Celebrating Passover

*Please note, celebrating Passover is not a necessity for salvation as that can only be obtained through Christ. It is however an opportunity to be in position for God’s blessings and align with His timing in our lives*.

Monday night I celebrated Passover with a family who used to be a part of our fellowship. The mom is Jewish and the dad is not. They have 4 boys by birth and 3 beautiful Chinese girls by adoption. We were quite a mix ethnically sitting around the table, but spiritually we were one and the same. I knew I needed to celebrate Passover because the Lord has been giving me such understanding of the importance of His appointed times with His people. I have celebrated in the past however did not have as much revelation before about what this celebration symbolized.

Passover is a time for the Jews to remember the Lord’s deliverance of their people (our people) from Pharaoh through Moses. After 9 plagues the Lord brought the 10^th plague which was the killing of the first born of each household. The angel He sent to kill these children would only pass over the door of those who had the lamb’s blood on it. Can you imagine the faith it would take for the parents to even put that blood on their door post? They did not have the understanding that that blood symbolized Christ’s blood, so maybe that request seemed a little ludicrous and flimsy at the time. But by faith they obeyed and spared their children (this is a great picture of how a parent’s actions affect their children). Unfortunately the Egyptians did not have the blood over their door posts and so that final plague was the “final straw” for Pharaoh. He let God’s people go.

I have read the story several times and even had personal application in my own walk with Christ, but this year God has hammered home that this season (Nisan, the Jewish month of March/April) is a season for deliverance. It is also a season for the manifestation of His covenant promises which is our inheritance.

I was excited even more so to celebrate with this family because the mom is a Messianic Jew and knew more about the customs of the feast. One of her sons is currently married to a Jew and is living in Israel. So we participated in a condensed version of the Seder. Because we know the Messiah has already come, we were able to meditate on Christ’s deliverance of us as slaves to sin. I was so grateful for all God has delivered me from, especially in this season. I was so grateful to partake in communion with His body and be moving in His appointed times for me in my life.

It is good to remember how far we have come. This journey can seem endless, and, well, HARD. But when I look back on how far I’ve come, He gets all the glory because I simply could not have done it myself. My sister in the Lord who is several years younger asked me how was I able to be obedient with specific areas of my life. How was I able to surrender? My only answer is “one day at a time”. Each day we move forward one step at a time. We have no idea what lies ahead. We have no idea what life will bring. But if we keep moving forward, if we keep persevering in His strength, we will one day look back and see the pathway of our deliverance. We will be like the children of Israel, who did not know where they were going, but only obeyed and walked forward. Their obedience led them to the Promised Land. I know without a doubt that ours will as well.

SHALOM