This bracelet came in my possession. Someone received it and didn't want it and gave it to me if I wanted it. There was something about it that made me uncomfortable. Last night I went to the jewelry website and looked at it. I saw a lot of jewelry which had an "eye" on them and I wondered what it means. Fad? Or does it have a deeper meaning? I found out the eye is an amulet to ward off the "evil eye." Its origin dates back thousands of years and it is popular in Mediterranean countries. It is known by different names in different countries - evil eye, nazar, mati or ojo turco. An amulet is basically a good luck charm/ small piece of jewelry used to give protection against evil. After reading several websites "the evil eye" is a curse someone who envies you or who wants to give you negative energy casts on you. They may knowingly or unknowingly give you "the evil eye." Wearing an eye amulet is supposed to give you protection from the evil negative energy. Furthermore the color of the stone has a spiritual meaning. Most are dark blue which is supposed to be good karma and positive energy. This one I came into possession of has a light blue stone. It supposedly symbolizes truth and direct protection from the evil eye. It can come also with a yellow, orange, red, pink, green, or purple stone in the eye; each meaning various spiritual things. The most common color is dark blue though. The evil eye jewelry is grounded in pagan practices. Many tourists buy it as a souvenir in Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Southern Italy and Lebanon. It is given for good luck when someone has a baby or when they start a new business or when they move in a new house. Most view it as a good luck charm. As a Christian it made me very uneasy. First of all I don't believe in luck. I don't believe in coincidences. I believe in the divine providence of God. I believe God is sovereign. I don't believe in karma which comes from Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Karma is based on a person's actions to get to the next level. People often misuse "karma" to mean luck, fate, or destiny. I don't believe in luck, fate, or destiny. I believe in the action of good deeds, but a person can't be good enough to restore their relationship with God. I believe in the saving grace of God. A free gift given through His Son. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 I don't believe the light blue stone in this bracelet represents truth. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6 I believe Jesus is the truth. All of this made me think of when I got rid of all of my Halloween witches and ghosts. Years ago my minister had done a sermon on demons and how they are real and we shouldn't toy with them or anything of the occult. This included palm reading, taro cards, fortune readings, horoscopes, etc. His sermon really impacted me. When I decorated for Halloween I put out my Fall pumpkin decorations, but I left my witches and ghosts in the box. The following years I left them in the box - even refrigerator magnets of Casper-looking ghosts - until I eventually just got rid of them. I had the cutest little witch too which I used to stand on the end table! It wasn't that I was doing any occult practices or worshipping these occult items - they were just Halloween decorations. But they lost their appeal to me. It just seemed like the right thing for me to not have them around any more. I had a new standard after that sermon. I feel the same way about the evil eye jewelry. It doesn't represent anything I believe in. Matter of fact it represents things I don't believe in. That eye charm does nothing to protect me. I do wear a cross necklace, but not as a good luck charm. I often finger the cross as I am going about my day and it reminds me of what God has done for me. It reminds me of His love for me. My cross necklace just directs my mind to Him. What it represents I do believe in and it comforts me. I believe there is a battle between good and evil, between the demonic world and God's people and angels. I know which side I want to stay on and I don't mess around with the other side. I thought this bracelet was cute when I thought it was just an eye. However, now that I know what the evil eye jewelry represents I can't wear it and look at it and not be bothered. I am putting something in my life which shouldn't be there. I don't want to dishonor God and I'd feel like I was if I wore it. I place my trust in Him to protect me from evil. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. Psalm 91:1-11

Christmas will be here soon and this time every year as I get ready for Christmas and listen to Christmas carols, there is something that occupies my thoughts. It is two Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah. I know what they mean. They are part of our Christmas tradition. Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. As I read the Old Testament I clearly see Jesus and my thoughts run to the Jews and I wonder why they don't see Him. I know Jesus is the Messiah. We are about to celebrate the birth of our Savior and our Lord! I am so joyful. Why do they not see it as I do? About a decade ago I became very interested in Messianic Jews. They are people who have been raised Jewish who come to faith in Jesus as their Savior. They call Him "Yeshua." They see Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ. "Christ" is the Greek word for the Hebrew word for "Messiah." I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why these Jews would become Messianic Jews and why other Jews would not believe Jesus is the Messiah. Our Old Testament is the exact same text as the Jewish Scriptures. They are reading what I am reading. First I tried to figure out how many prophecies there were. I have a reference book, Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps & Time Lines, Volume 1 (affiliate link) which lists 100 Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus. I remember chapter 10, The Fingerprint Evidence, of Lee Strobel's book The Case for Christ (affiliate link) and the section on Jesus fulfilling just 8 of the prophecies. The probability of Jesus fulfilling just 8 prophecies was one chance in one hundred million billion! Basically it is a mathematical impossibility. I remember reading a book by a Messianic Jew that claims there are about 300 prophecies of the Messiah to come. And then my women's group recently did a study that mentioned the Old Testament messianic prophecies and I seem to remember it saying there were over 150 of them. Anyways, I never could figure out exactly how many there were, but suffice it to say a lot! Jesus fulfilled every single prophecy. Every. Single. One. The fact that He did is a profound miracle. It is a God thing. It proves He is the Messiah. The Savior. The Christ. Everything to where He would be born; He would be from the tribe of Judah; how He would die, and crucifixion wasn't even invented yet when they wrote His hands and feet would be pierced; born of a virgin; be despised and rejected; will come to Jerusalem riding on a donkey; be a new everlasting covenant (and Jesus claims this at The Last Supper); be the Passover sacrifice with no bone broken; be thirsty during His execution; be betrayed by a friend; be given gall and vinegar; did not defend Himself; pierced in the side; sold for thirty pieces of silver; be raised from the dead; be led as a lamb to the slaughter;... I was a Christian before I read the Old Testament. I was a believer. But it was reading the Old Testament which wiped out any doubts I had. You cannot read the Old Testament - the exact text the Jews have - and not see Jesus as the Messiah. It was what made me "all in" this Christianity thing. It convinced me. It brought me profound joy. It made Christmas and Easter all the bigger celebrations for me! I saw the connections! I got it! I understood! So if the Jews are reading what I am reading, how do they not see Jesus as the Messiah? I never could answer this in my mind. But I read an interview with a Messianic Jew and he said the Jews weren't encouraged to read their Scriptures. And they didn't really know what the New Testament says and why we know the New Testament text is reliable. When people talk about Old Testament prophecies they usually point you to Isaiah 53. I do this when I teach Connecting the Dots of the Bible. (There are many prophecies of the Messiah in other Old Testament books. Many in the Psalms - some of which were written 1000 years before Jesus was born!) I know that the book of Isaiah was written 700 years before Jesus was born. Now we can't wrap our heads around how long that is. Or at least I can't. When I teach and I say things like the Jews were slaves of the Egyptians for about 400 years. Or the time period between the Old Testament and New Testament was about 400 years; I tell the students to stop for a second and think about that. Think how old the United States is. Think how long 400 years is. And now think about the messianic prophecies written in Isaiah were 700 years before Jesus was born! The Jewish scholars had to sit around for 700 years and debate these prophecies. They were waiting for the Messiah. They were watching for Him. True, they thought the Messiah would come and overthrow the Romans and restore the nation of Israel. They were expecting a military leader; not a suffering servant who would forgive sins and restore man's relationship with God. You can't think about Christmas and not think of the messianic prophecies or the genealogies of Jesus. Matthew begins his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah. It is written to the Jews to tell them Jesus is the legal heir to the throne of King David through His father Joseph. A key word in the Gospel of Matthew is "fulfilled." Matthew is telling the Jews, 'Do you not see it? Jesus is the Messiah! He is the One we have been waiting for and looking for!' (Read my blog An Excellent Way to Begin the New Testament - the Genealogy of Christ.) And then we get to Luke's Gospel and his genealogy of Christ in chapter 3. This genealogy is showing Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne through His mother Mary. The virgin birth was necessary to fulfill Isaiah 7:14 and to avoid the curse on Jehoiachin. (Read my blog Any way you slice it, Jesus is King and The Curse is Solved by the Virgin Birth.) I envision the Jewish scholars of old sitting around discussing how Isaiah 7:14 tells us God will give us a sign. A maiden will bear a son (maiden means she was a virgin) and His name will be "God with us" (what Immanuel means.) How will a virgin have a baby? They debate how a virgin can have a son. Over and over for 700 years. Matthew tells the Jews in Matthew 1:21-23! "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” See that word "fulfill"? It is found sixteen times in the Gospel of Matthew! I can't read Isaiah 9:6 and not think of Handel's Messiah. Oh listen to it now. Rejoice! We know the initial believers in Jesus Christ were Jewish. But by A.D. 100 the majority of Jews had rejected Him. The Gospel spread like wildfire through the Gentiles - non-Jewish people. Why don't all Jewish people see their Savior in their Scriptures is Jesus Christ? I don't know. But I continue to think of them trying to figure it out for centuries and then when He does come, born in a manger, and Matthew and Luke point them right to it, they refuse to believe. We though know that good news of great joy which will be for all the people! For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." I had Isaiah 9:6 engraved on this Lisa Leonard Christmas personalized ornament to give to some good friends. I got myself one too. Looking at it brings me great joy. It is the reason we are celebrating. Our Savior is born!

My dear friend is going through a really tough time right now. I had sent her something and she texted me she had just received it. She thanked me for my continued encouragement. She said she has been putting on a brave face on these days as she doesn't want everyone to think she is a Debbie Downer all of the time. She said I know her well enough to see her heartbreak and grief even on her good days when she smiles and says "I'm good." She said God is faithful and shows her His love through friends like me. I replied to her I was so glad she enjoyed what I sent her. 'Yes, I know you are going through a tough time right now. I'm sure it is overwhelming at times. You are very strong and courageous. And in the moments when you don't feel it, He will hold you. Rely on Him. Cry out to Him. You will experience His comfort in a way you never have before. And this experience with God is going to change you for the better. I promise. Your suffering is not wasted in His hands. He is refining you as silver so that you will reflect the image you are created in. I, like everyone else, am having a hard time with this pandemic. I miss going out. I miss hugs. I miss people. I miss their smiles. I know the pandemic coming at this time in your life is making it worse for you. Isolating for you. Remember though that you are not alone. We are all feeling the same thing to some degree. We are all Debbie Downers right now to some degree. We will get through this together. It will be over. A time of great rejoicing is coming! Until then we rely on Him.' I laid down for my weekly Sunday nap and I thought about her. She is going through gut-wrenching emotional pain right now. The kind that only comes into your life a couple or a few times. The deep dark scary pit kind of pain. And to add onto it the pandemic and the health and financial fears on top of that. And to add on she is living by herself right now. It has to be heavy. I hoped what I said to her was encouraging. I hope she felt lifted up. I hope she knows I'm here for her. My thoughts ran to 2001 when I was in the same terrifying pit. Three things happened to me. Devastating horrible things. I was reeling. And then 9-11 happened. It had the effect of burying me. Remember how you felt when 9-11 occurred? Well I was already in the mire then. I sunk into a deep depression. I was a Debbie Downer. It was then I cried out to God. I literally told Him if He saved me that I was His. Completely. Entirely. I told Him I was putting Him as Savior and Lord over my life. And it changed. I didn't climb out of that pit overnight. But I did start having miracles occur. God lifting me up level by level. Day by day. But most importantly, I felt Him. I experienced Him. It changed me. God placed me on the proverbial rock. I wish I had known Scripture at that time in my life. It would have helped lift me up faster. Scripture encourages. I know my friend knows Scripture. That will help her as she walks through this difficult time in her life. I then thought about her term of "Debbie Downer." How many of us go through life with a smile on our face acting like everything is just going dandy in our lives when the reality is it is all unraveling? Right now is such a difficult time for us all. It's hard not to be a Debbie Downer. I hope you have people in your life though that let you be down with them. To be genuine with them. People who really know what is going on with you. People who are there for you - even in the hard times. But us Christians. We are to be the hands and feet of our Lord. God uses us to help others. To hold them up. To encourage them. You all know someone right now who needs you to be there for them. Someone who needs encouragement right now. Someone who feels alone right now. You need to make time for them. You need to think of some way to encourage them. It is what we Christians are called to do. Hold each other up. Bear each others burdens.

Tomorrow is election day. We are all fearful tonight. This morning as I studied God's names recorded in Scripture I read 1 Timothy 6:15,16. He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possessed immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. My study asked the question 'How does who He is meet our needs?' And 'How does this name of God dispel your fears?' I had to think about it awhile. I looked up the biblical definition of sovereign and it means the full right and power of a governing body, power, the supreme authority and all things are under His control. I then wrote down God does all things according to His own good pleasure. That leads to trust. All is as it should be, even if I do not understand how what is going on is good. I know God is good, all the time; and I know God is in control of all that happens. For the kingdom is the LORD'S and He rules over the nations. Psalm 22:28 That means whatever happens after tomorrow's election, there is a reason it has happened. It is His will. He is the only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. This has been an ugly election where people have been so hateful to each other. I don't see any good in it at all. But I know that He has this. God is good. He cannot do anything evil. He has heard my prayers. He has heard your prayers. And you and I may have been praying for different people to become President. He will do what is good. We can have trust in that. I may not see the good in it. You may not either. Could it be to lead us in a particular direction, to perhaps give the people what they want, or even perhaps bring judgment on us? We do not know. I have no control over these things and I must trust in the One who does control them. If I can stay in this place where I am close to Him, trusting Him, submitting to Him; I will remain peaceful. I will not fear. Yes, He is Sovereign. If you call yourself a Christ follower, now is the time to act like one. We are citizens of heaven. First and foremost. We belong to the kingdom of God and that should be our focus. That is a weighty responsibility. We should represent it well. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are gentle, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are merciful, those who are pure in heart, those who are peacemakers, those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, those who are insulted and persecuted and have false kinds of evil said against them because of Christ. We are blessed and should rejoice and be glad because our reward in heaven is great. We reflect Christ's image to the world. Let's shine brightly. Let's be kind. Let's be peaceful. With humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Let's trust our Lord and Savior with wherever we find ourselves in the days to come and reflect Him well to the world. Pray the only Sovereign will make peace in our borders.

Today is the first wedding anniversary for my son and his beautiful wife. The memories of that special day come flooding back. It was wonderful in every way. The weather. The ceremony. The joy. My son chose to marry the perfect woman for him. The truth is God arranged it all. God brought them together. He had their paths cross. The timing was ideal for them to fall in love. I know this because I had been praying for it for years. I'm not sure when I first started praying for my son's future wife. It was so many years ago. Maybe when he was 5 years old. Maybe 8 years old. Maybe even as an infant resting in my arms. I have been praying for her for so long I don't know when I started. Back then it wasn't that often. But as the years went on, I began to pray more for her. And certainly when he was in college, I prayed for her quite frequently. I prayed that God would guide her and protect her. That He would give her the life experiences and prepare her heart for the time they would meet. So much of life is about timing. I prayed that God's providence would happen and at the perfect time when they were ready, He would arrange their life circumstances to find each other. I prayed her to be a woman who would strengthen my son's faith. To be a partner with him. I have been part of a women's Bible study group for years. We always ask for prayer requests at the end of each meeting. One woman would always remind us to pray for our children and the children of others in our group. We prayed specific prayers - that they would do well on their exams, that they would find a job, that they would recover from a broken heart,... And we prayed for their futures. Not only was I praying for my future daughter-in-law; there were others praying for her too. They actually lived in the same apartment complex my son's senior year of college just around the corner from each other. But they didn't meet there. My daughter-in-law took a picture at the apartment complex pool and who was sitting across the pool but my son and his friend! The timing for them to meet wasn't right though. They actually met about a year later online and talked awhile before going out on a date. My son wrote on their wedding site; My pick up line to her on the dating app was "I'm pretty upset that we will have to tell our future kids that we met on Tinder" and she claims it was a bad pick up line but look where we are now... I smile. All in God's timing. As I got to know her I began to think she is "the one." I witnessed how my son loved her. She is very close to her family - her parents, her siblings, her aunts and uncles and grandparents. I saw how important her family was to her. I was so grateful that she comes from that kind of background. Normal. How hard would it be to marry into a dysfunctional family? And this one was a good family. A family with love for each other. I saw she had the foundation of witnessing her parents' and grandparents' strong marriages. She had experienced being loved and being able to give that love. I know she will one day be a good mother. She used to be a nanny while working in college and now is a neonatal intensive care nurse at the children's hospital. I saw she was a woman of faith. She would walk along my son and encourage him in his spiritual journey. When my son proposed to her I couldn't have been happier. I wanted to let her know how much I loved her and accepted her as part of our family. When you marry, you marry the family too. I wanted her to know that their union was an answer to my years of praying. That she is now part of us - completely loved. That she belongs. That I will always be on her side. Their side. The side that encourages them to work through the hard times that will come. The side that celebrates their joy. The side that remembers the sacred covenant of marriage they took. She had mentioned awhile before that she had liked the Bible I had bought my son. I went to the Christian bookstore. I had an idea what I was looking for and searched the many aisles. Tucked at the end of an aisle, at the top, closest to the checkout, I found it. The Bible with every feature I wanted. It was a Christian Standard Bible, a study Bible, with indexing and a genuine leather cover. It had maps and Christ's words in red. A very expensive Bible. It was just beautiful. The woman at check-out said it was the only Bible they had like that in the store. This one is special. The chain was closing all their brick and mortar stores and they were having a 50% off Bible sale. Only one left and on sale. I smiled. It was a God thing. It was meant to be her Bible. I took the Bible home. I oohed and aaahed over it. I thought about what I wanted to tell her and I wrote her a note inside. I gave it to her a couple weeks before they married. I wanted her to know she was welcome in our lives. She always would be. And on October 12, 2019 my son stood with the love of his life under an arbor in front of their minister and made a sacred covenant before us and before God that he would love, honor, and cherish her for the rest of his life until death does them part. And my heart swelled. Thank you Lord. You hear our prayers and You answer them.

My women’s Bible study group starts back tonight. I lay in bed last night and reminisced about my journey. It was 19 years ago I began attending a small group. I was unimaginably broken at the time but I had made a promise to God that if He took over my life, helped me, saved me; that I was all His. I showed up at the woman’s door anxious and afraid. I had this warped perception of what Christians would be like, what they would talk about, if they would judge the hot mess I was. At the time I knew very little about the Bible. I thought they would judge me for that too. Instead I found a welcoming safe place with people just like me. I made life-long friends. I found a place where I could be me. I began thinking about where I was that day and where I am now. Many groups later. Many Bible studies done. It has been a roller coaster of a journey along the way. There is this tendency to try to force God’s will in our lives. To think if I only reached more people or if I did things differently I would have a bigger impact. There is a tendency for us to make plans and then ask God to bless them. We have a limited amount of time and we want to invest it wisely. Over the years I have made many plans how I could serve God best. Often my plans are not His plans. I see that with my women’s group now and I get emotional how it came about. It’s a long story but I was asked to start an evening women’s Bible study group for the church. One didn’t exist at the time. Do to a staff change and new staff not knowing our group existed and old staff forgetting about us, not one new person from the church joined my group that Fall. Actually some left my group and joined the church’s new evening group. The church had made new plans and our group hadn’t been included in those plans. Not going to lie, my feelings were hurt. But as a result of what happened I opened my group up to women who had mentioned to me they wanted to be in a Bible study. I continuously prayed over the group and He brings who He wants in it. And what a group it has turned out to be! What had hurt me years ago has turned out to be a profound blessing in my life. The women go to different churches and are from different denominations. We presently have 3 Catholic women in the group! Do you know how unusual that is to have Catholics and Protestants studying God’s Word together? Highly unusual. It has served to break down the stereotypes we had of each other. We are multi-generational with the youngest being 30 years old and the oldest being 69 years old. We have various levels of knowledge of the Bible but we are learning together and growing each other. There are two women who drive 35 and 40 minutes respectively to come to weekly Bible study! There are women who work full time and are so exhausted by evening but show up week after week. Talk about commitment! In the past I’ve had women ask if I would do an online Bible study, but frankly the logistics of doing that were too much for me. The pandemic forced it though. As a result women who were unable to come to my house are now able to join the study. We even have one woman from out of state joining us! With all that is going on in the world right now so many people are hurting. As a result of this they want to get into Bible study. Women who had dropped out of our group years ago wanted to come back. New women wanted to join. And our group doubled from a month ago. I smile as I see God's hand working. And talk about passion! The enthusiasm of these women is contagious! They want to learn. They want to grow. They are purposeful in their spiritual journey. They do their “homework” and join in the conversation. I started out so passionate too and off and on over the last 19 years I sometimes lose that passion. This particular group of women keep me fueled! They are filled with excitement to learn and curiosity to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. I'm a bit geeky and they like that! Do you know how unusual that is to find people that are on the same page as me? We don't do fluffy studies - having tackled introduction to theology, another world religion and learning apologetics. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea. But they seem to find it fascinating. Ha! I had planned last year to do this Fall study on having a heart for God. What better thing to study right now with all that is going on in our lives? I am expectant for God to change us. To transform our hearts. I have this feeling that great things are about to happen. And I am super excited to watch it and to experience it. I am no longer teaching Bible classes. I took them off my website in 2019. There was a certain amount of sadness in doing that. I had thought that was what God wanted me to be doing with my life. I knew my classes were good. I had invested years into the research and development of them. Students loved them and would get very excited learning about the Bible. I know that was His will for me at that time, but not right now for some reason. I don't know why, but I long ago quit trying to figure out where He is headed with all of this. Yes, I am exactly where I am supposed to be and doing exactly what God wants me to be doing. He orchestrated it all. From that first night when a frightened broken woman stepped up to that door and said, “Here I am God. Teach me. Grow me. Use me.” - to where I am right now – it has been quite the journey so far! Along the way when I got off the path, He brought me back. I am emotional thinking about the steps forward and the steps backwards and the overall journey of it all to be right here right now. There was a lesson to be learned in this that I could only see from a distance and after time. What God wants us to be doing changes as the needs of the world change. We need to learn to be flexible and available; to let Him lead us; to let Him be our Shepherd; to put our circumstances in His hands; to put our plans in His hands; and to trust Him to work it all out. That is what He does. We weren’t meant to bear the burden alone. I now see Matthew 11:28-30 in a whole new light. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. When we learn to do this we find safe shelter in His presence.

"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." If your Bible is a red-letter Bible - meaning Jesus' words are in red - look at Matthew chapters 5-7. The entire pages are red with His words. These chapters are known as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:48 tells us we are to be perfect. What? We are? How on earth? The definition of perfect is: 1. having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. 2. absolute; complete. I am currently studying 1 Peter. He tells us But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:15,16) I then went to Leviticus 11:44,45; 19:2; and 20:7. Scripture very clearly tells God's people they are to be holy. And that we are to be holy because He is holy. When we think of the word "holy" we perhaps think of someone who is a "holy roller" or a "Jesus freak." These are often thought of as derogatory terms. So let's define the word holy first. It means to be "set apart" for a special purpose. When you read the word holy, immediately think what we are set apart from but also what we are set apart to. We are set apart to God. We are set apart from sin and impurity. We are told we must be holy in everything we do. This is a command. It is an imperative. It applied when Peter wrote it and it applies to us today. When I read 1 Peter 1:15,16 I immediately thought of Jesus telling us we are to be perfect in Matthew 5:48. It too is an authoritative command. In Matthew 5:48 Jesus' last word on this passage of Scripture about how we should behave in our personal relationships is to tell us to be perfect. Christ sets up a high ideal of perfect love in this section. He is perfect (1 John 3:2,3) and sinless and spotless (Hebrews 9:14.) We are to reflect His image to others. Both "holy" and "perfect" don't mean we are sinless. (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23.) It means we have the right motives. It means our heart is in the right place. It means we are set apart to God and for His purposes. We pursue moral perfection. Our eyes are fixed on Jesus. We are becoming more like Him. We aspire to be as much like Christ in our character, holiness, in maturity and in love. They say one-third of the world's population are Christian. Our Lord and Savior tells us to be perfect. Imagine a world where one out of every three people tries to be perfect in our character. Where we try to be holy people set apart devoted to God's desires. Where our faith has grown to maturity. And where we fervently love others as completely as God loves us. What a world that would be! And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:3 We become perfect by being fixed on Jesus. This is God's high standard for us. It is His authoritative command to us. Will we be obedient?

With this pandemic and so many suffering right now, I have been thinking a lot about how can I help? It's a given that Christians should be sacrificially compassionate towards others. It's time for us to really step up to the plate. I plan on writing some posts about altruism. "Altruism" is the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others. I have lots of ideas. I thought a very good way to begin this series is with a look at our attitude about giving to others. And so I begin with an example of having the wrong attitude - expecting those we are "helping" to be appreciative and thank us. Guilty. About twenty years ago my husband and I were in a couple's Bible study group. Somehow a woman in our group found out about this family who lived near our church who was going through a really hard time. (Disclosure here. My memory is pretty bad and how I'm relaying this story might be off on the facts some - but it is how I remember it. The facts aren't that relative to the point though.) We decided as a group we would help this family however we could. It was a husband and wife and their four school-age children. They lived in Section 8 housing. The woman was unemployed looking for a job. They had one car and it was broke down. The husband had to catch rides to work. They were behind in their bills. Their front door lock was broke. So we looked at their needs and came up with ways to help them. The car: Someone in our group knew a mechanic and got him to fix the car at cost for parts and charge no labor. We paid the bill. The unemployed woman: One couple owned their own business and the wife used one of their connections with a business within walking distance of this woman's home. Granted it would be a long walk. The person hiring was willing to work with this woman and give her hours on weekends and when her children were at school. We got the lock fixed so that she could go to the job knowing her home was secure. The job was all lined up. For whatever reason this woman decided at the last minute to not take the job. This rubbed me the wrong way to be honest. She had been handed a job on a silver platter and she turned it down. Behind in their bills: One woman in our group really pulled strings to get them an appointment with a city ministry which works with people - helping them to negotiate with billing companies, provides food and clothing donations, works with government housing, employment help,... That meeting did not go well. The couple was not willing to do the things they needed to do for the ministry to help. I spent a lot of time on the phone with Section 8 housing to try to get some repairs done to their home - like the lock. Also to see what other housing options were available. Nothing came of it. And I actually got an earful about some people trying to take advantage of the housing system and this family might not be on the up and up with us. The parents wanted nothing to do with church, but allowed their children to be picked up and taken every week to the children's ministry at our church. The kids loved it! Our church has an awesome children's ministry! At Thanksgiving we pitched together for a Thanksgiving feast for them. All the trimmings. At Christmas we did the same. I reached out to my women's Bible study group to provide gifts for the children and parents. Everyone was so generous. We wanted to make it a special Christmas for them. Several of us took the gifts and food to their house. The wife said, "Thanks." But it wasn't in an appreciative way. The husband didn't get off the couch, didn't acknowledge us - we got nothing from him. It angered my husband and he said he was done with them. By this point I was worn out too. The enthusiasm in trying to help this family waned after Christmas although I think the kids did continue being driven to church for awhile. The family ended up moving from NC to SC. Our group's attempt at altruism was over. Was it a failure? I have pondered that. We accomplished getting their car fixed, their lock fixed, and provided them with a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas. The real win was taking their kids to church every week where they could hear about God's love for them. We'll never know how God used that in His scheme of things. So if nothing else, that made it a success. Was it the best way to help these people? I have pondered that too. It became obvious they didn't really want our help. Well they did in the way that they wanted to get out of us what they could. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe that is just my impression of what happened. Maybe they were embarrassed about needing help. OK, that is probably really giving them the benefit of the doubt. Was our heart in the right place? I think it was. Our Bible study group had some very sweet people in it who were passionate about their faith. Good people who truly wanted to help meet the needs of this family. We had nothing to gain from helping them. We were willing to bend over backwards to be of service. I'm not sure if we went about it the right way though, but I'd say our hearts were in the right place. So why did it bother me so much that they were unappreciative of our help? Do I expect a thank you from people when I'm helping them? Is that going to be my MO that 'I'll help you if I can, but if you don't thank me, I'm done with you?' Sadly, I came to realize I want to bend over backwards only so far for someone. I did expect a thank you. Matthew 5:38-48 are the words of our Lord. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." I read this and when it gets to the part "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?" and I think 'If I only help others who thank me, what reward will I get?' Help others out of service to God. Don't expect to be recognized or appreciated or thanked. Be selfless. This whole thing was a learning experience for me; one I think God very much purposed for me to have. God may have used it to impact those four children and their parents. He may have used it to somehow spiritually grow the people in our Bible study group. I don't know how God used it and frankly, it isn't of concern for my pretty little head. He was clearly telling me to stop expecting others to thank me for doing what He has asked me to do. My service, my gifts, my very being was for His glory to use as He wants. Not my glory. I was to learn to have sacrificial compassion for others. It isn't a lesson I have down pat. But He is working on me. My take away from that long ago experience was it is not about me, it is about Him.

I sat on my couch in the late afternoon with tears streaming down my face. I had just had a long conversation with a friend. She had told me of something horrible which had happened to her family years ago and the consequences and repercussions of that event were still shaking her world today. My heart broke for her. There is so much evil in this world. People doing unspeakable things to each other. Sometimes it seems impossible to bear. My thoughts turned to others who are suffering right now and the waterworks let loose. I'm sure part of my mood was because I was on my 44th day at stay-at-home and honestly, I miss people terribly. But at that moment I was overwhelmed with what was going on around me. What others were going through was affecting me. Health: As of this moment there are 3,222,107 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world. It is in 186 countries. 228,757 people have died from it and many many more have suffered from it. My tears streamed for the friend whose mother died from COVID-19. Yes she had been elderly and had Alzheimers, but it was the virus which took her. I cried for the guy I know whose 56 year old uncle spent over a month in the hospital battling the virus, a large part of that time on a ventilator fighting for his life. He has been released from the hospital but now has to have kidney dialysis four times a week. For the people who have gotten it and were sick as a dog and the stress for their loved ones in taking care of them. For the friends who have health issues and are worried if they get it, they might not survive it. More than that. Three people I know are battling cancer right now in the midst of a pandemic. No one wants to end up in the hospital and add the worry of catching a virus on top of the already worry they have fighting cancer. I have two friends who will soon be having their first babies. The pandemic is turning their expectant joy into mountains of worry. A friend whose daughter has already rescheduled her wedding throwing everything up in turmoil. The new date may not be viable either. Another couple who rescheduled their wedding until the middle of summer causing others to reschedule their airlines and hotels. It may not go off either if the predictions are correct. The son of a third friend who doesn't know what to do about his June wedding. I feel for the people who had medical procedures scheduled which have been put off for now. Health issues that have come up that aren't being addressed right now because there are bigger, more important things going on. Life has been put on hold and at what price? A friend texted me yesterday her 23 year old relative had a stroke! Way too young. She is in desperate need of prayer and healing. I know two nurses who are working on the COVID unit at their hospitals. My own daughter-in-law is a nurse. All of our health care workers, our first responders, our essential workers - all are paying a physical and emotional toll with this pandemic. Many friends have loved ones in assisted living and nursing homes right now. They are overcome with worry for their health and miss them terribly. They can do phone calls and FaceTime and Zoom meetings, but nothing replaces personal contact. A hug. A patting of the hand. A kiss on the cheek. We are starving for one on one affection. Those friends who are single and staying-at-home by themselves are terribly lonely. People were meant to do life in community, with each other. Death: My father-in-law died in late March. It wasn't unexpected as he had been sick for years. We couldn't gather to have a proper visitation, funeral and burial. Grieving alone was hard. My family isn't the only ones going through this. Perhaps it is because of my age, but I know so many friends who have lost their parents right now amidst this virus. Yet they all grieve at home - missing the hugs of their family and friends. Grief is meant to be done together. It isn't meant to do like this. It isn't healthy to do it like this. Economy: Oh where to even begin. Millions out of work. People depleting their savings and unable to pay their mortgages, their car payments, and their bills. People unable to afford food for their families. Adult kids moving in with their parents. Uncertainty about their future. Business owners who have poured their lives into their business and are now drowning in a sea of debt and facing the possibility they may lose it all. Or they already have. Worry over education in this country. The children who will get behind. The parents trying to work from home and help their children with their schoolwork. The university degrees put on hold. The teachers scrambling to teach their students. People are afraid. Wondering how will they recover. What will the future hold? What a mess. What a hurting world. And I just had to have a good cry about it all. Outside as the storm clouds began to roll in, I sat there on my couch with my head back and looking up at my ceiling and I let the tears flow for all of those I knew whose life is just too hard right now. I prayed for them. I know He heard my prayers. I know that somehow my prayers will change what happens to them. I know somehow it helps them. One of the benefits of knowing Scripture is that it pops in your mind when needed. I thought of so many verses that brought me comfort as I sat there sniveling. But this made me stop crying and brought a smile to my face. Our hope - the day when there will be a new heaven and a new earth. ..., and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." Revelation 21:3b,4 Take comfort. These words are faithful and true. Sit down and have a good cry if you need it. We've earned it.

You may be afraid right now. We haven't ever experienced a global pandemic before and the fallout from it. Perhaps you are afraid for your health - that you are at risk and might get COVID-19. Or the health of a loved one who is vulnerable. Perhaps you are going through a different health crisis in the middle of this pandemic. I personally know three people who are in a full-out fight against cancer right now. That alone is enough to make you afraid, but add on the additional stress of possibly contracting a virus as you seek your cancer treatment. Or perhaps you are about to have a child, worried about delivering a baby possibly without your spouse into the craziness of this world right now. Or perhaps your fears are of the financial kind. You are out of work right now like millions of others. You have depleted your savings and wonder how you are going to pay your mortgage, your car payment, your bills,... or even feed your family. Perhaps the business or career you have poured your life into is about to go under. How will you recover from this? What does the future hold? Perhaps your fear is from some other source. Your loved one is alone in a nursing home and you can't be with them. Your loved one is battling COVID-19 on a ventilator and you can't be with them. Your loved one died and you can't be there to grieve with your family. You are afraid. You try to get rest and you toss and turn all night. Your heart palpitates. Your heart is heavy. Being afraid is a terrible thing to be. Isaiah tells us of such fear. King Ahaz of Judah knew the mighty armies of King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel were camped at Ephraim, immediately north of Judah. The Assyrian Empire was expanding westward. Syria and Israel had formed an alliance against Assyria and wanted Judah to enter it with them. Judah had refused and they were going to attack Judah and "terrorize" it. King Ahaz was so afraid he was thinking about asking the brutal Assyrians for help. Isaiah 7:2 tells us "his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind." Have you known such fear? The kind of terror that makes you shake? We quake when we seem to have no defense against something. Terrified when we are at the mercy of an enemy, whether it be an invading army, disease, debt or disasters. We feel powerless. But we do have a defense! We have the stronghold of the word of God. God reminded King Ahaz that it is He who is in control. "Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of..." (see verse 4.) The enemies had planned evil against him (see verse 5.) But thus says the Lord GOD: "It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass" (see verse 7.) We stand on the very same mighty stronghold. We are safe. No power on Earth can shake our Rock. We take comfort in that truth. He is our Rock of our salvation. All that happens to us is restrained by His hand. We need not fear our enemies. However, the lesson for us is not finished. King Ahaz was faced with a choice. Who would he trust: the LORD or the Assyrians? The LORD also told King Ahaz, "If you will not believe, you surely shall not last" (see verse 9.) I like how my Christian Standard Bible translates the Hebrew. "If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all." And there is the final truth for all of us who are afraid right now. God is in control of what happens to us. He is our impregnable Rock and we are safe with Him. But it all hinges on our belief. Take care and be calm. Have no fear. Believe. Stand firm in your faith.

Our Bible study group was studying about crucifixion because we are working on learning apologetics. When going over the scourging of Jesus one woman commented she was so uncomfortable with this topic and wondered why it was relevant. While it is a disturbing topic, one we would rather not think about, it is important to know about the crucifixion process. First, because there are going to be people we encounter who are skeptical. In order for Jesus to be resurrected, He had to die. We should know the proof of His death to be able to explain it to others. Second, understanding what our Lord willingly suffered and that it was out of His unfailing love for us that He did, makes our heart all the more grateful to celebrate "He is risen!" on Easter Sunday. Understanding crucifixion helps us defend our faith and adds to our faith. Christianity hinges on the resurrection. If it didn’t happen our faith is in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19) In order for belief in the resurrection we must know He died. We profess He was crucified, died and was buried. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with people shouting, "Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!" In just a few days Jesus was betrayed, arrested, tried, humiliated and sentenced. Pilate had Jesus scourged and handed Him over to be crucified. They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him,... (Mark 15:19) Crucifixion was the most brutal way to die ever invented. It was designed to inflict the most amount of humiliation and suffering as possible. The Crucifixion: Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. These prophetic words of Isaiah were written about 700 B.C. Crucifixion wasn't even invented yet. Sure the brutal Assyrians skinned people alive and hung their heads on spikes placed along a road to a city. The Babylonians were also brutal. But the first historically recorded crucifixion was done by the Persians in 519 B.C. The Romans perfected it though. They were experts according to all the historical records of crucifixions. It was done in public with everyone to witness. They began with a brutal scourging that was called the "pre-death." Followed by carrying your crossbeam to where you would be crucified. You were stripped naked. Nailed to the post and hoisted up. Roman crucifixions are well documented and were extremely brutal. They were meant to deter anyone from crossing the Roman government. The crucifixion of Jesus has been established as a historical event not only in the biblical accounts but has also been confirmed by non-Christian sources. No one questions the historicity that Jesus was crucified. The Scourging: They began a crucifixion with a scourging. Romans gave at least 39 lashes, but were not limited to that. We aren't told in the biblical text how many lashes Jesus got. They used a flagrum. A Roman flagrum consisted of several leather thongs on a handle and the thongs would have metal and bone at the end. The metal balls were to cause bruising, breaking capillaries and the bone on the flagrum would rip at the skin. It would shred the skin of the victim and often exposed the internal organs. It caused incredible bleeding. The whipping would have gone all the way from the shoulders, down the back, to the buttocks and legs. The victim would experience hypovolemic shock which is the effects of losing a large amount of blood. The heart races, the blood pressure drops, the kidneys stop producing urine, and the person becomes very thirsty. Some victims wouldn't even survive it. The fact that Jesus could not carry His own cross is evidence He must have been in very bad shape. This is a horrific scene from the 2004 The Passion of the Christ movie. It is extremely difficult to watch, but is historically accurate of what a Roman scourging would have been like. Passion of the Christ - Whipping Scene The Nails: The nails would have been driven through Jesus' wrists. The hands could not support the body and the nails would have torn through the hands. The wrists were considered part of the hand in that culture. This is where the median nerve runs. The nerve in each wrist would have been crushed and caused intense pain. From archeological evidence of other crucifixions we know the nail driven through His feet would have been about 7 inches long. Again it would have been driven through His nerves crushing them. The pain would have been excruciating. In fact that is how that word "excruciating" came about. It literally means 'out of the cross.' Breathing on a Cross: Hung on a cross with your wrists and feet nailed to it, legs slightly bent you would find it difficult to breath. Hanging there your breath is inhaled. To exhale you would have to push up, scraping your torn back and legs against the wood. To inhale go down. To exhale push up. Eventually the person becomes exhausted, can no longer push themselves up to breathe, and dies within minutes. Crucifixion is an agonizing slow death by asphyxiation. No Broken Bones: A person hanging on the cross has to push up with their feet to breathe. If the Romans wanted to speed up the person's death, one of the things they would do is break the person's legs so they could no longer push up to exhale. Then they would die within minutes. In Jesus' case with the Sabbath coming the crucifixion had to end before sundown. The Romans broke the legs of the thieves being crucified with Jesus (John 19:32.) But when they got to Jesus, He was already dead. The bones of Jesus were not broken. This fulfills the messianic prophecy that His bones would remain unbroken. He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken. (Psalm 34:20) In addition there were strict restrictions for the Passover lamb. Exodus 12:46 tells us "nor are you to break any bone of it." This command is repeated in Numbers 9:12. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) His bones had to remain unbroken because Jesus was the Passover lamb. John 19:36 "For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN." Piercing Jesus' Side: The Roman soldiers made sure Jesus was dead by piercing His side. John 19:34 tells us - But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. Roman soldiers were skilled at killing people. If they didn't do their job, they themselves would be killed. That gave them some incentive to be sure the person was really dead. But it is the "blood and water" coming out of Jesus' side which proves it. The Roman soldier's spear apparently went through Jesus' lung and into His heart. When the spear was pulled out, fluid came out. After the pre-death (the scourging) the victim would go into hypovolemic shock. This causes heart failure resulting in fluid in the membrane around the heart which is called a pericardial effusion. There would have also been fluid develop around the lungs which is called a pleural effusion. This piercing the lung and heart would have caused seeing some clear fluid like "water" come out, followed by a large volume of blood coming out. Exactly like John tells us in his gospel. Hold on - John's gospel says "blood and water," not "water and blood." This isn't an issue because the order of words in ancient Greek was determined not necessarily by sequence but by prominence. Even though the fluid would have actually come out clear liquid and then blood - there would have been a lot more blood than clear liquid. Ancient Greek word order is the amount not the sequence. This fulfills the messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53:5 which tells us He was pierced through for our transgressions. And in Zechariah 12:10, ...they will look on Me whom they have pierced;... There is no doubt that Jesus died on the cross because of the historical, archeological and medical information we have. All scholars agree on this - whether they are believers or not. This is what the evidence tells us: Jesus died. Three days later His tomb was empty. Over 500 people for 40 days witnessed Him alive and reported on it. He is risen indeed! Amen.

I'm not exactly sure when I became interested in Messianic Jews. Probably around 12-13 years ago. And I'm not exactly sure why I became interested in them. I think it had to do with me studying the Old Testament messianic prophesies. Jesus fulfills all of them and that is statistically impossible and amazing. I began wondering if it was obvious to me that Jesus is the Messiah, why don't the Jews believe it? After all we have the same Scripture (our Old Testament) and when they read it, why don't they have an "aha" moment and get it? There are a growing group of people called Messianic Jews. They are people of Jewish heritage who maintain their Jewish identity and acknowledge Yeshua as their Messiah. "Yeshua" is the Hebrew-Aramaic word for "Jesus." I remember I spent a considerable amount of time researching Messianic Jews. Jesus was Jewish. The apostles were all Jewish. The early believers were Jewish. The Last Supper was a Passover meal (Luke 22:1.) At the Passover third cup (Cup of Redemption) Jesus instituted Communion. Jesus took the piece of the matzah and referred to His body as a sacrifice (Luke 22:19.) “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22:20.) And then God did His thing and led me to what He wanted me to know. It wasn't so much about Messianic Jews, but He wanted me to understand the connection between Jesus and the Passover. Around 2008 I just happened to have a woman join our Bible study group who worked for Sid Roth's ministry. Sid Roth is a Messianic Jew and he reaches out to other Jews. She found out of my interest in Jewish people and gave me some books written by Sid Roth which I devoured. I contacted a minister and asked him if he knew of any Messianic Jews that I could personally ask some questions. He didn't. But his daughter had gone to a service at a messianic congregation in the city where I live as part of a college religion requirement. This minister told me that more Jews have accepted Christ as their Savior in the past 50 years than in the almost 2000 years before that. (Although I have no idea how anyone could prove that. But there is definitely a Messianic Jewish movement occurring. The number of Messianic Jews keeps growing!) He also shared this video with me of Messianic Jews in Israel. Israel's Messianic Jews: Some Call it a Miracle I checked out the messianic congregation's website he had told me about and I found out they had an upcoming Passover Seder. I then remembered my husband and I had been to a Christ in the Passover Seder around 1998. Our neighbor across the street at that time was a minister and his church had asked Jews for Jesus to come and do a Seder for their congregation. He invited John and I and we went. I remember it was very long and well, I really didn't understand it. At that time I was a Christian, but I hadn't read the Bible much, definitely didn't know my Old Testament, and I didn't really get it. I found out this Messianic congregation moved their annual Seder around Charlotte each year and that year it was going to be at a hotel ballroom very near our house! I invited my friend and her husband and they went with John and I. Oh wow! It was not at all what I expected. There was probably around 400 people there and what a joyous celebration! Passover is the Old Testament feast that celebrates and remembers God freeing His people from slavery in Egypt. Pharaoh would not let God's people go and God brought ten plagues against Egypt. The last plague was the death of all the first-borns in Egypt - humans and animals. God gave His people a way to survive this plague. A lamb could take place of the first-born in the family. But it couldn't be just any lamb. It had to be a perfect lamb, one without any defects. Moses gave the Israelites strict instructions on what to do. They were to place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their doorways. And death would pass over them. The first-born of Egypt died and Pharaoh let the Israelites go. The Scripture commands Jews to celebrate Passover every year. A Seder is the feast that kicks off Passover. It includes reading, drinking wine, eating special foods, and other Passover traditions. It has been celebrated for more than 3000 years! The large ballroom was packed with large round tables. I remember one of the men at our table was an American who was getting his doctorate in Israel. Most of the men had yamakas on their heads. There was traditional Jewish music and dance. Dr. Sam Nadler led the Seder. I didn't know who he was at the time. I sure do now! And he walked us through the Passover ceremony in Hebrew and English. Only it was a Messianic Jewish Passover ceremony connecting the Passover lamb to the Lamb of God - the Passover ceremonial traditions to the Lord's Supper. By this time in my life I had read the entire Bible and I totally understood everything that was going on and being said! It was the first time I had made the connection. And it has stuck! A Passover Seder is a long ceremony and dinner. I think it took 3-1/2 hours, maybe 4 hours to get through it. Our husbands were antsy sitting so long, but we all thoroughly enjoyed it! A couple years later my girlfriend and I went to another one - just the two of us. And then in 2011 I bought the three volumes of Rose Book of Bible Charts (affiliate link). I remember the year because it was when I worked at a Christian bookstore. In volume 2 Rose Book of Bible Charts (affiliate link) it has instructions on how to do a Christ in the Passover Seder! And I had saved The Messianic Passover Haggadah (the ceremonial Seder book) that Dr. Nadler had written. My girlfriend and I decided to try to do a Messianic Passover Seder at my house for our Bible study group. None of us were Jewish. But that doesn't matter. We weren't doing a Jewish Passover Seder; we were doing a Christ in the Passover Seder. The account in Exodus is our Scripture too. As believers in Christ we are grafted into God's people. We have an inheritance waiting for us! I pulled out the good china and the fancy silverware. We all pitched together to pay for the pricey lamb and one woman made it for us. Each woman made traditional Jewish Passover food - the Rose Publishing book even had recipes! We walked through the ceremony and dinner and a memorable annual tradition formed. We do it the week before Easter every year - not on the actual Jewish Passover. We do the same ceremony each time. It has become our tradition. We all look forward to it. It prepares our hearts for Easter like nothing else. Sadly this year we had to cancel our annual Seder because of the pandemic. But there will be ones in the future. There will be a time when we can come together, a community of believers, for a delicious meal and to remember how the Lamb of God has come to take away our sins and save us. It is the tradition, the repeating, the remembrance of what has been done for us that swells our hearts in profound gratitude. Let us never forget what our Lord endured because of His unfailing love for us. "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter." Just as the blood of the Passover lamb had to be applied for judgement to "pass over" their homes and save God's people; so the atoning blood of the guiltless Lamb of God must be applied to our hearts to be saved. _____________________________________ You may want to read my previous posts: A Bondslave of the Lamb dated 3/24/18 Repeat in Remembrance dated 3/27/18 Affiliate links mentioned above - Thank you for supporting Passion to Know More! Rose Book of Bible Maps, Charts, & Time Lines Set - Volume 1-3 Rose Book of Bible Charts, Volume 2 Feasts of the Bible, pamphlet Feasts of the Bible DVD Curriculum Kit Feasts of the Bible Participant Guide Passover Plates