Shavuot/Pentecost

-

Have you ever told your spouse, child, or, perhaps, a student -- really, anyone!😆, "I want you to remember this!" Maybe you said, "Don't you ever forget this." Maybe you wagged a finger in their face, or maybe you said it in a loving way, with a smile, a tear, or a hug. There are moments in life that are important to look back on. These are moments where lessons are learned, milestones are achieved, and most importantly,  times where God's love and power is recognized. We must remember. 
Our God asked the same of us: to remember important moments. Moments where He showed us His grace, mercy, faithfulness, and more. God instructs the Israelites (and us!)to remember. 
Our Women of Promise have been learning how vital it is to understand the culture in which the Bible was written. It adds such depth to our understanding of Jesus! The Hebrews take God literally, and their calendar revolves around the Feasts and holidays of the Old Testament. 
One of these times God called the Israelites to remember is the giving of The Law to Moses at Mt. Sinai. This is important because it marks the time when the Israelites became a a nation -- not just a group of ex-slaves. The Law was their foundation as the people of God. This occurred 50 days after God brought them out of Egypt - also remembered during a time called Passover. The next Feast, called Shavuot, or The Feast of Weeks (Numbers 28:26-27), was taking place at the time of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the first Christians in a miraculous way. As God instituted the church , is it coincidental that this happened on the anniversary of the day He instituted His chosen people as a nation? The more I learn of our God, the more I learn that this was orchestrated by Him in His divine plan. The beautiful way in which God works to create a seamless story of redemption throughout history is mind-blowing.  This connection between Shavuot and Pentecost is the same. I encourage you to study this! It is beautiful!
The purpose of this devotion is to call us all to study, learn, obey and celebrate the important moments in the history of God's people (US!!). Much the same way we celebrate national holidays to remind ourselves and our children of important events, we shouldn't forget to teach our children of the beauty of God's redemptive work through the ages. The problem is, many of us (including myself) were not raised to celebrate the traditional Hebrew Feasts. However, we have the Word of God! We can study and learn, passing this information on to our children, so that they may join us in worshipping and praising God for His faithfulness. We can raise a generation who understands and celebrates God's wonders and faithfulness to His people. 
This Sunday, June 1, 2025, marks the beginning of Shavuot/Pentecost. I challenge you to share and remember with your children why this is so important. Start with this time of remembrance,  and begin to commemorate God's faithfulness with times of praise and thanksgiving. 

Soli Deo Gloria!
Heather Sparks 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It Is Well With My Soul

-
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. We are all reeling from the images we are seeing of our neighboring communities after Hurricane Helene blew through our region and dropped unprecedented amounts of rain. TVA has stated this was a 1 in 5,000 year event. There has been much loss of life and personal property. With the loss of my nephew fresh on my mind, I have found myself thinking of the words and humming the old hymn "It is Well" frequently. The story behind this hymn (along with the lyrics) tells that the state of our soul is the only thing that truly matters.  The author, Horatio G. Spafford was a businessman from Chicago. He had a successful legal practice and was a devout Christian. Spafford’s lost almost everything overnight in the great Chicago Fire of 1871. To add to this tragedy, his young son had just passed away a short time before the fire...
Read more

Praying For Our Pastor

-
Image
           October is traditionally "Pastor Appreciation" month.  I think it is wonderful that we make a special effort to show our pastor and his family that their labor and service for the Lord is noticed and loved. During this month, I would also like to challenge us to spend some focused time in prayer for our pastor. The enemy is desperately attempting to squelch the work of the Lord.  Those who faithfully bear witness to the gospel and serve the body of Christ are targets of the enemy's attacks in a way the rest of us may never experience.  While we should be in regular prayer for our pastor year round, I am challenging us to spend this month in special prayer for Pastor Rob, Autumn and Reese.      Sometimes we don't know what or how to pray.  Here are some prayer prompts that may help you this month.  Use one a day for a focused time of prayer, or pray through the list as you have time.  God inhabits the p...
Read more

The Bible: A Handbook for Living

-
Image
  Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.  Psalm 119:105     Do you believe the Bible is a handbook for living?  Can the Bible really give you the answers for every decision you face?  Does God care about how we live our day-to-day lives? What about the social and cultural issues that are so divisive in the world we live in? Does God have anything to say about them or does He just want us to all get along as best we can? Is there a bigger purpose to our lives than what we can see?     The answers to all of these questions is a resounding, "YES!" God created and established the world in beauty and order.  When sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, that beauty was disrupted for a time.  However, the Bible gives us the blueprint for the way that God ordained for us to live.  If Christians will return to a Biblical worldview -- that means living our lives with the unchanging Word of God as our handbook, believing tha...
Read more