Warm hellos friends, brethren, co-workers, spiritual family, and scattered children of God, from here on the Gulf Coast. My wife and I pray and hope this finds you all doing well, and that again your week has been blessed.

My wife and I have now returned safely from visiting brethren in Tennessee and North Carolina. It’s been 5 years since we were transferred here to Alabama, and I’d forgotten how beautiful the hills and landscape are and enjoyed being back in these areas for a few days.

Well, the spring Holy Days have come and gone. They are deeply meaningful and intense, but, like everything in this life, they are quickly turned into history. The trouble with history is that we naturally look to the future, and naturally focus on the work and challenges in front of us—and the lessons and plans for improving our lives and growing closer to God often recede into “history.”

How do we keep the lessons we learned clearly focused and in mind as we move forward?

How do we not lose that clear vision of the changes we resolved to make as we continue on with our rush of duties and activities?

Here is a simple summary of each: 1) Passover pictures what Jesus Christ did for us in giving us hope for eternal life; and 2) the Days of Unleavened Bread pictures what we must personally do as a response in worshipping Him and as He lives in us. Both are great, many-faceted bodies of treasured spiritual knowledge that we’ve reviewed and learned more about again this year.

One way to follow God’s directive to “remember” is to review the basic meanings of the two celebrations each week of the seven weeks leading to Pentecost. This period of seven weeks is highlighted each year by the fact we must count the time to arrive at the correct day to keep the next Holy Day—the Feast of (counting seven) Weeks or the Feast of (counting fifty) days: “Pente—cost.”

Here is a suggestion. (And since we’re just a couple weeks from Pentecost, you can certainly do this next year). Resolve to keep in remembrance both of these meanings by meditating on each at a time set aside each week. For example, set aside some holy time— Sabbath eve, or Sabbath before or after worship services, whether in person or online—say, 10 or 15 minutes for each. By the way, it does not have to just be on the Sabbath, as our time with God in daily connection with Him is indeed blessed.

When we set aside time to meditate specifically on all that Christ and the Father have done in our lives, starting with the blood sacrifice Jesus offered of Himself, and all that they continue to do for each of us, day in and day out, it will make a profound impact in our prayers and lives.

The same principle carries with meditating on the sacrifice of ourselves we offer to God every day (as we pictured during the Days of Unleavened Bread), carefully thinking about avoiding the many sins that easily slip into our thinking constantly (Hebrews 12:1). This time set aside will also have a major effect on our remembering and not losing the progress we’ve made during the Holy Day season!

Time marches on. Lives move forward. People age. We learn as we live. Stay connected friends to each other and to the True Vine, and be about our Father’s business.

Arms up friends! Our prayers and thoughts are with you daily. Please do pray for us as well.