Hanukkah 2012

The Macabees inspire me so much.  They refused to allow mixture to come into their faith.  They gave up earthly possessions  to be able to stand for truth.  Many around the world are feeling the persecution of being a follower of the Lord, our God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  I made a promise to myself this season to not accept a mixture into my faith.  My God is very clear that he is jealous and expects us to follow him his way.  Only through the study of the scripture can we renew our minds and keep our foot from slipping down a misleading way.  In a world of political correctness that allows for "any way you choose" I choose to share the one way of Jesus the Messiah to God the creator who allowed me to enter his family with grace and expects actions of faith. Celebrating the Life of my savior and how he lived, we celebrated the festival of Lights this season!

The Hope of Being with our Lord - Sukkot 2012

This Feast of Tabernacles of 2012 will always be a special date in my mind.  In preparation I had spent the previous weekend in Aledo with mom and dad.  We spent sabbath reading and studying mostly the Psalms.  I always refer to Ezra's reading of the law to the Israelites to read to the family, and that again was the plan.  There was crying by the Israelites when they heard the commandments that they had missed and they longed to be right with the Lord.  Ezra instructed them to stop crying and celebrate.
The busyness of this world and the weather had changed our plans of putting up our tent in Aledo on the first night of Sukkot.  It was weighing on my mind and I felt like the Israelites who learned of the instructions but needed the help to go out and gather and celebrate.
Wednesday morning, sukkot being half over, I lie in bed with a heart to escape the weariness of this world and my daily chores.  I purposed to go to Aledo and spend the day with mom and dad, putting off laundry and dishes, etc. Mom and Dad constantly built my strength with delicious food and spiritual food!  Before the kids were off to school Lilli came in with her phone to talk with mom who had called about dad's breathing.  Daddy, who had a miraculous strength since his diagnosis of lung cancer was now having a harder time breathing.  With a wonderful calm I drove out to Aledo praying that we could help daddy through this hard time.  We had been told by too many nurses and doctors just how bad it could get for daddy but we had spent days in prayer believing that the Lord was in control and merciful.  We found out Wednesday of the Feast of Tabernacles that the Lord was merciful; after a few minutes of calm concern for dad's breathing he fell asleep and then went to tabernacle with his maker.  He never woke up. Our family was able to hug him and tell him goodbye in the presence of the Lord that morning. He had repeatedly told us he was ready to be with his maker and how he was finished with this earth.  He came to Texas for 8 months to see us, working on the house and in the yard but he was suddenly done working and ready take the prize of eternal life.  His longing for his heavenly father was evident to all.
This would be the day that we would set up the tent and worship and pray, thanking the Lord that this world was just a temporary dwelling and the reality that he has a place prepared for us.  We celebrated dad's life and his salvation.  He passed the test, he ran the race; he held on to his faith and the hope of forgiveness and salvation.  He did not love this world to his death.  He overcame and now dwells with the Lord in his tabernacle.

Oh how we miss him, but the Lord said to me that there would be joy in the morning.  It took many mornings but I knew that the Lord's word to me was true.  What a blessing my daddy was to me.  He gave me the best gift any father can give by lifting up my name and my family to the Lord.  He blessed us many times putting his hands on our heads and when I cried as I found out he had cancer he simply said, "teach the truth to your children."  He knew that was all we needed to make it through this world and stand before our Lord. For all of the great things he taught me like fixing things, using tools, taking care of my car, pulling a trailer,  hunting, hospitality and cooking I am mostly grateful for his choice to love the Lord more than the things he had obtained in this world.  Many years he started his day before the sun was up reading the scripture at the kitchen table and working as hard as any man is capable of working.  He gave of himself as a servant to his family and then gave every earthly possession up to follow the Lord to the ends of the earth.  His life is a wonderful example of a life spent seeking the Lord.  A righteous mans feet are ordered by the Lord and in my father's life this was evident to all. He fed the homeless, taught young men the value of hard work and late in his life turned many hearts to the truth in God's scripture.  He walked in forgiveness and gave, gave, gave being a servant to everyone in the room.  Thank you Lord for a daddy that overcame the cares of this life and sought you and found you.
Dwelling in this world can be hard and often distracts us from the hope of our gift of salvation but I am reminded this Feast of Tabernacles that I long to live with my heavenly father forever. As tempting as this world is to jump in and go, go, go I will hold out for something better.  It is worth the wait.

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.
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Hanukkah•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.