Day 27 of 40 Days to Passover and Resurrection Weekend... The Festival of Unleavened Bread

The entire concept of leaven and the very specific meaning it holds in regards to Passover is incredible.  Hang with me for a moment while I try to place our dots on the page, then connect them.

·         According to Mirriam-Webster, leaven is a substance (such as yeast baking soda and baking powder) that makes dough rise and become light before it is baked. 1

 

·         Leaven could not be offered in sacrifices or offering to the Lord.  Though scripture does not state why specifically, it is believed that leaven spoils and corrupts the bread it is mixed with, making it unsuitable for God. 2

·        The Passover: God gave specific instructions to the Israelites through Moses regarding the meal they were to eat the night of Passover.  As part of the meal, they were instructed to eat unleavened bread. 

 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire,
with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they
shall eat it.  Exodus 12:8

And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.”  So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. Exodus 12:33-34

And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves. Exodus 2:39
 

·         The Festival of Unleavened Bread:  Each year after the Exodus, the week leading up to the Passover, each family is to commemorate the Exodus by eating unleavened bread for 7 days.  The first day of the Festival they were to remove leaven from their houses. 

So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.  Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses.  For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.  Exodus 12:14-15

 

·         Leaven is used as a symbol for sin in the New Testament. Paul writes to the church in Corinth regarding sin that has spread through the church and has been overlooked or ignored.  He uses leaven as a symbol of “malice and wickedness” and advises the church that they must remove the sin or it will continue to spread and further corrupt the church.

      

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the
leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity
 and truth. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Time to connect the dots…

Our Jewish heritage through Christ points us back to the Exodus and Israel’s salvation from Egypt.  They were commanded not to leaven their bread the night of Passover.  Though scripture does not specify why, we see that leavened bread was not allowed in sacrifices and offerings to the Lord.  It may also have been because the Lord knew the leaven would not have enough time to rise in the bread before the Israelites had to make their hasty flea from Egypt.  Both ideas serve to point to the purity of God and his expected obedience from His children.

While you may not choose to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in your home
by removing all leaven, you can do some symbolic removal of other things in your house.  Maybe clean out a drawer, closet or room.  Allow those items you throw away to represent sin in your life.  Throw them away and do not allow them a place back in your home, or heart.  If you want something that provides a more physical reminder, remove chocolate, soft drinks, sugar or bread from your diet for seven days.  When you are tempted to indulge in those items, reflect on the Exodus.

If you decide not to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in your home, you can celebrate it in your heart.  Paul was clear of the implication of a little sin in the life of the church.  A little spreads and eventually corrupts the entire body, individually and the church. 

So, in preparation of Passover and Resurrection weekend, spend some time focused on the purity of God and His desire to forgive and remove the sin in your life.  Ask God to search your heart reveal your sins to you.  It won’t be easy.  It will likely be painful.  Regardless, face it head on.  The Israelite’s Exodus was not easy.  However, God was faithful to His children then, and He will be faithful to His children today.   Allow Him to speak to your heart about things you need to remove from your life.  Then allow Him to give you the strength and wisdom to remove those things. 

Remember, the Israelites did not free themselves from Pharoah, GOD freed them.  You cannot remove your sin from your own life, GOD must do it for you.  But, He won’t do it unless you ask. 

 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;      And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting  Psalm 139: 23-24

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9  

 1. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leaven

2. http://jewishroots.net/library/holiday-articles/lessons_from_leaven.html

Day 21 of 40 Days to Passover and Resurrection Weekend... Disconnect!!!!

163 billion tweets since the dawn of Twitter.

The average Twitter user tweeted 307 times in 2013.

925,000 new users on Google+.

Google+ button used 5 million times per day.

Instagram has gained 50 million users since 2011.

The average Instagram user spent 257 minutes accessing photos via Instagram.

As of 2012, Facebook users have played 210,000 years of music, 62.6 million songs, about 22 billion times.

1.26 billion Facebook users as of 10/6/2013.

757 million Facebook daily active users.

97% of Pinterest users are women.

57% of Pinterest posts are food-related.

46 million monthly blog users on Blogger.

http://www.dazeinfo.com/2013/01/10/social-media-statistics-2013-facts-figures-facebook-twitter/

http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-17-amazing-facebook-stats/#.UzdmkBXD_IU

http://www.magnetsocialmedia.com/1/post/2013/02/15-blogger-statistics-2013.html

 First of all, the statics are staggering.  The number of people connected through social media is enough to make one pause and look at the costs and benefits of social media.  Please indulge me for a moment…

Social media reconnects old friends, provides a way for family living in different states to stay connected, provides a platform for people to share their interests and passions, creates a quasi-sense of community among users, and provides an avenue for businesses to promote their products and services.  While all of these are good, in moderation, social media also opens the door for negativity, self-comparison and a place for people to air their dirty laundry.

One thing the statistics, costs and benefits of social media have in common.  One rare commodity in society today is sucked up in social media.  One simple, yet precious, aspect of our lives that we miss once it is gone…

 

TIME.

It takes time to post a Facebook status, retweet a tweet, repin a pin, like a photo, and read (or write) a blog post.

It also takes time to build relationships with friends and family, rest our bodies and minds, and replenish our souls.

While social media is not entirely bad, we must decide what we want to invest our time in.  While it is good to stay connected to family and friends we seldom see in person, we must also make it priority to spend one on one time with those we live close to.  Maybe even send a handwritten note rather than a text of Facebook message.

So the challenge is this… take one day a week and commit to not engaging in social media.   The Sabbath is a great day to take the plunge.  Actually shabbat on the Sabbath… rest your body, mind and soul. 

And if you are convicted over the statistics, maybe reevaluate your daily time on social media and set a realistic limit for yourself. 

Day 17 of 40 Days to Passover and Resurrection Weekend... Share your story

There is nothing like a good story.  Especially when you’re young.  Curling up next to mom or dad and listening to them read your favorite book.  My favorite childhood book was The Pokey Little Puppy.  I am sure my mom had it memorized by the time I was five. 

Now the tables are turned and I get to experience the joy of reading to my daughters.    There are few things better in life than snuggling up with my sweet girls sharing a story.   Each girl has their favorite book, favorite place to read and favorite doll or blanket to snuggle with. 

Recently Madeline started asking me to tell her stories about her Great Granny Grace.  The two never met, as my Grandmother passed away several years before Madeline was born.  But her legacy lives on every time I tell a story about sweet Granny Grace.  I cherish these moments, knowing I am passing on generation stories to my daughters. 

But what else am I passing on to them?  What legacy am I leaving them?  What stories of my life are important enough to tell them?  What mistakes do I want to warn them to avoid based on my personal experience?  What moments of pure joy do I want to relive in front of them?  What are the most important moments in my life?

I have learned the more I tell them about my life, the more they want to know.   I believe this is because it makes my life more tangible for them.  They get to hear about my childhood and realize that I was once a little girl, just like them.  They can see that the close relationship I have with my family started very early in my life. 

Telling them the story of my salvation opened up so many more doors.  They see that I struggled with the same questions about God as they do.  How can I know God is real when I cannot see Him?  Why does He love me so much?  Will He really forgive me when I mess up? 

Having these conversations with my girls shows them that God is real.  It shows them that it is ok to struggle with faith and knowing God’s voice.  It builds trust and a foundation for future conversations about their own journey of faith.

Do your children know your salvation story?  Do your nieces and nephews?  Do you know your own parents’ salvation stories?  Grandparents? 

Is there a better time than now to tell your story, or learn the salvation stories of those before you? 

As we are preparing our hearts for Passover and Resurrection weekend, take a moment to share your story.  If you have already, tell it again.  It should be your favorite story to tell. 

Day 11 of 40 Days to Passover and Resurrection Weekend - Let my people go!!!!

Being obedient is not always easy, or welcomed by others, but Moses stepped out in faith and obedience.  What God accomplishes through him is incredible.  Please continue to story of Moses with Peggy Wright.... http://peggywright.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/let-my-people-go/

Day 11 of 40 Days to Passover and Resurrection Weekend - Read Exodus 1-6 with your family

Once upon a time…

Every good story has a very intentional opening line.  The writer knows the importance of grasping the reader’s attention immediately, or they risk losing the reader altogether.  

Madeline seems to get this concept, in sorts, though she depends more on the overdramatic use of her hands to get my attention.  Last night she wanted to desperately to tell me the story of either Ruth, Esther, Jacob or Joseph.  After much debate, she settled on Ruth.  While laying in her bed, she began using her hands to tell me that… “Once, there was a woman named Naomi who was married to a guy…”  While this may not be the opening line to a New York Best Seller, it had this mommy listening with every fiber of my being.

In the beginning.... 

These words, written in scarlet, are the opening lines to greatest story ever told.  From the first letter we see Christ woven through every story in scripture, tying them all together.

Jump forward to Moses.  God had led the Israelites to Egypt through Joseph.  I mean, they had to get there somehow in order to eventually become slaves and need salvation, right? 

Through a heart of stone molded by fear, Pharoah demanded all male children be killed.  But Moses had a strong, brave and incredibly faithful mother hat fought for the life of her child.  Ordinary by the world’s terms, but to a momma, and the God who created him Moses was so much more.

Unlike many of us today, we cannot see past the ordinary to the extraordinary in our own lives.  Moses had an unbelievable encounter with I AM.  He witnessed a burning bush that was not consumed by the fire the engulfed it, he heard the voice of God call him by name, and he was given a very specific task to accomplish for the Lord.  However, God did not call Moses to go it alone.  He didn’t tell Moses to “go and do” on is own.  He told Moses that He would be with him every step of the way.

Yet, as most of us do, he balked.  He was scared, but rather than admit it, he made excuses.

 “I don’t really know you all that well, I mean, I don’t even know your name!”

 “You really expect people to believe that you appeared to me, a nobody?”

 “I would love to, but, I ain’t so good at talking and such, and that Pharoah guy ain’t gonna listen to me.”

 Many of my excuses sound similar…

“I don’t know scripture as well as other people.”

“Who am I to tell others about you?”

“I know for a fact there are other people way more qualified than me!”

But God answers, possibly through slightly gritted teeth, with a loving voice that it’s not about us.  It was never about Moses.  God, I AM, the Creator, has chosen to select the ordinary to do extraordinary things.  People may balk, make fun of you, question your “authority,” or even flat out tell you that you are crazy, in so many words.  However, when God speaks to you, puts a burden on your heart, calls you out to DO something, don’t make excuses.  Don’t sit back in fear and trembling.  Borrow an overused advertising line from Nike and … JUST DO IT!  

How many people would have been impacted negatively if Moses had refused to go? 

How much longer would the Israelites have suffered in slavery before God found a replacement if Moses had decided to stay home with his family?   

How many people need you to say yes to God and run your race at full strength until your last breath on this earth?

You will never go it alone.  The great I AM is with you.  And he will send brothers and sisters to run alongside of you, cheering you on, offering encouragement, even calling you out when you begin to slip back into grip of fear, or even deflate your inflated ego if necessary. 

Our story began the day God spoke our names and began knitting us into being.  He continues to write our story even now.  Sit for a moment and let that sink in…

 

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." -Mother Tersea

Day 10 of 40 Days to Passover and Resurrection Weekend - Search me O Lord...

A beautifully written prayer, the cry of a humble woman, a woman who loves Jesus... don't miss this!

http://peggywright.wordpress.com/2014/03/

Day 9 of 40 Days to Passover and Resurrection Sunday - the Heart of Worship

Often times a simple, visual reminder is all we need to get our eyes back on Jesus.  Please read Peggy Wright's sweet reminder at http://peggywright.wordpress.com/2014/03/.

BLESSINGS!