Wash me with hyssop...

Exodus 12:21-24 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip [it] in the blood that [is] in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that [is] in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite [you]. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

Hubby and I are working on reading through the Bible this year.... Anyway, middle of last month landed us in Exodus 12, dealing with the first Passover. As we were reading through the verses above, I had one of those *ding--light going on* moments that I thought I'd share.. but first a bit of background.

Back when I was in 5th grade, we were attending Newport Baptist Church--very near the homestead of the Knipe family. The church tossed out a challenge to us kids: memorize Psalm 51 and bring 3 visitors to SS between now (the fall)and the following summer & the church would sponsor us for summer camp. I still remember c-o-l-d winter mornings, mom waiting with me for the bus drilling me on Psalm 51. :-) Well, I never went to camp, but I did get the major part of Psalm 51 down cold. It starts: Have mercy upon me oh God, according to thy lovingkindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquities & cleanse me from my sin for I acknowledge my transgressions & my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest & be clear when thou judgest. Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness..........

So last month as hubby and I are reading in Exodus 12 about the Passover, the hyssop imagery hit me... hard. See, Psalm 51 has always been my favorite "repentance" passage. Purge me with hyssop. I've kinda viewed it as the OT equivalent of 1 John 1:9 ...if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive--especially with David's reference to the restoration of the joy of salvation. But as it occurred to me, that (the believer's repentance) might not be the big point.

Ultimately, the hyssop imagery is salvific. It wasn't the hyssop plant itself that was in focus--it was the blood in which the hyssop was dipped. The Israelites didn't have to stand outside all night, dipping the hyssop & re-applying blood to the doorposts. They were to do it once & then stay inside. The blood did the work. So, too, for me today. 'Tis the washing in His blood that makes me whiter than snow. I don't have to keep dipping the hyssop, so to speak. I'm forgiven--freed, by His blood.

Bottom line?? It's not the hyssop that was so important... it was the blood of the Lamb.


****Re-Posted**** Been reading through the OT again... been meaning to look for the hyssop post. Stumbled across it tonight... so here it is again!

Ma-Lin-Da

Ma-lin-DA

Ma-LIN-Da

Ma-Linda

Melinda!!!

Mommy, You name is MAlinda. Daddy name is Paul. I Kenneth. Hannah is....um... Hannah.

So quoth Baby Dragon #1. :-)

For Aaron....

Our Mountain of Strength

Aaron, our son - "Mountain of strength",
A gift from our Lord this year,
So many months of hopes and dreams,
Are now dissolved into tears.

But how can we cry? How can we sorrow?
You are face to face with the Lord!
And though you are gone to your Heavenly home,
We are still bound by love's strong cord.

Let your body sleep; your soul rejoice and sing,
You do not see through a glass darkly today,
We praise God for you, and expect to praise Him with you,
When we reach Heaven one day.

Our thoughts and dreams must adapt to God's will,
You will not be forgotten, though your time here was brief.
Oh Lord be our Rock, our "Mountain of Strength",
And comfort us in our grief.




Yes, my SIL wrote it for the program for the funeral on Friday.

Prayers please....

I wasn't going to mention this on-line, but since she has herself.......

My SIL and her husband lost their baby yesterday. She had been due on the 21st... everything was fine until Monday--suddenly no movement from the baby. Ultrasounds could find no heart beat. She was to be induced yesterday afternoon. I just can't imagine... but the Lord's grace will be sufficient for them, even in this.

To borrow her words: Obviously we have many hard decisions to make in the next several days, and many more hard moments to face. Your prayers on our behalf are greatly appreciated.

UPDATE:

Just got off the phone with my SIL. He was born yesterday at 5:20pm. Aaron Gabriel. Funeral will be Friday at 1pm. Aaron: Mountain of strength. She said "they had been thinking of that name b/c he kicked so strongly while she was carrying him. Now they need one." Lord, have mercy.

Merry Christmas '07

Dear Family & Friends,

Merry Christmas! Isaiah 7:14 records one of many prophecies about Christ’s birth: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Although this verse accurately predicts Christ’s miraculous birth approximately 600 years before the very first Christmas, it does much more as well. The wording in the first part of the verse reveals that the sign of Christ’s birth was special even among miracles because God Himself was going to do it, unlike many other miracles that He accomplished through prophets and such. The middle part of the verse ties this prophecy and Christ’s birth to the very first prophecy which God Himself made to Satan in Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Also, this facet of the verse declares that Christ will be genuinely human. The last part of the verse reveals that not only is God the doer of this sign but that He is the sign. Matthew 1:23 explains, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Additionally, His name of Immanuel points toward the purpose for His miraculous birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension – to be with us. Just before Christ went to the mount of Olives where He was betrayed, He prayed in John 17:20 & 21: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” May your Christmas be merry in belief, trust, & faith in Christ; and if you do not believe in Him, please know that though more than 2000 Christmases have passed since His birth, He still invites you to be with Him through belief in His word.

In addition to salvation, the Lord has blessed and challenged us throughout this year. Of course, Hannah was born in October of 2006; but we spent most of the beginning of 2007 getting to know one another. In March we visited Paul’s dad & step-mom in Florida for a weekend and celebrated Kenneth’s 2nd birthday. While we were there Kenneth befriended his step-aunt, Jennifer. In April Melinda’s parents visited us for a week, and then we traveled together to NJ so they could return to their home and we could visit Melinda’s friend, Nancy. We then proceeded to NY to visit Paul’s sister (Lisa) & her family for about a week along with Melinda’s cousin & her family, who had traveled down from Canada. We packed Lisa’s home with 6 adults and 12 children, and we had a wonderful time. Hannah especially enjoyed meeting her northern “fan club.”

Most of our summer was spent working, chasing Kenneth & Hannah, doing chores around the house, and involving ourselves at church. Aside from growing like a weed and attaining new heights of mischief, Kenneth is developing his vocal skills. Of course Hannah is growing fast as well, but her chief development seems to be her mobility as she tries to keep up with her brother. Paul continues to work as a probation/parole officer, and Melinda continues her work as the family’s homemaker. Also, we have completed several projects around the house such as insulating some of the water pipes in the crawlspace, hanging more wall decorations, and building gates for the porch and deck. We spent about a week of the summer house-sitting for the Souths (friends from church) and enjoyed their pool and garden. Along with the regular activities at church, we spent a lot of time amending the church’s constitution. This was both challenging and educational. Melinda continues to minister as the church’s nursery superintendent, and Paul continues to serve as a deacon.

On August 18th Melinda celebrated her birthday and reached the age of majority – for a hobbit. In October Paul & Melinda celebrated their 10th anniversary! In keeping with tradition, we took Hannah out for Mexican food with our friends, Coart & Lori, on her 1st birthday. We enjoyed fellowshipping with Coart & Lori again on Thanksgiving but missed the traditional visit by Paul’s mom due to her new job. We look forward to Paul’s dad & step-mom visiting us for Christmas followed in January by some friends from IN, the Matsons. May God bless each of you during this special season as you reflect on the Christ of Christmas.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,

Taking a break...

...but not eating a Kit-Kat.

Just wanted to let ya's know that things will be quiet around here for a while. (Not that they haven't been quiet lately... they'll just continue being quiet for different reasons.)

Ciao!!