Words for this Feast of Unleavened Bread

(***Following the scriptures is a summary of thoughts for this Feast of Unleavened Bread.)

Pride:
[Lev 26:19 NKJV] "I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze."
[2Ch 32:26 NKJV] "Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah."
[Psa 10:2 NKJV] "The wicked in [his] pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised."
[Psa 36:11 NKJV] "Let not the foot of pride come against me, And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away."
[Psa 59:12 NKJV] "[For] the sin of their mouth [and] the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for the cursing and lying [which] they speak."
[Psa 73:6 NKJV] "Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them [like] a garment."
[Pro 8:13 NKJV] "The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate."
[Pro 11:2 NKJV] "When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble [is] wisdom."
[Pro 13:10 NKJV] "By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised [is] wisdom."
[Pro 14:3 NKJV] "In the mouth of a fool [is] a rod of pride, But the lips of the wise will preserve them."
[Pro 16:18 NKJV] "Pride [goes] before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall."
[Pro 21:24 NKJV] "A proud [and] haughty [man]--"Scoffer" [is] his name; He acts with arrogant pride."
[Pro 29:23 NKJV] "A man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor."
[Isa 13:19 NKJV] "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah."
[Isa 16:6 NKJV] "We have heard of the pride of Moab--[He is] very proud--Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; [But] his lies [shall] not [be] so."
[Isa 23:9 NKJV] "The LORD of hosts has purposed it, To bring to dishonor the pride of all glory, To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth."
[Isa 25:11 NKJV] "And He will spread out His hands in their midst As a swimmer reaches out to swim, And He will bring down their pride Together with the trickery of their hands."
[Isa 28:1 NKJV] "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, Whose glorious beauty [is] a fading flower Which [is] at the head of the verdant valleys, To those who are overcome with wine!"
[Isa 28:3 NKJV] "The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, Will be trampled underfoot;"
[Jer 13:9 NKJV] ""Thus says the LORD: 'In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem."
[Jer 13:17 NKJV] "But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for [your] pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the LORD's flock has been taken captive."
[Jer 48:29 NKJV] ""We have heard the pride of Moab (He [is] exceedingly proud), Of his loftiness and arrogance and pride, And of the haughtiness of his heart.""
[Jer 49:16 NKJV] "Your fierceness has deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there," says the LORD."
[Eze 16:49 NKJV] ""Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."
[Eze 16:56 NKJV] ""For your sister Sodom was not a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride,"
[Eze 30:6 NKJV] "'Thus says the LORD: "Those who uphold Egypt shall fall, And the pride of her power shall come down. From Migdol [to] Syene Those within her shall fall by the sword," Says the Lord GOD."
[Dan 4:37 NKJV] "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works [are] truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down."
[Dan 5:20 NKJV] ""But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him."
[Hos 5:5 NKJV] "The pride of Israel testifies to his face; Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also stumbles with them."
[Hos 7:10 NKJV] "And the pride of Israel testifies to his face, But they do not return to the LORD their God, Nor seek Him for all this."
[Amo 6:8 NKJV] "The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up [the] city And all that is in it.""
[Amo 8:7 NKJV] "The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: "Surely I will never forget any of their works."
[Oba 1:3 NKJV] "The pride of your heart has deceived you, [You] who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; [You] who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?'"
[Zep 2:10 NKJV] "This they shall have for their pride, Because they have reproached and made arrogant threats Against the people of the LORD of hosts."
[Zep 3:11 NKJV] "In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain."
[Zec 10:11 NKJV] "He shall pass through the sea with affliction, And strike the waves of the sea: All the depths of the River shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt shall depart."
[Zec 11:3 NKJV] "[There is] the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. [There is] the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins."
[Mar 7:22 NKJV] ""thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness."
[1Ti 3:6 NKJV] "not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the [same] condemnation as the devil."
[1Jo 2:16 NKJV] "For all that [is] in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world."

Proud:
[Psa 10:4 NKJV] "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek [God]; God [is] in none of his thoughts."
[Psa 12:3 NKJV] "May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, [And] the tongue that speaks proud things,"
[Psa 31:23 NKJV] "Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! [For] the LORD preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person."
[Psa 40:4 NKJV] "Blessed [is] that man who makes the LORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies."
[Psa 86:14 NKJV] "O God, the proud have risen against me, And a mob of violent [men] have sought my life, And have not set You before them."
[Psa 94:2 NKJV] "Rise up, O Judge of the earth; Render punishment to the proud."
[Psa 101:5 NKJV] "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure."
[Psa 119:21 NKJV] "You rebuke the proud--the cursed, Who stray from Your commandments."
[Psa 119:51 NKJV] "The proud have me in great derision, [Yet] I do not turn aside from Your law."
[Psa 119:69 NKJV] "The proud have forged a lie against me, [But] I will keep Your precepts with [my] whole heart."
[Psa 119:78 NKJV] "Let the proud be ashamed, For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood; [But] I will meditate on Your precepts."
[Psa 119:85 NKJV] "The proud have dug pits for me, Which [is] not according to Your law."
[Psa 119:122 NKJV] "Be surety for Your servant for good; Do not let the proud oppress me."
[Psa 123:4 NKJV] "Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud."
[Psa 138:6 NKJV] "Though the LORD [is] on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar."
[Psa 140:5 NKJV] "The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set traps for me. Selah"
[Pro 6:17 NKJV] "A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,"
[Pro 15:25 NKJV] "The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow."
[Pro 16:5 NKJV] "Everyone proud in heart [is] an abomination to the LORD; [Though they join] forces, none will go unpunished."
[Pro 16:19 NKJV] "Better [to be] of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud."
[Pro 21:4 NKJV] "A haughty look, a proud heart, [And] the plowing of the wicked [are] sin."
[Pro 21:24 NKJV] "A proud [and] haughty [man]--"Scoffer" [is] his name; He acts with arrogant pride."
[Pro 28:25 NKJV] "He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered."
[Ecc 7:8 NKJV] "The end of a thing [is] better than its beginning; The patient in spirit [is] better than the proud in spirit."
[Isa 2:12 NKJV] "For the day of the LORD of hosts [Shall come] upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up--And it shall be brought low--"
[Isa 13:11 NKJV] ""I will punish the world for [its] evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."
[Isa 16:6 NKJV] "We have heard of the pride of Moab--[He is] very proud--Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; [But] his lies [shall] not [be] so."
[Jer 13:15 NKJV] "Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken."
[Jer 48:29 NKJV] ""We have heard the pride of Moab (He [is] exceedingly proud), Of his loftiness and arrogance and pride, And of the haughtiness of his heart.""
[Jer 50:29 NKJV] ""Call together the archers against Babylon. All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all around; Let none of them escape. Repay her according to her work; According to all she has done, do to her; For she has been proud against the LORD, Against the Holy One of Israel."
[Jer 50:32 NKJV] "The most proud shall stumble and fall, And no one will raise him up; I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it will devour all around him.""
[Hab 2:4 NKJV] ""Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith."
[Mal 3:15 NKJV] "So now we call the proud blessed, For those who do wickedness are raised up; They even tempt God and go free.' ""
[Mal 4:1 NKJV] ""For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch."
[Luk 1:51 NKJV] "He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered [the] proud in the imagination of their hearts."
[Rom 1:30 NKJV] "backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,"
[1Ti 6:4 NKJV] "he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,"
[2Ti 3:2 NKJV] "For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,"
[Jas 4:6 NKJV] "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.""
[1Pe 5:5 NKJV] "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to [your] elders. Yes, all of [you] be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.""
[2Sa 22:28 NKJV] "You will save the humble people; But Your eyes [are] on the haughty, [that] You may bring [them] down."
[Psa 18:27 NKJV] "For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks."
[Psa 101:5 NKJV] "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure."
[Psa 131:1 NKJV] "A Song of Ascents. Of David. LORD, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me."
[Pro 16:18 NKJV] "Pride [goes] before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall."
[Pro 18:12 NKJV] "Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor [is] humility."
[Pro 21:4 NKJV] "A haughty look, a proud heart, [And] the plowing of the wicked [are] sin."
[Isa 10:12 NKJV] "Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, [that He will say], "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.""
[Isa 10:33 NKJV] "Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature [will be] hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled."
[Isa 24:4 NKJV] "The earth mourns [and] fades away, The world languishes [and] fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish."
[Jer 50:31 NKJV] ""Behold, I [am] against you, O most haughty one!" says the Lord GOD of hosts; "For your day has come, The time [that] I will punish you."
[Eze 16:50 NKJV] ""And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw [fit]."
[Zep 3:11 NKJV] "In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain."
[Rom 11:20 NKJV] "Well [said]. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear."
[1Ti 6:17 NKJV] "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy."
[2Ti 3:4 NKJV] "traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,"
[1Co 13:4 NKJV] Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
[Col 2:18 NKJV] Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in [false] humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

But the meek and humble:
[Psa 37:11 NKJV] But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
[Isa 11:4 NKJV] But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
[Zep 2:3 NKJV] Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the LORD's anger.
[Zep 3:12 NKJV] I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
[Mat 5:5 NKJV] Blessed [are] the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
[Num 12:3 NKJV] (Now the man Moses [was] very humble, more than all men who [were] on the face of the earth.)
[Deu 8:2 NKJV] "And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you [and] test you, to know what [was] in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
[Deu 8:16 NKJV] "who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end--
[2Sa 22:28 NKJV] You will save the humble people; But Your eyes [are] on the haughty, [that] You may bring [them] down.
[2Ch 7:14 NKJV] "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
[2Ch 33:23 NKJV] And he did not humble himself before the LORD, as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
[2Ch 36:12 NKJV] He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, [and] did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, [who spoke] from the mouth of the LORD.
[Ezr 8:21 NKJV] Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.
[Psa 9:12 NKJV] When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble.
[Psa 10:12 NKJV] Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble.
[Psa 10:17 NKJV] LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,
[Psa 18:27 NKJV] For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks.
[Psa 25:9 NKJV] The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.
[Psa 34:2 NKJV] My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear [of it] and be glad.
[Psa 69:32 NKJV] The humble shall see [this and] be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
[Psa 147:6 NKJV] The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.
[Psa 149:4 NKJV] For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
[Pro 3:34 NKJV] Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.
[Pro 11:2 NKJV] When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble [is] wisdom.
[Pro 16:19 NKJV] Better [to be] of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
[Pro 29:23 NKJV] A man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.
[Isa 29:19 NKJV] The humble also shall increase [their] joy in the LORD, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel.
[Isa 57:15 NKJV] For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name [is] Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy [place], With him [who] has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
[Eze 21:26 NKJV] 'thus says the Lord GOD: "Remove the turban, and take off the crown; Nothing [shall remain] the same. Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
[Dan 10:12 NKJV] Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.
[Amo 2:7 NKJV] They pant after the dust of the earth [which is] on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the [same] girl, To defile My holy name.
[Zep 3:12 NKJV] I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
[Rom 12:16 NKJV] Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
[2Co 12:21 NKJV] lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.
[Jas 4:6 NKJV] But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
[Jas 4:10 NKJV] Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
[1Pe 5:5 NKJV] Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to [your] elders. Yes, all of [you] be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
[1Pe 5:6 NKJV] Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.

Who is greatest?:
[Mat 18:1 KJV] At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

Yeshua washes the disciples feet (shows how to lead with humility):
[Jhn 13:1 NKJV] Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's [son], to betray Him,
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,
rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.
After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe [them] with the towel with which He was girded.
Then He came to Simon Peter. And [Peter] said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?"
Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this."
Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."
Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also [my] hands and [my] head!"
Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash [his] feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."
For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean."
So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?
"You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for [so] I am.
"If I then, [your] Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
"For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.
"If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
"I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.'

The root of all holiness is humility, and the root of ALL sin is pride. 

Humility produces love, patience, kindness, compassion, grace, hope, endurance, strength, joy, edification... Truth and life. 

Pride produces weakness, strife, hate, contention, discontent, spite... and ultimately death. 

The culture of Yahweh, the very essence of who He is, is humility. (See Matthew 26) "Take this bread" - the bread that is not puffed up with the pride of human arrogance; "Eat of this" - take humility to the very core of your being, let it become the source of your strength; "It is My body" - humility is WHO HE IS!  

The war between humility and pride is at the heart of almost all difficulties in life...

Difficulties in marriage, difficulties with children, difficulties with co-workers, difficulties with family, difficulties within "the body"...

"If only they would humble themselves..." No, my brother/sister, have you washed their feet? Have you humbled yourself? Have you been steered only by compassion or by pride as well...

 ~ A rebellious child (even an adult child) wants to bring his/her parents low by their actions in hopes of revealing the parent's downfalls and shortcomings, their pride... Parents, wash your children's feet: let them know you know there is none righteous, but Yahweh our heavenly Father. 

Rebellious child - the surest way of shedding light on the missteps of your parents is to glorify your heavenly Father who is without misstep or fault by flooding your life with His humility and using that humility to wash your parents' feet. You will be healed, but they also will receive the healing they need. Soon you will hear them say, "It is not by any good works that we have done, but only by Him who is living in them...."    

~ Do you want to lead in your home, workplace, social life, with believers... but no one is responding to the quipping of your whip or whit... Is your desire to lead driven by compassion only? Could you wash their feet with your TEARS for their suffering? Can you see where they are hungry? Feed them, serve them, love them - with a nurturing hand. If you desire to be esteemed as the greatest, you must be servant to the very least. (See Matthew 23)   

The struggle between righteousness and unrighteousness is only a struggle between humility and pride. 

A person, a people, a nation who is overcome with pride and puffed up in arrogance is weak and hollow, easily shaken, brought low, and destroyed. A person, a people, a nation whose only hope is in their creator Yahweh, is sturdy, strong and unshakable - full of joy and overflowing in abundance, able to bring in the suffering and shelter the sick and dying. 

Is your pride worth the cost? Could you bear the glory of humility?  

Isaiah 53

Passover

Passover is fast approaching! We've made it through the feast-less lull of winter and have finally arrived at Yahweh's Spring feasts - Hip, hip, hooray!!\0/

Now the fun begins! Maybe you've read through the Passover scriptures and your mind's wheels have been turning and churning up ways to make this celebration as fun as it is Spiritually fulfilling... 

Well, here are a few things I've done in the past that have been a real hit in our home:

A Matzo house by the river:

The house can be a little tricky considering Matzo is a bit brittle, but with the help of super strength glue and double layers of Matzo for the walls... you'll be able to pull it off for sure! I found it helpful to build this house on a piece of cardboard for added strength and movability. I put a wall in the middle of this house to support the ceiling and made the inside layer of Matzo wall short enough to hold up the ceiling as well. Then I put frosting on the seams for added color. The "river" is made from oven-bake clay. Just a quick flattening out of the clay and then drawing up the sides to create a form that will hold water. I put this whole creation on a cheap cookie sheet so I made my "river" to fit where I wanted it on the sheet. *When we got to the "river turning to blood" of the telling of the 10 plagues, we added a drop of red food coloring for dramatic effect!:)* For extra fun, we added bushes of parsley, and rosemary trees (just Superglued on)... The little pebbles you see are made of broken up clay, but any tiny pebbles would do! I apologize for not having more photos to show... Blogging about it was an afterthought.;)

So for your

Supply list:  

scene stage (cookie sheet, board, etc...)

Piece of cardboard

A couple boxes of Matzo bread

Super glue

frosting (colored)

Oven-bake clay

pebbles (optional)

Herbs (optional)

red food coloring

water

                                                                                                                                                                           

Next up is our Tomb with the rolled away rock!!\0/

I used terracotta oven-bake clay... again nothing too crafty - just a simple rolling out of the clay, placing it over an oven safe dish (I used a kitchen bowl), cut out the door, flatten the edges to a cookie sheet so that when it's baked it will hold itself up, *if you go too big it may break under it's own weight, but it can be easily Superglued back together.  I wanted my "tomb" to have a floor that I could place a solar light into from the bottom on the "third day", so after I formed and baked the "tomb" I shaped the "floor" taking into consideration how thick the solar light would be once in place and giving the necessary lift to the clay floor during baking. Before baking make sure to make a hole for your light to poke through.  Then the door - it's just a flat piece of clay, big enough to block the entrance. Once all the different pieces were baked and in place I surrounded the tomb with dirt and pebbles(made of broken white oven bake clay, but you could use real pebbles if desired), but I also mixed in every imaginable spice from my spice cabinet, adding in an aromatic element to the display. Next came the parsley bushes, rosemary trees, and a couple of asparagus tops for good measure. If you are going to place your solar light in on the third day, be sure when placing your "trees" that lifting up the tomb for the solar light placement won't be a horribly aggravating chore... You may be able to find a light that is in two different parts so the solar panel could stay separate from the actual light while you decorate... I just used a small, inexpensive solar light from our walkway. The dark picture is showing the solar light in action!!;)

Supply list:     

Terracotta oven-bake clay (depending on how large your display will be you may need quite a few boxes of clay)

Solar light

dirt or sand

Pebbles (white oven bake clay is shown)

Parsley "bushes"

rosemary "trees"

Spices (to fragrance and color the dirt and clay)

If you do end up making either of these, I'd LOVE to hear how it goes!! 

Praying you and yours have a very blessed Passover!! Shalom! 

Go into the water as a slave but come out as a free child of the LIVING KING

Your struggle is BIG, bigger than I probably could ever imagine. And although my imagination could not comprehend it, my Spirit knows all about it... And right now I want to wash your feet with my tears - tears that are falling because of your hurt. And I want to testify to you - I've experienced the release of that struggle; and how the door to those floodgates were opened for me... 

Almost right at a year to this date, I was getting ready to go to our Sabbath meeting... had just gotten out of the shower and was drying my hair... I was so excited about this Sabbath because one of my dear friends/prayer partner was coming and we had been given permission to pray over some one that day... and His joy was bubbling up inside me...excitement was making my heart race... 

And then the adversary came... 

He said "what about this...?" He showed me the things I had been struggling with recently.
"I'm over that. I let it go. I claimed Yahweh's power in that matter and it has no hold on me!"
"Really? Sure looks like it's pretty weighty to me.."

And sure enough I felt that weight - it had been there all along, but I was trying to skip over it... "I've claimed Yahweh's forgiveness in that... I no longer blame anyone for that... I've no longer made any justification for that... I've looked it straight in the eye and told it to leave. It's gone. It's done."

And I started to focus again on the joy that was in me, and praise songs were coming to my mind... And then Yahweh brought the thought of being immersed or Mikvahed or baptized to my mind again... My good friend who was coming that day, had weeks earlier mentioned to me that she felt she needed to ask me if I had been immersed/Mikvahed... studying the Torah we learn all about how the women were to Mikvah every month and how whenever the people went into the temple they went through a Mikvah... Jesus gave testimony to it when he was "baptized" by John... I had been "baptized" when I was younger in a baptismal at church... but through our studies we had been learning that this immersion could be done as often as Yahweh led one to be... I had told her that I felt I should, had felt so for a long while, but just hadn't acted on it yet, but would definitely make a point to do it this summer, etc. 

So there I am getting ready, already showered, my hair is almost done... and Yahweh brings the Mikvah(a gathering of water... for me it's our pond) to my mind... I said, "surely you don't want me to do that now... this is just emotion from all the excitement, right?" Yahweh brought to my mind the instance I first felt that I should be Mikvahed or baptized in the muddy water and then said, "Nothing has changed from that time til now." 

Nope, guess not... so I set down the hair dryer, slipped on my swimming suit, and flip flops and headed for the pond... *And just in case you're thinking it was just whimsical emotion or guilt leading me there - let me assure you that there's 1,001 reasons about being immersed in a pond in the beginning of April in South Dakota after I had just showered and dried my hair that would've dried up any emotion or guilt I may have been feeling...* It's a little ways but not too far from the front door of the house to the pond, and all I heard while I was walking down there was that encouraging small voice saying "Just keep going, don't stop." And honestly I didn't want to stop... I felt the experience drawing me in - I probably would've ran there if my flip flops would've allowed. I got to the edge of the water and never broke stride... finally I was a little over waist deep in the cold, muddy water...
...up popped my flip flop... I was struggling to put it back on and Yahweh said, "This isn't a performance".
You're right. So I tossed my shoe onto the shore and bent my knees, plunging myself underwater... the dark, cold water was all around me... then I burst through the surface - flooded with sunlight and breath... As I made my way to the shore and up the path back to the house, the smile on my face that could not be wiped away, the feeling that I could fly if only I had wings, made me realize I had left something in the water that day... I had left that weight. It was gone. That joy I had been feeling, was no longer being filtered through that pain - it was pure, and abundant and saturating - NOW I was free! 

See Yahweh had forgiven me before the foundations of the earth were laid, but my flesh had been hanging on to the guilt and pain of that circumstance, and not letting that floodgate open... Maybe before I had cracked the door, to let a little seep in, but now the struggle was over!

Sometimes we can't forgive ourselves or other people or circumstances... we let ourselves get trapped in that bondage... the trappings come from justifying ones actions, from blaming someone else, from wallowing for a while on that hurt, letting it become our personna... pretty soon someone comes along and says "Just let it go!"
~Yeah, right - I'm in a prison cell without a key! 

Know this, never ever, ever forget this - Yahweh wants you to be free!! He is not weighing you down - NOTHING is separating you from the love of Yahweh. It is right there! Don't let it be filtered through un-forgiveness, or pride, or shame, or guilt, or anger, or animosity, or pain - RUN to that muddy water!! Leave that weight in the grave!! Be free!! Experience that joy that is not produced by circumstance - WHATEVER you are going through Yahweh will flood you with what you need to get through it! Peace, joy, love, forgiveness, compassion, strength... it's there for the taking! He never wants you to hurt in your spirit! He wants to give you unstoppable life without any limitations! He wants you to praise as David praised! Dance as David danced! He wants you to feel the compassion that Jesus felt! He wants you to feel the LOVE that Yahweh feels towards you!
If you are feeling as I did, where my guilt and pain had been dealt with, but it was still a weight - PLEASE, please run to the Mikvah and leave it there. I don't know why muddy water makes us clean, or why the blood makes us white as snow - but Yahweh does! This isn't a baptism of salvation, this is a surrender of the old to walk only in the new! If you are feeling Him drawing you to be immersed, remember this - it is not a performance, it's not a ceremony... Do as Moses and the Israelite's did - go into the water as a slave but come out as a free child of the LIVING KING!

His love is worth giving up the control or power others lording over you have....

Have you ever had one of those "friends" that seems to come across as having those super high standards of "coolness"... Making fun of those different than they are, getting others to join in on the belittling of someone else, setting themselves high on that pedestal, you feel yourself walking on eggshells around them so as to get their public affirmation, because their defamation would seemingly kill your soul... That type of friend doesn't deserve the power you are giving them... The creator, God of the universe, is madly in love with you - not because of what you've done or will do, or who you are or who you will be, not even because He created you...but because you are - you! No one else has ever lived the life you are living, endured the struggles you've endured, enjoyed the joys you've experienced, loved the way you have... You are perfectly unique in every way!! When you really experience the absolute fulfillment from receiving the love your Creator is pouring into you - you won't need anyone else's affirmation... You'll know how unconditionally loved you are... Sometimes in order to feel that love, we have to release the control that those whom I above mentioned, have over us... How can you feel Him loving you if you are so afraid to be who you really are? How will you feel Him love you and all your imperfections if you don't accept that those imperfections are a part of who you are... He doesn't love your pain or where you are hurting, He loves loving you through it... Similarly to a mother who loves her child in the womb, through the birthing process, and then as a child to be nurtured on the outside... Never once was that being unlovable, undesirable, unwanted to that loving mother - how much more so must the One who knew you before you ever entered that womb love you?! His love is worth giving up the control or power others lording over you have. Turning the other cheek is definitely an attribute of our Abba Father, but unless He is calling you to be in the boxing match - get out of the ring... It is ok to stop making mean people popular, because then it stops making it popular to be mean... I have been cruel and unkind on many occasions - smacking people with a popular opinion in my circle so to bring them low, beneath my standards... If you've ever been the recipient of my cruelty, I want to say now how very sorry I am, and ask your forgiveness. Because I know that the Creator God came to earth and lovingly humbled Himself to wash His loved ones feet, I know who I am supposed to esteem myself over, and the answer to that is - no one, ever. That doesn't mean that I have to berate myself in order to show myself lower than others (a form of false humility). But be truly humbled by His love, because true humility comes from knowing He loves all the way to the deepest and darkest parts of me, and He loves to the highest extent of my possibilities - and even though I'm different from anyone else the amount in which He loves is exactly the same - He loved Peter and He loved Judas and He loved them exactly the same. Can you see how purposeless it is to be lorded over or to lord over? He loves you abundantly above what you could ever ask for or even ever think possible... Relinquish that control, He has set the captives free!

A Real Human Rights Violation

When history is written, decades possibly centuries from now, the human rights violation that is abortion will seem just as outrageous and horrifying as the human rights violation that was slavery seems to us today. Comparing the two propaganda campaigns, you’ll notice the eerie similarities:

“They have no rights. They’re slaves… some if not most were sold by their own people.”

vs.

“It’s the mother’s right to choose. It’s her body.”

“If we don’t have free labor, infrastructure will suffer.”

vs.

“A woman cannot be chained down with the shackles of motherhood simply because she becomes pregnant.”

“We cannot free homeless, jobless, ill-educated slaves into society - it will bankrupt our country.”

vs.

“The unwanted pre-born without the option of abortion would flood our already overcrowded, understaffed foster care system…”

“We parade the slaves naked in the streets to show their best selling points. We force objects into their anus when they’re excreting waste uncontrollably to finish a sale. Their is no living condition too harsh - they're only slaves.”

vs

“We decapitate the developing fetus, sever limb from limb, and then suction out the pieces. We induce labor, and inject salt water into the amniotic sac, melting the developing fetus. There’s no method too inhumane - they're only unwanted babies." 

History is repeating itself… What side will history remember you on?

Happy Hanukkah (a few months late)

There’s been so much conversation lately about the “Justice” of God… What He allows, what He permits… What is Godly… What’s the difference between the god of the Muslims and our God if they both permit "war", etc… When we think about the flood, or the complete annihilation of the Canaanite people (man, women, and infant) or how the Levites were told to go kill there friends and brothers as sort of their initiation into the priesthood, along with other examples... our first response as believers is to excuse it somehow (CONTEXT!!), say it wasn’t actually permitted by our God, or that He was the God of the Old Testament, but now we have Jesus... They’re not at all things we as 21st century westerners like to think fit the resume for an all loving, all knowing, creator God… I’m reminded of an image from the HBO John Adams series where John Adams has gone to France and is trying to argue a just, real world cause with these people who are made up from head to toe in ridiculous outfits and makeup, sitting their all-too-fragile bums and egos on the finest puffed furniture… You can sense the irritation of the John Adams character as he’s trying to establish a thought into the minds of these colorful peacocks who seemingly have no concept of a real world struggle… Now am I suggesting that our culture/society hasn’t seen enough difficulties and trials and strife to be able to conceive in all our wisdom the image of a just God who enacts justice in ways that we would not deem appropriate? Yes. Yes, my fellow peacocks, I am suggesting just that. The argument boils down to - would an all-loving God permit violence? But then with the same brain we all scream - "justice must be served on the white bigots who permitted slavery!!” The American Civil War ring a bell to anyone? A war where the country was washed in blood, brother against brother, and then the heart of the nation was turned… "Well, God didn’t want that, He didn’t want justice served that way it’s just how our feeble brains constructed a solution", you may say. Of course He didn’t WANT war, but He DID want the abuse of a race to stop ...and mind control wasn’t an option. I know slavery was not the only issue fought over in the Civil war, but perhaps you can see my point. See, it’s not God who has an egotistical, bloodthirsty agenda, crushing the weak… it’s humans who have that problem. I can hear a great number of you yelling “YES! A conservative finally admits that the US is war hungry, clinging to guns and violence”. Um. No. There are US citizens who eerily stereotype and pledge violence on anyone who threatens them, no doubt about it. There’s people all over the world who stereotype, and pledge destruction toward persons whom they find inadequate to deserve life. It’s a human nature problem caused by greed and pride and it has plagued the human race from the beginning of time. This very problem is what brought about God’s Law in the first place. There were those that would not follow the Law… the call for humanity to be the best version of itself… many wouldn’t concede to it, they wanted what they wanted, they wanted to be their own god. They died. What an egotistical, blood thirsty monster of a deity, preserving the humble and the weak like that… Right? If God doesn’t permit the death and suffering of people all over the world, then our God is quite the weakling losing against whomever IS permitting it… OR every life who suffers and/or dies or any life who is blessed, free of conflict, both innocent and guilty, brings about the will of God. Why? Because He loves us that much. Who is guiltless? Who is holy? Who is just? Who is all-loving? Who is all-powerful? Who is all-knowing? Who is everywhere at all times? When you meet those qualifications, you can say what is permitted and what is not. So here’s the bad thing about throwing out the Law of God - you’re left to your own inclinations. Yes, God permits war and justice against those who murder, and oppress, and preform every act of evil against others… You know what that understanding does to me? It makes me not want to murder and oppress or preform any act of evil against another… because I’m so terrified of an all-powerful God? No - but because I am aware that He is just, and that He abides by a code of ethics so holy that I will not be permitted to hurt another person without reaping the consequences. And I am pretty ok with that. Therefore am I a person clinging to my guns and religion? Are you asking if I am a murderous villain who hasn’t perpetrated my offense as of yet, but feel I am justified in doing so by the will of a god? Then my answer is “No”. Do I believe in the Law and the Justice of the Creator God - Yes. Do I believe that if I in any way violate that law whereby hurting or violating another person unjustly, that I am then subject to possibly punishment to the full extent of that Law and the only Being completely in control of my sentencing is God - Yes. Do you know what identified a group of people as being "just and civilized" all throughout the scriptures? It was nations of peoples who had “the fear of God” in them. Can you see a difference between that, and a people who perpetrates violence or acts of terror in the name of a god including ALL peoples throughout the generations who fit that description? Why would the just and civilized fear God if they didn’t think justice would pertain to their actions? Does perfect love cast out fear? YES! Because I don’t have to fear anyone who fears God! And neither do you. "What of God’s laws which permit stoning of the adulterous or sexually immoral, etc" you may ask. What keeps me from throwing the stones or killing the abortionists? Let me ask you this - can you see a difference between an “honor killing (a killing enacted upon a person said to have brought disgrace to a family - the family wants retribution - to look good in society again)" and the killing of someone who is hurting someone else? Because there is a HUGE difference. Let me ask you another question - do you see people who do abide by the Torah or God’s Law killing in mass numbers adulterers or murderers? No, you don’t. There’s not stoning in the streets of Israel or in the Jewish communities throughout the US or ANYWHERE around the world. Why not? It would be fully justified by God who is the only One who in the end matters anyway… Here’s why - it only took a few generations for them to realize that their actions had consequences…. and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction… You can stone someone for their transgression of the law and then you will be stoned for your transgression of the law. So in the end we all die. A truce basically is drawn. That’s how it ends for those who don’t believe in a Savior or a Messiah. When you DO believe in a Messiah, you know He sees you no less guilty then the vilest of vile and He covers you and He covers them - no need for stoning. Ah, then we should just let terrorists kill everyone because God loves them just as much, right? Or we could realize the devastation that is caused when humans become their own self-serving god, and end their ability of further devastation and destruction in accordance to God’s law - in essence it's self-defense fully justified by the Law. We as a nation can lay down and die or we can defend ourselves… both examples given in the scriptures, both acceptable under the law. What we pray for is that God’s will be done.  
So here we are at the yearly celebration of Hanukkah, a celebration of a military victory ordained and blessed by Yahweh which brought about the reclamation and the rededication of His Temple so that He could be born into the Jewish seed proudly proclaiming the righteousness and justice of a loving God emphasizing His unbroken code of conduct. And that also is pretty ok with me. Happy Hanukkah;)