I visited Smithville Baptist church the Sunday they hosted Jesus in the Passover. Laura Barron, from Jews For Jesus, presented excellent visuals as she explained what goes on in the Jewish household for Passover and how it relates to what we have in Jesus.
This connection with Laura connected me with Karol Joseph, who is working with Laura on sharing Yeshua with Haredi women. [Strict version of Judaism].
Well, Karol offered a study she wrote: Counting The Omer Journey. This is the 50-day time between Passover and Pentecost, following the Israelites’ journey from Egypt toward the Promised Land. I get each week’s study in my email and print it off.
Karol takes me into the story, encouraging me to identify with the Israelites and how it relates to my own life story.
Exodus 13:17 When Pharoah let the people go, God did not lead them [the Israelites]by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said,”Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. “
Three weeks into the journey, God has told Moses to have the people double back to encamp near the Red Sea. God said He was going to bring glory, but no one knows how yet.
In Exodus 14, the people went out boldly, buoyed by the miracles God had done to release them. Pharoah hardened his heart and gathered all his choicest military might to go and drag them back into slavery.
Exodus 149 The Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
When the Israelites see this great army, they turn on God and on Moses. Forgetting that God is stronger than the might of Pharaoh, they are sure they will die on the shore.
We all know the great miracle God did. I encourage you to read chapter 14 of Exodus to get into this miracle our Lord orchestrated to show His great glory.
What about us in this era? The enemy is rattling its sabers and the world seems to have gone crazy! Can we trust our monetary system? Our government? Our vote and advocacy make some difference, but ultimately, if God does not do a miracle, all is lost.
Will we be like our ancestors in the wilderness and despair? Will we look to the arm of flesh and worldly comfort? Will we choose to remember the LORD and in Him our confidence place?
We see from their example that we can not lean on ‘Egypt’ and go back to the leeks, onions, and flesh pots. Manna, the food of angels in heaven, is a perfect food. It’s just not as appealing to the senses as what they had in Egypt.
The slave mentality had its advantages because they were used to being told what to do and being provided for. But, complaining and unbelief kept them in the wilderness. How much have we been enslaved by our culture? Our schools, our media? Our outlook on life is a major thing. Our abundance and comfort lull us and can make us forget where these blessings come from.
This study I’m doing makes me wonder how God is going to save us by His mighty right arm this time. How much longer will the enemy rage? How much of it is our part? How much hangs on our faith, our prayers, our actions to walk, in the light and love, of Christ?
Let us recount the great miracles we have read about. Also, ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the great things He’s done in your own life. It is our obligation to share our testimony and encourage others in faith.
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.
When 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.”
We are sleeping in our elder grandson’s bedroom, which makes his distance learning have to adjust. Mom had to move into Dad’s office, which has a door, since the work in the basement is too distracting for her teaching kindergarteners on zoom. They noticed the background behind her wasn’t the usual! The grandsons saw the orthodontist the day we were traveling, so the elder is dealing with a new set of rubber bands and some pain. The younger is not so bad; he’s got spacers, which is less disruptive to normal life. 
What does a day with a young family look like during lockdown? Boys in separate rooms with their own tablets connect with school sometime around 8:30. Mom starts with the kindergarteners about the same time in her office. Dad usually starts earlier, in his office. The younger boy eats lunch just at 11 and is back in his room by the time his elder brother and parents have lunch. The boys finish between 3-3:30, Mom at 4, Dad at 4:30. Throw in Dad taking off time for orthodontist appointments and figuring out who can take which boy to hockey around their schedules, and the family may be back together for dinner by 6:30-7 if the hockey travelers don’t eat on the way home because they’re at a late practice or game.
It challenges the mom dealing with 200 kindergarten students and their parents. Soon, she will do individual assessments and doesn’t know how that will work out. The dad is not quite as challenged, since his home is his workstation for his FAA job, but everything has to shift when the kids are home full time. This is nothing new to me. I was a homeschool mom when my kids were young and it’s a change for any household, even if you have already been teaching them things as preschoolers. It’s always a change developing a teaching plan, schedule, and learning how you and each individual child learn and understand. You not only need to keep them on task, but have to keep yourself on task to keep the household running. My daughter in California and her husband both work from home and have hired a nanny to work with their two children and keep them on task while they work.
For my part of this trip, I am finding it a challenge to do my morning devotionals, the active things assigned in Exploring the Prophetic, exercise, and doing my computer work. It is nice relaxing with the family in the livingroom in the evening. We got to see several episodes of The Voice auditions my son has saved. We had seen none of them at home. We’re also watching a lot of hockey, of course; Go Penns! I enjoy swinging in the yard with the grandsons. One of them had a long lunch break, and we had a good chat outside.
On another front, Passover begins Sunday, March 28, as Christians celebrate Palm Sunday. Mitch Glaser from Chosen People Ministries suggest we take communion each day of Passover, which is seven days, sundown to sundown. Alternately, you can find on-line Passover meals you can attend. For more information, check out this link:
Musings along life's journey 