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Bible Commentary: “Memorial Day”

“and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the LORD.” (Exodus 28:12)

For the benefit of our international readers today we celebrate Memorial Day in the United States. Memorial Day is the day when we remember the men and women who lost their lives serving our country. Originally known as Decoration Day, it was established in 1868 to commemorate the dead from the Civil War.

God as a way for us to remember because we, as humans, have a way to forget things and forget them quickly established a means of memorial. God, knowing all these things, commanded us to tell our children and their children so that they would know the goodness and faithfulness of our God.

God gave this command to Moses concerning the ephod that his brother, Aaron, would wear as high priest, “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel in the order of their birth–six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the LORD” (Exodus 28:9-12 NIV).

These two onyx stones with the names of the twelve sons of Israel were to serve as buttons fastening the shoulder pieces of the ephod. Aaron, as high priest, was bearing the names of the tribes in his ministrations before the Lord that he would keep them in remembrance as the representative of all Israel and an advocate for them. The stones were mounted in gold filigree settings to show how valuable each name is before God. Aaron, as high priest, is a symbol of Jesus presenting to Himself and to His Father a glorious church, “that He might present her to Himself a glorious church” (Ephesians 5:26 NKJV). They are worn upon the high priests shoulders as the government is upon the shoulders of the Lord, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6 NIV).

What markers do you have in your life? What miracles has God done for you? Who have you shared them with lately? On this day of Memorial, if you would like to make a marker of an email, send us whatever you feel the Lord would have you tell us. We will not share any messages we receive but we would be glad to hear the memorial markers in your life.

Child of God – God tells us that no longer does the high priest have to wear precious stones on his shoulders engraved with our names. God, Himself, has engraved our names on His hands, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me” (Isaiah 49:16 NIV). Our High Priest, Jesus, has the nail prints in His hands that bears each of our names and they are ever before Him. Let us rejoice and praise Him and bless His name.

Our prayer:
Lord, thank you for having me engraved in your hands. You have given me so many “memorial stones” from all the things that you have done in my life. But one of them that renews itself every time is that you are my comfort in every adverse situation, pain or lacking. You are my strength and you are my fortress, that I carry on me all the time. Amen.

If you want to have a personal relationship with Jesus as your Lord and Savior pray: “Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and that out of love for me you willingly sacrificed your life so that I may live. I repent of all my sins and open my heart to you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer for the first time or if you have any questions please contact us. We would love to hear from you.

Bible Commentary: “Passover” The Days Of Lent

“Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13 NKJV)

The feast of Passover begins tonight at sundown. Because of the importance of this time we will review its meaning so we can be inspired in our spiritual walk.

“Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire–its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance” (Exodus 12:1-14).

“Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.'” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did (Exodus 12:21-28).

Jesus is our Passover! He is the Lamb that was slain. It is His blood that God sees when He sees us and our iniquity is covered and His wrath passes over us. But just for a moment let us see one more shadow of Jesus in what is written. “And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it” (Exodus 12:7), And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning” (Exodus 12:7). The first time they put the blood on the doorposts and the lintel but the second time the command was to strike the lintel and the doorposts. Strike is a violent word, it requires a strong movement. This is not a painter painting on canvas gently placing brushstrokes, this is violent action against four points on the door: the top, the bottom and both sides. The lintel is the top and bottom of the door and both doorposts or either side. Jesus took nails in both hands, which are the doorposts or sides and nails in His feet, which is the bottom of the lintel. The crown of thorns made the blood flow from His head which is the blood at the top of the lintel. As the crown and the nails were violence on Him to make His blood flow there is the reason for the command to strike the doorposts and lintel.

Child of God – Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). Not only is Jesus our Passover, not only is He our sacrificial Lamb, Not only is it His blood that covers us but He is our Door of salvation that was struck with the blood and that was the signal to the angel to not strike this house. Jesus is our complete Passover sacrifice! Let us join with the people of Israel and bow our heads and worship!

Our prayer:
Lord,I praise you for what you did on the cross to save me. You gave your life so I can be saved! Thank you for your faithfulness and your great love. Because of your sacrifice I know now that my sins have been forgiven and I will be spared of the judgment that I deserved. Thank you Lord. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer for the first time or if you have any questions please contact us. We would love to hear from you.

Bible Commentary: “Easter Sunday” The Days Of Lent

March 27, 2016 at 11:40 am | Posted in Bible Commentary | Leave a comment
Tags: Bible Commentary

From our home to yours a very Happy Resurrection Sunday!

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:6 NIV)
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:6 NIV)
“He is not here; he has risen! ” (Luke 24:6 NIV)

Job asked the question, “If a man dies, will he live again” (Job 14:14 NIV)? There is a saying, “dead is dead!” Once the body dies then it is all over. Do what you can while you are still breathing because the end is final! Have you ever had those kinds of thoughts or heard similar words? What is your opinion about death?

On Friday Jesus died before 3pm and was laid in a borrowed tomb, which counts as 1 day buried. He only borrowed it because He was not going to keep it; He only had need of it for 3 days. The Sabbath, Saturday, began at sundown Friday to sundown Saturday; that counts as 2 days buried. Sunday began at sundown Saturday but, since it was dark, no one came to the tomb until early Sunday morning, then they found the tomb was empty; 3 days buried, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 NIV).

Three days He was dead. The disciples had seen Him die. Proof was given to Pilate that Jesus was dead. They laid His body in a tomb, rolled a huge stone in front of the opening and secured it with a seal on the stone. This was not done to prevent Jesus from leaving; this was done to prevent others from getting in. Jesus may have raised many from the dead while He was alive but what could He do now?

He arose! Peter stood in the assembly and said, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact” (Acts 2:32 NIV). Peter said again, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed” (Acts 4:10 NIV). Again Peter declared, “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen–by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead” (Acts 10:40 NIV). Paul said, “When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem” (Acts 13:30 NIV).

Child of God – Jesus died, was buried and rose again! He lives! “And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy” (Colossians 1:18 NIV). There is coming a day when there will be a shout in Heaven and the dead will rise and we will be transformed and meet Jesus and everyone in the air and go to a wedding feast, with us as brides, that Jesus has prepared for us. “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 NIV).

Our prayer:
Lord, help me to live in your resurrection power because your Word says that those that have believed in you have passed from death to live. And is true, I was dead in my sins and you have given me new life. Thank you that you went through death so that I might live. Thank you that you have risen and you are alive and with me all the time. That was the most incredible news I had when I knew you, that you were alive and only those who believe know it. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer for the first time or if you have any questions please contact us. We would love to hear from you.