Yearly, on Christmas Day in Washington Crossing, PA, the story of George Washington and his troops crossing the Delaware River to march to Trenton is re-enacted.  The Continental Army attacked the Hessian garrison on Christmas in 1776.  They overcame freezing rain, snow, ferocious winds, an ice-choked river and a long, cold march to Trenton to win the battle against the Hessians.  The victory helped to bolster the sagging morale of the army so that they continued to fight the British and their allies.  
 
One year later, the troops were in Valley Forge from December 1777 to June 1778.  When they arrived, the cold and hungry troops built log huts to live in during the months to come.  There is a legend that one of the soldiers at the Valley Forge encampment was a Jew who encouraged George Washington.  Author Stephen Krensky was so inspired by this story that he wrote a book called Hanukkah at Valley Forge.  Interestingly, in the year 1777, the first night of Hanukkah fell on Christmas Eve.  The story is told that the lone Jewish soldier waited until the other soldiers were sleeping before he set up his Menorah.  He lit the first candle and wept.  As he was walking around the huts, George Washington saw the soldier and stopped to ask him why he was crying.
 
The Jewish soldier explained that he was crying out to God for the success of the troops.  He had experienced persecution in his hometown in Europe and came to American to escape from it.  He assured Washington that he would be victorious in his campaign because God is on the side of the righteous, just as He was with the small band of men led by the Maccabees who overtook the large Greek army.  It was God who granted them a miraculous victory because of their faith in Him.  This story served as an inspiration for Washington to move forward against the British.  Doesn't this sound like the fulfillment of Isaiah 49:6?  "I will make you a light for the Gentiles that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
 
The legend continues that the same Jewish soldier was at home in the Bronx in New York a year later.  On the first night of Hanukkah, the veteran placed a Menorah in his windowsill with one candle lit.  After hearing a knock at the door, he opened it to find George Washington on his front step.  Washington said to him, "There is that fabulous light, the Hanukkah light!  That flame and your remarkable words kindled a light in my heart on that dark and bitter night.  We were in a tight situation then, and your words encouraged me so!  They spurred me on with new hope.  You will soon be awarded a Medal of Honor from the United States of America for your bravery in Valley Forge, but tonight you will receive a personal memento from me."  The General then placed a gold medal on the table.  Engraved on it was a Menorah with one candle burning.  These words were inscribed on it:  "As a sign of thanks for the light of your candle.  George Washington."
 
Here we have the Jewish vet reminding Washington of the faithfulness of God.  The size of the army coming against these small bands of soldiers was not important.  What was and is important is the abilities of our God and His delight in helping us.  Scripture talks about quite a few battles where the armies of the Israelites were so much smaller than the armies of their enemies.  One example is when the Assyrian army came against King Hezekiah and his people.  Here is what he told them:  "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him.  There is greater power with us than with him." (2 Chronicles 32:7)
 
Tonight, Jews all over the world will be lighting the final candle on their Menorah and will remember the faithfulness of God and His miraculous power to help them re-take the temple in Jerusalem.  There will always be forces of evil who attempt to defeat and discourage the people of God.  But here is the truth from John 1:5. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."  Our Lord still fights for us when evil attacks.  Be confident in the Lord's faithfulness and His miraculous power on our behalf.

Like last year, this year our celebration of the birth of Christ occurs in the middle of Chanukah.  When events on the Jewish calendar converge with events on the Church's calendar, I like to look at the similarities between them.  Both these events land in the month of Kislev, the ninth month on the Jewish calendar.  Since Kislev is associated with the Hebrew letter SAMEKH, which pictures trust and support, it is time for us to do just that in our relationship with the Lord. 
 
The constellation Sagittarius, the archer, appearing in Kislev, reminds us that this is the month to develop our warfare strategies for the season ahead.  We must "fight against empires and cultures,” as Chuck Pierce says in his book, A Time to Advance.  And, it is important that we trust God to guide us and give us mercy.  Psalm 23:5-6 says, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
 
During the time when the Temple was overtaken by the Syrian-Greek army the flame of the candelabra had been extinguished and the altar defiled.  There was little hope for the future; times were dark.  Likewise, at the time when Christ was to be born the darkness of oppression covered the people.  But God had a plan.  With His help, warfare strategies were developed to overcome the enemy.
 
A group of Jewish patriots called the Maccabees had hope and developed a battle plan to retake the Temple.  They bravely fought and defeated the Greek army to free their people from tyranny and re-establish worship in the Temple.  As they set about to cleanse it, they realized there was only enough purified oil for the lampstand to burn for one night.  Miraculously, it burned for eight.  God arranged for the light to continue burning and followed them with goodness and mercy.
 
God's plan to overcome darkness and bring freedom for the oppressed was to ultimately be done through Christ Jesus.  He came to shine His light in the darkness and to defeat Satan and the kingdom of darkness.  His battle strategy includes us, His Church.  Victory is promised through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony and not loving our lives as much as to shrink from death. (Revelation 12:11)
 
As we look back in history, we see that God has always been faithful to His people.  He is trustworthy and sent Jesus as the Lord of Hosts, Light of the World, Prince of Peace and Redeemer to help us develop battle strategies and lead us in triumphant procession (2 Corinthians 2:14) and who "made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God..." (2 Corinthians 4:6) It is time for us to develop our strategies for the New Year and to look to the One who leads us in victory and follows us with goodness mercy.

The Lord's appointed festivals are first described in the book of Leviticus, Chapter 23.  The Feast of Tabernacles is particularly unique because it last for seven days and God's people are instructed to live in temporary shelters for seven days as their ancestors did when they were brought out of Egypt.  Leviticus 23:40 tells us, “On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees--from palms, willows and other leafy trees--and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days."  Here is how Deuteronomy 16:15 describes this joyful festival:  "For seven days celebrate the festival...for the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete."  Reading through the Old Testament, one can see how faithful the Israelites were to follow the law when it came to celebrating the feasts.  The exiles who returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple settled in and "began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it..." (Ezra 3:2) In the seventh month they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. (Verse 4)
 
In my opinion, the most interesting reading concerning the Festival of Tabernacles occurs in Nehemiah 8:14-16.  "They found written in the Law...that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month...'Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees to make temporary shelters'--as it is written."  The unique part of the festival celebration with Nehemiah is that they cut branches from the olive tree and the wild olive tree.  What a picture of the apostle Paul's dissertation on grafted in branches!
 
Israel is frequently referred to as an olive tree.  The people of Israel are the branches.  Paul recognized that many of his people did not receive the good news of Jesus as Lord. (Romans 10:16) Because of it, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear..." (Romans 11:8) "Because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.”    (Romans 11:11) Paul uses an analogy, describing the Jews as olive branches and the Gentiles as wild olive branches.  "If some of the branches have been broken off, (Jews) and you, though a wild olive shoot, (Gentiles) have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourselves to be superior to those branches.  If you do, consider this:  You do not support the root, but the root supports you." (Romans 11:17-18)
 
One day the olive tree will flourish with the natural branches and the wild branches both grafted in.  We  read in Ephesians 2:15 that God's "purpose was to create in Himself one new man..."  Jew and Gentile will live together in peace, both reconciled to God.  As the Jews in Nehemiah's day laid the branches of the olive tree and wild olive tree on the top of their temporary shelters they would have been looking up at a picture of the future.  One day Jew and Gentile together will worship the King of kings during this festival. (Zechariah 14:16-19) When and how this will come to pass is unclear.  What is clear is that we will be worshiping The Lamb together in joyful celebration.  What a day this will be!

The journey of the children of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years is recalled during the celebration called The Feast of Tabernacles, Ingathering or Sukkot.  That celebration will begin at sundown tonight and is the greatest harvest feast of the year.  The Jews build and dwell in temporary shelters called sukkahs or booths.  The tops are open and covered with tree branches that allow those dwelling in the booths to see some of the stars in the sky.  For seven days they have their meals or sleep in these temporary shelters.  The Jews are taught to pray that God will send rain for the coming year since none falls between May and October.
 
In Israel, the borders of the Sea of Galilee have shrunk because of drought.  Much of the land is desert and, its inhabitants are keenly aware of their need for water.  On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles the Temple priests performed the Water Libation or Pouring Ceremony.  During this time, impassioned prayers were lifted to God by worshipers for abundant rain.  It is significant that water was collected from the Pools of Siloam (meaning sent or sending forth) and brought to the Temple in Jerusalem where the priest would pour it out, along with wine, onto the altar.  While this pouring was taking place, the people and the priests sang Isaiah 12:3-6.  "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  In that day you will say, 'Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted.  Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.  Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.'" 
 
For those of us who know Jesus as Savior, this Scripture is particularly meaningful.  Yeshua is the Hebrew word for salvation.  For us to have the abundant life that He offers we must draw deeply from the "wells of Salvation." The wells of Yeshua will never run dry.  In fact, here is what He proclaimed: "Then on the most important day of the feast, the last day, Jesus stood and shouted out to the crowds--'All you thirsty ones, come to me!  Come to me and drink!  Believe in me so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like the Scripture says!'  Jesus was prophesying about the Holy Spirit that believers were being prepared to receive..." (John 7:37-39 - TPT)
 
Just as the Israelis cry for the physical rain, we must use this season to cry out for the rains of the Spirit to saturate us.  Yeshua has already poured out blood and water from His side as He hung on the Cross.  He was poured out like a drink offering so that we could have eternal life.  He wants us to draw deeply from Him for deep calls unto deep.

The Psalmist cries out, "May the words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14) We must agree with this cry as "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Psalm 18:21) What we verbally agree with will manifest.  We want to agree with the Kingdom of God with our mouths and should be especially aware of this in the season that we are in.  All the prophets seem to be pointing out that we are in a new decade on the Hebrew calendar (5780) and likewise on the Greek calendar when the year 2020 begins. The Hebrew word "Pey" is representative of the number 80 and is a picture of a mouth.  Prophets tell us that this is the decade of speaking and of prophetic declaration.  Just as God used the power of His spoken words to birth the world, we have the power to create with our words.
 
How can the words of our mouths be pleasing to God?  Many Bible verses give us insight on this.  For example, "...gracious words are pure in His sight." (Proverbs 15:26) and "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life..." (Proverbs 10:11) For us to use our tongues in a way that delights the Lord, we must ask for wisdom.  The book of Proverbs comes from King Solomon and includes many verses on wisdom.  At the beginning of his reign as king of Israel, Solomon understood the great responsibility that had been handed to him by his father, King David.  With a heart of humility, Solomon said to the Lord, "...I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties...So give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong..." (1 Kings 3:7-9) The Lord's response reveals His pleasure in Solomon's request.  "I will do what you have asked, I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be." (1 Kings 3:12) We need wisdom to know what to release from our mouths.
 
Here is something to consider as written in Luke 6:45. "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."  If our words flow from our hearts, we must learn to "guard our heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23) The apostle Paul gives us some insight on how to guard our hearts.  "...in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding; will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) From these two Scriptures, we learn to guard our hearts and that peace, manifest through prayers and thanksgiving, will accomplish this.
 
The Holy Spirit has been given to us to guide us in all truth. (John 16:13) His purpose is to bring glory to Jesus by taking from what is His and making it known to us. (John 16:14) Another important aspect of knowing how to speak in a way that pleases the Lord is to listen to His Spirit.  James says, "Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak..." (James 1:19) 2 Corinthians 10:5 describes another aspect of listening.  "...We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ."
 
Finally, we must grab hold of a promise that Jesus made at the Sermon on the Mount.  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6) Psalm 37:30 explains why we should do this:  "The mouth of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just." 
 
I believe the Lord wants to release words of guidance, encouragement and life through His children.  That is us!  We can be part of God's grand plans for bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth as we speak in a way that pleases Him.

We were designed to go from strength-to-strength (Psalm 84:5) and from glory-to-glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18) God's desire is to release blessings into our lives so that we can grow in our understanding of who we are as His children.  Growth happens in cycles, which is one of the reasons God ordained for us to follow His Biblical calendar.  As we align ourselves with the Lord's timing and purposes, we will grow to be more like Him.  The cycles God set up are meant to lead us into greater intimacy with Him and higher levels of blessing.
 
Psalm 84:5 says, "Blessed are those who strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage." Holman's Dictionary defines pilgrimage as "a journey, especially a religious trek to a site at which God has revealed Himself in the past."  In the Old Testament we can see how the Israelites went to Bethel, Gilgal, Shiloh, Beersheba and Mt. Horeb in their quest to find God.  After David relocated the ark to Jerusalem, it became the place to go to commune with the Lord.  Three times a year adult male Israelites were required to appear before the Lord for the major feasts. (Exodus 23:14-17, 34:18-23, Deuteronomy 16:16) These three journeys to Jerusalem are known as the "pilgrim feasts."
 
Those who have traveled to Jerusalem know that the City sits on a high elevation.  In the journey to honor God one had to go up.  This is called "Aliyah" or "the going up."  In every year, season and circumstance of our lives, we are called upward.  We must always choose the higher path as it leads to greater strength and greater glory.
 
The three pilgrim feasts in the calendar year include Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.  A transaction and growth occur as we celebrate each one, and the journey mirrors the walk through the Tabernacle.  At the first stop to the Outer Court we meet with the Passover Lamb who redeemed us and cleanses us so that we are ready for the next stop.  Without the atonement and cleansing there cannot be the anointing by the pouring out of the Spirit of God.  The second stop in the Holy Place is where we receive provision for our journey and empowerment by the Spirit of God.  Now we are ready to travel to the most blessed season of our journey.  It is the time when we get to come into the Presence of God—to tabernacle with Him in the Most Holy Place and to celebrate with joy the glory of the Lord.
 
Tonight, Jews will begin celebrating the three fall feasts—The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.  This month is one of great celebration for God's people as they blow the shofar 100 times in their worship service.  This is a season to celebrate what God has already done and to rehearse what has been promised. (Believers recognize that Passover and Pentecost have been fulfilled, but the fall feasts remain to be fulfilled.)
 
The blowing of the ram's horn during Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year) is done as a call to repentance.  Genesis 22 is traditionally read in synagogues—the story of God providing a substitute atonement for Isaac after Abraham placed him on the altar of sacrifice.  Ten days after the Feast of Trumpets, the most holy day on the calendar is celebrated—the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur.  Even though the Jews read about the substitutionary atonement provided for Abraham, many do not understand that the ultimate sacrifice was already made on Passover through the blood of Messiah Yeshua.
 
All of us need to set our hearts on pilgrimage so that we can grow closer to God.  As vessels that carry God's glory, we carry the light of His love on our journey so that we bring others into God's Kingdom. One day the Lord will return for His Bride, the Church, to the sound of the trumpet. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) We want to be ready!

​Like a city of refuge talked about in the Bible, the sixth month of Elul is considered a "haven in time."  As we enter this month on the Hebrew calendar, we should be going after the blessings of God for it.  One of the reasons Elul is such a blessing is that it is a time when God extended forgiveness and mercy to His people.  During the previous two months, the Israelites fell into significant sin, the sin of worshiping the golden calf and the sin of unbelief by the 10 spies and the rest of the tribes of Israel.  Not only did God forgive His people, but He made a way for them and us to have special accessibility to Him.
 
During Elul God spoke to Moses and said, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.  Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai.  Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain." (Exodus 34:1-2) Moses climbed to the top of the mountain, and the Lord passed in front of him proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sins..." (Exodus 34:6-7) In addition, the Lord gave Moses instructions on how the people should live to have favor with Him.  Here is part of the covenant He made on the Mountain:  "I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God." (Exodus 34:24)
 
Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai and returned carrying the radiance of the Lord on his face.  This meeting was the first of many times when Moses would speak with the Lord face to face.  In these subsequent meetings, the Lord instructed him about the Sabbath and told him how to build the Tabernacle and its contents, how to clothe the priests and how to set up the Tabernacle.  Upon the completion of the Tabernacle, "the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle." (Exodus 40:34)
 
God's desire has always been to dwell with His people.  This is one of the reasons He has ordained times of resting, feasting and celebrations during every week, month and year.  The Jews know that this month of Elul is a time of preparation for the "High Holy Days" of Tishrei--the seventh month.  God so delights in having us draw near to Him that He cannot wait until the seventh month.  He wants to be part of our everyday lives and to share special intimacy with us now.  He demonstrated this when He sent Jesus to earth to dwell with us.  Dwelling is a word for Tabernacle.  This is what the Bible says about Jesus:  "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." (John 1:14) Jesus lived in the flesh for 33 years.  Though the Lord set up specific times during the year when we are to prepare to meet Him, He also enjoys showing up in unexpected times and ways.  Elul is the month when the Jews say, "The King is in the field!"
 
Let us use this month to seek the Lord more diligently and expectantly.  Let us make Elul a time of devotion to Him where we purposely seek Him.  Remember that in a haven people are able to rest, regroup, find peace and prepare for the future.  Perhaps the Lord will honor us with His manifested Presence in a unique way as we wait upon Him.  We are giving Him extra special time in order to pursue His extra special blessings!

Although God intended the fifth month of Av to be a time of yearly celebration of His goodness, the sin of unbelief by the Israelites caused a complete change in what would happen.  According to the Hebrew calendar, on the 9th of Av the children of Israel chose to believe a negative report instead of the promise of God.  The voice of faith spoken by Caleb and Joshua was ignored and the voice of unbelief was embraced.  Caleb said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." (Numbers `3:30) The ten spies reported:  "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." (Numbers 13:31) This is a vow that led to a curse that is still in place today.
 
We are now at the beginning of Av.  A yearly cycle of cursing occurs because repentance of past sins never took place.  Unbelief was repeated when Jesus walked the earth.  Though the Jews heard God's words of truth through Him and saw the miracles He performed, they did not receive their Messiah.  They crucified the Promise.
 
Jesus came as a Redeemer with the intent of rebuilding everything that Satan has destroyed.  He requires us to repent and make a choice to walk in freedom.  We must be extremely careful who we agree with.  Any time we agree with Satan a bad root develops and gives him permission to operate in our lives and those of our descendants.  When we are overwhelmed with what we see we must listen to the voice of truth.  Truth trumps what we see.  The promises that God placed in the Bible are for us to stand on.  "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ.  And so, through Him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 1:20)
 
In Deuteronomy 11 God's instructions to the children of Israel were written down.  He was letting them know the importance of His words.  He said, "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your foreheads.  Teach them to your children...Write them down on the door frames of your house and on your gates so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers...If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to hold fast to Him—then the Lord will drive out these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.  Every place where you set your foot will be yours...No man will be able to stand against you.  The Lord your God, as He promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go." (Verses 18-28)
 
We have a choice today to agree with the blessing or the curse.  As God said in Deuteronomy, curses come to rest on our lives when we agree with the wrong kingdom; blessings come when we obey the Lord.  We are warned in Hebrews 3:12:  "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God." If we discover that we have made an agreement with the kingdom of darkness, we can repent, rebuke it and declare the truth.  We must declare that our alliance is with the Lord.  He is the one who will restore what has been stolen and help us rebuild what has been destroyed.

​It was during the month of Tammuz, the fourth month on the Hebrew calendar, that Moses sent the spies into the Promised Land to explore it.  He appointed one leader from each tribe to investigate the situation.  They were to check out how the people lived and the soil conditions and the kind of trees that grew in it.  If possible, they were to bring back some fruit.  Twelve men returned on the eve of the ninth of Av, the next month, with a mixed report.  All acknowledged that the land was flowing with milk and honey and that the fruit was huge.  However, ten of the twelve men insisted that the giants who lived in the land, descendants of Anak and part of the Nephilim described in Genesis 6:4, would be too much for them to overtake.  Even though Joshua and Caleb reminded the Israelites that God had promised to go before them and give them the land, fear overtook them, and they were unwilling to move forward into their destiny.
 
Since we are now in the month of Tammuz, it would benefit us to look at the story in Numbers 13 and 14.  It was the giants in the land and the belief of the ten spies that they could not overcome them that kept the children of Israel, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, from receiving their inheritance.  God had promised His children that they would overcome the giants and take possession of the Land.  (“Then the Lord said to Moses…'Go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants.’” - Exodus 33:1) They were on the threshold of victory but allowed fear and oppression to overtake them.
 
At a recent Global Awakening conference, Sean Smith, prophetic evangelist and Director of Point Blank International, spoke about this situation and suggested our present generation is in a battle with the spirit of Anak.  That spirit causes us to doubt and accept mediocrity.  It erodes our resolve to fight and keeps us from occupying our promises and producing fruit.  The spirit distorts our goals so that we do not want to take on a challenge and desire to return to "Egypt."  Anak piggybacks onto trauma and disappointment and causes us to become complacent, apathetic and passive.  In essence, that spirit puts a cap on us.  
 
Sean gave us some truths to remember in order to deal with Anak.  Bill Johnson, lead pastor at Bethel in California, inspired this one:  "When you come into agreement with the principles of the world, you come under the authority of the principality that released it."  Do not believe in the magnitude of the problem, but in the certainty of God's promise.  Sean says we must be aware of the spirit of Anak and develop a game plan to overcome it.  Why?  "You face your greatest obstacle when you are on the doorstep of your greatest miracle."
 
Let's be aware of this challenge and push ourselves to move forward instead of regressing into the territories we have already won!  We must make the month ahead of us a time to stand on the promises of God and a time to worship Him.  Evaluate your situations through the eyes of Christ.  I would like to suggest that Rita Springer's song "Defender" articulates a strategy for success in our battles to take the ground that God wants to give us.  Soak in her words and let them inspire us to have confidence in our God and every promise He has given to us:
 
"You go before I know that You've gone to win my war.  You come back with the head of my                  enemy; You come back and You call it my victory. (1st Verse)
You go before I know that You've gone to win my war.  Your love becomes my greatest defense; It leads me from the dry wilderness. (2nd Verse)
You know before I do where my heart can seek to find Your truth.  Your mercy is the shade I'm living in; You restore my faith and hope again. (3rd Verse)
All I did was praise; All I did was worship; All I did was bow down; All I did was stay still. Hallelujah, You have saved me; So much better Your way.  Hallelujah, Great Defender; So much better Your way."  
                (Chorus)
 
Hallelujah indeed!  Our Great Defender goes before us to prepare the way and give us the victory.  He is worthy of all praise and honor!

Shavuot (The Feast of Weeks) was one of the festivals where God required the Israelites to go to the Temple to present Him with an offering.  "Count off 50 days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord.  From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord." (Leviticus 23:17) "When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket.  Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name." (Deuteronomy 26:1-2)
 
Two offerings are given during the Feast of Weeks--what the Greeks called Pentecost.  The firstfruits offering was to thank God for His bounty and is the word Bikkurim in Hebrew.  The fruits to be placed in the basket, talked about in Deuteronomy, included the seven species of Israel:  wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, dates.  It took the Israelites seven weeks to travel from Egypt to Mt. Sinai where God confirmed His covenant with them by beginning to give them Torah.  So, Shavuot became a duel celebration:  One to thank God for the harvest and one to thank Him for the 10 Commandments.  It also celebrates the renewal of their commitment and dedication to God.
 
If we compare the offering of Passover with the Offering of Shavuot, we see a distinct difference.  Yeast was strictly forbidden during Passover.  "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.  Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for generations to come.  In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the 14th until the evening of the 21st day." (Exodus 12:17-18) As we see in Leviticus 23:17, the Israelites were to bring two loaves of bread, "baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord." 
 
Why do you think yeast, or leaven, was allowed in the second feast when it was not allowed in the first?  May I make a suggestion?  The focus of Passover was the sacrifice of the pure and spotless lamb.  God would send His Son years later so that Believers could see that He is the pure and spotless Lamb without sin (leaven).  However, during Shavuot God was preparing His chosen people to receive into their fold Gentiles who would follow Jesus/Yeshua.  The Israelite community looked at the Gentiles as sinful--full of leaven.  Could the two loaves of bread containing yeast represent the Jew and Gentile?
 
The disciple Luke wrote about a time when Jesus was trying to explain what God's kingdom looks like.  Jesus said, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?  It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." (Luke 13:20-21) Those who know their Messiah are to "infect" the world around them with the love of God to bring them into the Kingdom of God.  The love of God is for everyone; God's kingdom is all inclusive.
 
So, God chose Shavuot to demonstrate the power of His Kingdom by bringing the Holy Spirit into the lives of those who were waiting in Jerusalem.  Three thousand were added to their number in one day. (Acts 2:41) The book of Acts reveals to us how God began to bring the Gentiles into His family.  Saul, who became Paul, had a ministry to the Gentiles, and Peter was given a vision confirming that God intended to transform pagans, so they became members of His Kingdom. (Acts 10:27-35)
 
Today, Sunday, Jew and Gentile are celebrating Shavuot or Pentecost.  Let us join the celebration as we have been marked to join the Kingdom of God.  Let us cry out for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit to empower us as those who were empowered on the day of Pentecost.