and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him; 12and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him; 13and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names, Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and 60 males with them; 14and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and 70 males with them.

Ezra Sends for Levites

      15Now I assembled them at the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I observed the people and the priests, I did not find any Levites there. 16So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers. 17I sent them to Iddo the leading man at the place Casiphia; and I told them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. 18According to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of insight of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, 18 men; 19and Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men; 20and 220 of the temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.

Protection of God Invoked

      21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” 23So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.

      24Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; 25and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes and all Israel present there had offered. 26Thus I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 gold talents, 27and 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28Then I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers. 29“Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.” 30So the priests and the Levites accepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

      31Then we journeyed from the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way. 32Thus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.

Treasure Placed in the Temple

      33On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

      35The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the LORD. 36Then they delivered the king’s edicts to the king’s satraps and to the governors in the provinces beyond the River, and they supported the people and the house of God.

What elements do you see in Ezra 8 that may apply for an individual or group that is trying to draw near to the LORD today? Perhaps I can lead with a few examples. I am willing to conclude that likely the people coming out of Babylon had many pagan customs they had been exposed to and perhaps blended with their own customs. They had to lay them down as they picked up and focused on the ways of the LORD. There are often adversaries that will come against us as we try to change and draw nearer to the LORD. Sometimes the very fact that we are changing and admitting that some of what we were doing is wrong can lead others to be very uncomfortable and even resistant… and we are not even asking them to change. It is almost like they need to convince us not to change or they may feel like they are wrong not to! Spend some time in pray and reflection.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help stir the spirit of Your people to unite and leave behind the ways of men to move together in unity toward a restoration of Your ways! Help us have courage to leave some things behind and embrace a return to Your ways, some of which may seem strange to some of us (e.g. Your appointed times such as Passover, Tabernacles, etc.). Help us to embrace fasting and prayer in unity and seek to come together with others of Your people who want to pursue You! Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Courage / Fear, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Obeying God, Offering Sacrifices, Traditions / Holidays

Important Milestones in Returning to Yah’s Ways

After a long time in captivity, the people returned to Jerusalem. We see in Ezra 3 how what were considered some important milestones in restoring the altar and the sacrifices. It was also a return to the appointed times like Feast of Booths and new moons. In summary, it was returning to the way in which Yah had instructed them to live according to His law. Imagine how excited the people must have been after so long in Babylon.  The return must have been joyous!

Ezra 3:1-7

Altar and Sacrifices Restored

      1Now when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers arose and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. 3So they set up the altar on its foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4They celebrated the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the fixed number of burnt offerings daily, according to the ordinance, as each day required; 5and afterward there was a continual burnt offering, also for the new moons and for all the fixed festivals of the LORD that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a freewill offering to the LORD. 6From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, but the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid. 7Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food, drink and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians, to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the permission they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

Even in their success, they still had challenges. One example here is that they were fearful of the people of the lands. They faced their fear and overcame it to the glory and honor of Yahweh and they were able to pull closer once again to God.

What are some things that you may need to pursue that Yahweh has instructed? Maybe there are some things you are not doing that you should be? Ask the LORD to show you and help what you should do and help you overcome any fear that may stand in your way.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help those who seek to follow Yeshua to find the truth of Your ways. Help us to draw near to You and overcome any fear that would stand in our way! May the glory and honor be to You. Amen.

  Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Merciful, Obeying God, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Study the Word, Traditions / Holidays

Passover Is Important to Yahweh (His Ways vs. the Ways of Man)

Passover is important to Yahweh. It is highlighted over and over throughout the Bible. When we read historical accounts of righteous kings restoring the proper worship of the LORD, we often see focus on Passover. All the Moedim, or appointed times, are important.  Passover is not just looking back to Yah delivering His people from slavery in Egypt, but it also points to Messiah who was sacrificed for us to set us free from bondage to sin. For those who preceded Yeshua’s death on the cross, it foreshadowed and looked forward to that pivotal event in history. For those of us who came after, we celebrate Passover to remember it and because it is important to Yah.

2 Chronicles 35

The Passover Observed Again

      1Then Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover animals on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2He set the priests in their offices and encouraged them in the service of the house of the LORD. 3He also said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the LORD, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel. 4“Prepare yourselves by your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and according to the writing of his son Solomon. 5“Moreover, stand in the holy place according to the sections of the fathers’ households of your brethren the lay people, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household. 6“Now slaughter the Passover animals, sanctify yourselves and prepare for your brethren to do according to the word of the LORD by Moses.”

      7Josiah contributed to the lay people, to all who were present, flocks of lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, numbering 30,000 plus 3,000 bulls; these were from the king’s possessions. 8His officers also contributed a freewill offering to the people, the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 from the flocks and 300 bulls. 9Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the officers of the Levites, contributed to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 from the flocks and 500 bulls.

      10So the service was prepared, and the priests stood at their stations and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s command. 11They slaughtered the Passover animals, and while the priests sprinkled the blood received from their hand, the Levites skinned them. 12Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to present to the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. They did this also with the bulls. 13So they roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled the holy things in pots, in kettles, in pans, and carried them speedily to all the lay people. 14Afterwards they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15The singers, the sons of Asaph, were also at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers at each gate did not have to depart from their service, because the Levites their brethren prepared for them.

      16So all the service of the LORD was prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD according to the command of King Josiah. 17Thus the sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18There had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign this Passover was celebrated.

Josiah Dies in Battle

      20After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him. 21But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not destroy you.” 22However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo. 23The archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” 24So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem where he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25Then Jeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations. 26Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of devotion as written in the law of the LORD, 27and his acts, first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Passover should be a time to come together with fellow disciples of Yeshua to celebrate and observe an important feast every year. For those new to Passover, it is distinct from the traditions of Easter, which are man-made traditions largely derived from worship of false gods. I would encourage deeper study for anyone in regards to better understanding the deep significance of Passover to those who are following Yeshua as Messiah.

Even for Josiah, the book of the law had been lost and then rediscovered. He embraced it and tried to return to the ways of Yahweh instead of the ways of the traditions of men.  Clearly this was pleasing to the LORD. Let us seek to do likewise.

For more information, consider reading Celebrating God’s Holy Days (Moedim).

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for your holy word. Thank You for Your grace and mercy when we are struggling to understand Your ways. Please raise up leaders and followers to passionately pursue Your ways and bring those who would follow You over the traditions of men into closer fellowship together. Amen.  

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.