Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Meaning of Passover

"that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ So the people bowed their heads and worshiped." (Exodus 12:27 NKJV) After trying multiple ways to soften Pharoah's, and the Egyptians' hard hearts, God declared that their first born sons were to be destroyed. Pharoah and the Egyptian had mercilessly slain many Hebrews, now God was going to slay their first born sons. He told the Israelites to mark the head of their doors with the blood of a lamb. Then they were to stay inside while death passed by. The blood of the lamb represents the blood of the sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ. His blood was shed for us so that we might live. Here again, blood of the lamb is symbolically, and literally, shed so that we might live. It is only those that have genuine, undying faith that are passed over and given life. If the Israelites strayed from the protection of the blood, then there life was in danger. It was on them to do as God instructed and wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord. The celebration of Passover is a time to remember all that God has done for us, teach and tell our children about these things, and to remember the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us, going forward and living our best lives to be worthy of this sacrifice. Love, Beau

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Lost Connection

"not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another..." (Hebrews 10:25 NKJV) God has designed us to want connection and communion with others. We want friends, family, a life partner, and a realtionship with God. When that connection is broken it hurts...we feel pain, lonliness and disconnect. Just like when we disconnect our computers, there's a black empty space. God teaches us that we should not forget to take time for one another, and when there is a broken relationship to try and heal it...and if it can't be healed, you are going to feel pain, hurt, lonliness, and sadness. It's only natural! God feels the same way. He wants to have connection with us. When we separate ourselves from God it pains Him. God feels deep sadness, lonliness, and disconnect. He yearns for us to to find that bond again and be reunited. We need to work at our relationships, especially with God, taking time for them so that we don't lose our connections. We will be more fulfilled and happier if we do! Love, Beau

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Love One Another

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32 NKJV) Mom and I get so sad when we see humans treating each other harmfully, animals fighting, and negative interaction between humans and animals. We are put on this earth to care and tend to one another, not tear each other down. Unkind words and actions come from a bad place within, purposively or not, and in turn can seriously wound the receiver. It also can stir up a lot of bad things. All this pains God because He doesn't want this for us and by us. God teaches us that we are to be kind and tenderhearted towards others. He also teaches us to "love one another even as I have loved you." God even tells us concretely what love is. In Corintians 13:4-7 (NIV) it says, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Loving can be hard, but no one ever said it was easy. Monday is Valentine's Day...a day to celebrate love. From this day on, let us all strive to love one another even as God loved us...unconditionally, kind, and tenderhearted. Love, Beau

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Meeting God

"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17 NKJV) Who is God? What does He look like? No one really knows what God looks like, or what His total personality is. It is only after we enter into Heaven that we can see God face to face, and truly know what He looks like. However, when we read The Holy Bible, we get glimpses of what God is like. We find out, for instance, that He is eternal, everlasting, holy, almighty, and unlimited. He is both our father and our friend. God was our beginning and will be there at the end. The more time we spend reading The Holy Bible, the more we get to know Him. The more we get to know God, the closer our relationship to Him is. This brings joy and peace both to God and ourselves. It is worth our time and effort to spend time reading The Holy Bible and getting to know God. Love, Beau