Reunions

Last night some friends and I got together for what we have dubbed our "small group Bible study reunion" that we occasionally have but haven't in a while. Last night was our send-off for our friend Suzy, who is moving back to Indiana tomorrow.


And if I'd thought about it, I would have gotten pictures of us together.


We laughed, told dozens of stories, laughed some more, tried not to cry, and just talked and talked. Then we hugged Suzy, said goodbye to our friend, and tried not to cry some more.


I'll miss you, Suzy! I will be praying for you and your family to get settled quickly, to find a solid church, and to connect with godly friends. I'm already looking forward to your visits. :)


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Within the last month, I have gotten back in touch with one of my best friends from high school. This is the same girl who said (and I agreed) that we would not be those people who call each other up when they're nearly 40 to try to catch up on things before their 20 year high school reunion, because we were going to stay in touch and remain friends no matter what happened after high school.


(Let me just pause here to say this, because I simply cannot say this enough...You couldn't pay me enough money to go back and relive those years in high school.)


Well, guess what? We didn't talk on the phone after finding each other after all these years...we found each other on Facebook. And neither of us are going to our 20 year high school reunion this weekend. With Jason's final exams for his online summer classes this weekend and next week, we need to stay close to home. And my friend? She's getting married tomorrow! Congratulations, Miina!

Oh, and did I say "nearly 40"? I meant "thirty-something"...

The Psalms of Ascent

I am revisiting the Beth Moore study I finished, oh, in late February, so let's pretend this is a time warp and go with it as part of the "What I Learned This Week" blog carnival hosted by Jo-Lynne at Musing of a Housewife, OK?

To keep this a little more readable without citing references constantly, I am simply grouping my notes by the weekly video sessions, since many of the references are the fill-in-the-blanks in the viewer's guide. This Bible study on the Psalms of Ascent brought in the history and the meaning of the Feasts to which the pilgrims were traveling.

To the best of my knowledge, I took accurate notes during this study. If you spot any errors, please let me know. If you want to add something you learned on this topic, whether through this particular study or something else, please feel free to leave it in a comment!

Ready?

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Stepping Up: A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent

by Beth Moore

Viewer Guide, Introductory Session:
The Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) were sung on the pilgrimages to the Three Great Feasts in Jerusalem:
1. The Feast of Unleavened Bread/Passover (Spring)
2. The Feast of Weeks/Pentecost (Early Summer)
3. The Feast of Tabernacles (Fall)


Viewer Guide, Session Two:
Passover pictures the death of the Messiah.
The blood of the Passover lamb was painted on the door frame with the hysop plant (see Exodus 12:7, John 10:11 and Psalm 51:7). The cleansing of sins came through the blood of the sacrificial lamb.

Jesus Christ is our Passover (1 Corithians 5:7).

The Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:17, Mark 14:1) pictures the burial of the Messiah. Leaven became symbolic of sin (Matthew 16:5-9). Beth quoted The Feasts of the Lord and said, “Ancient rabbis…believed that leaven represents the evil impulses of the heart. This fermentation implied a process of corruption.” The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a week of sanctification to get all of the leaven (sin) out of them.

Jesus Christ is our Unleavened Bread because He is without sin and without corruption.

The Feast of Firstfruits pictures the resurrection of the Messiah.

Jesus Christ is the Firstfruits (1 Corinthians 15:20-24).


Viewer Guide, Session Three:
The Feast of Weeks (Hebrew Shavuot) derives its name from the seven weeks separating it from the Feast of Firstfruits. It is also known by the Greek name of Pentecost (for “fiftieth“) as well as the Feast of the Harvest (Exodus 23:16).

The Feast of Weeks was a time of remembering their bondage; therefore, we (present-day believers) should focus on the freedom Christ has given you.

The Feast of Weeks was a time of great generosity: generous grace, and generous giving.


Viewer Guide, Session Four:
The Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) has a strong emphasis on the Messiah (Psalm 118:24-26). This is the most Messianic of the Feasts, and there is always a great sense of expectancy with an invitation for God to bring the Messiah.
Palm branches are associated with the Feast of Tabernacles. In Matthew 21, there is an immediate leap forward into the Feast of Tabernacles. The palm branches showed the people’s expectancy that this was the Messiah.

This is also the picture in Matthew 17:4, when Peter asks “Shall I build three tabernacles?” He was thinking, “Is it time for the feast? This has to be the Messiah!”

The pinnacle moment of the celebration was the ceremonial water pouring each day, drawn from the Pool of Siloam and carried back to the temple to be poured out for God. (Beth quoted someone who said, “Those who have never experienced the joy of water drawing have never experienced joy in their lives.“ So…this was big.) The seventh day was the biggest celebration, and this is the setting of John 7:37-39 (see also John 7:2). The Israelite priests are dancing before the procession with torches and music, joyfully singing “Send Messiah now!” (Psalm 118) while the water is being poured out…and then Jesus says, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

Jesus Christ is the source of living water (John 4:10, Revelation 7:17).

One of the things Beth said, probably a few times, is "He keeps the Feasts!" or "He keeps the calendar!" As we learned in the Beth Moore Bible study on the tabernacle, the tabernacle was a pattern of the reality in heaven. These Jewish feasts are a pattern of a spiritual reality fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

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If you have the chance to do this Bible study, please do it! And if you cannot do the entire Bible study, consider viewing the video sessions online at www.lifeway.com/women. You will be blessed by what you learn!

Visit Musing of a Housewife to see what others have learned this week.

They're baaaack!

Thank you so much for your prayers for Dad and Kathleen's big trip (Israel and Egypt)! They arrived safely back home today. They are heading out now to have lunch at their favorite BBQ Shack...Kathleen says it's been a while since they've eaten pork. ;) I can't wait to hear all about their trip!


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I would also like to mention the radio debut of my pastor tonight (Thursday, March 5th) at 8:30 p.m. on WMVV (New Life FM 90.7 on the dial). For those of you outside of the Atlanta listening area, you can hear the broadcast live by going to http://www.newlife.fm/. The name of the radio program is Impact. Let me know if you listen in!


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While I'm talking about my pastor...Please read this devotional he recently posted. If you would like to receive his devotionals by email, you can sign up by entering your email address in the box at the top of the sidebar on his blog.

Faith to be strong

Tuesday night was the final session for our Beth Moore Bible study, Stepping Up: A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent. I have had a particular Andrew Peterson song in my head since I heard it before going to the Bible study this week. It turns out that this song fits quite nicely with the last video session, where Beth talks about how God will give us the strength to take the next step...daily grace. Praise God!

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And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2: 6-9

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Faith To Be Strong

Give us faith to be strong
Father, we are so weak
Our bodies are fragile and weary
As we stagger and stumble to walk where you lead
Give us faith to be strong

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we're torn
Mend us up when we break
This flesh can be wounded and shaking
When there's much too much trouble for one heart to take
Give us peace when we're torn

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us hearts to find hope
Father, we cannot see
How the sorrow we feel can bring freedom
And as hard as we try, Lord, it's hard to believe
So, give us hearts to find hope

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong
Give us peace when we're torn
Give us faith, faith to be strong

--By Andrew Peterson, from the album Carried Along (2000)

You can click here to listen to the song for free.

What NOT to do on a Sunday night

Update: I am going green and recycling this post to participate in a brand spankin' new blog carnival hosted by Jo-Lynne at Musings of a Housewife.




If it's Sunday night and your husband is asking if you'd like to watch a movie with him, question him fully on what exactly "action" might mean. And if the movie is Eagle Eye, check the time because you really need at least a few hours in between watching this INTENSE "action" movie and going to bed.

At least.

And PG-13? Who are we kidding? It was a good movie, definitely kept the plot line going at a rapid pace, lots of twists and turns...lots of explosions, lots of edge-of-your-seat scenes, and not a whole lot that I would want a 13 year old watching. There were parts I didn't even want to see.

After the movie was over, I washed up for bed, climbed under the covers, hopped back up to give Grace some medicine for an earache when she cried a few minutes later, and then laid there for a while wide awake before giving up and heading back out to the living room. I figured I would get some of my homework done with the Beth Moore Bible study I'm in, Psalms of Ascent. And, no, it was not that I thought it would put me to sleep, but I thought it would help calm me down enough to where sleep could be a possibilty...Jason has already questioned me on that point! ;)

And do you know what? I can get three days' worth of homework done in under 50 minutes when it's 1:00 a.m.-ish and the house is totally quiet and no one is calling me "Mom-can-I." (Hey--It's a step up from "But-Mommy.")

And do you know what else? I can lay there in bed mulling over some of the personal questions in the homework that I didn't immediately have answers for when I was sitting in my chair. I thought, "OK, I'll think about that later" and moved on...only I really didn't think "later" would be so soon.

I was thinking more like daytime.

Instead, I was still awake and making a mental list of things other people might ridicule me for. Seriously. Now, doesn't that sound like fun?

To check out what other people have learned this week, visit Musings of a Housewife.

Worship in Spirit and in Truth

If you are a part of the same Bible study I'm currently doing, you will remember this specific topic in the video session last night. But even if you're not in the Psalms of Ascent Bible study, it applies to all of us who are believers. I ran across this post by Alicia @ Confessions of a Snowflake tonight, and I would love for you to read it, too!