Thoughts on Passover: Compassion and the Alleviation of Suffering

He whom the Messiah sets free is free indeed.

Happy Passover, Beloved. The year, from last spring to this one, has been Passover-like. The entire world hid away, house by house, waiting–hoping–for the death angel to pass over, skip the house, leave none dead.

But now we’re coming out of our houses. Passover last year and this year feel like hard covers on a book. We’re about to close that book.

I can tell you, based on the calendar, what comes after the dark night of terror and judgment.

Freedom.

Peace.

Humility.

Truth.

Health.

Redemption.

An invitation to move, walk into something new.

Stay or Go? These Things the Lord Commanded You

We’re all facing decisions about whether God is asking us to stay or go. Mission trips, weddings, conferences, Bible studies, prayer groups, grocery stores, neighbors’ houses–the smallest interactions in everyday life stop us short: Lord, do I stay? Do I go?

Torah Study Resource Links

Here are some resources that have been ministering to my heart this last year:

Beth Immanuel Sabbath Fellowship in Hudson, Wisconsin, has interesting articles, the best series I’ve ever heard on the book of Hebrews,

The Bible in 3-D

When I moved to Thornhill, Ontario, I remember seeing throngs of Orthodox Jewish families walking to synagogue as I was driving down Bathurst St. It was an ordinary day, overcast, unremarkable except that it was one of the strangest experiences of my life: as I looked at them, I saw scriptures in 3 dimensions! I saw Numbers 15:38 (tzitzit) swinging in the breeze. I saw the unmarred beards of Lev. 19:27. I was driving through a world where Exodus 20:8-11, the Sabbath, was not a tiny 2-dimensional square of text in an ancient book, but a 3-dimensional world. That 3-dimensional world became visible to me because those people were choosing to obey those 2-dimensional scriptures.

That’s the experience I think of when people talk to me about the law of God.

The law of God is not a curse (the curse of sin and death has been removed for us through Christ [Rom. 8:2]), not a burden (1 John 5:3),  and not too hard to do (Deut. 30:11-16).  Every God-breathed law implies a choice for someone somewhere at some time. In those moments when our lives intersect with one of God’s commands, we can choose to obey it or choose not to obey it. We can get the greatest possible spiritual potential from it, or we can disregard it. We can fulfill it or destroy it. We can bring the Word of God to life or close the book and make it of none effect.

We’re asked to do the word (Jam. 1:22). We hear it, believe it, and live it. May our understanding increase and may we see the opportunities God gives us follow Christ, to walk as Jesus walked in this world, to walk in all the ways the Lord our God commands us.

Lengthening the Tent Pegs

Sixteen precious souls attended our last Shabbat meeting. Friends, this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

The Sabbath

Well, it looks like I may, Lord willing, be given an opportunity to discuss the Sabbath with some people who have never heard that there be any Sabbaths for the people of God.

Where do I begin? And how?

My thoughts tend toward Genesis 2, creation, and God’s decree he introduced into the cosmos when he decided–despite what was already there and “good”–he would call the Sabbath “holy.” God made part of creation holy. God made a holy space in time. How cool is that? The physical and the divine intersect on the seventh day. Always. That blows me away.

A friend of mine really gets her kicks out of the knowledge that because day seven was a sabbath, neither the world nor mankind ever experienced a seventh day that was not a sabbath. The sabbath was not an afterthought, not a response to our busy, stressful lives, not a special gift for a nation that would come into being 2000 years later. It was made for man, and Adam and Eve lived their first full day on the sabbath.

Another friend thinks the Big Ten are the way to go. It’s not hard to demonstrate that there is no such thing as a “ceremonial” law.

I know the NT is used to try to nullify the Sabbath, so I’m rereading some of those passages, hence the post about Romans 14. Maybe I’ll make separate posts on each of those as I study them.

In the end, I know Shabbat is a heart matter like anything and everything that has to do with God. It takes the revelation of God. How many times did I say “I’m not under the law” concerning the Sabbath? I didn’t know. But God knows and God reveals and God gives grace.

Psst, Did You Hear That?

What?

The sound of nothing, the sound of raindrops and occasional traffic slicing through the mist on the roads, the sound of the sheer curtains billowing and brushing against the lampshade and then the screen, breathing with the fresh, cool air…

It’s been a long time since things have been this quiet around my home just a few hours before Shabbat. Our labor is over. It is finished.

We’re ready to rest.

Mexican Shabbat Lunch Menu

chicken with onions and peppers
salsa beef
Spanish rice
refried beans
tortillas
guacamole, sour cream
tomatoes, shredded cheese, sliced black olives, lettuce
salsa verde
Coke

10 Hours until Shabbat!

I’m running late! I started the bread machine this morning; I still have to roll & shape the dough; I haven’t vacuumed or cleaned, I haven’t grocery shopped, and I have to work today! Ah!

But, things are looking good: I woke up about an hour earlier than usual, made a new batch of dog food for my hungry pup, entered some grades for a campus class, finished grading most of the rest of that class’s work, graded an assignment for my online class, and caught up with the discussion list on my work email. Phew! Really, even getting the dough started this morning was an accomplishment! And all this got done besides getting the few dishes done that were left from last night–a step that is worked into my challah recipe. How could I complain?

I can’t, obviously. But I can panic!

Indian Shabbat Lunch Menu

I am always searching for Shabbos lunch ideas. I have some friends who come over each Saturday afternoon to break bread and read the Word and fellowship. Since we’re coming up with menus each week, I thought it might be helpful to post them for anyone else looking for menus week after week. Warning: these menus do not adhere to rabbinic milk/meat guidelines; thus, they are not suitable for those who wish to follow that beyond simply not cooking a kid in its mother’s milk, which is, of course, always good to avoid.

This week’s menu:
Lamb Curry with steamed white and brown rice
Mango Lassis
Spinach, tofu, and potato concoction
Naan with cucumber yogurt dip
Challah