Sing and Celebrate: Shavuot

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:35

Our long awaited package from Israel had finally arrived! Eyes glistening with tears, Rabbi Jem’s hands shook as he opened the carefully wrapped package. Tenderly, he lifted the precious 350-year old Torah scroll from its’ wrappings. Rabbi Jem and I unrolled the scroll and marveled at the soft dear skin parchment and the beautiful precision of the Hebrew letters. We both were overjoyed because the scroll arrived just in time for our Messianic synagogue’s celebration of Shavuot. How appropriate.

Shavuot celebrates two things. First, we thank God for His blessings on the first of the summer grain crops (barley). The festival reminds us that without Him and His provision of sun and rain, we would not have food. Second, we celebrate the giving of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) to the Jewish people. When this festival comes, there is great celebration because of our love and gratitude for the Scriptures. The giving of the Torah is God’s blessing, for the Word of God is our spiritual food. On the first day of Shavuot, we read the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20 to remind us of the Laws that give us Life. On the second day of Shavuot, we read the book of Ruth, which is the beautiful picture of Yeshua (Jesus), as our Kinsman Redeemer.

As Messianics (believers in Yeshua as Messiah), we also celebrate Shavuot as the day when the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) descended on the believers in Yarushalem (Jerusalem). In Acts 2, you will see how Jews from all over the world were assembled for Shavuot. The Spirit came down, appearing as tongues of fire upon their heads, and they all spoke with other tongues (languages). Thus, the Good News about Yeshua was given to people in their own language. Believers received the indwelling of God, and His Word was written on their hearts. He came inside the believers, and gave them power to be witnesses all over the world and to spread the Gospel (Good News). Thus, these believers were the First Fruits of the Ruach Hakodesh.

As Messianic believers, on Shavuot, we celebrate the giving of God’s Holy Word, physically, and the coming of the Word into our hearts, spiritually. Shavuot is a powerful, visual reminder that God’s Law is important to our lives, and that the power to live that Word has been given through the Ruach Hakodesh. No longer does it need to be hard to follow and obey God, because He, Himself, indwells us to give us the desire and the power to follow and obey.

That night, at our synagogue, we celebrated Shavuot and God’s blessing us with our own Torah scroll. Rabbi Jem explained how many years it takes a person to prepare to write a scroll, and how it can take an entire year or more to actually write. We were in awe to learn that a modern day scroll compared to a 1000 year old scroll would be exactly the same. Not one jot or tittle (the very tiniest Hebrew letters) would be different. We thanked God for His Word, and for the faithfulness of Jews who have preserved it for us.

Later, the scroll was carried on the shoulder of our very first congregation member. We followed behind, dancing and singing with joy, waving flags and banners, and rejoicing that God favored us by giving us His Torah, and that He lives within our hearts.

You can see pictures of our celebration of Shavuot 2009 at our website photo gallery:Ma'gen Da'vid Messianic Synagogue - Shavuot Celebration

I'm linking up to Spiritual Sundays

Bird Blessings

Jimmy Two Shoes

"Jimmy is hen-pecked!"  our hostess told us, pointing to a big, healthy looking rooster in a small pen separated from the other chickens.  "See his feet?  That's where the girls have been pecking at him."  Indeed, a closer look revealed his bloody, mangled feet as he scratched at the dirt.  I've heard the expression "hen-pecked"  all my life, but had never related it to an actual habit of chickens.  Hmmm.... I could sense the Holy Spirit speaking as I considered those chickens.

An impromptu visit to a local farm for free-range eggs led to an unexpected lesson today.  Jem and I were invited to go out back for a lesson in raising chickens.  Our host and hostess graciously showed us around their large chicken coop and shared a wealth of information.

Nora and her husband have only been raising chickens for three years, and have learned many things through trial and error.  For instance, some breeds are friendlier than others.  The Polish variety, of which they had several, love to be held and petted, but their eggs are quite small. The big Rhode Island Red hens lay large eggs, but are not friendly at all.

I found it fascinating to learn a hen lays more eggs in the summer than winter, and this is related to the more direct sunlight.  Most of the hens lay one egg every 24 hours or so.  Oh, and if you're not a farm girl like me, you may not know that the hens don't need a rooster to lay eggs.  They do, of course, need him if we want to have baby chicks!  Don't laugh!  Growing up in the city, there was a time I didn't realize this. 

It was Jimmy Two Shoes, the big rooster that taught me the unexpected lesson about being hen-pecked.  Our hosts explained that the rooster had to be separated from the "girls" because if left to their instincts, they would peck that poor rooster to death.

You know, I think that can happen with wives, too. Over my years of studying the Scriptures, I've learned how important it is to allow my husband to be the "man" and allow him to lead.  Also, we wives have a tendency to bring up certain issues again, and again, and again.  Hence, the hen-pecking attribute.  If  we wives persist in these behaviors, our husbands will just naturally separate themselves,  if not physically, then most certainly emotionally.

Yeshua said, "consider the birds..."  Once again, by doing just that today, I received another "bird blessing":  a lesson on living from my feathered friends.

The girls & Nora

Farm-fresh organic eggs

I'm linking up with Spiritual Sundays this week. 

The Royal Wedding Party

You are cordially invited to celebrate the wedding of William and Kate with us on Friday, April 29 at 11:00 am, read the beautifully crafted paper invitation.  Well, well, well, now this sounds like fun!

With only a week to get ready, my mind raced with ideas of what a real Royal Wedding party would be like.  My neighbor, who is from London, let me know that in the UK it is a tradition to have a block party on the day of a Royal Wedding, and she wanted her friends and family to experience one with her.

My husband, Jem, really go into the whole English theme, and spoke with a British accent for two days prior to the wedding.  (Yes, he's funny like that.)  He assured me that I really, really could get up at 5 am to watch the wedding on television, which we really, really did.  The wedding was beautiful, but nothing can compare to the wedding Princess Dianna put on.  I'll never forget seeing her arrive in that Cinderella carriage....but I digress.  Back to my neighbor's Royal Wedding Party.  It was one of the most pleasant occasions I've ever experienced, so I wanted to share it with you, my dear readers. 

I love any excuse to wear a hat!!!

Jem with his pith helmet & flag.  (have to represent the USA)

Flags were flying!

Little helpers.

Nose pressed up against the glass.

Beautifully decorated sugar cookies made by Lady Hannah

Real English scones 

Lady Hannah with Prince William's groom's cake.

Jack, our butler...he did a great job!

Three types of sandwiches, quiche, three cheeses and crackers.

Pretty cupcakes with real whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

English tea with milk in Royal Dolton cups.

Lady Dianna's favorite:  cold tomato-dill mousse with lobster on watercress.

The cookbook from which the recipes were taken.

Yes, William and Kate were there!

We'll have to borrow this to plan our trip to Great Britain.

We had a royally wonderful time.  Cheerio and pip pip!  G-d save the Queen and all that.  Keep calm and carry on...
Happy Mothers Day Ya'll.
I'm linking up to Spiritual Sundays