"That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven: for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."Matthew 5:45

The Lord is quoted in this scripture in Matthew and it contains an important principle which I think we sometimes tend to overlook. Many believe and even teach that if someone acquires much material prosperity, then God has surely given them favor, and that if someone is undergoing extreme trial, it must be because they have sinned or that they lack faith. But the Lord says that the sun rises and the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous alike. A life of good circumstances does not necessarily mean that God is with us. And likewise, a life of trial and suffering does not mean that God is not with us! If we base our lives on our circumstances, we are no different than people without God. What makes us different from the world is that we have something far greater than our circumstances! We can live victoriously both in want and in plenty because we have a relationship with the living God! Brothers & Sisters, there is nothing wrong with rejoicing through the good times but we need to rejoice through the bad as well! If you're going through some hard times, choose to rejoice in the Lord today! We have a greater treasure and a more amazing victory when our lives are centered upon Him at all times! DO YOU WANT A GREATER TREASURE?

"This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month to they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:"Exodus 12:2-3

Passover is also the day that Jesus would have entered Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Four days before Passover, the children of Israel would choose a lamb for the Passover sacrifice. Each man would take a lamb for his household. Four days were required to inspect the animal to make sure it was perfect and without blemish. Can you imagine having a lamb at home for four days -- the children feeding it, petting it, perhaps even naming it -- only to know that it would have to die soon? We also have a Lamb to choose today. Jesus, our perfect Passover Lamb who is without blemish. Some of us reading this today have already chosen Him. Some may have forgotten of our choice, others may be undecided. Brothers & Sisters, as the scripture says, today is the day of salvation; those who have chosen Jesus remember His great work of atonement which brought us out of bondage from sin. This was a supernatural deliverance just as it was for the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt. The Passover lamb, brought into the houses of the Israelites, became dear to them because of its precious innocence and because its death invoked the memory of the first Passover when the lamb's blood literally saved their lives from the Angel of Death. Our perfect Lamb, so dear to us, will do the same for all who receive Him; since the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus the Messiah. Amen. CHOOSE THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE!

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."Matthew 6:14-15

Passover, the day we remember God's merciful redemption of the Jewish people from Egypt. When the final plague struck Pharaoh and the Egyptians in Exodus, those who were spared were were the ones who applied blood to their doorposts as God warned. Interestingly, the blood that God required them to apply then was the blood of a spotless, unblemished lamb. As believers in Messiah, we are blessed to have the blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb, applied upon the doorposts of our hearts. The judgment we deserve has passed over us! And thankfully we can celebrate His redemption in our lives as well this season. While this is a special time to celebrate God's passing over our sins, there is one thing we sometimes overlook. Not only should we remember the Lord's passing over our sins, but equally important is our obedience in passing over others' sins. Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. This is the way Jesus taught us to pray, is it not? Today we have the opportunity to make this prayer a reality in our lives. Has someone offended you? Committed a sin against you? It happens, and unfortunately, it will probably happen again, as we live in a world full of sin. But we need to pass over those offenses just as God has passed over ours. Brothers & Sisters, passover is the season to give our hurts to the Lord. Let's allow Him to heal and free us, and those we've hurt and who've hurt us. We have been forgiven many offenses by the innocent blood of our Messiah. How much more should we forgive? PASS OVER!

"And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them."Matthew 21:10-14

There is a long standing tradition of cleaning one's house in the towards Passover time. One source for this tradition is certainly the Jewish Passover. Each time as the holiday approaches observant householders in Israel and around the world perform a meticulous cleaning of their homes, especially to be sure there is no leaven in the house before Passover begins. Leaven, in scripture, is often a metaphor for sin and impurity; and this season of the year is often a time for emphasizing "spiritual housecleaning". When Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time in His earthly life, before the Passover, and just before He was sacrificed, He went to the Temple and "cleansed" it by driving out the money changers and religious merchandisers. Apparently, these were "religious" people with impure motives, and the Lord considered them to be "leaven" in his Father's house. Immediately after this, the Lord miraculously healed the blind and lame. Brothers & Sisters, we can also be "religious" people with impure motives; seeking financial gain, or prestige, from "spiritual" activity, when the Lord desires a devoted heart of worship and prayer in His "house". Let us also do a "housecleaning" for impure motivations and in doing so, the Lord may then be freer to work His miracles through us. INSPECT YOUR TEMPLE!

"And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."Matthew 21:9

As thousands of believers around the world always celebrate Palm Sunday every year, I thought I'd offer some additional historical insight into the day Jesus entered Jerusalem. Most people associate Palm Sunday with the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “behold, thy King comes unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass”. But there is another significant detail associated with this beautiful fulfillment... ...it is that Jesus entered Jerusalem on precisely the same day that the Jews would have been choosing their Passover lambs in preparation for the Pesach (Passover) Seder a few days later. Unbeknownst to them, the Lord had chosen their “Passover Lamb” who would deliver them, and the entire world from their sins [John 1:29]. As Jesus entered into Jerusalem, the people cried "Hosanna, Son of David– which means, “Save Now, Son of David!”- quoting the cry of the psalmist for the salvation to come to Israel; [Psalm 118:25-26]. This psalm was associated with the coming of Messiah, and the title, "Son of David" was a common reference to Him, the one who would bring salvation. It also contains the words, "Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!" So many of the people knew who He was, yet... ...this same Psalm also contains an amazing prediction: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone!” [Psalm 118:22]. Right there, in the same scripture, only a few verses apart, the astounding irony of Jesus first advent is perfectly expressed. Received and hailed as Israel's Messiah, He was shortly to be scorned, rejected and crucified. Guide, this is a weekend to remember the humility of Jesus, the most humble King who ever lived or died. Our love for Him grows deeper as we reflect on this gentle Shepherd's submission, even though He was and is a King. His rejection was our acceptance. His death was our life. May we receive the grace to follow His example and so reveal His glory. BEHOLD THE PASSOVER LAMB

"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Picture this -- you come home from a long day of work -- you walk into your living room -- plop down on your couch in exhaustion -- and there in the corner of the room -- your eyes are drawn to something moving -- it's a rattlesnake! Do you say to yourself, "Oh, I'm too tired to worry about that now, I'll deal with it later?" Of course not! You'd jump up right away, find a bat or something of the like, alert your family, call the neighbors, call 911, call the fire department and who knows what else! It's a life-threatening situation! In the same way, we need to consider it an emergency when a negative thought enters our minds! We immediately need to jump up, put our armor on, alert others and ask for help if needed and take cover in the promises of God! When those unrighteous thoughts enter our minds, we must deal with them immediately -- lest they linger and fester -- and before we know it, poison our entirety. Brothers & Sisters, sadly this is a battle that continuously rages on. We must renew our minds daily -- and even hourly in order to remain in a place of peace. Let's not wait 'till the enemy has us in his grip! Let's put him in his place at the first sign of attack! BEWARE OF YOUR THOUGHTS!

"Let the word of Christ 1 dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God."Col 3:16

A disgruntled church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained: "I've gone to church for thirty years now, and in that time I have heard something like three-thousand sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. I think I'm wasting my time and the Pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all." This began a major controversy which went on for weeks until someone wrote in this reply: "I've been married for thirty years now. In that time my wife has cooked some three thousand meals. For the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this ... they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work...” Hmmm. So true. We need our spiritual nourishment to be able to do the work of the Lord effectively! Corporate worship, fellowship with our brothers and sisters and Godly counsel are a great means to get it! Brothers & Sisters, God does not want us to isolate ourselves! He wants us to be in consistent fellowship with like minded believers, teaching and exhorting one another, singing psalms and spiritual hymns together! Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb.10-25), especially as His return is drawing near! STAY CONNECTED!