Tag: Food For Growth

² Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. ¹⁰ But after His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He also went up, not publicly but in private. ~John 7:2, 10

⁸ So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” ~ Luke 22:8

The Gospels directly records Jesus keeping only three (though technically two) of the seven God ordained or appointed feasts. Why technically two? Because Jesus is never actually physically recorded in Scripture as celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread as it is not the same feast as Passover.

See, by the time of Jesus, the two feasts, Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, had been morphed into one feast. But Jesus is only recorded as celebrating Passover and the Feast of Booths, not the Feast of Unleavened Bread as He died on Passover before the Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated, which is the next day.

So, with that said, why is Jesus only recorded as celebrating those two? Because these two are the first and the last of the feasts. Jesus brought the new and better covenant when He came the first time around. At His final return, He will fulfill all covenants.

It’s almost like the LORD is foreshadowing Jesus claiming the titles of the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last in the book of Revelation. Everything in the Bible is written intentionally. Everything has a meaning. I believe this is, at the very least, one of the reasons these are the only two feasts we see Jesus celebrate in Scripture.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look For The Final Fulfillment.

³³ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴ “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the Lord.” ~ Leviticus 23:33-34

The Feast of Booths was the final feast given by God to the people of Israel. It was to be observed in the seventh month on the fifteenth day of the month. Why? When we look at the date God gave us for this Feast, we have the seventh month, which is the number of completion. And we have the fifteenth day, which in Hebrew isn’t actually the number fifteen, but the numbers ten and five. Ten is the number of covenant and five is the number of the Church.

So what does this mean? This Feast, like the Feast of Passover, looked back at something, but also looked forward at something to come. It foreshadows the fulfillment of the covenant God has with His Church. His final covenant. His perfect covenant. The completion of wandering this earth without a true eternal home, and then receiving the eternal home of the New Earth.

This is what we have to look forward to. The fulfillment of our promised land. Our eternal New Earth.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Forward To Eternity.

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, ~ 2 Peter 1:3

What that means is this. Everyone who has accepted Jesus as LORD and Savior has been given a certificate of adoption that will be cashed in at the final trumpet when the dead in Christ will rise first, and those of us who are alive and remain are caught up to meet them in the clouds to be with Jesus.

We have all the privileges of sonship. We have all the privileges of being heirs and joint heirs with our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have the keys to the kingdom. There is absolutely nothing that our God withholds from us. We are His children.

But the adoption papers have not yet been signed. We are not yet completely and totally redeemed. We have the Spirit of Adoption, until it will all be finalized. And in that moment, when it is finalized, there will be no more tears, pain, or suffering. There will be only the good things God has promised for His people. For His children.

But until that day, enjoy the blessings of the LORD. Build up treasures for eternity. Draw close to Him and He will draw close to You. Don’t waste the short time you have here on this earth. Let every moment be God-centered.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Adopted.

¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:17–18).

Paul said that He came and preached peace and through Him we have access to the Father and Spirit. Who is this He that Paul is referring to here? Well, it’s Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior of the world. Paul wrote, “…He came and preached peace…” Now, the Greek word translated preached means to “proclaim good news.” And what was the good news that He preached? Peace. This peace, that Jesus preached, denotes a time of peace, or a state of peace.

Jesus came not only just to preach peace, but to usher in a time of peace, a peace that is felt emotionally. We are no longer enemies of God. Once we were enemies of God, but while we were still His enemies, Jesus died so that we could be reconciled back to a kind and loving God. We are no longer hateful and cruel to one another; we are at peace with each other, a peace that comes from within us.

Then there is a time of total peace when Jesus returns to reign and rule for a thousand years. There will be no more wars or lawlessness for one thousand years. The devil won’t even tempt us during that time because he will be bound in the bottomless pit for that whole period.

Then he will be released for a short period, followed by another war, and then eternity will begin, ushering in eternal peace. So, don’t let anyone take your peace. Jesus came to preach peace and to give peace. He left us with His peace.

Father, thank You for the peace that Your Son, Jesus, preached. May it be mine today, and always. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

⁵ Better is open rebuke than hidden love. ⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. ~ Proverbs 27:5-6

Open rebuke is better than hidden love. If you are receiving a profuse (An abundant, Excessive, Overflowing). Extravagant amount beyond necessity number of kisses, they just might be from an enemy and not a friend. Evaluate your situation. The truth never lies. Listen, real love involves honest and constructive criticism rather than deceitful kindness.

Please understand that true love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth ^NIV (1 Corinthians 13:6). Look, a Christian’s main objective is all about your eternal soul. Your soul will spend eternity in one place or the other forever. If you break God’s commandments because a man, or a woman told you it is okay to do so… that will not stand up in God’s court as a valid excuse.

That is why I always, always encourage people to read the Bible for yourselves. It is imperative. It is crucial. It is essential. It is vital. It is critical. It is most important. That you understand for yourself: what you must answer to God for. Realize this: you will answer to God, your own self, for your own actions, and nobody else will give an account for you or stand in your place.

You must be like the Bereans who searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul was teaching was true → In other words, they searched to make sure that Paul was not misinterpreting the Scriptures but rather, that he was indeed preaching truth (Acts 17:11) … They didn’t just take his word. They confirmed his words. We cannot use the excuse that we didn’t know, or that we didn’t realize.

We have Bibles upon Bibles in every English translation that we can imagine. There is Old English. New English. Contemporary English. Paraphrase translation. Dynamic Equivalence. Formal Equivalence. We have what they call Hybrid Translations. We even have Interlinear Bibles.

What I’m saying is, we have… NO excuse. We, who live in the West, the so-called Free World, have no excuse, and of all people, we will probably be held to a higher standard than most because of it. To whom much is given, much is required, and we have been given much.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept Rebuke.

Matthew 5:14-16 NIV

[14]  You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

As we all stood together in memory and honor of Charlie Kirk, one single candle was lit and that one candle was used to light hundreds of other candles. It was passed from one to another. And you know what? The original candle that lit all the others never died out. It didn’t lose its flame. It wasn’t quenched. With each other’s candle that was lit by that flame, it grew brighter as they touched.

When we share Christ. When we give. We don’t lose. We don’t go wanting. We are that candle with the flame. The flame is God. When we show love. We show God. When we show compassion. We show God. When we turn the other cheek. We show God. When we give mercy. We show God. And when we do all of these things, the world notices. Because it’s watching us. It’s judging our actions to see if we actually live what we preach.

The only way we can ever lose the light of our candle is if we allow the flame to die by no longer spending time with God, by forsaking the flame itself. That’s it. But to give and show love and mercy and grace. You’re not losing. It may feel like it. But in that moment, you are sharing God with someone else.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Light Another’s Candle.

² Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till He has mercy upon us. ~ Psalms 123:2

To wait for the LORD is to have our eyes fixed upon Him for the slightest movement. For the slightest gesture. We don’t move until we get the signal or get the nod to go ahead. It is having the understanding that God’s clock runs perfectly, even if it doesn’t align with ours. And it probably won’t.

But still, Psalms 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Although it may take longer than we expected. Still, we tarry. Although it seems like it is being dragged out. Still, we continue to abide obediently. Although it feels like our prayers are going unanswered. Still… we wait patiently in full hope and complete surrender. Always remaining in His Presence. And yielding to His will in complete submission.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Still Tarry.

Isaiah 40:29-31 ESV

[29] He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. [30] Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; [31] but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

When pain becomes debilitating, that’s when you have to stop and take a moment with God. That’s your sign that your spirit is troubled. Your soul is crying out for help. So don’t ignore it. Press in. Take extra time in prayer, worship, and seeking the face of God.

Our strength isn’t found in anything else. We can’t recharge away from God. He is our source. He alone can spiritually recharge us so that we can keep going. So, today, take some time for God. Take a breath with Him. Let God breathe into you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Take A Breath of Life.