God's Laws: Feast these three times each year

Exodus 23

13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

God has three main feasts that He wants us to observe throughout the year.

The first feast is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It coincides with the Passover. It was celebrated on April 16th this year, and that week.

Here is a link to learn more about the Feast of Unleavened Bread: Click HERE

The second feast is the Feast of Harvest. It coincides with the celebration of The Pentecost. It will be on June 5th, this year. It celebrates the offering of the Firstfruits of the Harvest.

Here is the link to learn more about the Feast of Harvest: Click HERE

The third feast is the Feast of Ingathering. It coincides with Yom Kippur, and this year, it is celebrated on October 5th.

Here is a link to learn more about this celebration: Click HERE

Celebrating these feasts is the opportunity to take part in the Word of God, to become part of what God has planned, and what He has done.

I hope you celebrate with me this year!

God's Laws: Don't talk about other gods

Exodus Chapter 23
13And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

You can talk about "Freedom of Speech" all you want, but God has rules about what you should and shouldn't talk about.

He doesn't want anyone to have any knowledge that there are gods out there that are not HIM. It is dangerous for His children to go exploring after other gods.

God knows that if you KNOW about other gods, your curious nature will always ask "why?" and seek out knowledge. There is a reason God told Adam that he and Eve were not allowed to even TOUCH the tree of knowledge. The old saying, "curiosity killed the cat" has merit; especially in this case.

Many of us are already guilty of breaking this law, myself included. I've studied witchcraft. I've looked up information about Bephomet. I've studied parapsychology and a lot of other anti-biblical subjects. My rationalization is that "You can't fight an enemy you know nothing about", and in some cases, this is true. But, as I reflect on this, I can understand how spiritual subjects can lead others down some very tricky roads.

This is part of the reason God doesn't want you to speak badly of other gods to those who follow them. To speak about other gods, no matter what the purpose, will most likely lead to having a conversation about them with the person you are speaking to. It opens the door for you, yourself, to be influenced by them. God wants to protect you from that.

Once you know the law, however, you are obligated to follow that law, and if you knowingly choose not to follow it, you are aggrivating your guilt.

In today's world, it is hard not to speak about these evils. We see it on TV, we hear it in the news, we see our neighbors practicing them, so how do we protect ourselves from such blatant disregard of God's laws -- particularly this one?

Thank God for Jesus, who died to save us from ourselves! And, in His sacrifice and victory over Satan in this world, He gave us the strength to try to do better!

God's Laws: Sabbatical Year

Exodus Chapter 23
9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

In verse 9, God is repeating the command that we should be kind to people who immigrate to our country. You know the old saying, "You catch more flies with honey". Being kind and gracious to strangers allows us the opportunity to witness to them in such a way that they are open to hearing our testimony with no malice. You can't beat the Bible over people's heads, but you can gently nudge them into reading it. You don't lead people to true salvation by making threats and turning them away when they are in need.

Again, this is NOT saying we should allow everyone to invade our country illegally. It simply means that once they have followed the proper channels to get here, then they should be welcomed with open arms.

God tells us to work our lands for six years, and then to give our lands rest for a year. Today, most of us are not farmers and ranchers. It is not how we make our living. And, God wants us to honor Him with our work. Therefore, if you own a business, you should shut it down every seventh year to take a break and do something else. If you work at a job, you should take a leave of absence every seventh year to focus on something else. After the seventh year is up, you can go back to it, if it is what you are lead to do.

To put this in better perspective, God is telling us, once again, to work six days and rest one, that we can be refreshed.

Here is a great read concerning letting the land rest: Why Soil Needs As Much Rest As We Do