PRAYER OF REMEMBRANCE

Most gracious and good Heavenly Father, You are the God Who forgives and takes our sins away from us, as far as the East is from the West.

Because, it is by Your Grace and the Stripes of Your Son, we were healed and brought into the Kingdom of Your marvelous Light. 

However You’re the great God Who calls us to remember Your great deeds. 

You called on Your people to remember the Passover, where death passed over the Israelites in Egypt. It was on the Passover of 30 AD when Jesus became the Passover Lamb so that spiritual death can pass over those of us who believe and are born again.

You called on Your people to remember Your parting of the Red Sea so they can cross from bondage on their way to the Promised Land.

You called on Joshua to set up the memorial of twelve stones at the Jordan when they did cross into the land of Canaan, so they will never forget Your mighty deeds in the desert.

The Lord Jesus, on the Night He was betrayed, took bread and wine and instituted the greatest remembrance of all times, when He delivered the greatest memorial of all time- the Lord’s Supper!

Father, at a time where we remember the greatest sacrifice of those who died in the cause of Freedom since 1775, from the war against redcoat tyranny to present day, help us to remember that for their families it is not a time for cookouts and picnics but a year-long vacuum of their missing loved one at the dinner table.

Lord, we thank these true heroes, indeed, for paying the ultimate price as the Scripture says “greater love hath no man that he gives his life”.....for not just a friend but for a people, some of whom are not worthy of being in the same room as those who died for them.

At this time, as well oh Lord, cause us to remember that You are not only with us until the end, as in Isaiah 41:10 but we are to stand firm and not compromise in our belief in Jesus and why He called us. 

Cause to do as Psalm 16:8 says  “I keep the Lord in mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” 

Cause us to walk in the Spirit daily that we may recall at a moment’s notice today and always, all that You have taught us through Your Word and prayer.

Cause us therefore, to remember who we are; whose we are and where You saved and rescued us from, that we may remain grateful, humble and completely committed to You, all the days of our lives, now and always....and it is in the Mighty and Strong Name of Jesus we pray, amen. 

HOLY WEEK: FROM HOLY MONDAY TO "SPY" WEDNESDAY

This entire Holy (or Passion) Week was filled with stunning events which have stood the test of time for almost 2000 years. For it is on this week, that Jesus first over turned the corrupt religious High Priest Annas' money tables in the Jerusalem Temple on Monday, to the teach of the Parables and more on Tuesday (see below).

On the day before the Passover of Holy Week, which the Lord Jesus celebrated with His disciples, the Gospel of Matthew records the betrayal of Jesus by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. This day of rest for Jesus in Bethany, also saw the woman anoint His feet with the expensive jar of Alabaster oil.

On Holy Monday: 

Cleansing of the Temple  (Matthew 21:12-13)

Then Jesus went into the temple [d]of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

On Holy Tuesday: 

The Parable of the Two Sons (Matt. 21:28-32)

Then on Holy Tuesday, some of these same priests tried to lay a trap for Him. 

Jesus dispatched them with ease and proceeded to teach on The Parable of the Two Sons, The Parable of the Two Tenants, and The Parable of the Wedding Feast:

 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.  Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?”  They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants (Matt. 21:33-41)

“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants[c] to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 

Finally He sent His Son to them, saying, ‘They will respect My Son.’  But when the tenants saw the Son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill Him and have His inheritance.’ And they took Him and threw Him out of the vineyard and killed Him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will He do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give Him the fruits in their seasons.”

The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt. 22:1-14)

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying,  “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for His Son, and sent His servants  to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again He sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared My dinner, My oxen and My fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’  But they paid no attention and went off, one to His farm, another to his business, while the rest seized His servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.  

The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then He said to His servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.  Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’  And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, He saw there a man who had no wedding garment.  And He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen.”

ON "SPY WEDNESDAY"

JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS (MATTHEW 26:1-16)

When Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples,  “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,  and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him.  But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to Him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?  For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”  

But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to Me.  For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have Me.  In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare Me for burial.  Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests  and said, “What will you give me if I deliver Him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray Him.

READ MORE ABOUT HOLY TUESDAY HERE FROM THE BOOK OF MATTHEW 

(CLICK) ON BIBLE GATEWAY

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

PERSPECTIVE: THE RESURRECTION AND ETERNITY

TEXT USED: PSALM 90

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our refuge[a]
in every generation.
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from eternity to eternity, you are God.

3 You return mankind to the dust,
saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”
4 For in your sight a thousand years
are like yesterday that passes by,
like a few hours of the night.
5 You end their lives;[b] they sleep.
They are like grass that grows in the morning—
6 in the morning it sprouts and grows;
by evening it withers and dries up.

7 For we are consumed by your anger;
we are terrified by your wrath.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days ebb away under your wrath;
we end our years like a sigh.
10 Our lives last[c] seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
Even the best of them are[d] struggle and sorrow;
indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.
11 Who understands the power of your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear that is due you.
12 Teach us to number our days carefully
so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.[e]

13 Lord—how long?
Turn and have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love
so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen adversity.
16 Let your work be seen by your servants,
and your splendor by their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
establish the work of our hands!

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

RESURRECTION POWER -EASTER VERSES THAT CELEBRATE JESUS

Martina McBride had a big hit years ago called "INDEPENDENCE DAY" and the kicker line was "Let Freedom Ring". Nothing says that better than Galatians 5:1 where the LORD says "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery".

All of this Freedom and Independence and standing firm etc. are only possible because of one thing - The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the abode of the physically dead. He was NOT spiritually dead. He is God. The Resurrection, on the Third Day from His willing death on the Cross to remove the sting of death from us, is what makes it possible for us to live with Hope and Joy on this side of Eternity.

Easter Sunday, or Resurrection Sunday, is more significant than even Christmas because this is the one which immediately affects our own personal destination. Easter Sunday is celebrated almost the same in homes across the Western World, with minor cultural food or music differences. However the message remains the same - Jesus is alive, just as He said He will be!! There is never any doubt. God speaks, we listen.

As we have been doing over this past days, we present the Word of God in pure straight form, without comment, to show how the Bible not only speaks for itself but predicts with precision...even thousands of years in advance. With that in mind, here are some verses for us to be grateful, at this time when Jesus guaranteed our waking up into Heaven when we pass from this world to the next! Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me!

VERSES ON THE RESURRECTION - "EASTER IN THE BIBLE"

OLD TESTAMENT:

JOB 19
“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last, He will take His stand on the earth. “Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh, I shall see God (verses 25-26).

ISAIAH 26
Your dead will live; their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits (verse 18).

DANIEL 12
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. (verse 2)

NEW TESTAMENT: 

LUKE 24
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! (verses 1-5)

JOHN 20
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”  Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” (verses 25-26)

ACTS 1
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God (verse 3).

ACTS 4
And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.  And with great power, the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales (verses 32-34).

1 CORINTHIANS 15
After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles (verses 6-7).

There are many other verses, to which we should devote ourselves in Bible study, but suffice it to know that Jesus was not just seen by His disciples and the women who followed and ministered to His food and clothing needs, but 500 people in Jerusalem saw His physical body. Later, on Scripture tells us that even some of the Pharisees believed in Him. These were the same men who voted to executed Him!

The Apostle Paul, the great persecutor, and hater of the early Christian church had the most dramatic conversion to Christ. It is because of this stunning event in early church history when he was called Saul of Tarsus, that we have half of the entire New Testament.

The Resurrection changes EVERYTHING. Because Christ rose from the grave, and the Angel blew the stone away, then sat on it, as if to say "get a load of this", we are all set to be at the great "getting up morning in the sky". Glory to His Name! However, this can only happen if we are born-again and converted from the spirit of death and destruction to the instant we are suddenly indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God - the very same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead. It was for THIS Freedom, Jesus Christ set us free. Amen.
ROMANS 10:
if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth, he confesses, resulting in salvation (verses 9-10).

GOOD FRIDAY: PSALM 22 (PROPHESIED)...MATTHEW 27 (FULFILLED)

The Cross is the most popular jewelry item in the world. In the west, even secular people use them, for some reason or another.  Even bad biker gangs have insignia in the form of a cross celebrating- God knows what. To those living in the Roman Empire, 2000 years ago, the Cross was NO ‘fasthion statement”. It was a brutal instrument of torture, mayhem, and death which the Romans inflicted on their enemies, far and wide.

The most famous Person to be executed on the Cross was, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Were it not for Him, no one would know what crucifixion was, outside of a history class. Also, no one would know that it was the Sin of ALL mankind there – Jewish and Roman (or Gentile) which precipitated the Sacrifice of the God’s Son as the Propitiation (Satisfactory) payment for our sins

Almost 1000 years before Christ (BC) was nailed to the Cross by evil men on Good Friday, the very same words He would utter on there were prophesied and written down by King David, the poet/prophet/king of Israel.  It was not just the immortal statements uttered by Christ which came from Psalm 22,  but what actually took place from the point of view of God Who became a man – the Lord Jesus! It is a vantage point which believers, who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God Who moved the pen of David to write this, will immediately recognize. Jesus is literally describing what He physically experiences in this psalm, in graphic detail! it should make us cringe. It was our vile sin which caused this to occur.

Therefore, the vivid, heartbreaking, painful and incredibly horrific events are now presented, as remembrance – without comment – from prophetic Messianic Psalm 22 (written around 940 BC) in BLUE along with the actual fulfillment of these prophesies, from Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke in RED (of events from 33 AD).

PSALM 22:

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? - verse 1a

MATTHEW 27

About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? - verse 46

PSALM 22:

6 But I am a worm and not a man,  a reproach of men and despised by the people.

7 All who see me sneer at me;  they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,

8 “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him because He delights in him.”

MATTHEW 27:

41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

JESUS DESCRIBES WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FROM THE CROSS HERE:

PSALM 22:

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;

And You lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.***

17 I can count all my bones. they look, they stare at me; 

18 They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

MATTHEW 27:

35 When they had crucified him,*** they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

MARK 15

24  And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

LUKE 24:

34  Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Jesus then completed the Work which the Father had given Him to do: It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30b)

(Image Credits Here)

HOLY WEEK - THURSDAY: "TWO TRANSFORMATIVE EVENTS"

On the day which some call “Maundy Thursday”,  a series of significant events occurred which brought a new paradigm and way of thinking to those who aspire to be both leaders and servants of the Lord.  It was Passover, just as it is now, in 2017 around Good Friday. On the biblical calendar (which is different from the Julian calendar we used in today’s world – the one created by Julius Caesar), Passover is always on 14 Nisan 5777 (not the automaker Nissan, but Nisan – which was April 10th 2017 this year). Jesus had sent Peter and the disciples ahead to prepare the Upper Room for the Passover Seder.

The Passover Seder is much like what some of us, who are versed in these things, have done in various venues for years, with all the required elements. Except when Jesus is doing the Passover remembrance, it is the real deal! He is not just the actual Passover Lamb Himself, metaphorically speaking, but it was Christ Who led the Exodus out of Egypt all the way from when He met Moses on Mt. Sinai in the Burning Bush...and created the original Passover at that time.

Apart from the physical preparations for the meal, the strong undercurrent and tension of the previous few days events in Jerusalem, now packed with up to one million people for the Passover, weighed heavily in the air. Jesus, the Man Who preached peace, love and forgiveness was starting to reassume His eternal title of Divine Judge and had overturned not just the tables, but the same corrupt and evil order who had existed since the time the Magi (the Wise Men) visited Herod looking for the Christ Child. These Magi had seen the Star of Bethlehem in the East and followed it to find the baby Jesus in the Manger. Jerusalem was in uproar, knowing the prophesied Messiah had come to mess up their evil world order and now, 33  years later, nothing had changed. The worldly powers had seen first-hand, what a Righteous God can do. They still did not believe. The question is, if we were alive in Jerusalem, would be part of the uproar against Christ, or would we stand on the sidelines or would we have been all in? These are serious things to ponder, even now! Please do not think modern day Christians are incapable of acting just like some of these folks from Bible times! 

What happened during the meal carries deep significance for us Christians, and Christian leaders, alive today.  The one that is most talked about and emulated, is the actual “Washing of the Feet”.  I have been honored to be asked to be the recipient of this act of selfless humility and service, decades ago while attending a church in Hartford, Connecticut.  It shakes one to the core. It makes you feel completely unworthy and it brings home not just the symbolism of what Jesus – the CREATOR OF THE WORLD – did for this rag tag group of men who would abandon him less than 12 hours later, but what He actually did for us on the Cross.

The Ultimate Life Coach – King Jesus – basically did what He came off the Eternal Throne of Heaven to do. He did the job Himself. But in this act of washing the disciples’ dirty feet, He instituted the only acceptable form of leadership which is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. Listen to what He said here in John 13:12-17:
12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 

Jesus surely made these men uncomfortable by this act and they should have been. Just as Jesus shook up the world order for the sons of perdition, He was even more intentional about Kingdom Order for the few who are chosen then, and the many who will be chosen in the Kingdom to come.  When Peter recoiled, as maybe a lot of us would have,  He was told in no uncertain terms, that this is how it was going to be. In our own way of thinking, how would we have reacted to Jesus washing our feet? In a sense He already did. He washed us clean with His Supernatural Blood if we are born again and have accepted His Lordship in our lives!

The other significant event that night was the betrayal.  It was particularly noteworthy that everyone or most of the disciples thought that he was the one who was going to betray the Lord! In a sense, most of them did. They scurried away and headed for the hills as soon as King Jesus was captured by the bad guys, after their crooked treasurer Judas betrayed Jesus. 

All the disciples, from the rambunctious Peter who literally cussed up a blue streak while denying Jesus Christ three times to the fabulous sons of thunder, (minus John who wrote the Book of John), ALL abandoned the Lord. The beloved John the Revelator not only showed up at the Crucifixion, but stood next to Mary, mother of Jesus, James, Jude and other sisters and a brother. He was the only one spared an early death, but not persecution.

In a sense, we have all betrayed Him.  When one sinned – all sinned. There is no difference between Adam, whom God had personally instructed face to Face, standing next to his wife while she negotiated with Satan and then joining her in her sin….and the daily sin we commit, even as Christians. Sin is sin and missing the mark, big time. 

We also miss the mark when we do not stand up for Christ in the marketplace. A person very close to me and a group of new recruits of over 50 men and women stood before the local Colonel at their first military drills.  Out of the blue, the Colonel asked if anyone in the group was a Christian. Only one person put his hand up and it was that person whom I knew very well. Then the Colonel explained the reason he asked. He just wanted to inform them that chaplains were available for Christians and others if they needed.  It was as simple as that and not a call to join the Crusades. Still, while others may have said they were later on, the reluctance to even identify as a Christian in so-called “Christian America” is absolutely stunning.

When we pass on even stating who we are, in the marketplace, alongside our co-workers or even the classroom, because in the world’s opinion it is not the “cool thing” to do, we too run from Christ and hide like His disciples did. We are not saying that any of us would have sold out Jesus to the enemy for 30 pieces of silver or bitcoin. No real Christian would ever do that, but we have all kept silent when Christ has been blasphemed, maligned and/or worse. Most Christians – professing or authentic – are incapable of even explaining one substantial answer for the Hope that is within us, as Scripture prescribes because only 9% of Adults even know the Bible or have a worldview which encompasses the Real God of Heaven. Even less millennials are Biblical literate – 4% and declining (all current George Barna figures).  Within two generations, most young people will be completely lost to the world. There is absolutely no difference between any of this and what the disciples in scattering to the four winds. 

These are two of the most significant things which occurred in the hours (on the Thursday of Holy Week) leading up to the arrest and six illegal trials of the Lord Jesus.  Both have had significant impact, on not just the church, but has affected each and every authentic follower of Christ. Those who are wise, will rise and learn from this one incredible act of Jesus (washing of the feet) and the betrayal (the acts of men). May we be found wise in His Eyes and may our Lives be continually transformed into HIS Likeness and not the one which reflects this quickly perishing and fleeting age. Amen.

TRUE STORY OF PASSOVER IN DECATUR, ILL.

The Wonderful Passover story of Jesus was shown on Wednesday night March 14, scripture by scripture throughout the wonderful thread woven by God when He gave the Passover to the Israelites, upon their flight from Egypt.

That is the story I was privileged, honored and humbled to share with the wonderful packed house at the First Nazarene Church, Decatur. First Naz is well known for its openness to the foundational truth as well as outreach to the community via Discipleship classes and concerts by well known Christian artists like Casting Crowns, BlueTree and more!

Rather than completely follow the traditional Passover Seder order, which the Jewish people, who follow either the Law under Judaism or Grace under Yeshua (Jesus); I merged about 50% of the traditional portions of the Haggadah (or Order of Service) book and told the Story of Jesus the True Messiah (Yeshua the Maschiach) the rest of the way, from the Bible! It was such a thrill to show, through the customs of the Day to the prophetic from Scripture, how EVERY single element of the Passover relates to EVERYTHING we do in our churches today! I also used Powerpoint as the prohibitive cost of printing scores of books was not an option,

This alone should give us pause to thank the Great God of Heaven for His Mercy in choosing us, we poor Gentiles, to be grafted into the Family of Abraham. From the 10th plague to the Death of the Firstborn on the Cross; from the stripes on the Matzah bread to the cup which Jesus instituted in His Blood (the Communion Service).

Thank you to all who prayed for us. Thank you to the First Naz, Decatur Staff led by Pastor Tim Crump and to Darcy Morr forall her hard work putting together the entire ceremonial dinner. Thanks as well to Chief Petty Officer Roger Priestley (Ret.) for setting this entire project of love up, to bless the good folks of that church. Included in this article posts, are some of the photos from last night.


Shalom and Happy Pesach! I will write more about three key points of this message on Good Friday or the real Passover Date commanded by God - April 6 on our western calendar. Amein.

(photos by Roger Priestley)