My Experience in High Places

The Flatirons in Boulder, Colorado

Soon after I began my walk in the Torah I started a new job in Boulder at an up and coming graphic design firm. Working in Boulder was exciting for me because when we first moved to Colorado from Texas, Boulder was our original destination; but once we arrived, we found out how expensive it was to live there so we ended up in Westminster.

Driving to Boulder every morning was breathtaking. When I didn't take the bus I would drive through the backroads so I could see the morning sun shining on the Flatirons. I'd often pull over just to gaze at the mountains. During my lunch break I would walk up and down the Pearl Street mall and visit the eclectic shops or I'd stroll through the nearby neighborhoods and enjoy the scenery.

I found out that a Messianic Judaica shop, called High Places, had relocated from Estes Park to Boulder. When I found out where it was located, I would sometimes walk to it on my lunch break and eat my lunch as I browsed. One of the store owners, Elizabeth, would point me to books and music that she thought I would like. She was a kind lady. I would talk to her about the Messianic Movement and the Torah. I often encouraged her to consider making a website for their store; at the time there were very little Judaica shops online, not to mention Messianic ones. Unfortunately, the store didn't stay open very long. I remember driving up one day to find the store closed down. I would later run into Elizabeth at various Messianic events in the area. At one event I found out that her son, Toby, had recently joined FFOZ. I didn't have any interaction with Elizabeth after that, but when I think about my Boulder experience, she is part of it.

Elizabeth passed away last Wednesday. Yesterday I took a half-day off to attended her memorial service in Loveland. It was interesting to see the variety of folks there, Messianic and Christian believers, paying their respects to this godly woman who touched their lives. I was encouraged and moved by Toby's beautiful tribute to his mother. I was also encouraged to see the ways of God passed on from one generation to the next. Elizabeth's legacy will live on in her son's life and the lives of her grandchildren.



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Getting Back In The Swing

As a bi-vocational pastor (i.e., having a fulltime job in addition to overseeing a congregation) I've seen a pattern in the ebbs and flows of 'busy seasons' especially around the Moedim. This year, however, after Shavuot the busyness seemed to increase and hold at a steady, accelerated pace. I take this as an indication of a number of things: 1) my children are getting older, 2) our community is growing, 3) business is picking up.

As my children get older I have noticed that each of them are requiring more and more one-on-one interaction. This takes time and effort, which I will gladly give. The conversations are getting deeper, the questions are more thoughtful, and the bike rides are getting longer! There's nothing that can compare to spending time with my family.

As our community grows it requires more attention too. Delegating tasks is now a necessity if I'm going to get anything done, namely prepare a message for Shabbat. God continues to send folks our way and folks continue to step up to serve. We will be appointing deacons in the next month or so. This is an exciting step in the development of our community and an indication of the blessings of God on this local body.

Being in the HVAC business for the past few years I've come to understand the 'busy seasons' in this industry as well. When the weather gets warmer, the phone begins to ring off the hook. Thankfully we are gainfully employed with service and maintenance calls to businesses all over the Metro Denver area. Although I'm not a service technician and sit at a desk, I still feel the increase of work in our shop. Thank God for the heat!

Although I haven't made a blog entry over the past month and a half, I haven't been short of topics to write about, just the time to do it. There have been many things that I've wanted to address or comment on, but because more and more topics keep popping up every week, I may never get back to those thoughts. Oh well, I'll just keep moving forward and try to get back in the swing of things.



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Are You Growing Spiritually?

Sheaves of Wheat in a Field, 1885
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

It's been exactly one month since my last post. Lame, I know, but it's been busy around here. After Passover, everything seemed to pick up—park celebrations, Yom HaShoah, March of Remembrance, a birth in the community, Brit Milah, warmer weather, fixing bicycles, going for walks, yard work, other miscellaneous life events and then Sunday night was Pesach Sheni. In the midst of all the busy-ness we’ve been trying to keep track of the days as we count the Omer leading up to Shavuot. During the past 31-days we’ve been examining our hearts and our relationship with God.

Did you know that there are different theories on how to break and/or start a habit, whether good or bad? During this season of reflecting on our spiritual growth, I’ve challenged our community to use this time to break bad habits and start good ones. An example of a bad habit is watching too much television or movies, especially the inappropriate ones. What about spending too much time on facebook? These bad habits are horrible time wasters and in families, they can get in the way of spending time with each other and hinder the development of stronger familial relationships. But, when considering starting a good habit, focus on the ‘spiritual’ ones like praying and spending time in the Word. While positive ‘physical’ habits—like eating healthier or making better vocabulary choices—are good practices to have; let’s keep in mind that this season is about our spiritual growth. Let's use this time to focus on the strengthening of our spiritual life and our relationship with God.

FREE Download: Counting of the Omer Chart (PDF, 133 kb)



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We are Children of God, let's live like it

Our little Seder grew to 54 people.
Despite the size, all of us still had a great time.

I feel clean, spiritually. After a week of studying Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits, meditating on the Word, praying and worshipping with my MP3 player—I feel clean. In preparing a sermon for Pesach Shabbat, I began to look into the historical, typological and eschatological significance of Passover and their implication on our lives today. I imagined myself delivering a profound message on the typology and symbolism of the Seder; but, as I prayed, this was not the direction that I was led go. Throughout the week, a simple refrain kept coming to mind, “You're mine; live like it.”

The Passover Haggadah and the foods eaten during the Seder serve as a mnemonic devices which are designed to remind us of Who God is and what He did for the children of Israel. During the Seder, 4 Questions are asked by the youngest person present. These 4 Questions, which were developed by the sages as a response to Exodus 12:26-27, are the backbone of the Haggadah and the Passover story. The 'youngest person' who asks the 4 Questions represents the next generation who will take this ritual and pass it along to their children who will, likewise, pass it along to their offspring and so on. Once again we see the importance of a multigenerational faith in the preservation of the ways of God.

Because of the nature of the Moedim, no one festival can stand alone. They are all inextricably connected, in other words—they cannot be separated. Since Passover is the first festival in the cycle of the Moedim (Leviticus 23), it's significance and relevance to the other festivals cannot be easily overlooked. During the Passover Seder the story of the redemption of God's people is told as we follow the Haggadah. We are reminded of their freedom from Egypt where they were slaves to Pharaoh. We recount their deliverance through the signs, miracles and wonders of Yahweh. In their freedom, we can make a connection to the spiritual freedom from the bondage of sin that we experienced through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, Yeshua. Because of this, the Seder also serves to remind us of who we are—Children of God.

During the Seder dinner and throughout the seven days of Unleavened we are commanded to eat matzah, unleavened bread. During the season of Passover leaven is symbolic of 'sin'. Before the Passover Seder, we are commanded to rid our homes of leaven and likewise rid our hearts of spiritual leaven, or sin. This is an important principle to catch during this season because a sinful person cannot come into the presence of a holy God. At the Passover Seder we are reminded that God brought us out of Egypt, He delivered us, redeemed us and made us His people. During the seven days of Unleavened Bread we are reminded of the 'unleavened' life we are now called to lead as His chosen people. A life submitted to His Will. A life lived righteously based on the standards found in His Torah. We are His, we need to live like it.

As a symbol of rededicating our lives to Messiah during this season, we 'took a mikveh' on First Fruits. We immersed ourselves in the water and came out new 'clean' people. Like my son said, "we are being re-charged, like a battery" ready for another year and another cycle of the Moedim. During this Counting of the Omer season leading up to Shavuot, we purpose to continue to examine our lives and to continually rid our hearts of the 'leaven of malice and evil ' when we discover it. We want to be more like Messiah. We want to be vessels that the Ruach can dwell in. We understand that we are Children of God. We want to live like it.



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No Beitzah on our Ke'ara

A traditional Ke'ara or Seder Plate

A distinguishing characteristics between our Seder plate and a traditional Jewish Seder plate is the absence of the Beitzah, or egg. It has been our understanding that the egg was added to the Seder meal during the Babylonian captivity of Israel. The egg is a symbol borrowed from the ancient fertility rites and rituals of the pagan people in Babylon. According to the Chabad "a hard-boiled egg represents the holiday offering brought in the days of the Holy Temple. The meat of this animal constituted the main part of the Passover meal." (see The Egg, Chabad.org) In other words, the lamb shank bone represents the lamb that was slain for the Passover meal and the egg represents the Festival sacrifices that were performed on the first day of Passover or Unleavened Bread. We, however, understand that all of the sacrifices performed in the Holy Temple were types and shadows of Yeshua's death. Therefore, this boiled egg would be, in a way, symbolizing Him. For this reason we have excluded it from our Seder meals. We do not want to use a pagan symbol to represent our Messiah, nor do we want to use any pagan symbolism in the worship of our God.

Other items on the Seder plate that are not commanded to be there are the parsley (karpas) and the sweet apple mixture (charoset). The parsley is symbolic of the season; it is green and so is the springtime. The sweet apple mixture is symbolic of the mortar that the Hebrews used in building amazing structures for Pharaoh. These symbols are harmless and actually add to the Seder meal. The only items we are commanded to eat on Passover are the lamb, the bitter herbs and the unleavened bread.

Below are some related images for your amusement...

Beitzah - the roasted or boiled egg used
at a traditional Jewish Seder.

Kokkina Avga (Red Eggs) are a traditional food
during Easter for the Greek Orthodox Church.

Rabbits and the eggs are symbols of springtime
and fertility in many cultures.

Eostre - a Germanic pagan fertility goddess.
Notice the rabbits and the red eggs in her basket.

Related Articles:
The Egg in Exodus
By Yossy Goldman (Chabad.org)

Are the Symbols and Customs of Easter of Pagan Origin?
By Roger Patterson (AnswersInGenesis.org)

The Symbolism of Cracking Red Eggs on Easter
By Anastasios Papapostolou (GreekReporter.com)



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