Thanks AND Book Giveaway

What a joy to spend a day with the women of Calvary Chapel North Jersey on Saturday. It was a special day dedicated to the beauty of the Lord, and the beauty that He instills in us.

How good and pleasant it is when sisters live together in unity! Ps. 133:1
My first thought was how good it was to be there, to be in the company of such lovely women.  And I remembered someone else who said,”It is good for us to be here.”
One day, Jesus took His inner circle, Peter, James and John, up on a high mountain. Miraculously, Jesus was transformed into a figure of blazing white, and He was joined by Elijah and Moses. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here…” Matt. 17:4
Peter also suggested building 3 shelters so that they could stay on the mountaintop. But that wasn’t God’s plan then, nor is it now. In His grace, He provides us spiritual mountaintop experiences, but He doesn’t want us to set up camp and stay there. Were we to stay permanently up on the mountain, the people in the valley would never get to hear the good news. Also, fruit doesn’t grow on mountaintops. Fruit grows in the valley.
So thankfully, we get glimmers of glory, and then we are  commissioned to share what He has shared with us. We enjoy brief periods of R + R before we head back to the struggle, back to the valley. Yet whether on the mountaintop or in the valley, He is with us.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Ps. 23:4 NLT
So as much as I would love to stay on a retreat, experiencing the sweet joy and fellowship with God and His people, it is necessary to take what I’ve gleaned and return to the frontlines. To continue the blessing and as a thank-you to the women of Calvary Chapel, I am giving away the book “Who Calls Me Beautiful” by Regina Frankin. I will make 2 copies available.

Who Calls Me Beautiful?—Finding Our True Image in the Mirror of God


Who Calls Me Beautiful? helps you to identify the forces that influence your life and affect how you understand “beauty,” and encourages you to embrace a biblical and spiritual balance that honors the God who created you.

“I am an ordinary woman who has faced the same struggles that other women face,” says Regina Franklin. “But we have an extraordinary God who sees us as His beautiful vessels.”

Contest Rules:

1. For the Calvary gals, if you sign up to be a follower or subscriber to Eternity Cafe, and leave a comment with your email address, you will be entered to win.


2. If you already follow or subscribe to Eternity Cafe and leave a comment with your email address, you will be entered to win.

Contest ends Wednesday, May 5th

Battle Cry – Part 1 – Worship

I will praise you in the great assembly.
I will fulfill my vows in the presence
of those who worship you.
Psalm 22:25

This past weekend, I had the privilege to accompany some of the teens in our church to the Battle Cry event at the Meadowlands arena. It was both exhausting and exhilarating. Over the next few posts, I will share with you some small snippets that spoke to me in a huge way over this past weekend.

On Friday night, Hillsong United performed as the closing act of the night. As a huge fan of their music, that alone was reason enough for me to go. I sat behind our 6 boys (the girls were beside me) and was blessed to my core to see them all actively engaged in worship, hands raised and hearts abandoned.

I felt compelled to send this text message to my pastor who is also their Sunday School teacher.

Boys… 6
Arms raised… 12
Worshipping God… Priceless

After the song “The Stand,” which contains the lyrics “I’ll stand with arms high and heart abandoned,” the lead singer said, “God is more pleased with the heart abandoned part than the hands raised part.” As a bona fide arm-raiser, that statement pierced me deeply to examine the degree of heart abandonment I offer God, and not just during worship, but in my day-to-day experience.

Do I get caught up in the music experience and miss the divine encounter?
Do I offer merely lip service to God when He wants radical heart change?

The next day, I was challenged again. Believe it or not, during the rap concert! Now, I love contemporary Christian music, which to some hymn-lovers is akin to heresy. But honestly, I am guilty of feeling that way about rap music. Until Saturday.

I was in the back row with a birds-eye view of the entire arena.
16,500 people, mostly youth, multi-cultural, every race represented.
31,000 arms pulsing back and forth in unison, voices raised, loudly praising God.
The rapper kept yelling “Let me ask a question!” To which he and the entire gathering yelled back, “Anybody wanna praise the Lord!” Over and over and over. When I thought it was over, he’d do it over and over and over again.

Suddenly, to my eye, the bright white stagelights blurred, and I sensed the presence of Jesus in that light joyfully receiving the praises of tens of thousands of His people.

I saw a vast crowd, too great to count,
from every nation and tribe and people and language,
standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.
… they were shouting with a mighty shout…
Revelation 7:9-10
Imagine – Jesus enjoying rap! It challenged me to expand my limited imaginings about what heaven may be like. Surely Jesus on His throne will revel in receiving praises accompanied by all kinds of music – African drumbeats, Caribbean steel drums, harps, guitars, and yes, even rap.

 

Pray With ______________ .

A few weeks ago, I shared a post called Healing Faith. I have been praying for your requests as you have, and God has already answered. Amen!

Recently, my dear friend Lisa and I were texting. Her text asked me how things were going, and I texted back a prayer request. Her simple response was

“praying with expectation…”

I love that response. She prayed with the assurance that our prayers are not merely words floating like gossamer clouds through the atmosphere. They are known by our God even before we voice them. If He instructs us to pray, we can expect that He will hear and answer.  

Tonight in doing some research for my book, I came across some great quotes about prayer that I want to share with you. Enjoy!

The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but that we will hear Him. ~William McGill

We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. ~Oswald Chambers

What we usually pray to God is not that His will be done, but that He approve ours. ~Helga Bergold Gross

We must move from asking God to take care of the things that are breaking our hearts, to praying about the things that are breaking His heart. ~Margaret Gibb

Before we can pray, “Lord, Thy Kingdom come,” we must be willing to pray, “My Kingdom go.” ~Alan Redpath

Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God. ~Edwin Keith

Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden. ~Corrie ten Boom

Prayer is not merely an occasional impulse to which we respond when we are in trouble: prayer is a life attitude. ~Walter A. Mueller

Prayer may not change things for you, but it for sure changes you for things. ~Samuel M. Shoemaker


Call on God, but row away from the rocks. ~Indian Proverb
 
 
Did one speak to you? 

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning, I lay my request before You and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3
 

The Italian Stallion

I wrote this post 2 weeks ago on our return from Florida, but waited for family clearance before publishing it. How funny that my last 2 posts were about that waiting period that God allows us to experience sometimes, and this post chronicles our unexpected and unwelcome delay to begin our trip.

 It all began with a rocky start. Apparently, due to the severe weather on Saturday, JetBlue cancelled our Sunday flight. Just cancelled it. As in, too bad, nothing you can do about it, just cancelled, want your money back? Uh, nooooo, what I want is to fly to Florida! I could share my rant about the 2 hours on hold, the misinformation I repeatedly received, or the rude desk attendant who informed me that the other airlines – who did not cancel flights – fly in different air currents to Florida (air currents? really??), but I’ll spare you. (And in the interest of full disclosure, the flight home was excellent and staffed with wonderful attendants.)


Instead, I would like to share a surprising happy experience.


Because we were delayed 24 hours, holed up in a Queens NY hotel, we decided to visit my husband’s uncle who rarely gets visitors now that he’s in a nursing home following knee surgery. Uncle Joey, my mother-in-law’s favorite brother, is a colorful character, and our hour-long conversation with him was like “The Godfather” meets “Abbott and Costello.”


The Panzica’s (P): Hi, Uncle Joey. So good to see you.


Uncle Joey (J): Yo. How ya doin’?


P: Good, you?


J: Menza, menz. Ey – whatcha gonna do?


J: (to AJ) Yo, you got tall. [at 5’8” AJ is never called tall, so he appreciated that!]


P: What’s new with you?


J: Nuthin’. Hey, he got tall, and I got bald.


P: So, how’s the food here?


J: Stinks! Macalacala! But whatcha gonna do?


The invisible guy in the next bed behind the curtain utters “fkejesjseucksyrdufbe” punctuated by hacking coughs.


J: So how’d ya find this place?


P: We followed the GPS.


J: What? (to AJ) Kid, you work for UPS?


AJP: No, we followed the GPS to get here. You know, satellites and maps giving directions….

 J: So, you like working for UPS? Ay – he got tall. So is she.
(She being Lauren who is 5’2″!)


We call my mother-in-law so Uncle Joey can talk to her.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t have her hearing aids in.


P: Hey, ma! We’re here with Uncle Joey. I’ll put him on.


J: Yo, Nina! Gravatsa! …. Wha’? – ya don’t understand me? …. Mercy mercy, mercy.


– “fkejesjseucksyrdufbe”


J: You gotta make the woochies!
(woochies are Italian fig cookies that take 2 days to make)


P: Uncle Joey, we’re gonna make woochies soon. We’ll bring you some.


J: Yeah, I want woochies. Ay – he got tall.


– “fkejesjseucksyrdufbe”


P: So, is there a good pizza place around here?


J: I dunno. Angelo opened up a place in Queens. On the highway. Ant’ny, you know Angelo?


P: I think so. What’s the name of the pizza place?


J: I dunno. It don’t have a name. He just opened up a pizza place – down the road – on the highway.


P: Did you ever sell pizza?


J: Oh yeah. Made pizza in my house. But Angelo, he opened up a pizza place – down the road – on the highway.


P: What else did you do?


J: I did everything, you name it. I delivered trees on 72nd to famous people. I sold firecrackers, you know, the good ones (the illegal ones). I worked for Bond Bread. For 40 years, I worked for them.


P: Did they give you a gold watch when you retired?


J: Ya know, they gave me a watch when I retired. Never worked.


P: Well, we gotta go, Uncle Joey.


J: Thanks for comin’. Ay – he got tall.


-“fkejesjseucksyrdufbe




We had been so disappointed about our delay, but because of it, we were able to visit with Uncle Joey which we had long wanted to do, but never found time for. An unexpected blessing that we would have missed if we spent our time griping and focused on our frustrating plight.


And we eventually did get to Florida, had a wonderful time with family and vacationing at the beach, even though it was 72 degrees both in Miami and in NJ!




Susan

Spring Blessings

See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come…
Song of Songs 2:11,12
In NJ, we’ve had more than our share of rain. March set a new record for rainfall. But my walk on Saturday morning revealed a hidden blessing from all that rain. The bushes and trees were bursting with blooms – magnificent cherry blossoms, dogwoods, forsythias and magnolias. Peeking through the ground were daffodils, crocuses, and tulips.

For months, these plants appeared dead or dormant, but the end of winter signals a resurgence of life. After weathering the winter in silence, growing and strengthening in the darkness underground, they emerge stronger and more fruitful.
When Jesus was in the tomb, it all looked bleak, but a great work was being done in the darkness. On the third day, He emerged in radiant glory, encouraging His followers to remain strong.

When we experience dark times, we must allow God to strengthen us, remaining confident that such times are not permanent, just a season that will pass in due time. He will bring us through and will use us to encourage others with the comfort we received from Him (2 Cor. 1:4).

May you experience renewed strength, and may you sense His presence in a mighty way. May you have renewed purpose, and fulfill His calling in your life. May you burst forth with the fruit of the Spirit. May you experience the resurrected life.

In The Middle

originally posted 4/11/2009

Today we are in the middle.

Yesterday was Good Friday –
the pain of suffering,
despair, heartache,
the event that left us full of tears
Tomorrow is Easter –
the joy of new life,
resurrection,
rising from the ashes of pain

Today we are just in the middle-
the preparing for tomorrow’s feast,
tomorrow’s worship,
tomorrow’s new garments

Do you ever feel – in the middle? Having experienced tragedy or loss, but still waiting for the future hope and peace that is promised? We must wait, but not as those with no hope. It was while Jesus was waiting that He set the captives free.


When I was in Israel, one of the most powerful moments for me was at the Garden Tomb. I entered the empty tomb, and after my eyes adjusted to the darkness saw the white garments folded on the stone bench. When I turned to exit the tomb and enter the light, there was a sign that read:

“He is not here;
He has risen,
just as He said.”
Matt. 28:6

Seeing those words in that place was a powerful reminder that He has risen – JUST AS HE SAID! What else did He say?

We have been healed:
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”-1 Peter 2:24


We have a future:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

So we must:
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” – Titus 1:2
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2-3

Today, while still in the middle, this is my prayer for you:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

May you have a most blessed Resurrection Day! May you rejoice with Him who rose from the dead to give you eternal life, who endured the darkness to bring us with Him into the light. And may you be preparing for the ultimate feast, worship and garments yet to come!!

The Passover Question

Part of the Passover Seder is the reading of the Four Questions. Usually this is done by the youngest boy, but since my siblings were too young, it was usually my job to recite – in Hebrew – the Four Questions. It actually is one question with four answers.

Ma nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilos?
Why is this night different from all other nights?
The answers:
On all other nights we eat leavened products and matzah,
and on this night only matzah.
On all other nights we eat all vegetables,
and on this night only bitter herbs.
On all other nights, we don’t dip our food even once,
and on this night we dip twice.
On all other nights we eat sitting or reclining,
and on this night we only recline.



When I saw the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” several years ago, I was stunned by one scene in particular, an ordinary scene that would not stand out to most of the viewers. In her home, Mary, the mother of Jesus, asked in Hebrew, “Ma nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilos?” The subtitles displayed the familiar words I already understood, “Why is this night different from all other nights?”
 
It was a lightbulb moment for me. I had known the question in the context of the Passover Seder, the Exodus, the familiar story from from childhood. Now I heard it in the context of the imminent betrayal of my Messiah.
 
This night was different from all other nights because the sacrifice would be made for the sins of the world, past, present and future.
 
This night was different because Scripture’s prophesies were about to be fulfilled.
 
This night was different because the world would be forever changed.
 
That’s why we call it Good Friday. It is a night different from all other nights. It was the night that we were redeemed.

Passover: Matzah and the Bread of Life

Religious families have rigorous preparations before the Passover. Not my family, but those who keep a kosher home will have separate sets of dishes for meat and for dairy, since they cannot be eaten together. These families will actually have 4 sets of dishes, utensils, pots, etc. – 2 sets for Passover and 2 sets for the rest of the year.

Before pulling out the Passover provisions, a complete cleaning of the home is performed. Using a flashlight (or candle) and a feather, the cupboards are swept spotless in search of crumbs, also called chametz – bread and leavened products – meaning products made with yeast. In Ex 12:19, God instructed the Israelites that no yeast (leaven) is to be found in their homes, and they are not to eat anything with yeast for seven days as part of His decree for future generations. He commanded this BEFORE the exodus (Ex. 12:34), knowing that the Israelites would leave Egypt in haste, and the dough for the bread would be taken before yeast was added.

One Jewish commentary suggests that the “The simple ingredients of matzo – water and flour – as well as the flatness of the unleavened bread as opposed to the puffiness of leavened bread, symbolizes ‘poor man’s bread’ as well as ‘humility’ and ‘humbleness’, as opposed to the puffiness of one’s ego that characterizes a wealthy person as symbolized by leavened bread.” This is consistent with what the Jesus and Apostle Paul taught about yeast or leaven. Jesus mentioned the “yeast/leaven” of the Pharisees and of Herod referring to the sin of pride and hypocrisy. Paul called boasting “yeast” and drew the analogy that “a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough” meaning that just a little sin corrupts every area of life. (Gal. 5:9)

In Bible times, unleavened bread was similar to pita or other flatbreads. It’s uncertain how it developed its current appearance, like a cracker with pierced stripes. Jewish Christians believe that it is a testimony to the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53 –

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his stripes we are healed.

On every Seder table, there is a plate set with a stack of 3 matzos. During the Seder, the leader will take the middle matzo, break it in half, wrap it in white linen (or a special bag), and hide it. At the end of the Seder, the children will search the house to find the broken piece of matzo, called the Afikomen. Whoever finds it gets a prize.


The word Afikomen is not a Hebrew word. Jews say it sounds like an Aramaic word similar to dessert, meaning it comes after the meal. Jewish Christians, however, understand the word Afikomen comes from the ancient Greek, meaning “I have come.” And the 3 pieces of matzo represent the triune God – Father, Son and Spirit. The middle piece, the Son, is broken, wrapped in white linen and hidden away, only to be resurrected later.

Jesus, who said He was the “bread of life” (John 6:35, 48), declared at His last supper, a Passover seder, that the broken bread was His body and the cup was the new covenant of His blood. He said whenever you eat the bread and drink the cup “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Paul goes on to say, “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26)
When we put this all together, it is amazing! At every Passover Seder, when the Jews wrap the broken, striped, pierced, unleavened (sinless) bread, the Afikomen (“I have come”), without knowing, they are proclaiming the death and resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
.

“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty…

Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”
John 6:32-35, 57-58

Passover Traditions

Tradition – it’s not just a song from Fiddler on the Roof. It plays an important role in the way Jews observe not just Passover, but many other events as well.

What are some Passover traditions?
And where do they come from?


Well, some are interpretations of the Word, while others come directly from the mouth of God.


After 430 years in Egypt of enduring harsh treatment as slaves to the king (the Pharaoh), God used Moses to go before the Pharaoh to ask for the Israelites’ deliverance. Due to the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart, God inflicted 10 plagues before the Pharaoh finally agreed to let the Israelites go.


The Passover observance was commanded by God BEFORE He actually delivered the nation of Israel from the Egyptians, before the 10th plague, the killing of the firstborn in Egypt. Before they were freed, they observed the first Passover Seder. The word “Seder” in Hebrew literally means “order”; “an ordered event, especially the meal eaten on Passover.”


And this day shall become a memorial for you, and you shall observe it as a festival for the LORD, for your generations, as an eternal decree shall you observe it. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your homes … you shall guard the unleavened bread, because on this very day I will take you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. – Exodus 12:14-17


The details are spelled out in Exodus 12, details that are followed to this day. But there are additional traditions that are followed as well.


Tomorrow, I will share more about the unleavened bread, but today, we’ll go over the items that are found on the Seder plate.





Charoset is mixture of apples, nuts, wine and spices. It is symbolic of the mortar the Jewish slaves made in their building for the Egyptians. It is a mixture of chopped apples, walnuts, honey, cinnamon and red wine. (As children, this was the one thing we looked forward to eating.)



Z’roa is a lamb shankbone. It is symbolic of the Paschal lamb offered as the Passover sacrifice.


Beitzah is hard-boiled egg. The egg is symbolic of both the regular festival sacrifice brought in the days of the Temple, traditionally the food of mourners, as well as a symbol of new life.


Karpas is a vegetable, usually Parsley. The karpas, representing spring, is dipped in salt water to represent the tears of the Israelites under slavery.


Maror is bitter herbs, usually Horseradish. Maror represents the bitter life of the Israelites during the time of their enslavement in Egypt.


Chazeret is a bitter vegetable. Celery or lettuce can be used. It is obligatory to eat Maror or bitter herbs twice at each Seder.


Each of these items, plus glasses of red wine, a plate of 3 matzos, and a cup of salt water, are used during the reading of the Haggadah which not only tells the story from the book of Exodus, but includes songs, instructions for dipping the herbs and sipping the wine, the reading of the Four Questions, and more, all in proper order.


An extra cup of wine is always put on the table because Elijah is expected to come during the Passover, expressing hope that the age of Messiah will return and the sacred Temple will be rebuilt. As Christians, we know that the Messiah did come during the Passover 2000 years ago, and because He was the sacrifice once and for all, the Temple does not need to be rebuilt. It’s interesting to me that from the time of the tabernacle through the building of all 3 Temples, the sacrifices were continually made as part of the Law given to Moses. However, since the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., there has not been a sacrifice made. For the last 2000 years, the Jews are unable keep the Law.


The seder ends with a Hallel, a song from Psalm 136. Jesus ended His seder, the last supper, that way too.
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Matt. 26:30