G-d’s Spring Festivals
Passover is in 22 days … are we ready?
(This year Passover begins the evening of 4/22/2016 and ends 4/30/2016).
Just as we, in the USA, have various calendars (school, fiscal, annual), so does G-d. His sacred/religious calendar begins with the month of Nisan, which falls in March or April.
The spring festivals on G-d’s sacred calendar are: Passover, followed by Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. The LORD instructs that we are to observe His festivals forever; and that we are to explain them to our children.
14 ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. Ex 12:14-17 NASB.
When the Lord states that this celebration is to be a “lasting ordinance,” are we 21st century believers exempt? Did Yeshua intend for us to also observe it “forever”? Yeshua, Himself, simply and directly answered our question when He stated, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you,” Luke 22:15, NIV.
Spring holy days: Pesach – Hag haMatzot – Yom haBikurim
Passover (Pesach):
24“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.” Ex 12:24-27
CHALLENGE: bow down and worship God when He instructs us! (Let’s work on not resisting Him in worship.)
Unleavened Bread (Hag haMatzot):
“On the fifteenth day of that month the LORD’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast,” Lev 23:6
CHALLENGE: eat nothing with leaven (baking soda, yeast, baking powder, etc.) for seven days.
First Fruits (Yom haBikurim):
The 16th of Nisan is the festival of First Fruits. (Lev 23:9-14) Though, First Fruits is not often celebrated, it is, nevertheless, extremely important. It is the resurrection of our Messiah!! “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep,” I Cor 15:20 (also verses 22-23; and Luke 24:44-47)
CHALLENGE: meditate on all the Messiah’s resurrection gave to us, His followers.
As that we celebrate His festivals, we find that we not only understand more about G-d and His Son, but also we learning more about His ways. Each year, He is instructing us in how to more fully walk in His precepts. Isn’t that our goal?
“Lord, our Pascal Lamb, thank You for all You have done and continue doing for us. We love You, Lord, our God! We bless Your holy Name! Lord, we pray that You will intervene in the hearts and lives of our children. Draw them to You; heal their marriages. We pray for Your anointing on Passover Seder preparations all over the world – draw people to You. We pray for the persecuted church, protect these valiant heroes of the faith. Bring Your peace to Jerusalem. Turn our country to You. In the awesome Name of our Messiah, Yeshua, we pray.”
IMMEDIATE Prayer Requests:
- Pray for Israel!
- Protection for pastors
- HEALING and PEACE for all!!!
- Rhonda & Aunt (Norman George’s): healing!
- Olsens: wisdom & peace
- Tere: healing!!!
- 2-year old Grandson (Mary & Joe Benton): Please pray little Joshua’s healing.
- April (Betty & Harold Olson’s daughter): diagnosed with cancer. Payer for healing and restoration.
- Sa’ed (the Iranian-American pastor who was recently released from Iranian prison) and his wife: their marriage. And unity of their family.
- Marsha (Rhonda’s friend): friend’s husband has end stage renal failure. Encouragement and peace.
- Shar (Lori and Les’a’s friend): peace and physical and emotional strength
- Prayer for ISIS to be stopped; protection of believers
- Prayer for those who are in financial or emotional difficulties.
- Pray for America.
- Paul & Lynn Mann: total restoration.
- Jessica (Lori & Jim’s daughter): return to the God of her youth – the God of her parents.
Read all He is doing through prayer!
- Oxana’s grandbaby, even after struggle with birth, born healthy!
- 3 other babies born healthy!!
- David Davis (pastor of Kehilat haCarmel in Haifa) has completed his extensive treatment in Mexico and has returned to Haifa!
- April: good report from doctor!
- Tracy’s infection didn’t spread to her bones!
- Shar (Les’a’s friend): house sold!!!
- Peace has returned to Don’s mom!!!
- Pamela’s miracle at work.
- Mary and Joe Benton’s son is now in Tucson! Grandson’s blood counts remained steady through the trip.
- April (Betty & Harold’s daughter): scan came back showing no cancer in her brain!!