It's a metaphor!

No water in the building. Did you pay the deposit? When were they supposed to be here? Go tomorrow and make them come and turn on the water in the new church. Still no water in the building? They put in a new water meter? The inflow is plugged up or broken or crushed? No water in the building? They might dig up the foundation to get to the line? No water. No flow. Wait muddy water is seeping in where? It's a metaphor. It is hard to uncover ancient wells! When you start the work the line is often clogged sometimes completely shut down. Sometimes there is just a muddy trickle of water that seeps in. To uncover an old well sometimes you have to dig up old foundations. Pierce old structures and unearth old wells. It is a metaphor. 
What is clogging up the well of living water in your life? What is stopping up the water of life from flowing freely in your ministry? Sometimes you have to dig up old structural foundations to unearth the the broken places so they can be repaired. It's a metaphor! If you look around, you will see them everywhere.
God is speaking to us from the things that happen in the natural. Keep your eyes on Him and He will show you the metaphor and it's meaning.

Crossing the Jordan!

My friend Moreen is the person God picked to walk with me through my wilderness season. Sometimes help arises from a place that we do not expect. During our visits we would talk about the things that were on my heart both large and small and she would give me such a Godly perspective. I learned about the stages of grief and came to understand the process of loss. I went through the tears and the anger and the arguing with God. I asked her out loud questions that I wanted to hear the sound of the words. Words that I had not spoken to anyone and wanted someone to hear me say, "Why?" "Why me?"  She heard me bargain and tell her that if I was a better person, a better mother, a better wife would I have a different outcome. I always said I wouldn't cry this time, but having a place where you can say outloud those things you can't even say to yourself, well that is powerful. And slowly but surely the wounds began to heal. And I took off my lens of trauma- you know that perspective that sees everything through the pain, and I saw the world again with clear colors and vibrant tones. Towards the end of my visits, we would just talk about our grandchildren and how they were growing up. We talked about my first tea party with my 10 month old granddaughter. And she told me about the safari in the backyard with her 4 year old grandson. And I smiled and thought about all the good things in my life that were still in place. And she looked at me and said, So you have reached acceptance. And just like that, I knew I had reached the end and it was time to cross over my Jordan and go into the promised land.
And as I left, she wished me Godspeed on my journey. And I watched as she went back to the wilderness to help the next hurting and broken person to the edge of the river.
Passover has many blessings! This year crossing the Jordan was one of mine.
This is Pastor Susan Living the Everday Prophetic Life and enjoying the promised land.

The Prophetic in Passover

    Passover is such a time of deliverance and freedom! A time to celebrate the power of God as we tell again the story of the powerful deliverance of the Hebrews from the Egyptians who held them in slavery. We celebrate a going forth to the promised land as well as a coming out of bondage! As Christians we get an understanding of what Jesus our Messiah was doing on the night He was betrayed. We see and understand that the incarnate Christ was participating in the Passover event which was a physical portrayal of His sacrifice for our salvation. During Passover, four cups of wine are drunk. These have great significance to us as Christians. The first cup of wine was the cup of sanctification or freedom.We celebrate that God has provided a way to freedom for us by providing Jesus our Messiah who was without sin.   The second cup is the cup of deliverance and instruction. We celebrate the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt and as Christians we celebrate our deliverance from the bondage of sin. The third cup, the cup of Redemption is the one we as Christians understand to be the The Lord's Supper. The third cup is a powerful reminder of the sacrifice of the cross, the blood shed for our redemption.  The fourth cup is the cup of praise, part of the Hallel, the going out and celebrating. This cup is the one that our Messiah told His disciples that He would drink the next time with them in His father's house. I believe we will celebrate the fourth cup of covenant when we celebrate with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb. There is a fifth cup that is not drunk. It is the cup of Elijah. This is the cup that the Hebrew leave on the table and open a door waiting for Elijah to come as the forerunner for the Messiah. As Christians we believe that Elijah is one of the prophets that will come in the last days to witness to the second coming of Christ. The four cups represent the I will promises of God of freedom, deliverance, redemption and thanksgiving.
      There is hidden meaning in the Hebrew alphabet for the Hebrew word for Passover which is spelled Pesach. We can look at the three letters that create the word and find the hidden meaning in the letters. The first letter is Pey the middle letter is Samekh and the final letter is Chet. The letter Pey original symbol was of a mouth. It means an expression or vocalization of speech or breath. Passover is an important vocalization of the story of the Messiah. The second letter is Samekh which is a circle or ring. Think of it this way, in the calendar year we circle back to Passover as we again remember our salvation. It is a symbol of the prodigals coming home as they circle back to their roots. It is a symbol for healing and springing forth of the new year. Think of it as a symbol for a cycle and a spiritual rebirth. Passover is always on the fourteenth of the month of Nissan which is in the springtime. The final letter is Chet which is the symbol for new life. It is the picture of a gateway. Also the Chuppah the Jewish wedding tent is symbolized by the Chet.
    So let's put it together and see what the letters in the word are telling us. (Pey) There is a telling of the story (Samekh) the story of the healing and springing forth, a story that is to be told over and over again in the springtime cycle of new life (Chet) that shows us the gateway to our salvation, our wedding if you will to Christ our Saviour.
     I love how everything in Passover points to our salvation even the hidden clues in the Hebrew word Pesach..

The Prophetic in Purim

     Purim is a Hebrew holiday that celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from annihilation by the devices of the wicked Hamon. The whole story of adventure, love, betrayal, intrigue, and epic clashes between good and evil is found in the book of Esther in the Bible. The players: Vashti-beautiful Queen of the most powerful Ruler at that time; Mordecai-the Hebrew uncle; Haman-the evil one who wants to wipe out the Jews; Esther-Jewish maiden brought to the palace to the harem; King Ahasuerus-powerful ruler of the known world.
     The story opens with King Ahasuerus having a banquet for the princes, nobles and the army leaders. During this time, he calls for Queen Vashti to come and display her beauty. She refused. This made the king angry. So he banned her from his presence. Then came the gathering of the maidens so that the king could find a new queen. Esther who was raised by her uncle Mordecai was brought to the palace. Her uncle admonishes her to keep her heritage quiet. So Esther does not reveal that she is Jewish. But the favor of God's people is upon her and she is moved to the best place in the harem.  She is treated specially by the keeper of the harem. She is given special food and attendents but mostly she is given advice. Now before she could be brought to the king, she was given a twelve month beauty treatment. She was given six months of oil of myrrh and six months of spices and cosmetics.

     Meanwhile, a plot to kill the king is discovered by Mordecai and the plot is overthrown which saves the kings life. Remember this as it will be very important later in the story. Shortly after this Haman rises to power in the kingdom. And he begins to demand deference and worship from those who come in contact with him. But Mordecai who only worships God refuses. So then Haman discovers that Mordecai is a Jew and decides that all Jews must be wiped off the face of the earth. An edict goes forth and the annihilation begins. Esther learns of what is happening from her uncle Mordecai, who tells her that her appointment with her destiny moment is at hand. He tells her that she is not safe as well as any other Jewish person, and asks her to intercede on behalf of her people with the king. Now the choice is more difficult, do nothing and die with the Jews, OR go to the king who has not called you and face death UNLESS he extends his scepter to you. Esther requests prayer and fasting and also states that she and her maidens will pray and fast as well. Then she approaches the king. At this time Haman is having a gallows built to hang Mordecai upon. And then Esther goes to the king, who extends his scepter to her. He offers her up to half his kingdom, and what does she ask for? She asks for the king and Haman to come to a banquet that she has prepared just for them. That night the king could not sleep and he asks for the chronicles be read to him and that is when he hears about the plot that Mordecai had discovered. The next day he has Haman lead  Modecai wearing the king's robes and on the king's horse through the street proclaiming that this is what is done for the man that the king chooses to honor. Then they go to the banquet, and Esther asks them to come back the next night for another banquet. On the second night Queen Esther makes her request for her and her people. The king is so upset that someone should try to hurt the queen goes to the garden. Haman stays to beg for his life. When the king returns the Haman has fallen onto Queen Esther's sofa. The king has him taken away and he is hanged on the gallows that he prepared for Mordecai. The decree is changed and the Jews will not be annihilated but they may seek vengence on their enemies and a great victory is had!

Where is the prophetic in Purim? Understanding the the enemy of our souls was trying to cut off our destiny at the root. He was trying to stop the Messiah from being born. Because if you have no children of Abraham, you have no lineage for the Messiah to come from. But God protected the root of our family tree, the root of the Judeo-Christian heritage.

Oh and ladies, my favorite part of this story is how Esther prepared herself for her role in destiny. She made herself beautiful. A year of beauty treatments to step into place to stop the annihilation of her people. Amazing! God is so good to us. He allows us to rest and just be beautiful! Now how fun is this!

This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life and loving the prophetic!