Copyright 2012 Theresa Harvard Johnson
The eve of Pesach or Passover is on Friday, April 7th this year.
As I’ve reflected on this Holy Week, the Lord has ministered to me deeply concerning my personal, spiritual maturation in Him. In other words, I have journeyed with Him back to the actual moment, date and time that I earnestly surrendered my life to service in the Kingdom. It was a Sunday just after 8:30PM.
I accepted the call of repentance and salvation; took up my cross and entered into Yeshua’s resurrection. I was finally ready, truly ready to be made whole. (Check out, “Good Friday: I want to know him.”)
That Day
On that day 12 years ago, the Spice Girls had made recording history by being the first female group to have nine number one hit singles. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon, the right-wing leader of the opposition Likud party, were scrambling, struggling to pull together an emergency national government to retain its power; and George Bush was just days away from winning a historic presidential election. There was even an article in The New York Times that closely examined where race relations stood among blacks and whites in this country.
It’s amazing how these stories, articles and events lose their significance in light of the transforming power of God to make one man whole. Events and information that once clouded my intellect – suddenly had very little weight or significance in light of the “filling” or the “quenching of the thirst” that was taking place inside me. I was so broken and beat down that I never thought, in a million years, that I could “feel the effects or presence” of God’s love in such an intimate way.
Remembering the Transformation
It brings tears to my eyes this morning just thinking about my transformation on that day. You see, amid all the businyness in this World and the things that matter to men, Father and His Yeshua had their eyes on me. Father’s vision for reconciliation and Yeshua’s promise of deliverance had grabbed hold of a nobody — someone very insignificant to the days headlines – with this single promise: “I will love you to LIFE.”
Ephesians 2:1-6 HNB, “You were made alive when you were dead through trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience; 3 among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Messiah (by grace have you been saved), 6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Messiah Yeshua..”
Me, a nobody in the scale of humanity in this world, was SEATED IN HEAVENLY PLACES. I had the realization that I was SOMEBODY to God.
Father began showing me that while these historical events had significance, the TRUE significance was in this: One more soul passed from death to life. You see people of God, regardless of all the goings-on around us — everything that is, was or is to come in Father seeks THIS KIND of reconciliation. No matter what we think, what we are doing, who we know, where we may be or even where we find ourselves in this EXACT MOMENT — Father wants our souls reconciled. (Check out, “How to pray for yourself in difficult times.”
The Notes of Angels
On that day, nearly 12 years ago the angels in Heaven took note of “Theresa’s” repentance! Theresa changed forever! Wow! Do you remember the moment they took notes of yours?
Luke 15:9 CJB, “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy among God’s angels when one sinner repents.”
That beats a news headline any day. The suicidal, rejected, abandoned, abused, abuser, rage-filled, angry, alcohol addicted, mentally ill, vengeful, unforgiving, mean, moody, perverted and selfish Theresa began a LOVING, GENTLE journey to the very CENTER of God’s heart that day. That me truly did DIE with Him…. Jesus.
And guess what: FATHER’S JUDGMENT PASSED OVER ME! I received the redemptive power of Yeshua’s shed blood and resurrection! I’m Theresa — the forgiven. Theresa — the loved.
Yes, we can dig into the biblical meaning of Pesach. We can go through the scriptural foundations of what happened in the day of Moses, and we can break bread, drink wine and walk through all the stuff that good Christians do during this season.
But I urge you, people of God: “Take the time to REFLECT on the place from which you’ve come this week! Take time to REMEMBER what Yeshua has done and is doing in/through you! What has YOUR PESACH been like? Where were YOU when the blood was placed over your doorpost in the midst of Yeshua’s resurrection?” (Check out, Finding Inner Resolve: Navigating Residual Grief with Faith)
Remember! Remember! Remember!
Can you even remember? No matter the circumstances that brought you to Him, know that the “the moment” is worth remembering. We experienced true love that day, true belonging… true hope.
I’ve been on a fast with my Church family. Tonight, I have the honor and privilege of leading prayer — and my heart is literally torn up over the opportunity. There is a cry in me of gratefulness and thanksgiving for Yeshua’s sacrifice that I quite honestly cannot explain.
All I can say to you today is this: “I’m SO GLAD He came for me! He closed the mouth of my enemies… and put hell to shame.”
People of God, this time of remembrance is not about a HOLIDAY! It’s not about the pomp-and-circumstance or even the rituals of remembrance. What is Father saying? He is saying SEE HIM in the midst of all we do, don’t just let the Seders and Communions that will take place this week simply be rituals!
It’s about getting in touch with who Yeshua is to you and in you. It is about really grasping hold of Father’s sacrifice of His son and making a commitment to LIVE INSIDE THE PROMISE OF RECONCILIATION. It is about laying down the “news headlines” that seem to cloud the will of men — and pick up the only headline that has foundational, true weight or significance in Heaven and earth:
“Be reconciled.”
