Beloved, we know that the end is drawing near. Yet we know that with it the beginning of all that Elohim has promised, will dawn for believers. In that we must find our strength.
But in as much as we desire for the end of man’s suffering to come, we should desire with much greater passion for the beginning to dawn for those who do not yet know Y’shua. This should be the driving force when we rise in the morning and when we retire at night. To see the souls of men, women and children redeemed through the blood of the Lamb. For us TO KNOW Him (Philippians 3:10) in His death and resurrection and lead others to know Him in the same way.
Was it not His death that brought us life when He resurrected us from death to life in His Son? Is it not that same message of the good news that is come that we should proclaim where He allows us? The good news of a resurrected life in the One Who is life! Life forever more.
Life in abundance is given to us when we come boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and receive this reward for our willingness to follow Him.
Let us be reminded of the true meaning of Passover even before we enter into it, so that we will understand fully what Messiah did for us when He became the Lamb that was sacrificed on our behalf.
“Amazing grace how can it be, that You my King would die for me….”
He did for us what we could never do for ourselves and as we prepare for Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) may we be eager to allow YHWH to fully reveal to us the condition of our hearts and lives so that we may enter into the marriage supper of the Lamb of which the Seder meal is a picture.
YHWH wants to change our lives and transform us into the moral image and character of Messiah Y’shua and He has made an appointment with us at a set time and date to come face to face with Him and allow what He fulfilled for us through His shed blood, to cleanse, redeem and deliver us! And gush us forth into Praise!
YHWH gives us the Feast of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits as visual aids that we may know and understand His desire to change or condition through Y’shua Messiah and transform us into His likeness and being. Both these feasts are concerned with our condition before YHWH.
“This is the command of YHWH: And this day shall be to you for a memorial. You shall keep it as a feast to YHWH throughout your generations, keep it as an ordinance forever (Exodus 12:14)
“Then came the day of the Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John saying. “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?” And He said to them, “Behold when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?'” Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”
For us as believers in Messiah, Passover is the time when we are reminded once again that Y’shua our Passover Lamb gave Himself willingly as a Sacrifice in our place and every preparation from the Passover meal with His disciples to the moment He was nailed to the stake, even in what was said and what happened, was done to fulfil the Scriptures of old so that no-one who knows and understands the Word of YHWH would have any reason to doubt that He is the Messiah, the only begotten Son of YHWH!
When we read this portion of Scripture it is as if Y’shua is speaking to us even now in the time and season that we are living in. He is saying yet again, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat……make ready. Remind yourselves of the reason why I came. Wash one another’s feet (serve), be willing to sacrifice (be obedient unto death)……”
He is saying to us this year at Passover that we need to urgently prepare more than ever before and make ready even more so as we see the day approaching, that we may not be caught unawares as was His disciples who asked “Where and what……..” That we will remind ourselves – He is coming! And He is coming for a pure and spotless Bride. May the Bride be prepared at the hour of His coming, ready to receive Him!
During this time the Jewish people are very busy cleaning their houses. On the evening of Passover is the seder meal. In Leviticus 23:5-8 we read about the feasts of Passover.
Bedikat Chametz – checking for leaven. Before the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread can be celebrated, all the leaven is to be removed from the house. This is usually done the evening before the day Pesach begins. It is the final check of every nook and cranny, traditionally with a candle and a feather, to make sure no bread crumbs are left in the house….or the car….or the children’s’ pockets! The next morning all chametz (leaven) found or still in one’s possession must be disposed of. A favourite method is to burn it, and all over Jerusalem this is done in the street, much to the youngsters’ delight.
The purpose of this feast was to remind the Israelites that YHWH had called them out of Egypt (a picture of the world) to be set apart, a separate people unto Himself. It was a permanent reminder that they were not to partake in the things of the word! Is this not what Elohim is saying to us even now – I have brought you out of the world to be set apart, a separate people unto Myself! May we meditate on this during Passover and be reminded that we are set apart and must not conform to the standards set by the world but be transformed by the renewal of our minds to live lives consecrated to Him in all manner of living.
Leaven is the picture of SIN. This is an opportune time to search “every nook and cranny ” of our hearts and lives and repent. This season is about the time we should get our hearts so clean that ‘we only need a feather to clean it daily.’ We are to do serious HEART SEARCHING and study the Scriptures that challenge us in every area of our walk with Elohim. WARNING!! It will ask of us to be honest with ourself and with Him. If we are not honest in doing so, it will bear no fruit. This is not a one time exercise but making an effort for how long it takes. I praise YHWH for His Holy Spirit and pray that He will reveal, remind and shed light in every dark corner of our hearts and minds that we may serve Him in Spirit and in truth.
“Search me, O YHWH and know my heart; and test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24.
Let us allow Elohim full access in every area of our lives so that He can test our motives, thoughts and deeds and reveal to us the hidden leaven that we have allowed. Even those areas that we have left unattended because it hurts too much to be stripped all over again. Those areas we are hiding beneath a surface of self-righteousness and self-justification.
A while ago I wrote an article titled “We are in Transition” and pointed out that the fire of His cleansing was going intensify throughout the body of believers. I also challenged the people of YHWH to be ready to move when He so wills it. The last few months I have been severely tested in this and the testing is not yet complete. It is then that we are granted the grace to be stretched, transformed and renewed. The process is excruciatingly painful, but the outcome most assuredly will lead us to higher ground in our walk with our Saviour. For it is only when we are willing to go down into sheol with Him that we can be given the authority in Y’shua to rule with Him in heavenly places! Let us not forget that.
“Who may ascend the hill of YHWH? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol, or swear by what is false.” Psalm 24:3-4
This Psalm tells us how to get closer to YHWH. Confession of sin restores broken fellowship with the Father and is necessary for revival amongst His people. Prayerfully let Elohim ask you these heart searching questions. Answer Him honestly and truthfully. Every “yes” answer identifies sin in your life. And when you are convicted of sin, confess it at once. If the sin is against someone else, be ready to make it right at your very first opportunity. Then you can claim cleansing and forgiveness.
“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but he who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
It is the time to make things right with Elohim and walk in freedom and liberty, delivered, set free and redeemed in all things.
“Forgive our debts as we also forgive our debtors.” Matthew 6:12
Let us make this season one of forgiveness as a gift of the same grace and mercy we want extended to us.
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go an reconcile with your brother; then come and offer your gift”Matthew 5:23-24
May it be a time of supreme reconciliation, restoration and healing as the Blood of the Lamb washes us and redeems us from all manner of unrighteousness. To begin again on a clean slate and to start writing the great message of our life’s heritage in Messiah for His glory.
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Messiah YHWH forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32
“For we know Him who said, “It is mine to avenge; “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again YHWH will judge His people.”
Let us ask ourselves these very important questions as we prepare ourselves for Passover, as we prepare ourselves for the coming of our King:
Is there anyone against whom you hold a grudge?
Is there anyone you have not forgiven?
Is there anyone you hate?
Is there anyone you do not love?
Are there misunderstandings you are unwilling to forget?
Is there anyone against whom you harbour bitterness, resentment or jealousy?
Is there anyone you dislike to hear praised or well spoken of?
Do you allow anyone to justify a wrong attitude towards another?
Is there anyone you are unwilling to “prefer” over yourself?
And so the list continues, so familiar, yet so different for each one f us. Yet so extremely necessary as we see the day approaching when the world will change forever.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from YHWH. Everyone who loves has been born of YHWH, and knows YHWH. Whoever does not love does not know YHWH, because YHWH is love. This is how YHWH showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love; not that we loved YHWH, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since Elohim so loved us, we ought to love one another. No one has ever seen YHWH; but if we love one another, YHWH lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” 1 John 4:7-12
Let the love of YHWH in us be the dividing rod between us and the rest of the world. Let His kadosh ( holy/set-apart) love in us take the message of salvation to a people who are lost, broken and defiled as John the Immerser did at the River Jordan.
As we sit around the Seder table and listen to the innocent voices of the children asking: “Abba, why is this night different from any other night?” may we ponder upon the answer yes, but more than that at this Pesach, may we all declare: “Because the King is coming, Messiah is coming! And His Bride must see that she is ready, lamps filled with oil, ready to go in…..to meet Him.
“To Him who overcomes I will give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the paradise of YHWH. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give to him a white stone, and in that stone a new name written, which no man knows except he who receives it. And he who overcomes and keeps my works to the end, to him I will give power over the nations. The one who overcomes, this one will be clothed in white clothing. And I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. And I will write upon him the name of My Elohim, and the name of the city of My Elohim, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My Elohim, and My own new name. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and have sat down with My Father in His throne. He who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be His Elohim, and He will be My son.” Revelation 2:7, 11, 17 and 26; Revelation 3:5, 12 & 21 and 21:7.
Behold the Lamb – be ready to meet Him face to face…..
Written in the love of Messiah
Antoinette
