When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4Tonight we celebrated the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost. We had a dairy meal of Cheesy Lasagna to remind us of the promised land flowing with milk and honey. The idea was to let the kids stay up late. They made it to 10:30. Someday when they are older we will stay up all night. During dinner J retold the story of Moses and the ten commandments and the story of Pentecost.
After dinner we played Bible Trivia. L gets very discouraged that B can answer so many questions and she can't . Telling her that when she is 8 she will be able to do the same never seems to help much.
Then in keeping with the dairy theme it was banana splits for a late dessert. A homemade version with fresh fruit is so much better than what you get at a restaurant. We also watched the National Spelling Bee. This was not something that was in the plans but I really wanted the kids to watch just a couple of minutes of it and they were hooked instantly.
Now to clear up the question that J and I are asked constantly......"Are you Jewish?".
And the answer is.........No, but we are adopted into God's family by the Jewish Messiah. So now that I see it written down I guess we are kind of Jewish. Messianic Jewish that is. If J and I go and adopt a child from another country, from a completely different culture, and we brought that child to our home to be a part of our family would we then say,"You celebrate your holidays and we will celebrate ours." No, we would teach that child what we believe. They would become part of our traditions, our celebrations, and our memories. This is exactly how we see it in God's family. Many Christians don't like to think that the Israelites are God's chosen but I've got news for them, they were and they are. Thankfully God sent his Son to extend their salvation to us.
We celebrate the Feasts of the Lord and the Sabbath because God calls His people to. Jesus celebrated the Feasts. He also celebrated Hanukkah which isn't one of the original Feasts. The church you read about in Acts was celebrating the Feasts. There is evidence all over those first five books of the New Testament of the Feasts. It was the Council of Nicea who made decisions that has led the Church away from these great celebrations. So I ask, If Jesus celebrated these God appointed feasts why would His followers not?
Here is just a brief overview of the Feast of Shavuot and a few connections between Old and New Testament.
The Feast of Shavuot was to remember when Moses came down Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments and it was on the day of the feast of Shavuot that the Holy Spirit came down on the believers in the upper room and is recorded in the book of Acts.
Moses was on Mt Sinai for 40 days. Jesus was on the earth 40 days after he rose and before he ascended to heaven.
Moses carried the law written on stone while the Holy spirit wrote the Law on the believers hearts.
When Moses came down and saw the Golden calf 3000 perished that day. After the Holy Spirit came upon the believers 3000 were saved.
This is just a snippet of the awesome things to discover in the Lords Feasts. There will be more on this topic including the Sabbath later. Feel free to ask any questions.
Now to end with two funny B questions from tonight.
1.) Daddy, How long were their heads on fire?
2.) Why in the world would you name your son Ham? It sounds like a sandwich.(Referencing Noah's son's name.)
Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1 Corinthians 5:7
