I wonder how many times God tries to get our attention each day.
Last week, I was inspired to thank Him for making pollen – even though it makes my lungs itch and my nose run. Pollination leads to flowers and flowers lead to seeds and seeds lead to growth and God calls this SEEDTIME!
Seeds pack the power of potential. Seeds need to germinate in order to burst forth. Seeds have energy inside them. That energy comes from God. Living things grow because God causes them to grow OVER TIME. I have learned to teach my children that time only goes one direction – forward. It’s only our memories and expectations and free will that goes backward. And, even though I love a good science fiction movie just like everybody else, the simple truth is that time travel will never work inside God’s creation. I would much rather believe in having an eternal soul that can be renewed through forgiveness than need to believe in time travel to fix my past mistakes because my life is finite.
I cannot even begin to thank God for all the mistakes He allowed that caused me to want to find Him. And I love living my life knowing my Father in Heaven loves me and wants me to keep growing closer to Him. Like Father, like daughter, I want to make Him smile.
Rule of Sevens
This week on Israel’s journey through the Bible, Moses is again reminding them to pay attention to what GOD is doing all around them. Soon, the early harvest will be ready and God’s provision made apparent once more.
15 “Then you are to count from the morrow after the Shabbat, from the day that you brought the omer[c] of the wave offering, seven complete Shabbatot. 16 Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbat you are to count fifty days,[d] and then present a new grain offering to Adonai. 17 You are to bring out of your houses two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They are to be baked with hametz as firstfruits to Adonai. 18 You are to present, along with the bread, seven one-year-old lambs without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They will become a burnt offering to Adonai, with their meal offering, and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to Adonai. 19 Also you are to offer one male goat for a sin offering and a pair of year-old male lambs for a sacrifice of fellowship offerings. 20 The kohen is to wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Adonai, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Adonai for the kohen. 21 You are to make a proclamation on the same day that there is to be a holy convocation, and you should do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.” Leviticus 23:15-21 TLV
According to the Bible, year groups of seven are important in agriculture and commerce. Its also important for keeping His commandments! We have a seven-day week, count seven sevens to get to Shavuot, and make offerings in groups of seven. When Moses came down off of the mountain and announced the new set of rules and regulations that the Children of Israel would have to live by to have a relationship with ADONAI, the people’s reply was of unified, wholehearted agreement. When the Children of Israel bound themselves to ADONAI, they made it possible for God to bless them beyond what they could imagine. Like with manna from heaven or water from a rock.
But today, I would argue that the same rule of sevens is true for life cycles.
0-7 Years
Birth to seven years old are the formative years for character building and discovering that God loves you.
8 – 13 Years
Years eight to thirteen are training for educational givens like faith and schooling basics.
13 – 21 Years
The next seven are the teenage years where modeling adult behavior is the focus while developing your God-given talents.
21 and up
By 21, adulthood leads to marriage, and then children and grandchildren and so on.
The main point here is that intergenerational community is a priority for healthy faith development, and family is the building block for learning character, not school only. Parents and grandparents are the God-ordained faith teachers for their children and children’s children. It only takes one generation for faith heritage to be lost, just one. Do not be caught unaware.
We count the omer, day after day, not because it makes us more holy. We do it because it reminds us of where we are along the journey. So take time today and see where you are in your cycle of sevens.
Are you headed into your eighth set of sevens and need a new beginning? Are you in your tenth set of sevens and are learning to walk in the authority God has given you? Regardless of where you are in your journey, take the time to get your bearings. Know that your days are in His hand and that He alone is God.
Much love, Daniah
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