Greetings,
We are now in Abib – the first month of God’s calendar. The 14th day of this month begins another round of holy convocations, which are designed to bring the plan of God to the forefront of our minds. We need to seriously contemplate our part in that developing plan. It is a vitally important work that is being done on this earth today.
It is a plan of deliverance. To some extent, the importance of that deliverance to each of us will depend upon whether we see the need to be delivered in a deeply personal way. One lesson we take away from the account of the exodus is the impact that living in Egypt had on the minds of the Israelites.
We are told that “… the Lord saved (delivered) Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians.” And although they “…saw the great work (saw the hand with which the Lord worked) which the Lord had done in Egypt”, they still held on to “Egyptian” ways (Ex. 14:30-31). Witnessing the mighty hand of God in rendering deliverance from the bondage and slavery of Egypt was not sufficient in itself to turn their minds completely to God.
It is almost inconceivable that they could have witnessed such fantastic acts and still have reverted almost immediately to complaining and contending with Moses. Even after they had entered into a covenant with God at Mt. Sinai they quickly turned to idol worship by molding a golden calf and declaring it to be the god that brought them out of Egypt.
The human mind naturally resists being delivered from the mindset of the god of this world. Such is the nature of deception. The human mind is deceitful above all things and the question for us is, “Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The answer is an emphatic “we can!” That is, if we hunger and thirst for such knowledge. We can if we want to. The reason we can is that our minds have been delivered from the bondage of a carnal mind. We, “were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) … But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2: 3-13).
Paul encourages those who have been delivered to “stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). We need to apply our minds to understanding the freedom and liberty we have. We are free from the power of Satan’s mind, which holds mankind in bondage. We must seek to see the leavened residue that Satan’s mind has left in us and remove it. Malice and wickedness belong to Satan and if we do not get them out they will hold us in the world we are supposed to come out of. That leaven is to be replaced with sincerity and truth.
We have been “… delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). Over the period of Unleavened Bread, let us embrace our liberty – our deliverance — and wholeheartedly and diligently seek out the leaven that surely still resides in our minds. God’s Holy Spirit will lead us to understand ourselves if we really want to see ourselves as God sees us.
Let us determine not to repeat the mistakes of our forefathers who failed to embrace the mighty hand of God as a permanent aspect of their lives. “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). If we resist the devil he will flee from us. If we draw near to God He will draw near to us. This is a good time of the year to contemplate these things.
Passover
Passover services for the Eastern US will begin at 8:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time – and will be streamed live.
Passover services for the Western US will begin at 7:45 pm Pacific Daylight Time – and will also be streamed live (Duarte service begins earlier).
A Passover service has been posted on the website under “Services.” This can be accessed at any time, but obviously the Passover service is after sundown on Sunday, April 9.
First Day of Unleavened Bread
There will be one service on the first day following the NTBMO and that will be at the usual time of 11:00 am Pacific Daylight Time.
Warm regards,
Brian Orchard
