Note: As I said last month in Dan Juster's article for Reconnecting Ministries, I am beginning a new focus with The Reconnection; to bring this issue in God's family to the forefront of the church by interviewing many of its leaders, both from Jewish and Gentile...
Christmas is not a biblical holiday, but let’s use it to the
glory of God. Hanukkah is a biblical holiday, and let’s use it also to
the glory of God.
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus even though he was
almost certainly not born on Christmas day (see below if interested in that
story).
If today, during this season, much of the world is
remembering the night of Jesus’ birth, singing, “Joy to the world, the
Lord is come!” then I will choose to join them, praying that tens of
thousands around the world will suddenly realize who this “Emmanuel,”
this “God with us” man is, and will accept Him not only as the
promised Messiah of Israel, but also their personal Redeemer and the Savior of
all mankind!
Granted, it’s quite confusing mixing Rudolph, Frosty and
Santa in there, but let’s peel back the games, and get to the one who is Truth.
We are grateful for all the traditional Seders that are being held as believers from the nations are being restored to the biblical Jewish roots of our faith. I encourage you to participate in them as the Lord leads. Gather your family and friends together for a meal and “remember this day”—the Passover and the “last supper.” Passover began at sundown yesterday, April 18.
You may choose to use a Haggadah (traditional Jewish way of remembering the evening). Or you may choose simply to read the Passover story from Exodus 12 and the account of the Passover evening meal with Yeshua and His disciples on the night of His betrayal (see Matt. 26:17-30) and to celebrate your own deliverance from slavery through the blood of Yeshua.
Scripture speaks of “bitter herbs and bread made without yeast” (Ex. 12:8) as a part of the meal. The important thing is to remember. And let the Holy Spirit guide your evening.
At some point during the evening, go outside and look for the full moon. Passover comes always on the 14th of the biblical month of Nisan (also called Abib), always a full moon. Israel needed no lighted torches on the night of their deliverance—nor did the Roman soldiers on the night of Jesus’ betrayal.
Remember the night of Israel’s deliverance and remember the night of Jesus’ betrayal when He sat with His close friends for the last time.
“This is my body which is for you,” He said as He took the bread (1 Cor. 11:24).
We are
grateful for all the traditional Seders that are being held as believers from
the nations are being restored to the biblical Jewish roots of our faith. I
encourage you to participate in them as the Lord leads. Gather your family and
friends together for a meal and “remember this day”—the Passover and
the “last supper.” Passover began at sundown yesterday, April 18.
You may
choose to use a Haggadah (traditional Jewish way of remembering the evening).
Or you may choose simply to read the Passover story from Exodus 12 and the
account of the Passover evening meal with Yeshua and His disciples on the night
of His betrayal (see Matt. 26:17-30) and to celebrate your own deliverance from
slavery through the blood of Yeshua.
Egypt is in transition. President Hosni Mubarak stepped
down, clearing the way for the armed forces to restore order and shepherd a
transition to civilian rule in the September elections. An Open Doors source in
the area says the reaction by Egyptian Christians to his resignation is mixed,
and it is unclear how the resignation will affect the country’s 10 million
minority Christians. A spokesperson with Voice of the Martyrs says Egypt’s
military doesn’t have a very good track record when it comes to Christians.
There is still much communication going on—e-mails, phone calls, facebooking,
tweeting, blogging, and perhaps also an increase in Bible reading, as we try to
discern the course Egypt will take and how it will affect the world.
There are at least three Scripture passages that will
ultimately come to bear on Egypt:
We are again experiencing the disappointment and even disillusionment that comes when perceived servants of God fail. This is a dangerous time for us. How will we respond? Will we privately rejoice because we saw flaws and cautions that others did not see? Do we discount those who were healed, who came to faith or who experienced the move of God? Are we to assume that everything was a farce? Was there never any real hunger for God? Was it all sham and hypocrisy?
Years ago when a prominent television evangelist’s moral failure was exposed, another television evangelist was publicly harsh and judgmental in his assessment. The Lord laid on my heart to write that television evangelist a letter. “Brother, be careful. ‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Matt. 7:1-2).'” A few weeks later the sexual failure of the man who had done the judging was paraded before the American public. Most of us would affirm the gifting that was in both these men, but their character did not match their gifting.
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.