Yesterday I left off with asking you to come back today and I’ll tell you God’s name.
So, does God have a name or what?? Well, yes He does. Let’s dig into the best history book there was, and God’s Word, the Bible, to find out more:
When Moses asked God who he should say sent him to deliver the Israelites the Lord told him:
Exodus 3:13-15 Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you;’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
“I am who I am” when translated from Hebrew to English looks like this=YHWH. It means “Was–Is–Will Continue to be.” This is where we get the name, or pronunciation of Yahweh.
We don’t realize it but when we say hallelujah we are praising God’s name. God’s name is “yah” but written “jah” – the letter ‘j’ used to be pronounced like the letter ‘y’ and there is no ‘j’ in the Hebrew alphabet. Hallelu is Hebrew for Praise. Translated, you get “Praise Yah”. That’s why I write it Hallelu-Yah.
So there you have it, God’s name is Yah, or I AM –
Next time I am going to explore the question if Jesus came to the Jews, and walked the earth as a Jew, why are all of us Gentiles Christians??
Happy New Year!
Yes, you read correctly! I have not flipped my lid. From reading our Bibles, it would seem that God’s new year starts in the spring. Here, let’s look at it together:
Deuteronomy 16:1 “Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.”
Leviticus 23:5 “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Yahweh’s Passover.”
From reading these verses, it is evident that God’s calendar begins at this time of year!
Did you know that even the stars proclaim His truths? Yes, the zodiac starts with Aries, which is in the first month of God’s year….. hmmm….. think about it! I am not making this stuff up. Google it and see for yourself. 
God is a God of order, not chaos. If you really think about it, the beginning of a new year would be new time to garden, and plant. Spring is when new life sprouts all over the place. It also corresponds with new life in Jesus as He was sacrificed for our sins as well!
If you’re wondering about His resurrection, again, Google it. It’s one of the most well documented events in history. This is why it’s important for us to learn about history! We’ll always know what happened and where we are going.
I’m sure you’re asking “then why does our calendar start in January?” well, because men have just a teeny tiny control freak issue and want to have calendars the way they please. There have been many calendar changes over the years as different governments took control of the world. The Jewish calendar has even been changed due to different conquests and rulers over them. It’s very sad, actually.
What I find the most relief in all this is that God has preserved His Word, the Bible and we can look to it for answers that man has forgotten the questions about. He loves us and what matters is that we observe and acknowledge what He has done for us.
Thank You, Dear Lord, for Your preserved history. History that is actually being proved by archeologists who are trying to disprove Your Word. Thank You for loving us through it all and thank You for guiding us to Truth. In Your Son’s name, Amen…
By the way what IS God’s Name anyway? Is this a trick question? Stay tuned till next time (I’m not saying tomorrow anymore, but next time, because LIFE does happen!) when I tell you His name. Yes, He has a name like mine is Celena. Come back and check it out!
Oops, I let life get in the way this past several days. I had my two littlest grand daughters over night on Friday and had a full weekend after that. Then today had a lot of errands and house work to do.
Will be back on track tomorrow with my blogs.
Thanks for your patience.
Hope you’re having a good day!
Carrying over from yesterday, my question is – Why can’t we infuse these two Christian and Jewish holidays Passover and Easter??? They obviously are related and belong together.
If you haven’t read Tuesday or Wednesday’s blogs, I encourage you hop on over to them and read them to fill in the blanks as to what I’m writing about this week.
Since the Last Supper was clearly a Passover Seder, and the Bible states that Jesus was our Passover lamb, sacrificed once for all and Resurrection Sunday (Easter) observes the rising of Jesus from the dead, then why can’t we celebrate both? It would be a beautiful blending of the old and the new covenants, and I believe would help gentile believers understand why Jesus died for us.
Bottom line is this – as gentiles we miss the mark on much of our faith. We haven’t been taught about the animal sacrifices to cleanse the old testament believers of sin – the Jews understood their sin better than us and had to see animals die in their place to be forgiven of God. So we may not ‘get’ why Jesus was the Passover Lamb – when we understand the first Passover, where the Israelites had to put the actual blood on their door posts and stay inside when the angel of death passed through, we can grasp how important Jesus’ blood sacrifice is to believers. That this is very important to God.
I feel, and it’s only my opinion, but since this is my blog I’m going to put it out there, that by ignoring the feasts and festivals and appointed times of the Old Testament, the ones that God Himself gave to Moses, that we have done our Savior a disservice. In those sacred holy days that God so clearly laid out, is the story of redemption, God’s never ending faithfulness and His work in progress for the world. The Passover has been completed by Jesus dying on the cross and us claiming His blood has saved us. The day of Pentecost has come when the Holy Spirit blew into town (yes I had to go there, too!) – what do the other festivals in the Old Testament hold for us? To me it’s wonderment and awe as I see my God working to bring the world to Himself. God does nothing without purpose. He obviously has lessons and purpose in those appointed times. It may behoove us to get to know them instead of pretending the old testament didn’t exist.
I’m one to believe that if the whole world is ‘doing it’ then it’s not ordained by God. Can it be that since the whole world is ignoring these important days the old testament talks about, that we are missing a blessing from Him? I know that Easter and Christmas have become so over commercialized that they hold no sacred value and honestly I cringe as I see them becoming even more kid oriented and retail laden.
As for me and my house, we are digging deeper into the why of our faith and looking to the Bible for answers. We will observe both Passover to celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice and Easter as the blessed day of the year that Jesus rose beating the devil once and for all, bringing salvation to all who come to Him.
Tomorrow I will talk more about Passover and what else it means… I hope these posts have intrigued you to look into your own Bible and find out a bit more about your Faith and the One who willingly became your Passover lamb….
So, my question still stands. As believers in Jesus, why do we celebrate Easter and not Passover? Easter isn’t mentioned in the Bible. If you haven’t read yesterday’s blog, I encourage you to do so in order to understand what’s happening.
I found a site full of church history that explains a lot. I feel my questions have been answered and put to rest for good. I cannot express enough in words how relieved I feel!
The Reader’s Digest Version from the above mentioned site goes something like this: During the Council of Nicea, in the year 325, the Roman Catholic church decided that Easter should now be the Christian Passover and be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Because that was the actual DAY of the year that Jesus rose from the grave. Yes, the Roman Catholic bishops of that time had the authority to banish Passover and steal a pagan festival called Easter and ‘church it up’. (Yes, I went there)
Before this, Easter, which was a fertility festival, that was held ON the vernal equinox, so they changed the date of the original Easter in order to call it their own. However, many of the symbols carried over, but they got ‘churched up’, too.
{What is the equinox? I wanted to be sure that I was telling you the right information, so I researched it. The equinox happens twice a year. It’s when the sun shines directly on the equator in such a way that the length of day and night is nearly equal in all parts of the world. It happens in the spring (marking the beginning of spring) and the fall (marking the beginning of autumn).}
The churches of that time didn’t change their practices all of a sudden; actually many didn’t accept this until around 50 years later, when a Roman Emperor decreed that anyone who didn’t abide by it was put to death. That event was called the “Edicts of Theodosius against the heretics”. I guess that would be as good of a reason as any to change from Passover to Easter.
So we can understand now why the whole mess happened, right? Clear as mud?
In Cee’s Thots terms, the last 1,700 years, give or take a century, Christians have celebrated Resurrection Sunday on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the sun shines equally on the whole earth, in the spring, because that’s the exact Sunday of the year that Jesus rose from the dead after He died on the cross for our sins.
Since nobody has burst into flames for observing Easter as Resurrection Sunday, I believe it’s safe to say God is ok with it. After all, it’s really a matter of the heart, because we are to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth as Jesus says in John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post when I ask the question why can’t we infuse Christian and Jewish holidays???
Ever since I was a child, Easter has held much confusion for me. Since I was raised with conflicting religious messages (being raised by a Jewish grand father who was married to my Catholic grand mother) – I couldn’t figure out the whole Passover/Jesus/Easter thing…. For me, it was like this: on one hand there is Passover, a somber day, which only my Jewish loved ones recognized. On the other hand is Easter, a strange holiday with bunnies and colored eggs and fancy dresses and everyone goes to church. My Christian loved ones told me to ignore my Jewish loved one’s beliefs on top of all this. This was very odd and confusing for a child to deal with.
Being all grown up now, I understand the significance of why Christians celebrate Easter. It stands for Resurrection Sunday, the day Jesus came back to life after He died on the cross for the sins of mankind. However, with my limited Jewish background, knowing Jesus walked this earth AS a Jew, I have always wondered about the seemingly opposing holidays that hovered around each other every year and now and then landing on the same day.
However, did you know that Jesus’ Last Supper wasn’t just a last supper, but a PASSOVER supper, before He went out and died on a cross for our sins? That was never taught to me in Sunday School. It is significant to me, knowing as little as I do of the Jewish religion my grand father loved.
Luke 22:7-20 – The day of unleavened bread came, on which the Passover must be sacrificed. 8 He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.” 9 They said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare?” 10 He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him into the house which he enters. 11 Tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”‘ 12 He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there.” 13 They went, found things as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 14 When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles. 15 He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, 16 for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” 17 He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, “Take this, and share it among yourselves, 18 for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God comes.” 19 He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.” 20 Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Passover is a huge deal. It’s when God’s people were ‘passed over’ by God’s death angel in Egypt during the time Moses was helping his people get away from Pharaoh after 400 years of slavery. The Israelites had to…. Here, you read it for yourself:
Exodus 12:1-14 – Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; 4 and if the household be too little for a lamb, then he and his neighbor next to his house shall take one according to the number of the souls; according to what everyone can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at evening. 7 They shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel, on the houses in which they shall eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire, and unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs. 9 Don’t eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire; with its head, its legs and its inner parts. 10 You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire. 11 This is how you shall eat it: with your waist girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste: it is Yahweh’s Passover. 12 For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal. Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am Yahweh. 13 The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall no plague be on you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 This day shall be to you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to Yahweh: throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.”
Do you see the significance of the Passover Lamb’s blood on the door posts and claiming Jesus’ blood in our hearts to save us? This is why Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 5:7 “… For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place.”
Why have we not been taught this in church before?
So how does Easter come into play when it was never mentioned in the Bible?
Yes, Dear Readers, these questions keep me up at night! Come back tomorrow as I dig deeper into the mystery of Easter/Jesus/Passover.
P.S. March 3 – Here is a cartoon tract about this very thing I wrote about yesterday. I was saved by these tracts and am thrilled to find one that talks about this very subject – “Poor Little Lamb“
There is something so magical for me about the turning of a new month on my calendar! I feel it’s a new beginning in a lot of ways.
Since I have finished my exploration of love, I’m going to switch gears in March.
We are in the Liturgical church season of Lent, our thoughts are on Resurrection Sunday and Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross for us. However my viewpoint will be a bit different. I am going to look at our Messiah from the Jewish perspective.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. (WEB)
Come along with me and get to know our Hebraic Roots this month!
1Corinthians 13:8 “Love never fails.”
Today is the last installment in our “love exploration”. It is fitting that it ends with saying, “love never fails”.
1 John 4:7 says. “God is Love”, if God is love and love is God, then love itself is immortal. This is why love will never die. Because God will never cease, love will always continue.
In a mother’s world, I understand this unfailing love. As I have raised my three children I have had good and bad times with them. Even when I went through the worst times with them as teens, my love for them never failed. I couldn’t turn my love off like a water faucet.
I am so glad God doesn’t turn His love off for us. Even though at times we may deserve it, His patience and kindness over rides the situation and “long-sufferingly” puts up with us.
Thank You, Dear Lord, for this exploration in what it means to truly love others.
It is a heart issue, as my dear friend and Sunday School partner, Amanda, told me.
Please cleanse my heart so that I can love others in all situations.
In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
1Corinthians 13:7 (Love) “…endures all things…”
After reading the commentaries and spending time in prayer, this is what I’ve figured out ‘enduring all things’ means:
We are to hold our faith closely and dearly as we travel this journey called life. When affliction, insult or other calamity comes our way, we are to refer to the beginning of the passage I’ve been exploring this month –
1Corinthians 13:4 & 5 “Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5 doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;”
And above all, we are promised that no matter what comes our way,
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God,” Romans 8:28.
We cannot say why we are to endure some things, however if we ‘keep the faith’ as some say, we can endure with grace and gratefulness.
1Corinthians 13:7 (Love) “…hopes all things…”
Thank you for your comments and loving words when I ‘tapped out’ yesterday. It helped me a lot. I cannot change the other person who was burning a hole in my mind. I realize now that I can only go forward with my own life. I am hoping they will change, but I choose to stay away until they realize they cannot continue to hurt others with no expectation of accountability. I know I must take care of my health right now and that doesn’t include allowing the stresses of that person into my life.
Today my focus is on my sons. Both took a tough path in life that got them into a bit of trouble. However, as a loving mother’s heart should do, I never lost hope for their return to a life full of good choices and following God. There were some rough years where I was very depressed, watching them make some extremely poor choices. However I clung to the message I felt the Lord give me, years ago, when I heard the still small voice in my chest tell me my sons would be healed.
As the years have unfolded, I believed and hoped in their healings, no matter how difficult their lives became. I have seen my two wonderful sons turn both their lives around. Just like watching a toddler learn to walk, so it is with observing adult children repair their lives. Baby steps at first, falling, and getting back up, then soon I was able to see them walking and toddling. Yes they both have slipped and yes they both have gotten back up again to now run on their own. I’m so very proud of them and blessed to have listened to the Lord’s voice and continued hoping when it didn’t look very promising for either of their futures.
Nobody knows the healing a mother’s love and hope can have for her adult children. I feel God’s love is just as healing to us.
Heavenly Father, please help me plug into Your healing hope
- In ALL matters of life.
