prodigalministries

Regardless which day you chose to observe Passover, this coming ‘first day of the week (sunday)” will be the Raysheet Omer, the Day of the Wave Offering, or early first fruits as it is called by some, and the beginning of the Counting from The Omer. And Who is ‘The Omer’? That would be Yeshua of Nazareth that came in the flesh, the Promised Messiah of Israel. And we count down 50 days (Jubilee, restoration) which is 7 full weeks as well as 7 sabbaths, and then, the day after the 7^th Sabbath, is day 50 and known as Pentecost or Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks. And it all begins on the day we know as the day of the Resurrection, for on that day Yeshua presented Himself to our Father as the wave offering, the ‘raysheet omer’ – the First or Primary Sheaf – that you and I can be accepted/acceptable to our Father.

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the ‘raysheet omer’ – ‘the first and beginning sheaf’ of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹ ‘And he (the priest) shall wave the sheaf before YHVH for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.” (Lev 23:10-11)

“Yeshua said to her, “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and the things He said to her. ¹⁹ When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Yeshua came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”” (John 20:17-19)

So as we anticipate the beginning of the ‘Counting from The Omer’ and the countdown to the 50^th Day, may we see and understand that the process of restoration (Jubliee) began with Yeshua, and the ‘two leavened loaves’ of Pentecost/Shavuot (the two sticks, the two donkeys,) can and are brought together and deemed acceptable to our Father ONLY by and because of the Raysheet Omer – Yeshua of Nazareth that came in the flesh, The Promised Messiah of Israel. Shalom –

AT each of our area-wide group meetings we highlight a Biblically-based, evangelistic and benevolence outreach ministry work and ask you to support that work financially. In December it was Crucified Life Ministries. In February it was homeless outreach, both locally in central Kentucky as well as in Missouri. At our Passover seder tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, we will be gathering funds for One For Israel Ministry, an evangelistic and humanitarian outreach ministry in the land of Israel. There will be opportunity for you to to help assuage the expenses of the meeting itself, but the primary giving focus will be One For Israel Ministry. If you would like to support their work but cannot attend the seder tomorrow evening, you can mail your support to them directly. Their US mailing address is on their website at www.oneforisrael.org
For more information, you can contact us by email, facebook or here on our blog. . Shalom –

For those that keep The Passover or have attended a seder, a Passover service, perhaps you have seen or are familiar with what is known as ‘The Cup of Elijah’. Many traditional jewish seders will have a place set for ‘Elijah the Prophet’, and there are many that will not, and the reasons for or against are as varied and different as there are sects within Judaism. But in the midst of all the debate and discussion concerning the ‘whys’ and ‘why nots’, there is one underlying theme on which most will agree – Elijah precedes and heralds the coming of HaMoshiach, The Messiah, a belief that is supported by Scripture.

If you attend the Passover service within the ‘believing’ community, (those that believe in and accept Yeshua of Nazareth as the Promised Messiah)  you will find much the same variance concerning ‘Elijah’s Cup’. Have you ever pondered the presence of a cup on the Passover table that ‘anticipates’ the coming of the one who heralds the coming of Messiah? And Yes, we are aware that perhaps ‘Elijah’ or at least one in his spirit and power may very well precede Yeshua’s Return, but should we not be mindful of the message we project by the things we do? If we have taken on the traditions and customs of others, must we not be mindful of the original intent and purpose behind those traditions and customs? Is not that the reason many have walked away from long-standing religious and cultural traditions and customs because we have come to understand the original intent and purpose behind them? Should we not exercise the same ‘equal weights and measures’ in all these matters?

If Rhonda and I, as teachers and leaders,  set a place for Elijah the Prophet at our seder gathering (nothing against Elijah), what message have we projected to those from whence came the tradition and custom as well as to those not well grounded in The Scriptures? Are there not those, both native-Israeli and gentiles alike, that profess there is no Messiah or that Moshiach has not yet appeared? But What’s The Word Say?

“(The angel Gabriel speaking to Zecharias) “And it is he who will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”” (Luk 1:17)

“And He (Yeshua) answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹² but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.” (Mat 17:11-13)

So as we enter the season of Unleavened Bread (for in this season we were brought of bondage by the work of Messiah Yeshua), may we be mindful of why we do what we do, and, to consider the advice of one wiser than we are . . . ‘Preach the Gospel . . . use words when necessary . . .’  Shalom –

In the midst of all that swirls around us, He gives Peace like no other can give. Shabbat Shalom – J&R

Please pray for my Rhonda. She is battling a severe flu-like attack. Thank you

At the order of our President, the US has launched surgical missile strikes on specific targets inside Syria. There is and will be support, speculation, disagreement, fear, panic and ‘cries for more’ concerning this action.
Whatever the truth maybe, we are in a time in history that has been prophesied, proclaimed and anticipated for centuries. What comes next? Only our Father knows for sure, but there are hints in His Word.
What should we do? Pray . . . pray for our leaders that they are hearing the counsel our Father wants them to hear, for ultimately, it is His agenda that must and will come to pass. Pray for the safety and salvation of the men and women in our military. Pray for wisdom and discernment concerning the events of today and the days and weeks to come. Pray for boldness, strength of character and peace within. Pray that God will guard our families, our children and our children’s children. Pray that we can be Light to those in darkness in these days. Pray for the wisdom and resources and opportunity to prepare in the ways our Father would have you prepare for those things coming on the earth. Pray that our Father would join us together with like-minded believers that understand the times, that understand the priorities, and that understand the inevitability of those things that must eventually come. And, when we have done all we can do, STAND . . . Stand and see the Salvation of our God.
Are you prepared? Are you prepared spiritually? Is Yeshua the Lord of your life? If not, He wants to be. Are you prepared physically? And you can only begin to be prepared emotionally and mentally if you are prepared spiritually and physically.
AND IF . . . If, on the timeline, we are where we perceive we might very well be, we are at a time of the beginning of those events spoken of by the prophets and Yeshua in The Revelation. If we have just stepped out of a Jubilee and entered into the next 7-year cycle, that cycle could very well be the 70th week of Daniel and the times and events spoken of by Yeshua in Matthew, Luke, the Book of the Revelation as well as by the prophets of old.
AND,
if this is another ‘birth pang’ in this Kingdom-birthing process, then thank your Heavenly Father that there is more time and then Pray and Do that which we have mentioned here. For the times spoken of WILL come. And, if ‘the times’ do not come upon us, then we have done these things for our children and our children’s children.
So, in the meantime, PRAY . . . pray as Yeshua prayed . . . ‘Father, if this cup can pass from us, let it pass. But if not, Your Will and not ours be done . . . and remember Yeshua’s Words when He said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you . . . I am with you until the end of the age’. Shalom –

“And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day (Passover)  in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of bondage; for with a Powerful Hand YHVH brought you out . . .” (Exo 13:3)

“In days to come, when your descendant asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a Mighty Hand YHVH brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of bondage.” (Exo 13:14)

“And you shall tell your child on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what YHVH did for ME when I came out of Egypt (that place of bondage).'” (Exo 13:8)

So when our children ask us about this ‘passover thing’, what will we tell them? About what He did for others, or how HE brought ‘ME’ out of the bondage of sin by His Powerful Right Hand ?

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20)

Rhonda and I have not posted as many ‘tidbits’ this year concerning Passover and this season as we have in the past, due to lot’s of change and ‘busy-ness’. We were thinking back about roughly 16 years ago when our Father first started us on this portion of our walk. (It’s always good to remember from whence we come) ‘How do we do this stuff? How do we keep Passover? We don’t have a ‘hagaddah’? What are we gonna do?” And then the Ruach reminded us . . . most all of us have a ‘hagaddah’ and have had it for years. It’s The Bible.
What did our Father tell us to do? Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23 is a good place to start. We canNOT do it all, but we do what we can. And by NOT doing some of the things that are ‘place-specific’ or ‘person-specific’, we are literally being obedient and ‘doing’ what it says by not doing them. By the way, Genesis 6 and the account of Noah is ‘Passover language’.
And then, we have the order of service laid out by Yeshua . . . The Lamb, The Bread, The Cup – ‘as oft as ye do these things’ . . .and the backdrop of bitterness – ‘ye do remember The Lord’s death until He returns . . .’ The day of His resurrection was/is an appointed time of God, and it’s called early first fruits or ‘Raysheet Omer – The Day of the Wave Offering. Nowhere is it called ‘easter’. There is no meaningful resurrection without His reconciling death (Passover). Many in Scripture were resurrected. The Resurrection is not to be diminished, but there is only One Who’s death reconciled us to our Father. We are to remember His death – Passover – a pattern which was implemented in Exodus 12, a type and shadow of what was to come, and ultimately fulfilled by Yeshua and found in Him only.
Your HaGaddah? Genesis 6, Leviticus 23, The Apostolic Writings, just to mention a few. And in all those passages, we have yet to find an egg, a bunny, a basket, apples and honey or a cup for a man whom, ‘if you can accept it, has already come’.