Preparing for Passover

As we move through this very important time of the year, I want us to be sure that we think clearly, that we don’t just go through this week with our minds in neutral. So for the duration of this week, I intend to write daily to us all as a congregation and challenge us to think. 
It is interesting to see our current situation through the eyes of history. What can we learn from the Exodus that can be applied to our lives today? Although I’m sure that there are many other things that could be brought out, I think one of the most glaring parallels is related to the fact that Pharaoh was unwilling to acknowledge that there was anyone who had the authority to tell him what to do. In fact, if you remember some of the Egyptian history, you will remember that the pharaohs were considered gods by some and/or at least, the access to the gods by all. So when this man named Moses comes in and tells Pharaoh that another God said to let the Hebrews go so that they could travel 3 days out of town and worship, this was considered to be a slap in the face of the Pharaoh himself. How could any God have the audacity to consider Pharaoh so puny that he would have to bow before this God’s desire? And because of that arrogance, Jehovah God had to demonstrate to the Pharaoh that there was no other god that could even come close to Himself. He had already poured out plague after plague to convince the Pharaoh that there was one much more powerful than himself, but Pharaoh would have none of it. It was not until God had to levy the final plague, the death of the firstborn in every household, that Pharaoh was willing to concede that there was someone more powerful than he. And if you remember the story, you remember that it only took a short time for Pharaoh, after the death of his own firstborn son, to be sorry that he had let the Hebrew children go. Then he sent his army to race after them and bring them back. As a result, God had to wipe out the whole army to prove His point. There is no god like Jehovah!
This is a wonderful time to rejoice in our God, the One who provided our freedom from slavery to sin. But, as we get ready to remember Passover tomorrow evening, it is also a wonderful time for us to examine ourselves. Have we allowed the arrogance of the world to rub off onto us even as the coronavirus will rub onto us if we allow ourselves to get too close to it? The world proclaims that they can do whatever they want and that no one can tell them what they can or should do even as Pharaoh proclaimed. If we allow ourselves to be friends with the world who arrogantly defy Jehovah, we must not be amazed when we find ourselves defying Jehovah. 
Jesus prayed that the Father would protect us since we are in the world but not of the world (John 17:16). But He also said, “No man can serve two masters. For you will hate the one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other ” (Matt 6:24 NLT) and, “If you love me, obey my commandments (John 14:15 NLT). 

May God preserve you all and prepare your hearts for Passover!

Pastor Ann