Tag: faith

The Power to Do What You Ought

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn InspirationLeave a comment

The counting of the omer is one of the most unusual mitzvot of the Torah. Leviticus 23:15-16, “And from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count for yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths. Until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath you count fifty days, then you shall bring a new grain offering to the Lord.”

On Pesach (Passover) we experience liberation. We have been set free from bondage, but we do not yet know what to do with this freedom. The instruction comes on Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost), with the giving of the Torah.

Counting the omer connects these two events: Pesach and Shavuot. One event remembers liberation, while the other the actualization of freedom in the lives of the free. Each day that the omer is counted we are to recognize that our lives have been changed, and from the change what we are now free to do.

Yeshua/Jesus having been crucified on Pesach and raised on Bikkurim (First-fruits), also connected Pesach to Shavuot. Now, not only do we theologically recognize freedom in the royal law, but we now have the power to live it through the Holy Spirit and be agents of change in the lives of others: His hand and His feet.

Be well. Shabbat Shalom.

The Splat of the Omer

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, InspirationLeave a comment

In the days following the Pesach/Passover deliverance, at times we find ourselves in a place of disbelief, rooted in exhaustion. From this often emerges a temporary, but potent period of bitterness, resentment, doubt, even fear (Ex. 15:24). Where we have come from, the place of bondage, suddenly becomes very attractive … perhaps we should turn back. The memory of servitude is more pleasant than the experience of it. While our bodies were broken by the labor, our bellies were filled (Ex. 16:3; Numb. 11:4-6).

The season of the omer (Lev. 23:16), from Pesach/Passover to Shavuot/Pentecost, is a period of reformation of the heart, soul and mind, which is as important as the deliverance of the body.

Bear in mind that during this season some things that seem long past may come to mind. This is the Lord’s hand working that “stuff” out of you, as He is kneading the dough of the new bread to be presented on Shavuot/Pentecost. It’s a season where we can find ourselves back on the Potters wheel just when we thought we were done with the shaping, then: SPLAT! The splat and the working of His hands bring forward the wounds of grace that forever change how you walk out your salvation in fear, trembling and His victory (Gen. 32:25-33; Jer. 18:3-4).

It is a season of deep intimacy. Be not afraid, He makes all things new.

Be well. Shalom.