Passover/Spring Cleanup Challenge

     Shalom everyone!  Today we would like to introduce to.....

THE PASSOVER CHALLENGE

Choosing to be 'Passed Over' by the bonds of this world

     The Passover challenge is something that my mom and her friends from bible study decided to begin.  We've all been very prayerful about purging all of the bonds of spiritual luggage and just 'stuff,'  so we all decided to challenge ourselves to get rid of what is robbing us of living life to the fullest and keeping us from fully embracing God's calling for us.  'Stuff ' is constantly robbing us from these things because we're constantly trying to keep up with it.  Agreed?

      

     Have any of you ever heard of the term 'minimalist'?  Minimalists are people who have just the bare minimum that they need to live with.  Most minimalists have one pot, one pair of earrings, only a few outfits to wear...  Etc.  They have only the necessities instead of 'stuff that they might use.'  Can you imagine how freeing that is?  Instead of constantly taking care of the things that are supposed to be taking care of you, you're getting to fully embrace what Yahweh has called you to do.  Of course, I'm not saying that everyone needs to be a minimalist.  However, I will say that when we have many possessions, we are unable to embrace Yeshua's calling for us.  We need to be ready to drop everything in an instant and follow him, no looking back.  Think of Abraham.  Abraham (or Abram, at the time) had an INCREDIBLE purpose that Yahweh had planned for his life...  Just think.  If he hadn't left when Yahweh told him to, he could have missed out on the glorious plans Yahweh had for him and his descendants.  Read Geneses 12:1-4 --

"And the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you."  So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him.  Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran." 

     Abraham didn't just have to leave his home, but he had to leave most of his family.  I don't know about you, but I love my family SO MUCH!  I can't imagine ever just up and leaving them...  Yet, what Yahweh's really been showing us lately is that HE has a plan for us better than we could ever imagine, and HE knows what HE'S doing, and if we want to receive HIS blessings, then we have to obey Him, even if it means leaving everything and everyone behind.

     The story of Lot.  Lot (Abraham's nephew) was in a bad situation and in the wrong side of town.  You know, he could have had a very different reaction to the angels Yahweh sent to him... Just think: "What?  God's going to send burning sulfur and destroy my home?  You guys are just plain silly!  No way I'm going to leave here!  That only happens in the story books..."  and so on.  You get my point.  I really had to ask of myself...  What would be my reaction?  Would I willingly submit to Yahweh's instruction or would I put my home over His instruction?  It's a scary question to ask yourself.

     Back to Lot... He was in danger, as was his family.  If he hadn't obeyed Yahweh, he would have been destroyed, no doubt about it.  Yet, because he obeyed, he was able to live another day, no looking back.  (literally)  Read Genesis 19:

19 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” 3 Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.8 Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”14 Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. 17 When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life!Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” 18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20 now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.”21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.

23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lordrained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 

     (Real quick note:  The story of how Lot offered his daughters to the mob outside his door can be very confusing to people, so I would HIGHLY recommend you watch this teaching on this subject provided by 119 ministries at testeverything.net.  You can watch the teaching by clicking here.)

     So we see through Abraham and Lots stories that Yahweh's instructions not only protect us, but they bless us immensely.  Agreed?  Now I would like you to take a look at Matthew 19:16-26 --

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

     We have a choice.  We can choose our possessions, hobbies, homes, etc., or we can choose to walk with the Messiah and embrace His calling for our lives.  As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh!  We choose His calling for our lives, and we feel very strongly that that requires us to be rid of our stuff.  How about you?

     Okay, so without further ado, I would like to introduce you to our mom, Lori!  She has agreed to write the first challenge so that we all can get excited about it!  I encourage you all that if you feel Yahweh is moving you in this direction, that you will continue on with this.  Pray and ask Yahweh to reveal to you the next step during this purging process.  Remember; persevere!  Okay, here's challenge #1 --

      For this years Passover Challenge, I would like to encourage the younger generations to take some responsibility to learn to live simply.  We don't need a million "collections" or hobbies.  Our family can be a hobby.  We can get excited about our own home, blessing our own family and doing the things that create an artful yet orderly life.  The idea that we need to "be kids and be able to do our own thing" is a worldly lie.  Learning to live righteously and kingdom living starts NOW!
We can start by getting rid of stuff.

So for the next couple of weeks, we are going to really focus on our own areas.  Check back daily with little mini tasks that will bless yourself AND your family.  If you are interested in participating in the original MOM's Passover Challenge, contact us and please, leave a comment and we will send you the whole house challenge.

Here's the first challenge!
CHALLENGE #1    Look under your bed!  Drag everything out of there!  Chances are, if it's been under there for a long time, you don't need it.  Examine everything you pull out.  Do I really need this?  Is it just one more thing to store?  Do I have enough keepsakes?  Is it broken?  Under the bed is great for storing a couple of bins.  Don't use it as an excuse!

Remember, this is an incredible challenge, but we don't want it to be the center of out life.  Get it done, but don't let it be your main focus.  Work for a minimum of 15 minutes and a maximum of 1 hour a day.  Keep in mind that Yahweh is your first priority, and your family is runner up!  Blessings!

     Alright, I hope you enjoy taking part in the Passover Challenge!   Please, feel free to comment on your thoughts about it, and feel free to share what Yahweh's doing in your life!  Blessings to all you readers!!!

Shalom,
Lori and Sophie