A blessing on your head, Mazel Tove, Mazel Tove! Just thinking ahead to Passover beginning and Good Friday, Easter… the time to celebrate what the Lord has done for Jews, Christians and the Messianic. Mazel Tove is a blessing upon your head, which I pray for all my readers as Psalm 139:5 says.
I am thinking about how God set the times and seasons at the beginning of this world He made for us. Also, about boarding my flight from JFK to California, where I came upon a young Jewish boy with his black yarmulka on his head. I greeted him with “Shalom dear brother” while wearing my t-shirt that says,” Jesus is my happy place”. I proceeded to tell him I had a Jewish grandmother. Needless to say, I was not well received, although he didn’t say anything to me.
God established the rituals of Passover as a reminder of how He brought them out of Egypt-the term Seder actually means order-it revealed to me how much symbolism is part of the order of things. This meal was to remind the children of what a great and mighty God we have, telling and showing how the first Passover was celebrated. Children, even adults, need to have things acted out in a way they can remember, and this celebration is one of several in the Jewish calendar that do that.
In Christian society, we celebrate the Last Supper, remembering how Jesus Christ suffered and died as the perfect Passover Lamb. His agony and triumph mean we no longer have to pay for our own sins as long as we accept what He did as payment for all. When we celebrate communion, Jesus said it’s to remember what He did until He comes back. At this time in this universe, I believe the “fullness of the Amorites” sins are coming to a close, being exposed and dealt with, to make room for God’s glory to come down. Remember, God does not share His glory with anyone else, so hold on tight and stand in faith!
Which leads me back to my word for the year, forgiveness. I have not taken the time to research the word yet, so I will begin here with the dictionary definition.
forgiveness (noun)
- the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven: “she is quick to ask forgiveness when she has overstepped the line:
- synonyms: pardon · absolution · exoneration · remission · dispensation · indulgence · understanding · tolerance · purgation · clemency · mercy · pity · lenience · leniency · quarter · reprieve · discharge · amnesty · delivery · acquittal · clearing · pardoning · condoning · condonation · vindication · exculpation · shrift · shriving
- antonyms: mercilessness · punishment
Jesus, the spotless, sinless Lamb of God, tells us to forgive others, or He cannot forgive us. Many people have been healed physically, emotionally and spiritually by the act of forgiving those who wronged them. Unforgiveness is like a cancer that grows over time and corrupts your body, soul, and mind. Unforgiveness breaks apart relationships and damages many things. I have heard it likened to eating rat poison and waiting for the rat to die!
Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NIV)
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from Forgive and Forget by Louis SmedesWhen you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself.”
Ephesians 1:7–8
He [God] is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. (NLT)
People ask how they are to deal with the person they have forgiven. Some people are so toxic that you cannot totally reconcile, cannot take them back into close fellowship. If you are being abused, get out and deal with things as the Lord gives you grace.
I watched a documentary called The Conductor on the plane. Marin Alsop was a pioneer in women conducting symphony orchestras. She shares how lonely it was growing up as an only child with two professional musicians as parents. Marin has accrued many hurts and disappointments over her life, but the last scene shows her putting flowers on her parents’ grave. She has finally forgiven and is thankful for the things they sowed into her life. She realizes the great love they had, dying close together, from a broken heart. I pray that you can forgive those who the Lord brings to mind, releasing them from the cage you’ve held them in. Shalom dear readers!
I am on Day 38 in Experiencing Jesus Through Communion by Beni Johnson, hard to believe only two days left! By the way, I had a prayer request. You can join me in praying for Beni’s healing from advanced cancer. Today’s theme: “Partaking In A Worthy Manner” can intimidate, but Beni makes it understandable. 
Eating the bread and drinking the cup in an unworthy manner could mean taking communion as an unbeliever, never having acknowledged the lordship of Christ. It can also mean to take the bread without realizing it covers all sinners and the entire Church of Christ; His Body. Jesus allowed His blood to be poured out to seal the new covenant, reconciling Jew and Gentile, man and God. Let us remember to walk in love and to forgive others as Christ forgives us. Realize Jesus paid the price for every person on earth and God’s will is that none would perish. NOTE: love and forgiveness do not mean you need to renew a relationship with a toxic person. It also does not mean you have to accept their sin. You are called to love with the love of God found in Christ, no matter what. No one said it would be easy, but He is with you to help you. There is much freedom in resting in God’s love, forgiving, and praying for Him to change hearts.
Musings along life's journey 