Although we are not commanded to celebrate Hanukkah, Jesus grew up celebrating this feast. He thought it was important enought to go to the synagogue & preach during the Festival of Lights. If it was important to him, then it's important to me. This Hanukkah we learned about standing for truth as the Macabees did.
INGRAM•HANUKKAH•2011
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Passover and Feast of Unleveaned Bread 2011
Oh how we wanted to be in Jerusalem this feast. As we began to prepare the children with questions and readings about the exodus they began to ask how we would celebrate. It is a wonderful thing to respond to that question directly from the word of God.
What does the word say about this feast, we will start there. My thoughts this year were different from the past two years. Before, I focused on Jesus being our sacrifice and how I receive salvation through this gift. This year I thought more and more about how the Israelites felt in Egypt and how they decided to obey the instruction given through Moses.
One of the first hebrew words our family learned was Sh'ma. Translated it means, listen, consider, obey. We translate it in our blessing as Hear.... Hear oh Israel, YHVH our God, YHVH is one. Blessed be his glorious name forever world without end.
The Israelites that night had to Sh'ma. I again felt the Lord asking me to listen, consider and obey his word.
That is why we began to celebrate the feasts. We know only a few who keep the feasts but it seems that they began with understanding what the feasts meant and how they pointed to Jesus as our Messiah. I started to celebrate because I knew that Jesus kept the feast and I see the instructions right there along with the ten commandments. I think the feasts are very important to God and although these feasts were not passed down to me as a tradition, he did allow me to live in America where Bibles are plentiful. He has put in my heart a longing to worship him in spirit and truth and a desire to search out his ways.
This Passover changed my life. I felt like those Israelites who still wanted a piece of Egypt. They were slaves but remember, they were strong and were settled in this land. They began to miss the stability of Egypt. Wow, this is how I feel. Can I just be a simple Christian with simple ways? Can I stop where I am, take my salvation and just endure until the end? Well, yes but again I ask what kind of bride is God looking for? Do I look like the land I live in or do I look like the bride of Christ? This question keeps me pursuing righteousness.
I want to be the Israelite that did not look back. I want to run from my Egypt in full sprint to the Promised Land.
I want the important events in my life to be the same as the important events in the life of Christ. He was our Passover Lamb. He said to do this in remembrance of him. He also told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem. I remembered Jesus this Passover and I am anxiously awaiting as the disciples did. I look forward to my next feast with him.... the feast of Shavout/Pentecost. Great things happen through obedience. Knowledge is necessary but God wants an obedient people. He is looking to pour out the Holy Spirit on all who show up in obedience. My prayer is that I would count these 50 days to Shavout and catch a glimpse of his harvest.
So as we sat on the floor with the kids and reminded them that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm I found myself telling them to just obey God. He will fill them up with his holy spirit and many will come to know the Messiah through their obedience. What a great lesson that we learn in feasting with God.
What does the word say about this feast, we will start there. My thoughts this year were different from the past two years. Before, I focused on Jesus being our sacrifice and how I receive salvation through this gift. This year I thought more and more about how the Israelites felt in Egypt and how they decided to obey the instruction given through Moses.
One of the first hebrew words our family learned was Sh'ma. Translated it means, listen, consider, obey. We translate it in our blessing as Hear.... Hear oh Israel, YHVH our God, YHVH is one. Blessed be his glorious name forever world without end.
The Israelites that night had to Sh'ma. I again felt the Lord asking me to listen, consider and obey his word.
That is why we began to celebrate the feasts. We know only a few who keep the feasts but it seems that they began with understanding what the feasts meant and how they pointed to Jesus as our Messiah. I started to celebrate because I knew that Jesus kept the feast and I see the instructions right there along with the ten commandments. I think the feasts are very important to God and although these feasts were not passed down to me as a tradition, he did allow me to live in America where Bibles are plentiful. He has put in my heart a longing to worship him in spirit and truth and a desire to search out his ways.
This Passover changed my life. I felt like those Israelites who still wanted a piece of Egypt. They were slaves but remember, they were strong and were settled in this land. They began to miss the stability of Egypt. Wow, this is how I feel. Can I just be a simple Christian with simple ways? Can I stop where I am, take my salvation and just endure until the end? Well, yes but again I ask what kind of bride is God looking for? Do I look like the land I live in or do I look like the bride of Christ? This question keeps me pursuing righteousness.
I want to be the Israelite that did not look back. I want to run from my Egypt in full sprint to the Promised Land.
I want the important events in my life to be the same as the important events in the life of Christ. He was our Passover Lamb. He said to do this in remembrance of him. He also told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem. I remembered Jesus this Passover and I am anxiously awaiting as the disciples did. I look forward to my next feast with him.... the feast of Shavout/Pentecost. Great things happen through obedience. Knowledge is necessary but God wants an obedient people. He is looking to pour out the Holy Spirit on all who show up in obedience. My prayer is that I would count these 50 days to Shavout and catch a glimpse of his harvest.
So as we sat on the floor with the kids and reminded them that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm I found myself telling them to just obey God. He will fill them up with his holy spirit and many will come to know the Messiah through their obedience. What a great lesson that we learn in feasting with God.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Feast of Tabernacles 2010 - Jerusalem
We started our journey to Jerusalem on September 1st. Our first stop was in Switzerland with 9 days of backpacking down through Italy with a flight to Amman, Jordan. We finally arrived in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. What a sight, like nothing I could have imagined. This was my first time in Jerusalem but it was not hard to notice the branches on every patio and roof top. Restaurants had sukkas ,as well as, tops of apartments. For a whole year I have been obeying the scriptures without any preconcieved ideas of the "how to's" meaning that because I was not handed down any traditions to honor the feast, I simply followed the scripture. As you have seen in other posts, sometimes we just had a bar-b-que to celebrate. I know that the LORD is happy that we care about what he cares about, but it sure was nice to actually see a temporary dwelling in Jerusalem.
The Feast of Tabernacles also known as Feast of Booths or Sukkot, falls in September and October, the 15th-21st of Tishrei. The people of Israel seemed to be very joyful, maybe because during this time we were commanded to rejoice!!!
John 7:37-38 tells us how Jesus proclaimed from the temple during this time of feasting saying, "if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." This is one time that we know Jesus was in the Temple to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. We also know that Zechariah 14:16-19 speaks of all nations coming up to Jerusalem to worship for the feast during the Millennium. What a day when I will see Jesus in Jerusalem and I will be feasting with him.
Scripture references for the Feast of Tabernacles: Lev. 23:33-44; Num. 29:12; Deut. 16:13-15
-our families celebration-
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