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May 21, 2011

The Counting of the Omer – Only For Jewish People?

Filed under: G2G Devotional — Tags: , — admin @ 2:15 pm

Are Jewish people the only ones who can benefit from the counting of the omer? You may be wondering what on God’s green earth is an omer and why should I count it.

Very briefly, counting omer refers to the counting of the 50 days between Passover and Pentecost. This was actually a command that was given by God to the Israelites found in Leviticus 23:15.

Quite simply, what is involved is “counting your blessings”, and this is an extremely important activity for Christians to engage in for several reasons.

1) The Passover represents freedom and Pentecost represents the giving of God’s Word and His Holy Spirit. What value does freedom have without a vital reason to exercise that freedom? The counting of the omer reminds us daily of our purpose, our destiny in the Lord.

2)  With all the craziness that is going on around us, we need to be reminded of what SETS US APART. What sets us apart is the availability of experiencing the awesome blessings of our Lord and King. This is accomplished as we set aside these 50 days to do just that.

3) Even the world around us seems to recognize the importance of countdowns. We see it with New Year’s and with rocket launches. As we participate in the “omer countdown”, an expectation to see God’s hand moving in our lives will build up in our hearts and minds. You see, His flow of blessings in our lives are regulated by our faith. That’s why Jesus could do very little in his hometown of Nazareth.

4) And finally, an unexpected benefit was realized as we observed this activity. It takes mental discipline to follow a 50-day countdown. I know discipline is a dirty word these days but we all need to find ways to cultivate this character trait back into our lives.

We invite you to take part in the counting of the omer and get closer in touch with all of the blessings available to us as children of God. Come join us and learn more about His Biblical feasts  and watch the doors of God’s blessings open up for you to enjoy.

The Promises of God in the Bible – Can You Afford To Ignore Them?

The promises of God in the Bible give us hope to live each day with great expectation. Is that how you are living? I’d be willing to say that 99% of Christians, including myself, have failed to do this consistently. I think we tend to only focus on His promises when some challenge happens to come along.

We cannot afford to ignore His promises because without them we are left to create our own alternatives. The promises of God in scripture are there for us to depend upon and live by. And we can depend on them fully because  the Bible tells us that God is not a liar. It also tells us countless times to put our complete trust in Him and in His promises.

The following passage in Hebrews 11:6 should get yout attention:”… for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Did you get that? Our Heavenly Father wants to reward us and that’s a promise!

If that concept is a bit of a stretch for you, let me ask you this. Do you get excited about opportunities to reward your own children?

I believe that the church is in such a weakened state because we have failed to put our faith in the Biblical promises of God. You see, our level of faith determines whether we experience the blessings of His promises or not.

Another key from this passage is our need to diligently seek Him. God gave us a built-in way to do this starting about 3500 years ago. He simply invited us to join Him by celebrating His feasts and getting in line with his timing.

These aren’t rules and regulations to follow but they are His way of getting us positioned to receive the fullness of His abundant blessings. Through this, we can enter our own promised land, which is the destiny He has for each of us.

Since God is the One who created time, I think it is understandable that He would have His own calendar with His own special times of feasting. As we celebrate these times to honor Him, His promises of blessing found throughout the Bible are unlocked for our benefit and for His glory.

If you choose to ignore His special events, I believe you are also choosing to ignore the promises of God in the Bible.

We invite you and your family to learn more about His Biblical feasts and watch the doors of God’s blessings open up for you to enjoy.

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