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Today is the 48th day that we have been counting the omer.

God called to the children of Israel at Mt Sinai saying, “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am Yehovah your God, who freed you from the forced labor of the Egyptians.” (Exodus 6:7 CJB) Many years later, Jeremiah prophesied that Yehovah would someday put His Torah (instructions) within the people and write it on their hearts. Again Yehovah said, “I will be their God and they will be My people.”

The first covenant was made between God and the children of Israel at Mt Sinai. Unfortunately, the children of Israel did not remain faithful to the covenant. The fault was not with the covenant but with the people. According to the footnotes in my Complete Jewish Study Bible, “the only ‘fault’ in the first covenant, if one should even call it that, is that it does not contain in itself the power to keep the people faithful.” (p 1739)

Yehovah was looking forward in time to the Shavuot following Jesus’ ascension when He would pour out His Spirit upon all mankind who would love Him, and He would put His “Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God and they will be My people.” (Jeremiah 31:33 & Hebrews 8:10) Then the prophet Joel, quoting Yehovah proclaimed, “I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity” (Joel 2:28). Peter quoted this same portion in Acts 2:17 on the Day of Pentecost/Shavuot.

God pours out His Spirit on Shavuot in part to provide the power the people need to remain faithful. If the children of Israel could be drawn away very quickly in a time when life was much less complicated, how much more do we need His Holy Spirit to be on the thrones of our hearts in these times of technological advances that allow each of us to carry in the palms of our hands computers called ‘smart phones’, giving us access to everything in the world and viewing anything we desire with one tap on “go”? John was not wrong. We are like the Israelites and are drawn away from God by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. (1 John 2:16). Therefore it is imperative that we ask the Father to send His Holy Spirit, not only to cover us but also to reign in us, teaching and empowering us to be His people so that we may continually live according to His commands.

I encourage us all to eagerly implore Yehovah to pour out His Spirit once again and baptize us as He did on the Day of Pentecost almost 2000 years ago!

Pastor Ann

May 29, 2020

Today is the 45th day that we have been counting the omer.

God fed the children of Israel for more than forty years during their trip from Egypt to the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses said, “He humbled you, allowing you to become hungry, and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to make you understand that a person does not live on food alone but on everything that comes from the mouth of Yehovah.” (CJB) God allowed the people to come to the place that they were not able to provide for themselves. They could not figure out a way to provide the food needed to keep themselves alive. It was at that point that God did something for them that they could not do for themselves. He provided manna.

Do you remember the story of Jesus being tempted after His baptism? Jesus had fasted for forty days. He had to be very hungry! It was then that Satan came and tempted Him, telling Him that if He really was the Son of God, He could turn the stones into bread. Jesus replied, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yehovah.” (Matthew 4:4)

Although the trend in our world today is that the government will provide for us, traditionally, we have been taught that we can only rely upon ourselves. If we refuse to acknowledge that God is the One who provides, we will ultimately end up worshiping ourselves or the government instead of God. If we choose to use our own abilities to provide, we should not be surprised if God humbles us as He did Israel.

Our challenge today is to depend upon Him at the deepest level of our lives. Those deep levels are where we develop intimacy with Him, as we chew and meditate upon His word. The closer we draw to Him, the more our lives are filled with His Presence, and we realize that everything we need in all aspects of life comes from Him.

What do you need today? What are you hungry for? God wants to provide for you what you cannot provide for yourself. The more you know Him, the more you want Him and the more you will receive from Him.

Pastor Ann

May 26, 2020

Today is the 42nd day that we have been counting the omer.

Throughout the Old Testament, God highlights the requirement to be different from all those around us. This is evident as He requires Abraham, his household and all his male descendants to be circumcised. It is seen again as God verbally gives His commandments to the Israelites at Mt Sinai and then in written form to Moses. Each one of God’s commandments reflect His holiness and His standard for living. He wants a people set apart. He not only desires but requires that they serve no other god. They were to have no other god in His face. They are to only worship Him, Yehovah. He wants a “different” people so that they stand out from all those around them.

As His people, we are to imitate Him by sanctifying ourselves, setting ourselves apart for Him alone. We are to choose to more accurately reflect Him by sanctifying things in our lives such as our possessions so that even those things are holy in His sight. We are to make sure that the things we own are not used in ways that are unholy. Maybe that means what is viewed on our TV or what our vehicles are used for…. Our time is sanctified when we set apart time to be in His Presence, drawing closer and developing intimacy with Him. Adherence to His commands hopefully is the fruit of sanctifying ourselves and living in a loving relationship with Him.

Leviticus 20:23-24; 26 (English Standard Version) “You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am driving out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them…. I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples…. You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”

It is very easy for us to forget how adamant Yehovah is about living and being separate from the world in which we live. I am not talking about going and living on a mountain top, having no contact with others. I am talking about choosing to live our lives in such a way that we refuse to pick up the habits of this world in which we live. Our language, what we watch or bring into our being through any of our five senses, what we approve, where we go, our behaviors, and our attitudes are to reflect our God. Yes, He knows that we are human, but that does not give us license to do things that do not reflect His character. We cannot think and act in this manner: “well, this might be wrong, but God will always forgive me”. He requires us to be different from those who do not believe in Him. We are “to walk in humility and obedience and in the beauty of holiness – the beauty of His Presence – because He wants us to be His own. He desires for us to be consecrated and devoted in love to Him alone.” (A Taste of Torah, A devotional Study Through the Five Books of Moses, Keren Hannah Pryor, 2016) He wants so much for us to grow in intimacy and oneness of heart and mind with Him, sanctifying ourselves for Him. He wants the world to look at us and know that we are different even as He wanted the children of Israel to be different from the rest of the world. Through their difference, they were to proclaim to the world that there is only one God, and His Name is Yehovah.

Our challenge today is to do even as Paul tells those living in Corinth (2 Corinthians 6:17 NLT) “Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.” Will we choose to be like Yehovah, or will we choose to be like the world in which we live?

Pastor Ann

May 23, 2020

Memorial Day is a unique holiday.  Every year it gives Americans an opportunity to reflect on the cost of answering the call to duty.  Whether you or someone you know is military, a first responder, or even a parent you recognize what that means.  When you respond to that call the outcome is not cut and dried.  You don’t know that all will end well.  There is no guarantee that everyone will survive to tell the tale.  When the call to duty is answered sometimes people die. 

Now I know some of you are saying, “REALLY? A parent?”  Yes, really.  Parents have a duty to their children that exceeds the call of our country or our community.  As a parent, protecting one’s child is the primary call.  Does that mean a person will die because they are a parent?  No.  But it does mean that if they love their children as God planned they are willing to die for them.  

God knows this price and understands this call to protect His children.  Jesus paid the ultimate price when He answered the call to protect all of God’s children by accepting responsibility for every sin ever committed.  He took that burden with Him to the cross.  By nailing those sins on the cross, Jesus protected us from eternal death and provided us the opportunity for eternal life.

We need only step out in faith.  Our call to duty is to believe that God is.  That Jesus is His son who died for us.  Our call is to faithfully proclaim our belief in Him and follow Him all the days of our lives.

If you are hungry and want to know more, PLEASE join us in the parking lot at 964 W Hwy 190 this Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m.  Pastor Ann has a special message she’ll be sharing with us that you don’t want to miss.

For those of you unable to join us please check us out on FB livestream at 9:20.  You can also find us on YouTube and at our website: www.covenazarene.org