What could be so important as to interrupt our series on the Acts of the Apostles? Father’s Day which falls on this coming Sunday. Why is it so important? Because Dad’s need to be encouraged.
At the start of my first semester at Moody Bible Institute I sifted through the syllabus for every class and jotter on a calendar the day each assignment was due. I then created a list in chronological order of the assignments so that in every spare moment of time I could glance at the list and write the next paper or read the next book.
Every nation and people group has its holidays, usually celebrating a significant event or person in the nation’s history. Among the many holidays celebrated by Jews are seven feasts – celebrations that are more important and meaningful than any other holiday in any nation and of any time. What makes these seven feasts so remarkable? They are not Jewish feasts, they are God’s.
Within two weeks of Jesus’s death he had performed his greatest miracle to date: the raising of Lazarus from death. Was this miracle a foreshadowing of his power over death and the grave? Most certainly. Even so the disciples completed missed the meaning as, after Jesus’ crucifixion, each would go their own way bereaving the death of their Rabbi. We’re getting ahead of the story, however.
Yesterday we broke from our study of Acts to explain the importance of one of seven feasts God instituted for the nation of Israel, Shavuot, The Feast of Weeks, also called Pentecost. We’ll get back to Acts next week, for this is a good time to discuss the topic of personal righteousness.
Today starts the Feast of First Fruits. Leave it to God to not have one feast, but to keep piling them up, one on top of another, in abundance. On the Jewish calendar we see that Passover is celebrated on the 14th of Nissan, the Feast of Unleavened Bread starts on the 15th (and continues through to the 21st), and the Feast of First Fruits on the 16th.
Today, at sunset, Passover celebrations begin. For our Jewish readers, this is a feast lasting several days, and for our Christian readers it is a celebration of the final sacrifice for sins. None of us should forget its origin (Exodus 12)…
A friend of mine asked the other day, “What ever happened to hell?” Once upon a time churches talked about the Lake of Fire, the Torments, Hades, Sheol, Gehenna to warn people of the danger of not trusting in Jesus.
Today is the Jewish holiday Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, also known as Pentecost.
Today starts the second feast of the Lord, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. A week-long celebration, it begins the day after Passover and is often lumped in with that feast and called the 8 days of Passover.
Today we celebrate the triumphant arrival of the Messiah, just as the crowds did for the first time nearly 2000 years ago. Unlike them, we know the whole story, crown of thorns and all.
One Monday while getting ready for work I thought I’d lost my salvation. I found it though, it was in my other pants’ pocket.
