3-27-2013 Yada Haggadah

   I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
   There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call--one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.       Ephesians 4:1-6

Adonai, I’m witnessing a growing interest by Christians regarding the Feast and Festivals; Seder suppers and Shabbat celebrations appear to be on the rise; discussions concerning the true meaning of Torah and its relevance today are increasing. Sensitivity and attention to the country of Israel is increasing: What’s happening Lord, what is this Spiritual energy that is appears to be on the increase?

You continue to amaze. Just as You’ve awakened me to the incredible correlation of Your physical birth with the season of Hanukah; now You are broadening my understanding of the parallels between Passover/Pesach and the events leading up to Your Resurrection.

For those of the Jewish faith, there were several covenants You offered in return for their devotion. Among those covenants – You promised them a Land, You assured they would continuously multiply in number; You distinguished them by establishing a separate and distinct relationship with them, unlike any other on Earth.

And then through them, You became a man so that You could not only live with all of mankind, but also die for them.  It’s all written out, it’s all historically and spiritually set in stone. Not just a once-a-year Exodus story for Jewish children to hear, but a Universal Haggadah (a telling by You) of Salvation: From Genesis to Revelation; to the all of us – Jew and Gentile alike – for the choosing.

Master, I now see the vastness of Your plan and can no longer ignore or diminish the significant bond I share with my Jewish brothers and sisters. Without their messianic roots for Your created vine, I could not, would not be grafted into Your love. Without my witness of personal redemption; how can they see that You have indeed already risen for them as well? You never intended to save only a particular people or culture. But You did create a partnership with Israel’s decedents in order to demonstrate how anyone willing to obey and follow can be reclaimed to a relationship with You.

Elohim even in the midst of realization – recognizing the increased positive dialogue emerging among Your chosen – I sense spiritual confusion in the wind of our time. There is a growing effort on the part of some – in the Jewish, Christian, secular and para-faith communities – to create hostility and resentment within our ranks. They would minimalize the significance of all Your covenants through all time.

Is not the word “everlasting” symbiotically infused to Your agreements just as Your first people are bound to You? How can we depend on future eternity with You if we can’t rely on Your historical assurances?  

Which brings me full circle, El Shaddai – As Patti and I reach out to others about our hopes for a second mission trip to The Land, we have come to realize that we’re not the only ones in our community who are being convicted. Others’ eyes and ears are being opened to reconsider the relevance of Your first chosen people in relation to all Your chosen people; reaching out to better understand the connections, rather than the separations of faith between Jew and Christian. So many people we know are stirred, just as others were spiritually uplifted by the events of Your birth in a cave, and Your resurrection from a cave. Whether, skeptic or believer, Jew, Christian or other; none can deny the power of the message: There is a God who actually cares and He has a plan for redemption – choose to seek Him deeply or reject Him and perish.

Your message for me through all of this, Lord? I hear You saying loud and clear – “Now is the time. Experience the Telling…Yada Haggadah ! Honor all my covenants with all my people. Remember the order of them; remember My purpose and love for them just as I remember My purpose and love for you. Do it now, do it always.

You are at work Elohim, no doubt about it – just as in ancient days doorways were being prepared for Your power to reveal itself, so You are now telling us to unite as one family for Your return. The only question that remains – Are we ready, individually and as one people, to receive our King?

Adonai, Ahnee Yada, Adonai Ahnee Yadah (You Lord, I remember, You Lord, I praise),

Mark C.