Date: 31 March 2002

Shalom, Boker-Tov,

In recent weeks, there had been reports of violence in different parts of the world. In Pakistan (bombings of the church in Islamabad), in India (Muslim-Hindu violence in Gujarat State), in Australia (rioting by asylum seekers in northern South Australia) and in the Middle East (incidents of suicide bombings by Palestinian terrorists and the subsequent retaliation by the Israeli Army). And it looks like there will be a lot more violence especially in the Middle East. Will full-scale war break out over Israel's treatment of Mr. Arafat's Headquarters Building in Ramallah on the West Bank? And will the Hamas and Fatah groups, both with very close links to the Palestine Liberation Authority, return with more suicide bombings in retaliation against Israel?

As I looked at the events unfolding, I was reminded of what happened last year during the Feast of Pentecost. President Assad of Syria passed away of a heart attack and his eldest son Basher Assad became president in his place. And then there is the incredible ending of the Gulf War in end January 1991 exactly on the day the Jews celebrate the Feast of Purim (the feast was instituted by Queen Esther in celebration of the defeat of the wicked Persian Prime Minister who wanted all the Jews killed. Haman was hanged on the same gallows that he constructed to hang the Queen's uncle Mordecai). So we can conclude that there is a strong correlation between the feasts celebrated by the Jews and the victorious ending of conflicts/ violence in their favor.

Starting on Good Friday the Jews have three feasts taking place within a short span of time.
§ March 29th
the Jews gathered together to celebrate the Feast of Passover ( to the rest of the world, this would be Good Friday )
§ March 31st
they would be celebrating the Feast of First Fruits ( to Christians all over the world, they will rejoice at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead as they celebrate Easter ).
§ March 29 - April 4
the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the Jews would go through their whole house to locate any signs of leaven that may have been left behind and to cleanse the house of the sins committed.
So if the correlation between the Jewish festivals and the victory for the Jews were to be correct, something interesting will take place shortly and the results will surprise a lot of people.

The Feast of Passover is a very interesting celebration for the Jews because of what the Lord God did for them on their first Passover night when they were in Egypt around 1300 BEC. In Exodus 12, we read of all the specific instructions God gave to Moses for the people of Israel to follow and to avoid a death in their families. Each head of the household would kill a lamb under the age of one year and take the blood of the lamb and apply the blood on the doorposts of the house. In addition, he was to gather every one of his family and his servants into his house and together they were to celebrate the feast by eating the roasted lamb together. That night, when the Angel of Death passed through the land, He will see the blood on the doorposts of all the Jewish homes and He will pass over their homes and none within the hose will die. But in those households that did not apply the blood onto the doorposts, there were deaths of the first-born in their home - Egypt and Jewish alike.

On the night before the Passover, Jesus celebrated the feast with His disciples and it was during this feast that Jesus stood up, girded Himself with a towel and started to wash His disciples' feet. Now the washing of the feet of the guests as well as the people of the household was a menial job and reserved for the lowest slave or servant. And so Jesus gave us a picture of Himself; that He came to serve and not to be served. He deserved to be served because He is the Creator God Himself and yet He chose otherwise; He took the place of the lowest servant so that we can have His position as an heir to His throne. During supper His disciples argued among themselves who should be the greatest among them and Jesus reminded them in Luke 22: 27
"For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves."

Indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ came with a sole purpose to serve us and He did so right to the very end by dying on the cross for our sins. And after He had fulfilled the requirements of the Law, Jesus went back to the Father and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. And interestingly enough, the apostle John caught a vision of the risen Lord in Heaven in Revelations 1: 13 and gave this description of Jesus;
'and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.'

Jesus wore a golden girdle about his chest - a picture of a servant; a royal servant. Jesus is now in Heaven serving us as the High Priest before God the Father. He takes our prayers and He adds the sweet fragrance of the incense to our prayers and now our prayers can reach the Father and He receives them and answers our requests.

As we celebrate Easter, let us focus today on the Servanthood of Jesus our Lord. He did not have to come and serve us but He chose to do so and as a result of that service, we are now elevated to high positions of favor as sons and daughters of the Most High, God Almighty. Allow Him to serve you and to die for you. That was the real reason why Jesus came. Some people only remember Jesus in the Christmas story - that of the baby wrapped and laid in a manger. They forget that there is a continuation to that Life, that He grew up and serve the Father and us, His creatures, by dying on the cross. That was the ultimate sacrifice and the perfect gift to you and I. Everything that needs to be done had been accomplished there on the cross and now there is no condemnation for those who believed on Jesus and received Him into their hearts ( Romans 8: 1 ).

Have you taken that step of faith to believe on Jesus and to receive Him into your life? If you have not done so and want to believe Him, I would like to invite you to pray this simple prayer of faith to invite Him into your life: -
Our Heavenly Father, thank you that You love us so much that You gave us Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to come into this world and to die for our sins. Thank you that He became a Servant obedient to the end so that I can become a child of God, a joint-heir with Jesus in Heaven. He took my place of condemnation so that I am now no longer under condemnation.
Lord Jesus, I give you my life. Come in and live in me. Guide, bless, love and protect me in all things for I am now forever forgiven, greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely protected.
Thank you in Jesus' most precious and wonderful Name. Amen.

Welcome to the family of God.

The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 - 26