An Easter Passover Reflection

Every year, as I’ve tried to prepare my heart for Easter, God has always blessed me with a new revelation of His truth and this year He has focused me on the Jewish celebration of the Passover. This was celebrated the week before Easter and will finish on Easter Sunday.

Passover celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from their slavery in Egypt.  In Exodus 12:14,18 and 24 we are instructed to observe and commemorate this festival, which although is predominately a Jewish holiday, many Churches and Christians are now choosing to celebrate it, in addition to Easter.  

The Exodus story of the delivery from bondage to slavery, can be seen as a foreshadow of Jesus who broke the bondage of our slavery to sin, as referred to in Romans 6:17. Both Passover and Easter are therefore the perfect occasion to reflect and consider what enslaves us, and to celebrate the freedom that God offers us.

During the Passover week, also referred to as the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, which means bread with no yeast in, Jewish people will eat Matzoh, that dried square cracker.  When you consider that bread is a symbol of Jesus’s body, and leaven or yeast is often referred to as sin in the Bible, it is symbolic that this ‘bread’ is broken at the Passover meal, also known as the Seder.  In actual fact, what Christians refer to as the Last Supper, was actually the celebration of the Passover meal, and where taking the communion elements of bread (body) and wine (blood) first began. 

Just like the story of Moses and the last plague of killing the first-born son, God’s first and only Son also had to be killed, but it was His blood that saves us. It was the blood of an unblemished lamb that was required to cover the doorposts to spare the first-born sons from the Angel of death in the last plague.  It is symbolic that Jesus is called the door or gate to the Kingdom of God, as referred to in John 10:9, and it was His blood that covers us and spares us from eternal death.

Although we celebrate Palm Sunday as the triumphant entry of Jesus on a donkey into Jerusalem, I was interested to learn that this celebration was done every year prior to Jesus’s arrival, to celebrate the procession of carrying the unblemished lamb that had been chosen for the Passover meal.  How fitting that Jesus became our sacrificial Lamb on the altar of the Cross, who although was externally blemished by bloody cuts and piercings, internally He was unblemished, pure and innocent! In John 1:29 we read how Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God.

It’s also fascinating to remember that Jesus’s first entry into Jerusalem was also ridden on a donkey inside Mary’s womb, and again, a donkey was chosen to enter Jerusalem for the last time.  If you look at the back of a donkey, its hairs across its shoulders and along its back actually make the shape of a cross. 

Whilst the Jewish people undergo a thorough spring-cleaning, purification process in order to remove all leaven from their homes and offices and prepare their hearts for Passover, Christians are also called to purify themselves from within during the last week of Lent, called Holy Week, in order to prepare their hearts to receive the Easter message afresh.

Another insightful comparison is the fact that no work is to be done at the start and end of Passover because it is considered a Holy time, which highlights the contrast that Christians don’t need to work in order to receive Christ’s Holiness, which is a gift of grace, based on our faith and in who and what we believe.

And here’s a thought, if Jesus was born at Christmas time, in December, then He would have been immaculately conceived and placed in Mary’s womb around the Passover or Easter period.

There are numerous comparisons in the Old Testament which mirrors Jesus in the New Testament, which I believe reveals God’s sovereign message and prophesy of Jesus. So, as we celebrate Easter this year, let us also reflect on the Passover festival and how it connects to our deliverance, and what its symbolism can teach us. 

Wishing you all a Blessed Easter! As you celebrate your redemption from sin and death and show your gratitude for what Christ did for you, may God bless you with a refreshed spirit of a renewed hope, a sustaining joy, a calming peace, a firmer faith and an overflowing of His abundant, unconditional love…

 

Gideon - Answering the Call of God

I was reminded of the story of Gideon at Church on Sunday, which I must confess is not a very familiar one to me. When I think of the name Gideon, I tend to think of the Gideon International Organization, whose aim it is to put a Bible into every Hotel and Motel room around the world.

Which is why I decided to research the reason this amazing organization chose that name. I was inspired to learn that it was started by just two humble traveling salesmen with a simple, yet passionate desire to share the Gospel. These men chose the name because they wanted to remind others of the story of Gideon and what God can do with just one or a few men.

Gideon is definitely an unlikely hero of the Bible, with a horrific character, but who was used by God to save his nation from the destruction of their enemies. His story can be likened to the epic movies of Gladiator or my favorite, Braveheart, where one man stands up to make a difference and become the change they want to see.

There are so many lessons that can be learnt from the story of how God used Gideon, that I would encourage you to read it for yourself in Judges 6-8. It will stir up your faith to believe in the impossible, even when things make no sense and to see God’s strength as being much mightier than all of your weaknesses combined.

This odd story of unlikely weapons of a lamp, a jar and a trumpet will make you believe in the odds again. When things in the natural seem hopeless and you feel helpless, inferior or unqualified to make a difference, that’s when God steps in and says “You’re it!”. God doesn’t need our resources, our knowledge or our connections – all He needs is for us to be available to be used and to trust Him with the outcome.

It is so encouraging that God often chooses the least likely people to start the change that is needed. I believe this is to make sure everyone will see that it was God that made it happen and not the man or woman. Perfection is not a requirement for being used by God. All we need is faith, however little, and to believe that God can use even us, yes, even you!

As a supporter of the Move One Million movement (Move1Million.com), I like to believe that Jarette Petzer is an anointed man, chosen by God, to initiate change for our country, South Africa. He has shown us what one person can do to unite communities and has pressed on valiantly, despite great opposition.

When we stop allowing our excuses or weaknesses to stand in our way, and choose to go in whatever strengths we DO have, we can partner with God to bring positive change to our country, its people and even the world. When we are obedient with the little God gives us, He will enlarge our territories to accomplish even greater things.

There will always be a cost to being used by God, whether it is our time, our finances or even great risk, but when we choose to obey and offer ourselves available, putting all of our trust in Him and not rely on ourselves, we too can be like Gideon, and be used in a mighty way to save our nation.

Great change always starts with just one person who is brave enough to stand up and be counted and with a dream big enough to fight for. All we need is a little faith to start the flame and our mighty God to work through us, and ignite others to spread it…

Could God be calling YOU?...

Inspired by the Sermon given by Scott Ferreira at Life Changers Church, Milnerton – Release Wide (21 March 2021) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfTwesxXW10

 

How to Start a Revival

When we think of the word revival, we imagine some supernatural impartation from God, but what if I told you that revival begins with us? The word revival means ‘an improvement in the condition or strength of someone or something; or an instance of something becoming popular, active, or important again.

Revival begins when God’s church come into agreement with the promises of the Bible in a unified yes and Amen. Amen is not just the end of a prayer, but it is the beginning of the declaration we are agreeing to.

In Mark 2:1-12 we read of ‘some’ faithful, expectant men (some Bible versions say 4 men) who pushed through the resistance to what they believed. It is the story of the paralyzed man being lowed down to Jesus from the roof, when the crowds would not let them through to Him. In other words, they pushed through and made a plan to reach their goal, Jesus.

Sadly, it is often the crowds in church that are ignoring the real needs of man, and are choosing to rather focus on themselves and their ‘elite’ members, instead of seeing the missed miracles all around them.

If we are ever going to start a revival, we need to stop looking inside and start looking outside, to where the broken and the lost are. Church is not meant to be a museum for the righteous, but a hospital for those who need God's healing. We need to be reaching far, raising up and releasing wide the people of God’s kingdom.

God’s revival power is linked to His heart, and that is for the people who are broken and need His restoration. When we decide to make ourselves available and pick up the heart of Jesus, that is when we will become carriers of revival and see His Church thrive and flourish.

We need to start pushing and breaking through our barriers, stop looking at our limits and start tearing off those ceilings in our lives, to get to where God’s grace is. Our barriers to revival are the crowds, the ceilings and the critics.

We need to be willing to get our hands dirty, to make sacrifices and go fetch the people to bring them to where Jesus is. By that, I don’t necessarily mean to bring them TO church, but to become the Church and bring Jesus to them.

We need to become people who are known for our love, our care, our concern and our kindness towards others, and not for our judgement and criticism of those we decide don’t measure up to who we think qualifies to become members of God’s Church.

We need to stop expecting an eternal response from God, and start becoming the carriers of God’s revival. Yes, we read of many testimonies of revival where it sounds like it began with just prayer, but we skip the part of how their prayers for others, mirrored their actions towards them. We cannot just stay in our safe, sanitized homes and pray for revival - we need to become the hands and feet of God and carry these people to the feet of Jesus. We need to start seeing the miracles that are right in front of us.

In this story of the paralyzed man that was lowed down through the roof to Jesus to receive his healing, notice what Jesus said. It was because of their faith that the paralyzed man was healed. We have the potential to become the cause and carriers of healing to others, through our faith, expressed through our prayers AND actions and start a revival that is so needed.

We need to counsel others with hope and give them access to the heart and love of God. Just like Jesus broke through the ceiling of heaven to get to us, the nobodies of earth, we need to break through our own barriers to get to those on the outside in order to bring them in. We need to ask God to revive us with His fire, so that WE can become the catalysts of revival; not just for our church building, but for His Church, the body of His Kingdom.

(Based on a sermon by Gabe Philips of Life Changers Church - Milnerton, Cape Town, South Africa) https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=YRTsx41d1Bw

Song: Revival, Featuring Kim Walker-Smith, Album: Soulfire Revolution, Year 2013 - https://youtu.be/EiJJd3ISqSE

The Anointing Oil of Joy

For as long as I can remember, I have been seeking the meaning behind one of my favourite Bible verses found in Nehemiah 8:10, that says the Joy of the Lord is my strength.  What is the Lord’s joy and how can I make it my strength to help me endure the tough times in life?

I first wrote about my discovery of Joy back in 2017, which you can read here, if you are also on a journey to find more joy in your life.

Recently, during a rough period, I felt God kept bringing me to verses about olive oil, which I discovered is often referred to in the Bible as the oil of gladness, and is used to anoint people with the presence of God’s Spirit, and what we are called to keep our oil full in our lamps to light our way.

Remember the story of Noah when the dove came back to declare dry ground, well I don’t believe it was by accident that it brought back an olive branch. The dove and the olive branch served to tell Noah a time of peace and deliverance had come. When you consider that the word Gethsemane means “olive press”, you realise the significance of what happened there to God's Son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace. 

After reading all the scriptures in various translations through the Biblegateway App of anointing, oil and joy, I began to see that there is a connection between experiencing joy in the anointing presence of God’s Holy Spirit.

Joy is not an emotion, but a place in our spirit that we choose to enter into, and a fruit of His Holy Spirit that is grown in us.

In Hebrews 12:2, we see how joy was something that Jesus set before Him, so that He could endure the agony of the cross. His joy was in the knowing the outcome and the end result of what He was going through, and knowing it was in God’s will.

The secular definition of joy falls short of the original meaning of rejoice, or be glad.

Joy is found in our gladness and gratefulness of our salvation and in the knowing of the deliverance and reward we can look forward to in the outcome of our trials. Joy is in the receiving of God’s promises. Joy is a focus before it will ever become a feeling. Joy is a fruit we grow when we choose to abide in God’s Holy Spirit, and it is our biggest treasure that the devil seeks to steal from us every day. 

To keep hold of our joy, we need to be waking up every morning with the song in our heart, declaring “This is the day, this is the day, we will rejoice and be glad in it…”

To self-study further about joy and how it relates to the anointing olive oil of the Tree of Life, here are some further verses to take a look at, in various translation versions, to help unpack their hidden meanings:

• Ecclesiastes 9:8
• Isaiah 61:3
• Zechariah 4
• Hebrews 1:9
• Psalm 45:7
• 1 Chronicles 16:27
• Acts 10:38
• Acts 13:52
• Matthew 25:23
• John 15:11
• Romans 15:13

The Last Will and New Testament of Jesus Christ - Claiming your Inheritance

(Ephesians 1:11-12)
Under the righteousness of faith and grace we, as sons and daughters of God, have inherited His promises and provision, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As a joint heir with Jesus Christ, and adopted into God’s family and a Sonship in His Royal Kingdom, are you enjoying the riches of your inheritance?

The Bible tells us that all that belonged to Jesus is now ours, not only for when we die and go to heaven, but to be partaking of right now, today. Because of God’s grace that makes us righteous, we are the rightful beneficiaries of Jesus’s last Will and Testament (new).

Sadly, many people are not enjoying the blessings and favour of what they have already inherited because they believe their reward only comes in heaven, and that God’s grace is sufficient for now.

In Bruce Wilkinson’s ‘The Prayer of Jabez’ Devotional, there is the tragic story about Connor O’Reilly, a penniless Irishman in the last century, who was given a ticket for passage on an ocean-liner by a wealthy relative to emigrate to America. However, the relative failed to mention that the ticket included all the meals, so O’Reilly bought bread and water to eat in his room, whilst the other passengers enjoyed a delicious banquet of food in the ships dining room.

This story got me thinking of how many Christians are eating stale bread every day when God has prepared a glorious and lavish feast for us - All we have to do is claim it, taste how good it is and enjoy it. The feast was purchased for us by the blood of Jesus and includes all of the promises of God.

It is like living in the Wilderness when there is a Promised Land waiting for us to be occupied. Yet Satan robs us from possessing the land of our inheritance by keeping us ignorant of it.

As co-heir with Christ, we can share in the inheritance of Christ and everything that He possessed, which means that what belonged to Jesus now belongs to us. All of His power, His peace, His joy are what we can experience if we will just claim it as ours.

God wants you to know and experience His abundant provision in your daily lives, as your daily bread, where God’s kingdom is brought to earth, like it is in heaven.

So, if you haven’t yet claimed your earthly inheritance or are in doubt of what all that you have inherited from Christ, why not ask God to reveal this to you, so that you can start enjoying in the glorious feast He has prepared for you…

 

The Gospel in the Stars

On the 21^st December 2020, the whole world was enthralled to witness the amazing bright sight of the Jupiter and Saturn conjunction, which many believe was a repeat of the great ‘Bethlehem Star’ that guided the Wise Men to the place of Jesus’s birth place.  This was even more exciting considering it happened so close to Christmas!  For me, it felt like it was God’s way of reminding us to keep seeking Christ, and where better to look upwards, towards the heavens.

This amazing event also reminded me of something I had heard recently on the ‘Through the Word’ App on Psalms 19, which mentions that the constellations of stars actually foretell the full Gospel story of Jesus Christ.  The 12 Zodiac signs that have shined in the night sky tells us of Christ's coming, His life on earth and the triumph when He will return.

Although the Bible warns us not to consult the stars through Astrology which Satan has distorted, Biblical Astronomy is an entirely different story and declares the marvelous Glory of God.

From Virgo, which is depicted as a virgin to Leo, the Lion of Judah, we realize the constellation of stars hold a far greater symbolic and significant meaning than we ever realized before.

Constellation	Picture	Interpretations
Libra	Scales	Scales of Justice = Sin paid for on the Cross
Scorpius	Scorpion	Satan’s sting of sin brings death
Sagittarius	Centaur/Archer	Dual identity of Jesus, as half man and half God with an arrow that pierces Satan - Our Conqueror
Capricorn	Goat-fish	Earth corruption – Our Scapegoat and atoning sacrifice
Aquarius	Water Bearer/ pourer	Living water – Our Spiritual Well
Pisces	Fishes	God's remnant – Fisher of Men
Aries	Ram	Sacrifice – Our Sacrificial Lamb
Taurus	Bull	Day of Judgement
Gemini	Twins	Union between Christ & His Bride
Cancer	Crab	Gathering of the redeemed
Leo	Lion	Lion of Judah – Our King

Have you ever wondered where the twelve signs of the zodiac came from? The word “Zodiac” comes from the Greek word Zoe, which means “life,” and Dia, which means “through” or “pathway.” Therefore, the word Zodiac literally means: "the path to life".

Some scholars identify the 12 signs of the zodiac with the 12 sons of Jacob/12 tribes of Israel and some even the 12 disciples!

It is the Gospel written in symbolic, pictorial language manifesting the path to eternal life.  Apparently in the Book of Enoch, which is no longer part of our Biblical text, God taught Enoch these constellation pictures and their meaning in order to provide a visual revelation of the plan of God to redeem mankind through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.  

The zodiac constellations can be thought of as the original Bible in the sky, before the Bible was placed into written form.

So next time you find yourself gazing above at the magnificent array of stars, allow God to reveal His wonderful Glory and confirm His message to your heart…

Psalm 19: 1- 4

1 The heavens declare the Glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line has gone out through the earth, and their words to the end of the world.