Today at sundown, Passover begins.

The Bible tells us there are blessings attached with observing holy days unto the Lord. Today I am going to share about Passover and invite you to observe it, especially this year.

Why this year? This season has been difficult for many. We must keep our eyes on God and His unchanging promises.

Leviticus 23; And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. ‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. ‘These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover.

There are 7 feasts of the Lord; Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Atonement and Feast of Tabernacle. Passover is the foundational feast at the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Those who observe it are promised supernatural blessings.

Passover is the observance of the blood covenant God made with mankind. God said to offer a lamb per household, eat the lamb, and place the blood on the doorpost of your house, for the children of Israel this was literally life and death.

Exodus 23: “Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God. You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning. The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beast of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

There are seven blessings of Passover from the word of God; 1. God assigns angelic presence and protection, to protect you and get rid of all your enemies. 2. God will be an enemy to your enemy. 3. God will bless your bread and water. This means God will literally sprinkle your life with blessings. 4. God will take sickness away from your midst. 5. God will give you long life, no barrenness and will fulfill the number of your days. 6. God will give you increase and inheritance and cause you to inherit the land as he drives out your enemies. 7. As you observe God’s Passover, it will be a special year of blessings, what the enemy has stolen will be returned in abundance, just as it was with the children of Israel.

It was at Passover that the children of Israel were delivered and took the spoil of the enemy. It was at Passover that Peter was delivered from prison by an angel of the Lord. I am praying that it will be this Passover that your divine deliverance will come as well.

Today, at sundown, our ministry will observe Passover; we will partake of the lamb that was slain for us by partaking of communion. I have given a Passover offering, I will also be placing the blood of Jesus over my doors and the doors of this ministry. I will be praying and declaring this year of blessings over each person here as well as over each of you. I urge you to celebrate this day with us…it is the Lords Passover.

Meditate on this:

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.  Deut. 7:9

I have heard one after another describe the time we are living in as a storm. These words have reminded me of something that happened, several years ago.

I was driving out of town in light rain. Suddenly, that changed.

It began coming down so hard that I couldn’t see the road. I had driven into an intense storm.

Lightening was flashing all around me. Thunder was booming. The wind was blowing so hard it moved my vehicle. Worst of all, the rain was pelting intensely, my windshield wipers couldn’t keep up. Hail began to hit my Jeep.

Every other car in sight pulled over to the side of the road. I began to follow suite as the Lord spoke to me.

“Keep driving” He said with a firm voice.

I swerved back to the road and continued my journey. Within a couple minutes I had driven out of the storm. As I looked in my rear-view mirror, those who had stopped were still being rocked by the storm.

Today, we find ourselves in a storm of sorts. We must keep moving.

It is not time to allow anything to stop you. If we simply keep moving, we will be out of the storm before we know it.

I am not talking about going shopping or ignoring the recommendations of the President. Of course not. I am saying to keep moving spiritually.

Exodus 14:15-17 says, And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So, I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Yes, it is a time to pray and cry out to God. But then, we must go forward!

We must stand firm in our faith. Lift up the word of God. Stretch forth our authority over this situation and keep moving.

God is bringing us through this and when He does, He will get all the glory.

This I know, there is more happening than we can see. God is dealing with things, changing things that we can’t even see. Trust Him and keep moving.

Keep moving toward the promises of God. Keep moving toward the words He has given the nation for this year. Toward the words He has given YOU this year. Keep moving. The storm will end, and His glory will shine through. Be one of those who continued in their journey during the storm.

Meditate on this:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

Each morning I pray over our partners and readers, that God’s blessings will overtake you and saturate your life, that you will see and experience his goodness and I know you will…as you continue to dwell in his faithfulness.

I don’t know what you have been through or even what you are going through right now as you read this, but this I do know; he who promised is faithful.  Our God is faithful.  He can be nothing but faithful…mediate on that today.

I was listening to a man tell about his granddaughter who had drown in a swimming pool.

She was submerged underwater for several minutes before she was discovered. When they pulled her out, she was unresponsive. The family called the paramedics. Once on the scene, they checked the little girl and turned to inform the family she was gone. The paramedics immediately called the hospital to let them know a child had died and they were bringing her in.

The paramedic was the one who shared this amazing story. He said when he told the parents she had drowned, the father let out a blood-curdling scream.

“NOOOO! Devil you cannot have my child, I am a tither, God will rebuke you this day for my sake!” Screamed the father.

The paramedic said when the father screamed, the child’s body bounced up. She opened her eyes, asking them to turn off the pool.

Moments before she was gone. Suddenly she was breathing and talking.

Malachi 3:10-11 says; Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of hosts.

The blessings of a faithful tither go deep. Far beyond finances.

As we are faithful, God will prove Himself as a faithful God. He will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing we cannot contain. It’s His promise. Yet, it goes even deeper than that. He promises to rebuke the devourer for us. The devourer doesn’t always come after money. Sometimes, he comes after our kids, our family, those we love. Even then, God will rebuke him. He will not allow him to destroy your fruit.

That day, the little girl was the father’s fruit. He had a Biblical right to make a stand, for he had kept his part of the covenant. God was faithful to honor His side and rebuke the devourer.

We all have fruit. Our fruit may be from our jobs or careers. It may be our children. Or our business. Perhaps, our money. Whatever your fruit may be, God will not allow the enemy to destroy it…if you know your rights and honor His word.

Thank God the father knew his rights that day.

I am reminded of one of our partners whom I prayed for him and his wife every single day of 2018.

This partner had a large amount of debt. So large, in the natural, there was no way it could be paid off in one year. Yet, he and his wife sowed a seed, believing they would be debt free by years end.

Throughout the year, I would keep their letter before me, praying over it and standing in agreement with them. From time to time, I would check with them and see how it was going. At the end of the year, every debt was paid in full. God was faithful. This partner was faithful in their tithe. They even went beyond that and sowed a seed toward the debt.

What God did for them; He will do for you. He wants to bless everyone; the first step is to be faithful to GOD in our finances. To give God want belongs to Him. To do as the word says and give as He leads us to give.

It is my prayer for all of us that we have a year overflowing with the blessings of God. That they come in such abundance that it will be as the word says…we won’t have enough room for it. That He will rebuke the devourer for our sake, preserving our fruit, as we are faithful with what comes into our hands. My expectation is in God and His word. My faith is in His faithfulness. It is, after all, HIS blessing to a faithful tither.

Meditate on this:
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

Recently, I received a precious, personal love gift from a partner.

This partner has been with us a long time. We have been through many seasons together.

I have sown into her life for years. I have prayed for her and her family daily.

She has sown into my life and ministry for years. She has also prayed for us for years.

As I opened the envelope the Lord spoke to me and said, “some seed takes a long time to harvest.”

Mark 4:26-29 says, “And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Genesis 8:22 says, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

I have heard many teachers over the year say this means…SEED….then TIME…and then Harvest. Most time that is exactly how it feels.
Sowing seeds can be done quickly. However, watering those seed and waiting on the harvest takes time. Sometimes, just as God said, it takes a long time.

My friend, and partner, sowed a long time, waiting on her harvest. However, when her harvest came it was greater than she imagined! It reminded me of the scripture found in Proverbs 13:19, A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul.

The harvest she received was sweet!

She waited on it. She waited and continued to sow. To believe. And to pray. In the end, God’s word was fulfilled.

Many hope to sow a financial seed and see a harvest quickly. Sometimes it does happen that way. However, in my personal experience, more often than not, it takes time. And patience.

James 1:4; But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

We must learn to allow patience to work in us, especially in sowing seeds. If we do, in the end we will lack nothing – just as it was with our partner.

God is so good. He is faithful to His word. If we refuse to let go of the promise, it will be fulfilled in our life, every single time.

If you have seeds you have sown yet you haven’t seen a harvest. Don’t give up! God does not lie. Whatever we sow, that shall we reap. There is a process to seedtime and harvest. Trust the process. Trust the God of the process. He won’t fail you. He will amaze you with an abundant harvest, just as He did for my friend and partner. Expect it!

Meditate on this:
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9

So, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

I was thinking about this verse today. I believe it is a key for us this year.

I have studied this scripture several times, it intrigues me. One thing I found interesting is the scriptures leading up to this verse. They talk about how quickly life goes, and how it ends with a sigh. It talks about sorrow and labor, but then it says…SO…teach us to number our days that we may gain wisdom.

To me that says, teach me a different way so my life is not filled with sorrow and labor but with wisdom from God. I don’t want to end my life with a sigh, but a shout. Therefore, I want to learn to number my days.

The word number in this verse does not speak only to counting days, it has a much deeper meaning.

It means to appoint, to prepare, to set in order and to declare.

In Daniel 1:5 when the word of God says the king appointed a daily provision for Daniel, that word appointed is the same word as the word number. It is the word manah. The king was saying, “I have manah-ed a daily provision.” I have ordered, appointed and prepared a daily provision. I have declared it to be so.

In Jonah 1:17, the Bible says; Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.

That word prepared is also manah. God had spoken to a fish to swallow Jonah before it happened.

That’s how our God does things. He manah’s them. He speaks them into existence, just as we see in the book of Genesis.

The scripture in Psalms instructs us to do the same thing. Wisdom would manah the days. Appoint days. Declare them in advance.

Mark 11:24 says; Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Romans 4:17 says; the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.

Do you want to walk as Jesus did with God? Then begin to call those things that be not as though they already were. Begin to appoint and declare your days.

Speak God’s plan and purpose over your days before they begin.

It doesn’t take long, just a few minutes each morning. Our words carry great power. The word of God says LIFE and DEATH are found in one place, in the power of our words. Let’s use those words for good.

I encourage you today, begin to appoint and declare your days. Tell them to be filled with the blessings and promises of God. Manah them this year and watch the hand of God do amazing things with your faith filled words.

Meditate on this:
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10

Recently, Kelita and I were doing ministry work. I was working on one project, while she was busy working on a different one.

When I completed my mine, I emailed it to her. At about the same time, she was emailing me hers. Without prior discussion, we had both chosen the same scripture for the two different projects. We knew it was a word for the hour.

Hebrews 4:12 says, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The part that jumped out at me was, for the word of God is living and powerful.

This scripture keeps rising within me today. Reminding me of the power in the word of God.

Friends, it is alive! It is active, currently working on your behalf.

Let me give you an illustration I feel God is showing me.

Breanne has started hatching chickens from the eggs her chickens lay. She sent me video a few days ago of her first chicken. It was still in the shell, but as she held the light up to it, you could see movement on the inside of the shell. Without the light, it looked like a normal egg. With the light, there was movement. Life was being created.

It is the same with the word of God.

From the outside, it often appears nothing is happening. Yet, the truth is the word of God is alive. It is full of power. It is actively working on our behalf. When we shine the light of God’s word on areas of our life, things begin to move. We may not be able to see them yet, but the word is working, movement is taking place. LIFE is springing forth.

I don’t know about you, but this excites me!

In these times we are living, we must get our eyes back on God’s word.

His word will have the final say. It was the first and it will be the last. He is the Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and the End.

If we choose to continue to hold fast to His word, He will bring us out into an abundant place.

All day I have been singing this old song… “Jesus on the inside, working on the outside, oh! What a change in my life.”

This is what the word of God does. It works on the inside, bringing transformation to the outside. We will see the change. If we choose to continue to hold onto His word.

My friends, get the word of God in your heart. Until nothing but the word is coming out of your mouth. Expect to see great change. You can because it is alive, powerful and active in your life at this very moment. You can rest in that unfailing truth. His word is working, trust it.

Meditate on this:
So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

This popped up on my computer as I was searching for something today.  I remember this writing from a year or so ago and I OBVIOUSLY needed to be reminded today – therefore, I am sharing it with you as well.  I love it!

One of my friends sent me a text the other day with an interesting statement on it; she was at a meeting and heard a minister talking about when Isaac sowed in the land of famine.

You probably know the scriptures I am speaking of, it is found in Genesis 26:12-14 – “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.”

In today’s society we don’t hear the word ‘famine’ very often, however, that is exactly what is going on in the world today. Our economy can be accurately compared to what was happening in Isaac’s day.

God was not concerned about famine in Isaac’s day and He is not concerned about famine today. He has a way to prosper, even when all the conditions are seemingly against prosperity.

The world says famine is coming, gather food and money and store it up.

But God says, famine is here, sow.  If you have been a believer very long you already know that God’s ways are usually the exact opposite of the world’s ways.  The good news is His ways are truth and backed by His word.  His ways always work, if we obey them.

God told Isaac, “don’t be afraid and don’t run, just sow and I will bless you.” Isaac obeyed God, the Bible says he sowed in the land of famine and reaped a hundred-fold return that same year.

However, the Bible doesn’t stop there – not only did he reap a hundred-fold in that same year…the prosperity continued growing…until he became very wealthy and had so many possessions that the Philistines were jealous of him and his wealth.

That, my friend, is what God does for His people in famine, at least for those who sow in famine. Famine doesn’t move God and it doesn’t change His principles.

The statement I heard from my friend was about this very scripture and the minister said “Isaac’s seed spoke directly to the famine and said, you are not going to be here long AND you will not affect me or my household.”

Those are shouting words!  Makes me do a happy dance!!

There are two ways to handle what is going on in our world. One is to hoard up and hope for the best. This is usually done in fear. Now, I am not against saving, I think having an emergency fund or savings account is very wise.  I am not against stocking up on groceries and necessities.  I am against fear driving those decisions.

Don’t hoard or store up with an attitude of fear. Be prepared, that is wisdom.  Beyond that, do as God tells us to do, sow in famine.  Don’t allow fear or impending doom to get your eyes off the truth of God’s word.

Put your seed in the ground and let it speak to the lack or famine in your life.  Let your seed declare, “famine, you are not welcome here. God has declared me blessed, He says everything I touch prospers, therefore my seed is prospering and producing a hundred-fold return. But it won’t stop there, my seed will keep producing until I am very prosperous, to the point that those around me are jealous, just as they were with Isaac. Now, speak seed, speak to famine.”

It is only in giving that we receive. It is only in sowing that we reap a harvest, there is no other way. If a seed is not planted there is no way to grow and if nothing is growing, there will be no harvest.

I read a scripture today in the Passion translation that I just loved, let me share it with you; it is from Galatians 6:7;

Make no mistake about it, God will never be mocked! For what you plant will be the very thing you harvest. The harvest you reap reveals the seed that was planted.

To me that’s simply another way of saying your seed will speak FOR you.

If you find yourself in famine today, do not fear.  Be encouraged, there is a way out…sow your seed and let it declare your prosperity.

Meditate on this:

Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.  Eccl. 11:6

Mark 11:23-24 is one of the most well-known passages of scriptures in the Bible.

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

This is the scripture many ministers use when teaching us to principle of having what we say.

As you know, I too believe the power of our words is important.  I believe in confessing the word of God over ourselves, our lives and our family.  I believe what Proverbs 18:21 says; we will eat the fruit of our lips.

Yet, I was recently reminded of a conversation I once had with God about this subject.

My question was, “God if we are confessing the word, and we are confessing what we want to see happen in our lives, why are many not seeing the manifestation of what they are confessing?”

His reply to me was quick and simple.

“If you confessed you were a turtle, would you become a turtle?”  He asked.

“No, of course not.” I responded.

“Regardless of how many times you confessed it, you wouldn’t become a turtle?” He again asked.  “No matter how fervently you said it?”

I answered “no, I would not.”

“Even though the word says nothing is impossible?”  He asked.  Then He questioned me, “why not?”

I said, “I don’t believe I am a turtle.”

Aha.

Mark 11:22-23 says, So, Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

We see this same truth in Matthew 21:21-22; So, Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

We, at times, confess the word yet we don’t fully believe our own confessions.  The Bible is clear, if we have faith and do not doubt, then we will have what we say.

If we believe in our heart that God will do what we are confessing, then and only then will we eat the fruit of those words.

I have never liked the saying, “confession brings possession”, even though I fully believe in the power of our words.  You see, there is more to it than that.  There is more to it than simply saying a few scriptures and hoping they come to pass.  You must believe, fully believe, with no doubt, the words that are coming out of your mouth.

My question to you today is not, are you confessing Gods word, but it is do you believe what you are confessing?  Are you fully persuaded that God is well able to do what you are asking of Him?

If so, awesome!  If not, you can work on that!  Spend time in His word.  Spend time in His presence.  Pray and repent of unbelief and ask Him to work it all out of you.  He wants you to have what you say even more than you do…and He will help you, ask Him.  Only believe.

Meditate on this:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  Hebrews 11:1