"'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the first fruits to the Lord." Leviticus 23:15-17

The Lord commanded the grain offering, known as Pentecost among Christians, to be made of the finest flour, baked with yeast, that is, leaven. Leaven, in the Bible, is almost universally, a symbol for "sin", and in the OT is strictly forbidden on the altar of the Lord., yet in Jewish countries, in the Feast of Weeks it is commanded as part of the offering. Just six weeks prior to this festival, they had spent a week eating unleavened bread, a clear picture of the connection between the Passover Lamb and the removal of sin from our lives. Now the grain offering for Pentecost contains yeast; two loaves with it. Why? A common interpretation of this for NT believers is that the loaves represent Jews and Gentiles, the two types of redeemed people, who, of course, still contain sin in our lives. So the sequence of these two spring festivals can be seen to illustrate, on the one hand, our perfect deliverance from sin and death through the Passover Lamb (Jesus); and subsequently, the reality of our true condition as "leavened loaves" offered to the Lord as "first-fruits". We know that having come to faith in Jesus, cleansed by His shed blood, we stand righteous and perfect in Him; and yet, we constantly struggle with our Adamic nature. In this light, Pentecost begins to emerge as a festival marking and illustrating the opportunity and means for our transformation. The Lord's sending forth of His Holy Spirit at this time awakens and empowers us to change; to be inwardly transformed from the old creation into a new creation. On the day of Pentecost, 2000 years ago, this transformation process was dynamically accelerated and made accessible to every believer. Baptized with the Holy Spirit of God, and with His fire, our sinful nature with all its impurities and "leaven" takes a back seat to the powerful indwelling of the Spirit of Messiah, so that as we continually pray, walk in obedience, and thus cooperate to be filled with His Spirit, we are sanctified and transformed into His likeness - "from glory to glory", and so become His effective witnesses. Praise God that He works with our issues-- and is transforming us into a bride without wrinkle or spot! Brothers & Sisters, allow the Holy Spirit to burn away the impurity of your sinful nature; to purge out the dross, and deeply penetrate your life. The process can be "firey" and involve some painful sacrifices, but the result is purity and the holiness without which no one will see God. And remember that Jesus is returning soon, greatly anticipating a bride who is prepared for His arrival! BE TRANSFORMED!

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people."Jeremiah 31:31-33

Most Christians might recognize this as the celebration of Pentecost in Acts 2. However, the very first celebration actually took place fifty days after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea about 1500 years before Acts was even written. It was on this day that the law was given on tablets of stone. Interestingly, it was also fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus that Pentecost was celebrated again. But this time, the law of God was written upon the hearts of men, just as God promised through the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Pentecost is both a celebration of the God's faithfulness in the early harvest and an anticipation of the abundance of the harvest yet to come. This day, a couple of thousand years ago, 3000 Jewish people came to faith in Messiah. The day will soon come when those for whom we've been weeping and petitioning God in prayer will come to know the Lord and all of Israel shall be saved! Brothers & Sisters, let's pray for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit today, and let's anticipate great things! Be praying for revelation for those we love who haven't yet seen the truth of the Lord. And please also be praying for the salvation of this world! There's so much work to be done! FILL UP!

"Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind."Philippians 2:2

If you look at the ant you will find that they dwell in colonies. Each colony consists of approximately 60,000 - 90,000 ants -- they really can't prosper on their own. They need each other. How does a colony of that many ants to work together? The only reason it works is that they operate in unity. Each ant shares the same purpose, the same goal, and the same aim. Just as ants can't prosper on their own, neither can we as believers. As ants need each other, so do God's children. We need to dwell together as they do. The way we dwell together is by sharing the same purpose. We don't have to agree on when the tribulation or rapture is going to happen. Those are all secondary things. But we do have to be intent on the same purpose, to glorify God and spread His Word, to love God and each other. Let's aim to accomplish the task that God has set before us and God will be faithful bless our colony! Brothers & Sisters, we can't let the ants put God's people to shame! Stay encouraged and focused on the ultimate goal! LET'S LEARN FROM THE ANTS!

"And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" Matthew 8:26-27

Whew! What must the disciples have felt back then as they saw the waves crashing against their boat? They we're being swayed from side to side in the deep dark sea. They were afraid for their lives! But our Lord was there all along. He just wanted them to trust. So often we find ourselves in that same boat, don't we? Lord, are you there?! Don't you see these waves about to consume me?! But He does! He sees all, hears all, knows all. He is the same Lord that calmed that storm two thousand years ago and He can cause the winds and the seas, and the trials of our lives to become calm in an instant! Ahh, but it's usually in the storms that He will display His awesome power! Brothers & Sisters, let's renew our trust in the Lord today. God has great plans for those who will put their trust in Him. RELAX!

"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us."Psalms 2:1-3; "Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."Acts 4:25-28

When Peter and John had gone up to the Temple for prayer [Acts 3], they saw a man who was lame from birth, and were moved to heal him in the name of Jesus. Immediately the religious leaders laid hands on them [Acts 4:3] and kept them imprisoned for a day. The following day, with boldness, they declared this miracle was done in the name of Jesus. I love what the "religious" leaders said next --- "they perceived that they were unlearned men and they marveled at their boldness!" Why were they bold? They had been with Jesus, and the leaders took note of that! It is no surprise that the world rages against the Messiah. Psalm 2 declares it clearly. Every year there are tens of thousands of believers suffering and dying for their faith, in large part because the kings and the rulers of the earth RAGE against the Lord and His Anointed. As followers of the King we should expect this and be prepared for it when it comes. Guide, but, the examples of Peter and John, and every other true Christian martyr, are there to inspire and encourage us that if and when the time of persecution comes for us, we too can be bold as a lion. And this boldness is no merely human bravery, but an unction from the Holy Spirit Himself. So, though the kings of the earth will rage, our simple faith and Holy Spirit boldness will testify that we too have been with Jesus! REACT WITH BOLDNESS!

"and pray for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."Ephesians 6:19-20

In Paul's letter to the Church in Ephesus, observe how he describes himself -- an ambassador in chains. Locked away in a prison, Paul adamantly refuses to allow his circumstances to dictate or alter his identity. He may be in chains, but he remains the Lord's ambassador. Can you imagine Paul chained up in that dungeon, throwing up his hands saying, "That's it; it's over; I'm finished!? Not on your life! Instead the apostle grows bolder as an ambassador; not intimidated or ashamed, because Paul isn't chained in his Spirit, he's only bound in the flesh. Remember how he concludes his letter to the Philippian Church declaring, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Brothers & Sisters, don't allow yourself to be defined by your past, or "chained" by your current circumstances. God has also called you to be an ambassador for Him. With so much work to be done, we ought to be growing even bolder, right in the midst of our trials and tribulations! DON'T LET YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES DICTATE YOU!

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he knelled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."Daniel 6:10

Let's consider Daniel for a moment. Here is one of the great rulers of the Persian empire, in charge of the King's affairs and of the affairs of the entire government. Now if anyone is really busy -- it's Daniel! But in spite of all this, he makes it a point to set himself apart from the world and pray three times a day. This really got me. I mean, how busy are we -- really? And what are we really doing? Brothers & Sisters, it's like this. If we are neglecting the important things of God, we're simply doing more than God intended! Let's keep our priorities in order! Let's be a people of prayer -- especially in these days! BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!