Haggadah

I was invited last night to a Seder

where the story of Passover was told.

They had a Seder plate in the middle of each table,

along with a whisk to remove the leaven (sin),

a candle, the Matzoh, the bowl for washing the hands,

and the 4 cups (Sanctification, Deliverance, Redemption & Praise).

The Passover Seder Plate Hebrew: ke'ara (קערה) is

a special plate containing symbolic foods used by

Jews during the Passover Seder.

Each of the six items arranged on the plate

has special significance to the retelling of the story

of the exodus from Egypt, which is the focus of this ritual meal.

The ceremony lasted for about an hour and a half

and ended with a celebration dance.

I have always been interested in learning

of Old Testament practice relating to the coming

of the Messiah, and considered it a blessing

to be at this Christian held event.

Did you know that when each man took a lamb

for his family, that they had to keep it among

themselves (in the house, with the family)

for 4 days before they would sacrifice it?

And, did you know that

when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey,

He was there 4 days before He was crucified?

JESUS - The Lamb of God!

Amen

The Toddler Class

Since we only had two kids last Sunday,

we had a little extra time for...............

.........Worship - 2 yr-old style!

Of course, we did the lesson too! (see, here's proof!)

We even had a special "pop-in" visit!

I love those kids!

Stepping out in faith

What does it mean?

God assigns the task - THEN He equips us.

It's the difference between: "If the Lord would give me wings, I would fly", and "If God bids me fly, I will trust Him for the wings".

One of my favorite scenes in the film 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' is when Indian Jones is standing at the edge of deep, deep valley that seems to plunge down forever. On the other side of this valley is The Holy Grail - just what Indiana has spent his life searching for. But there appears no way across the valley. What can he do? Luckily for Mr Jones he has a parchment he can consult. On the parchment it shows an old faded drawing of a man seemingly walking on air. This must be a leap of faith, says Indiana. So he steps out into what seems like fresh air and finds a bridge waiting for him, and within a couple of steps the Holy Grail is in reach.

If God has given you a task or a special work that seems scary to do, it is your responsibility to step out and do it, and His to see you through.

When we sing: "Where You go, I go; what You say, I say; what you pray, I pray, God"... do we really mean it?

His word to us is: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go". (Josh. 1:9)

(a paraphrase from Richard De Haan in Our Daily Bread)

Ask a direct question - get a direct answer!

What happens when you get specific about your prayer request? Well, I can tell you what happened for me yesterday morning.

On my way to work, I was asking God to help me to restructure my life. Without getting into great detail, I think we can all relate to getting lax, sloppy, and lazy in our spiritual life and schedules. I went on to tell Him what He already knew about my life, and how I wanted it to have more purpose.

This is what I read on my "Verse-A-Day" Calendar when I got to work:

"The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live."

OMG! Could it get any clearer than that?! This verse was from 1 Timothy 2:1-3 in the 'MSG'. I don't even know what version that is, but I'm sure I have read that verse at least 100 times in my years as a Christian.

Today it became clear to me.

He's the God of the Random

Random - adj. of or characterizing a process of selection in which each item of a set has an equal probability of being chosen.

I was thinking about this on the way to work this morning as I was wondering what my "Verse-a-day" Calendar that Kaylah gave me ("thank you Kaylah - I love it!") would say, and low and behold, today's verse - 'randomly' placed by Dayspring, ministered to the very situation that I was dealing with.

This 'happens' so often in my life that God will show me personally that He is there and cares about ME! - proving that nothing 'happens' by 'chance'; no such thing as 'kismet' or 'fate'; just a loving and real God who loves us and has our best interest at heart!

You've heard of "Crisis Intervention"? How about "Crisis Intercession"?

Call to Prayer (from Morningstar Ministries)
On Thursday, March 5th, one of the most significant court cases in America’s history took place. The California Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the overturning of the vote of the people last year to pass Proposition 8, which defines marriage between a man and a woman. The vote was not overturned YET, but still the California State Senate ruled against the peoples’ vote and asked the court to overthrow the defining of marriage as between a man and a woman. Senator Leno likened the people who voted for Prop 8 to the Germans who voted for the Nazi Regime.
During these past three months since President Obama’s election, the voices of rage against Judeo-Christian values and against the church have been emboldened to use inflammatory language and pass bills and laws that are anti-Christian in their very nature. When senators use such language, persecution is close at hand. We are in a desperate moment in American history. Everyone is pointing to the severe crisis of our economy, but it is only an indicator of a massive moral decline America has slid into. It is time to pray, humble ourselves, and rid ourselves of moral compromise in the Church. If the salt loses its savor, it is only good for being thrown out and trampled under the foot of man.Today we are calling the Church across the nation to pray. Take this moment and hear His call to humility, fasting and repentance. If we do this, God can deal with kings and judges like He haunted Nebuchadnezzar with dreams and removed Herod by the angel of the Lord. This hearing today will be followed by a 90-day period in which the court must make a decision. Pray for these judges that the hand of God will influence their minds and hearts, that the fear of the Lord would fall upon them, and that dreams would invade their world, their wives, their children, and their innermost thoughts. Pray that God would restrain principalities and powers that have mustered their forces of demons to seize this nation through this door in California. Pray for an unprecedented outpouring of the Spirit in California and America. Pray that God would raise up righteous leaders and bring down the unrighteous ones. Pray for the cleansing of sexual compromise and divorce in the church so that she can reclaim spiritual authority. Finally, pray that the love of God would be poured out on those struggling with homosexuality across this nation. Oh that the power of God, the power of the gospel, would be released again to free the captives!This is a moment in time that calls for crisis intercession.To resign to an inevitable collapse of society is sin, for throughout history God has moved with amazing power to change the courses of nations and overthrow the wrongdoers. Just look at Elijah’s confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel. This could be our Elijah moment.
(Side note:)President Obama has since vowed to reverse Bush's ruling on Stem Cell Research and will sign it into law on Monday. Folks, he is not wasting any time, should we? Just a thought....

Unconditional love...

...I have really been considering what that means lately, and I can say with all honesty that I have barely even grazed the surface when it comes to applying that one! It is so human to want to hold back in this area, especially when you feel that someone is "undeserving" in some way, and even easier once the light shines on this area in my own heart to want to feel guilty for my shortcomings.

Then, this morning, in two completely different devotions, this same verse came up: God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. —Hebrews 6:10 (He reminds us that everything and anything we have done in faith and love will one day be honored by God - amazing - God remembers the good we forget!)

"Lord, I earnestly desire to love others in the same way that You have consistently loved me. To really LOVE them, and not expect anything in return."