Yom Kippur

If you were to enter a synagogue today, Chabad.org has a guide to what to expect. It includes: “You may also notice that many people are wearing white clothing, and some are even wearing a white robe called a kittel. This is because on Yom Kippur we are likened to angels. The angels do not eat, and neither do we. The angels devote themselves to praising G‑d, and so do we. The shroud-like kittel also reminds us that all life on earth comes to an end.”

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. It’s history and significance is as follows (also from chabad.org):

“Forty days after they received the Torah at Mount Sinai and committed to be G‑d’s chosen people, the Children of Israel worshipped a Golden Calf. Moses pleaded with G‑d not to destroy His errant nation, and on the tenth of Tishrei G‑d said, “I have forgiven.” Ever since, we observe this date as the “Day of Atonement”—a celebration of our indestructible relationship with G‑d. It is the holiest day of the year, when we reconnect with our very essence, which remains faithful to G‑d regardless of our behavior.

“Yom Kippur is a fast day: from sundown on the eve of Yom Kippur until the following nightfall, we do not eat or drink. We also abstain from certain physical pleasures: wearing leather footwear, bathing or washing, applying lotions or creams, and marital relations. It is also a “day of rest,” on which all work is forbidden (as on Shabbat).

“The greater part of the day in the synagogue we engage in repentance and prayer. There are five prayer services: 1) The evening prayers, which begin with the solemn Kol Nidrei. 2) Morning prayer. 3) Musaf, which includes a description of the Yom Kippur Holy Temple service. 4) Afternoon prayer, during which the Book of Jonah is read. 5) Ne’ilah, recited as the day wanes and the verdict for the new year is sealed. The first four prayers include a (private) confession of sins to G‑d. Ne’ilah concludes with the congregation calling out the Shema in unison, and then a blast of the shofar signals the end of the day.

“Yom Kippur is followed by a festive meal. We rejoice, confident that G‑d has forgiven our sins.”

The author of the “New Testament” letter to the Hebrews wrote about the yearly sacrifice offered at the Temple to atone for the sins of the People of G-d.

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'” When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:1-22

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

“Sometimes sorry isn’t enough,”. . .

. . . is a phrase I’ve heard people say. As we approach Yom Kippur, or the Day of Attonement, I think more about repentance. If I’ve wronged someone, I say to the person “I’m sorry.” If I said to you that I’m sorry, would you reply, “Sorry isn’t enough”? No, I don’t think so. I think, as we grew up, we learned to say “I’m sorry” from parents and teachers, and to accept “I’m sorry” as enough. Before my kids were in school, they attended a “learning center” that functioned as both a preschool and a day care. It was expected that if one child wronged another, the children would make up with “I’m sorry.” Somehow that was all that was needed. Sorry was enough.

Last week I cited Job’s “repent in dust and ashes.” In this citation, according to my Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, the Hebrew word used as repent is Nacham. It means to draw the breath forcibly, to pant, to grieve, to feel repentance. The idea of breathing deeply was a physical display of one’s feeling, usually sorrow, but also compassion and comfort. In Job’s case, it seems that he grieved for his flawed understanding, and looking toward G-d, accepting G-d’s supremacy in all things.

My study Bible also states that, usually, when it is man repenting, the word used is a verb, shuwb, that entails “to turn” from sin to G-d. There is an action involved. At BibleStudyTools.com, in a definition of repentance, it states: “Two requisites of repentance included in sub are “to turn from evil, and to turn to the good.” Most critical theologically is the idea of returning to God, or turning away from evil. If one turns away from God, apostasy is indicated.” This turning “goes beyond sorrow and contrition.

So perhaps saying “Sorry” isn’t enough. Billy Graham put it this way, “Repentance begins with admitting your sin and agreeing with God about it. [emphasis added]

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Psalm 51:4

Sin against G-d creates a rift. “True sorrow then can cause you to turn from any specific sinful act and to pray for God’s help in resisting temptation,” says Billy Graham. “When you repent, [your] relationship with God is restored.”

True sorrow has an element of compassion, which is mentioned as a meaning in the definition of Nachem. We understand our own misdeeds from the perspective of the person on the receiving end. When we say “I’m sorry,” it must come not only from being sorry for ourselves, but from what we’ve done to others, how our actions affected them. Especially, this is true for the rift we create in shutting out our Creator, our Lord and G-d. For G-d, Who created us, wants to walk with us. In a very real sense, G-d desires with us what He had with Adam in the Garden before “The Fall.” It is to this end:

that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Red Clay and Smiles

Back now, I look back on the “Warriors Dash” up in Tennessee. My son and his friend enjoyed it. The final obstacle of the five kilometer race was a long, shallow pond filled with lovely red clay. Strung just above the water, spaced about ten feet apart were ten or so “barbed wire” fences–I think perhaps it was plastic, rather than steel, not sharp and dangerous. The boys hit the mud at a run, rolled under the first wire, then crawled and dog paddled to the finish line where they received their medals. Their time was under thirty minutes. The fastest runners completed the course in twenty minutes; the longest times were triple that. And everyone received a medal.

Everyone, all winners, displayed medals proudly slung around mud-covered necks, dripping reddish brown water, slinging chunks of clay off shoes as they walked, smiles on tired faces. Some of the runners wore costumes. No, this was no ordinary marathon. One group of women, moms perhaps, dressed as fairytale characters, and a team of men sporting “super hero” clothing. I saw “Clark Kent” and wondered if at the starting line he turned into “Superman.” There were dozens of “Bat Man” costumes, a few zombies, and other Halloween-type clothing. Most startling to me is the varied ages and athletic appearance of the participants. Young, old, slim, muscled, heavy-set, pot-bellied. It was a microcosm of Hometown, USA.

I didn’t take a poll, but I imagine people’s reasons for coming, for running the “Warrior Dash,” varied as much as their ages. For my son, it was the physical challenge of something very different. For some, it was an opportunity to support the cancer-research efforts of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, running after collecting donations. For others it was a great way to enjoy a day in the sun, listen to a band, drink beer, and hang out with lots of other people who were just like-minded enough–or crazy enough–to run 3.5 miles and negotiate twelve fun, tough obstacles.

The event organizers utilized volunteers from the surrounding towns to help run the marathon. Even the local fire department got into the act by hosing off runners. Needless to say, the well-stuck red clay was tough to get off. There was a pile of muddy running shoes, left as a donation to a national charity. I can’t imagine those shoes coming clean.

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Though I didn’t compete this weekend at the “Warriors Dash,” I did have the opportunity to be around lots of people who were just enjoying themselves. I found myself forgetting the way things are in the metropolitan area in which I reside, people at each others’ throats, so to speak. Strife. Inconsiderate drivers. Pressures of work, family, just trying to live. I’m not a party goer. But I think I can understand why, when the weekend comes, some people just want to party, to forget the week that was, and the week that will be coming.

Oh, I’d like it if all those folks that came on Saturday were “saved,” that the band played southern gospel songs, that the Name of Y’shuaJesus displayed over the field rather than a four-story-tall Miller Light can. I’d like it if Christians could gather together in the unity of the Spirit, could party together like those runners and those attending the “Warrior Dash.” I think perhaps when at last Lord Y’shua (Lord Jesus) returns to conquer, the Wedding Feast will be a great party of united Believers. Maranatha!

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. . .

Matthew 22:2

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Micah and a Lasting Peace

Many promise peace. Probably most famous is British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, who promised “peace in our time.” He did this in defense of an appeasement agreement in Munich that allowed Germany to take part of Czechoslovakia. But this didn’t appease Germany. Poland was in its sights. When Poland fell to Germany, England entered what would become WWII. England suffered greatly during the war, with much destruction coming upon it.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

1 Thes 5:3

Y’shuaJesus didn’t promise peace on Earth.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Matthew 10:34

He promised peace, though, through HIM.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

In the Book of Micah, we find a prophet itemizing the failures of his country–its iniquities. He cries out to his people regarding G-d’s requirements: justice and mercy, walking humbly with G-d. To Micah, proper worship of G-d is the prime ingredient for a proper relationship. Consequences follow when a people loses its relationship with G-d. Destruction. But Micah also promises redemption, salvation. He foretold of the Messiah. He also foretold that the Last Days would usher in a lasting peace with the Earthly reign of Messiah, Y’shuaJesus.

And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Micah 4:3

Bad times come. Bad times go. We ride the worldly roller coaster. Peace we have through all this that is brought into our hearts through our faith in Y’shuaJesus. He is the Only Way to Peace.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Several days last week I spent on Lake Lanier with my daughter and two of her friends. They tubed, knee boarded, and wake boarded behind our boat. We anchored near a rock to which they swam, climbed, and jumped the fifteen or so feet back into the lake. At night the girls hung out at our house watching movies until the early hours of the morning. My son “chilled” with his friends, though he was invited to go with us to the lake. This week he’ll go on a trip with one of his friends to a mountain cabin in Tennessee. Kids around here are all feeling anxious, wanting to get the most out of the remaining days of summer left to them: school starts next Monday for the two I have at home.

Over the weekend, my wife and I put many hours into the garden, continuing to plant despite the heat. We’ve had some rain here, but continue to irrigate. It’s not only the lack of substantial rains, it’s the dry heat. While damp hot air is uncomfortable, the ground doesn’t dry out like it does with hot and dry days. And then there is the unrelenting sun. While a number of our perennial medicinal plants are “full sun,” in Georgia that means sun from two o’clock until five o’clock; they start to wilt after a few days of constant sun, especially if they are newly planted.

We began a “water garden” that we said we would do in the Fall. Perhaps it will be filled and operating before then. It’s not too big, but should hold about seven thousand gallons of fresh water. Not as good as a deep cistern, but better than what has become an occasional creek behind us, which no longer can be considered a water source. We’ll plant around the edges of the pond, on a shelf about a foot deep. The inner part will me much deeper. My daughter wants to be able to swim in it. I told her if she was willing to dig it deep. She may try digging, but I think Georgia’s red clay will win the battle, and remain at the four foot level that I’ll dig it.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:13

As summer wanes, we push hard at finishing the things we want to get done, we want to accomplish. The lists my family members each have in our minds are endless. The scripture in First Peter is a reminder that we must also prepare our minds for action and remain with calmness in our spirit, shedding anxiety, worry. We are to fix our hope completely on the grace to be brought us at the revelation of Y’shuaJesus. We must juggle that feeling we just need to accomplish certain things today, to do things now, with the promise of the Lord’s grace. I hope it means that whatever we don’t get done is covered by G-d’s grace, and that He has mercy upon us during the long winter that may come.

I pray we are not so focused on the physical things that we miss the spiritual revelations the Lord offers. Let us abide it the Lord always. Let us rejoice in the Lord always. Amen and Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Death, Then. . .

The other night, standing around the kitchen, my wife told her Mom about a women she’d seen on a news program. The woman had died, she’d said, while kayaking, but came back from the dead with a great tale, er, story. This woman wrote a book about it, to encourage others. My wife relayed the essence of this woman’s message: there are people waiting beyond death, family and friends, and there is so much love.

It’s a common theme. There is life after death. There are families gathered together. There is light, warmth, love. Every thing turns out alright, after all.

My Mother-in-law didn’t follow what my wife was saying. She’s eighty-three years old. How does someone die, and experience that, and come back, is what probably confused her. I interrupted. I had to at this point. I said, “The woman thought she was going to die while trapped under the water. She had a dream. In the dream all the things that she longed for were right there, in front of her.” I went on to say that people want to know there is something after we pass from this life. They want to believe there is something more. And that it’s all available to them without them doing anything at all for it. “That’s basically what Y’shuaJesus said,” I continued on. “It’s a free gift for believing in Y’shuaJesus. But people don’t want to hear about Y’shuaJesus.” My wife said I was right.

Yes! I’m right! Well, more-or-less right. What I didn’t continue with, didn’t say, is that believing is the start, the beginning of salvation that culminates in a walk that is with our LORD.

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Paul tells us that not all will sleep. If not all sleep, that means some will. That’s how death is referred to by these First Century Jewish Believers in Y’shuaJesus as Messiah. Sleep. Not death. Sleep from which we will be awakened. And when we are awakened, we will have new, glorified bodies. Disease-free bodies. Incorruptible bodies. Perfect bodies. And a perfect heart. Tears wiped away, forgotten. And there will be a Central Figure before us when we awake: Y’shuaJesus! Praise the LORD!

And that’s exactly what’s desperately wrong with a woman’s story in which she says she died and found love and friends and family. It’s a tale from a few minutes hanging on the edge of suffocation. The brain without oxygen dreaming.

Y’shuaJesus will be there for Believers and non-believers alike. For the former, to wipe away tears and show His love. To the latter. . . well, it won’t be pleasant. They will see the love. Bow before the King in submission. They will, too late, realize He is The Way, The Truth, The Life. They will confess, too late, that Y’shuaJesus is LORD. And even if G-d, Father G-d, Abba G-d, were to invite them in, they would refuse. They would choose to turn away. They would be angry, hurt, afraid.

Sad! They would choose to turn away because they’d not turned away from their own miserable, sinful ways while on Earth. Repent! is to turn away from one’s sin. But before one can turn away, one must acknowledge sin. And in our society, our culture of liberalism and chaos, we are taught there is nothing Absolute, nothing evil, nothing that is sin. All things are relative. One person’s truth is his or her own truth. Not The Truth. All ways, all roads, lead to Rome AND HEAVEN, or so we are led to believe by the great liar, that devil satan.

We are being led like sheep to a slaughter. There are too many movies in which some human is a great hero, saving the day. There are too many movies depicting aliens coming to Earth to assist it in it’s healing. There are too many academia that are steering young people to believe in their own deity. Humanism is at the core of the United Nations Agenda 21. Humanism is satan’s tool to trick, if possible, even Christians. satan desperately wants to take worship of G-d from Him. He doesn’t want us to feel the warmth of a relationship with our Heavenly Father while we are on Earth. satan doesn’t need our admiration, our love, our praise. he just wants our soul.

We must be ready. We must be prepared. We must keep our eyes upon Y’shuaJesus!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Carpenter Ants, Black and Yellow Bees, and Worms

Ants. A large, black carpenter ant climbed up the edge of the wooden deck. Those black ants don’t sting, I don’t think. There are also large red ants down here in Georgia that do sting—terribly so. Fire ants. And we have those small ants I think of as a grease ants, too. These are the ones that lick the oily stuff of the peonies so that the flower will bloom fully. But the large black ants just roam about ignoring everyone and everything. Harmless, seemingly. Except I’ve been told they are carpenter ants, and eat the insides of wood structures to build their nests. I’ve not seen evidence of their destruction, however. Perhaps it takes years to weaken a board on the deck, to make it collapse from my weight as I walk.

Bees. This is also the time of year I see small piles of wood dust in some places around the deck posts. There will be a small hole above the pile, bored by a black and yellow bee. I’ve seen these bees go in and out. I always thought they just bored in an inch or so and laid eggs. I thought that until one day when I cut into an old board that had been laying out back for a while. Inside, the bees had dug throughout the board, building quite a network of tunnels. I’m sure the deck posts will be damaged if I let bees continue to nest there.

Worms. A few years ago we were using some lawn treatment that helped prevent weeds. It worked pretty well, too. But I’ve never really been a fan of chemicals, and finally we gave it up. Our neighbors have done likewise, so we all now just mow the weeds with the grass. What I’ve noticed is that we’re now getting worms back in the grass, and more in the gardens that surround it. I think the chemicals destroyed the worms. Worms are good to have around, eating there way through the dirt, making small spaces that allow air to saturate the ground. That’s not bad, either. A lot of people pay to have lawns punctured with holes to do the same thing.

What do all these critter have in common, the carpenter ants, the bees, and the worms? The all makes small holes. I read Regular Joe’s article on zombies on his blog. He came out and said what needs to be said. There are zombies walking around today. Lot of ’em, too. They are the walking dead. Unless they receive Messiah Y’shuaJesus as their Lord, the will be dead for eternity.

To take up on that idea, we can see the dead speaking loudly, making small holes like the ants, bees, and worms. They teach in public schools, especially colleges. They report for various news organizations, write for television shows, produce movies, write movies. They are in our political arena, as well. And unfortunately these walking dead infiltrate our churches. And the walking dead are deceivers. As Jude wrote (Jude v10-13.):

But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Paul put it this way: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. . .” Romans 1:22

Deceivers. At least three types of deceivers. One like the ant, one like the bee, and one like the worm. The holes deception bores begin small, getting beneath the surface where we don’t see what it’s really doing. Eventually, with a destroyed foundation, the structure collapses. Y’shuaJesus said that our faith must be built upon a rock. And, yes, we say Y’shuaJesus is the Rock. Out faith is built upon Him. It is still faith. We have to remember that our sins are forgiven. We have to remember that Y’shuaJesus paid the price of for our lives. But deception undermines our faith, slowly chipped away, by the walking dead, whether in the “world” or in the church. Do we begin to think we have to earn salvation through works or doing a certain type of mystical prayer? What can we offer G-d in trade for eternal life?

The black ant deception looks perfectly sound, fine. We don’t suspect a thing is going on. The bee is more direct. We see signs, but don’t think it’s really too dangerous. The worm. Well, the worm of deception appears to be a good thing. Like the worms in my lawn and garden. But our faith is to be a rock, not a garden. Worms say “The Bible teaches. . .” and we applaud, or say “amen.” Worms, well, worm their way into our lives, eating at us in ways we don’t even know.

The aim of deception is to undermine our faith. We are called to endure until the end. We can suffer set backs, but our faith must endure. We must be prepared to endure hardships without the loss of our faith. Our faith must endure. The Gospel Faith. That Y’shuaJesus lived, died, returned from the dead, and lives at the right had of the Father. Truth.

The cure to deception is what Paul wrote to the Corinthians (Ephesians 4:14,15):

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. . .

One example. There is a deception today that goes by the name of “emergent.” It isn’t new: It’s “new age” wrapped in Bible quotes. It looks so spiritual, even something Y’shuaJesus would approve. “From the Lighthouse” is a great place to learn about exactly this type of deception, and more. You can find it here:

Evangelism and the Walking Dead. In his article, Regular Joe wrote about evangelism of the walking dead, that they might be awakened. I agree. It is our mandate, too easily forgotten as we duck assaults from an enemy that is not flesh and blood (though too easily works through physical forms). We pray for all to come to the knowledge of Messiah, to the salvation that is preached in the Gospel Message.

Tom White, from his column in Voice of the Martyrs magazine encourages us: “Don’t let the big dogs in our country—who growl loudly through the media—prevent us from finding ways to reach out.” Throughout the world, Believers in Y’shuaJesus reach out to, and from within, countries in which the Gospel is restricted or simply outlawed. There are 54 nations like this. Here, in America, we are, for the present, unrestricted in our out reach with the saving message of Messiah and Lord Y’shuaJesus. “We must thereore go outside the fence with childlike faith,” wrote White.

And we must also not become discouraged in our efforts, must not question why there seems such poor return for our efforts. Not all will hear. Paul wrote (2Corinthians 4:3,4):

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Oh, Lord, You are our Rock. You will not be moved. Help us endure, with our faith intact, that we might greet You at Your Glorious Return and Feast with You, even reign with You as You’ve said we shall. Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Passover Tonight

Today, mis-named “Good Friday,” was always called “Black Friday” by my mother. No, not the black friday shopping days that seem to follow so many of the Christian Holy Days. Black Friday because it is the day in which we mourn our sins and that a Holy Innocent took them upon Himself, for us.

The Ten Plagues in a Nutshell
from Chabad.org
Moses and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand in the name of G-d, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh repeatedly refuses. Aaron’s staff turns into a snake and swallows the magic sticks of the Egyptian sorcerers.

Pharaoh still refuses to let the Jews go. Moses warns him that G-d will smite Egypt. Pharaoh remains impervious. G-d begins to send a series of plagues upon the Egyptians. In the throes of each plague, Pharaoh promises to let the Children of Israel go; but he reneges the moment the affliction is removed.

1) Aaron strikes the Nile, the waters turn to blood;
2) Swarms of frogs overrun the land;
3) Lice infest all men and beasts. Still, Pharaoh remains stubborn;
4) Hordes of wild animals invade the cities,
5) a pestilence kills the domestic animals,
6) painful boils afflict the Egyptians.
7) Fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating hail. Still, “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go; as G-d had said to Moses.”

The people of Egypt have suffered too much. They beg Pharaoh to let the Jews go. When Moses comes to warn Pharaoh of the eighth plague, Pharaoh says: You say that you want to go serve your G-d? I’ll let the men go, as long as the women and children stay behind. No, says Moses, we must all go, men women and children, cattle and herds. Pharaoh once again refuses.

The next plagues descends upon Egypt.
8) a swarm of locusts devours all the crops and greenery;
9) a thick, palpable darkness envelops the land.

The Israelites are instructed to bring a “Passover offering” to G-d: a lamb or kid is to be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of every Israelite home, so that G-d should pass over these homes when He comes to kill the Egyptian firstborn. The roasted meat of the offering is to be eaten that night together with matzah (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs.

Then G-d brings the tenth plague upon Egypt, all the firstborn of Egypt are killed at the stroke of midnight of the 15th of the month of Nissan.

Let us remember Y’shuaJesus and look forward to Sunday, the Day of Resurrection! Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Passover 2012

And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Exodus 12:11-14

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. 1 Corinthians 5:7

This Friday, at sunset, begins passover. It is known as פֶּסַח pesach, which comes from “pretermission, that is, exemption; used. . .of the Jewish Passover (the festival of the victim), passover (offering).”

The weeks preceding pesach are spent in much house cleaning in search for bread crumbs. It is quite an activity in which all members of each household are involved—young to old. I hadn’t realized Christians from some denominations also follow this part of the Law, too.

What does leaven symbolize? It has long been thought of as a metaphor for sin. Just as we’ve spoken of, before communion, we search ourselves looking for any sin in our lives. Passover and Resurrection Day are forever linked to communion. Y’shuaJesus is the Lamb of G-d—the Lamb slain whose blood covers us, keeping us from the Angel of Death. We celebrate communion to remember Y’shuaJesus, that His body and blood were given for us. It seems appropriate that we should, before Resurrection Day, which also called by the pagen name of Easter, search for bread crumbs containing leaven, not only in our lives but throughout our homes.

While this is all good, I wonder if there is a deeper meaning to leaven than that of sin only. In Luke 13:21 Y’shuaJesus says of the Kingdom of Heaven: “It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” I read that many reconcile this as being the one time in a hundred where leaven isn’t a metaphor for sin. Yet it just doesn’t seem reasonable to me. Matthew Henry comments on Luke 13:21: “You expect [the Kingdom of Heaven] will make its way by external means, by subduing nations and vanquishing armies, though it shall work like leaven, silently and insensibly, and without any force or violence. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump; so the doctrine of Christ will strangely diffuse its relish into the world of mankind: in this it triumphs, that the savour of the knowledge of it is unaccountably made manifest in every place, beyond what one could have expected, 2Co_2:14. But you must give it time, wait for the issue of the preaching of the gospel to the world, and you will find it does wonders, and alters the property of the souls of men. By degrees the whole will be leavened, even as many as are, like the meal to the leaven, prepared to receive the savour of it.”

So to speak of leaven, one is speaking of something that is silent, working almost mysteriously within—sin does that, doesn’t it? Y’shuaJesus warned of the leaven of the Pharisees. Their doctrines, traditions, interpretations of the Law, and even their hypocris, that would all work within those that adhere to their leadership. Leaven. Y’shuaJesus said to seek first the Kingdom of G-d. It will also work within us, slowly, silently, mysteriously. The Word of G-d, made flesh in Y’shua, made flesh in us.

Yet go back to the woman hiding the leaven in three measures of flour. There’s a view that even here leaven is sin hidden within the ingredients that the loaf is made from. There is a belief that the loaf is symbolic of the church, which is G-d’s Kingdom on Earth, and that the leaven is false beliefs and false doctrine hidden withing the ingredients so that these deceptions are passed on to all who partake of the loaf. An extreme example of the way an entire nation can become captive to a bizzare notion is the propaganda machine developed by Hitler prior to World War II. The leaven of his deception grew slowly, silently, until it permeated most all in the nation of Germany. The German people were mentally poisoned to hate the Jewish people, gypsies, virtually anyone that did not adhere to their Aryan cultural view of themselves. Extreme nationalism gave rise to the Hitler youth movement. No one questioned the authority of the Third Reich, of Hitler, of his agents, until too late. When they did, they were eliminated. The world, it seemed, went crazy. Sixty million people died as a result of Hitler’s leaven. Two atomic explosions rocked Japan.

Could the church of the twenty-first Century become permeated by false beliefs? The Apostle Paul said: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) It’s not that there may be evil lurking in heavenly places, it’s that THERE IS evil lurking. It is leaven in the church. Sin!

Proceeding pesach, we rid the leaven within our homes. We celebrate the feast of passover with the knowledge of Y’shuaJesus as the pesach lamb. On Sunday we celebrate the empty tomb, the resurrected Lord. And we rejoice!

Psalm 7 A model prayer for us while in distress (part three)

O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

“In You do I take refuge,” prays David. One commentator said the original meaning of the Hebrew for “take refuge” meant “flee to.” In danger, I’m sorry to say, my first thought is to flee from, to go anywhere that gets me out of danger. Isn’t that what fleeing is all about. Perhaps that is exactly what Elijah did. G-d tracked him down, led him to a mountain cave, and got him to the point He could finally whisper to him.

David’s attitude is much better. “He puts himself under God’s protection and flies to him for succour and shelter,” wrote Matthew Henry. “He pleads, his relation to God. “Thou art my God, and therefore whither else should I go but to thee? Thou art my God, and therefore my shield ([see also] Gen 15:1), my God, and therefore I am one of thy servants, who may expect to be protected.” His confidence in God: “Lord, save me, for I depend upon thee: In thee do I put my trust, and not in any arm of flesh.” Men of honour will not fail those that repose a trust in them, especially if they themselves have encouraged them to do so, which is our case.”

There are those saints today, brothers and sisters in Messiah Y’shuaJesus, that are in eminent physical danger. Pastors, ministers, brothers and sisters living in any of the 51 Gospel-restricted nations of the world are in danger. They are in danger if they assemble, if they speak of the LORD to one another, if the actually share the Gospel with someone. The rest of us may be, but most likely are not, in the line of fire—yet! It is coming, though. In whom will we trust? Is our pattern in times of distress, discord, to turn to a spouse, someone in our family, a close friend, or a paid therapist? Have we trained ourselves to flee from anything that discomforts us? When all else fails us, and no resolution is found, do we then come to G-d and say, “Hey, where are You, where were You?”

For any time of distress, whether or not it is spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical, there is a way that is better. There is David’s way. Flee to G-d! But to prepare for times that are truly evil, we must train ourselves to look at every moment of every day as an opportune time to flee to the Lord, to offer the sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of thanksgiving. It is an attitude we do ourselves good to develop. Then, in time that are certain to come upon us, evil times, dangerous times, we will flee first to the Resurrected Messiah.

Praise Y’shuaJesus!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Psalm 7 – A model prayer for us while in distress (part one) (jonahzsong.wordpress.com)
Psalm 7 – A model prayer for us while in distress (part two) (jonahzsong.wordpress.com)

Related articles