Monday, April 25, 2016

SAMPLES - EXERT FROM MY NOVEL TITLED THE CUPBEARER'S DREAM


I am presently seeking publication for several novels I've written; here is a sample chapter from my novel called The Cupbearer's Dream:





EXERT FROM MY NOVEL TITLED “THE CUPBEARER’S DREAM
FROM A CHAPTER CALLED “THE VALLEY GATE”
(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

The Valley did not look so forlorn in the light of day.  I brushed the sleep from my eyes and rose to follow Jesus again.  He walked before me as if He had slept on a bed of roses in a mansion of glory.   I marveled at the fact that this could have actually been the case had He chosen, but He was walking this valley again for my sake.  I felt humbled beyond words.

Jesus was smiling a happy smile.  I had to ask Him.  “So what has you so happy after a cold dark night’s sleep in the valley?”  
He laughed.  I loved that sound! 

“I was just mulling over how My Father was reminding you last night in your dreams of how each person working on the wall with you was a blessing .” 

“You can even see into my dreams!”  He smiled again. 

“I guess it was good to take that summary again, after all was said and done.  I can look back and see all the differences in talent, commitment and diversity that God blessed us with in the process we were going through while working on those walls.”

“He has a way of doing that!”

  Somehow thinking of the blessings made the morning’s travel much easier.  We walked in the sunlight and conversed all morning.  Any conversation with Jesus was always amazing.  I had not wanted to walk through this valley, but I was seeing how being forced to spend this time alone with Jesus was a truly fulfilling experience.  No distractions, just me and My Master walking together through the rough roads of the valley.  I was thankful for every word that we were able to share along the way.  I was never bored. 

All of a sudden a huge cloud blocked the sun.  In less than a second buckets and buckets of water were falling down upon us from the sky.  Lightening was flashing in huge striking streaks, and fierce winds were howling through the canyons.  It happened so fast; like the twinkling of an eye.  We had no time to prepare.  I saw the water collecting on top of the rocky earth, pooling up and forming small little floods.  I saw Jesus looking for higher ground to guide us to.

“Nehemiah, we must get to higher ground, these areas flood fast in a rain storm.  We are walking through a big gully.”
“I can’t believe You, of all people, are worried and telling me this.  God will save us.  I’m not moving from this spot.”

“Faith is a good thing Nehemiah, but stubbornness is not.”

Jesus was wading quickly on and upward to a higher plain.  I sat for a rest in the cool of the water and basked in my self-assurance, despite the words He had said to me.  I could survive this, after all, wasn’t I Nehemiah TheGreat Wall Builder?  Let the storm come.  I would not move from this spot until I was ready to go.  I just needed a little rest. 

It was about that time the water came suddenly from around a rock, rushing into me, pounding against me, pulling me along into a current that I could not fight.  I struggled against it with all of my might.  It was too strong for me.  I was grabbed and swept through the ravine.  I was pulled under in a split second, even before I could take a breath.  As I felt my lungs filling with the water of a furious Wadi storm, I realized my mistake much too late.  I silently confessed my sin in my mind before I passed out.  I hoped God heard me by reading my thoughts.  Then the world went dark.

I awoke on dry ground with a fire burning beside me.  It was twilight and Jesus was cooking something that smelled very good over the fire.  I was lying on a soft blanket and my clothes were different and dry. 

“You failed the first test” He said, without looking up from his cooking, “but you did confess it, and I have forgiven you; not to mention that I pulled you out of the flood.”

“Oh Lord, I’m so sorry!  I can’t believe I fell for that old trap of the devil!  I was relying on my own strength instead of listening toYou and following the age old advice of Our Father!”

“Pride is one of the greatest sins we battle Nehemiah The Great Wall Builder!”  I blushed, deeply embarrassed at my own stupidity.

“Most of my servants have had to learn about pride the hard way – through experience instead of knowledge.” 

My aching bones were certainly proof-positive of this statement.  The sorrow of my spirit for not listening to my Lord and trusting my own way was also very painful.  He always knew what was best for me, when would I ever learn this?  I caught myself wondering if He had ever been tempted in some way.  Surely being divine God sent from Heaven, He must have had a self-righteous moment or two?  How had He fought the battle of pride?

“My enemy, Satan, tried to bring that out in me Nehemiah.”

He was reading my thoughts again.  I blushed, feeling like I had accused Him out loud.

“I spent 40 days in the wilderness, much like you are spending in this valley, just Me and My Father, walking and talking.  I was fasting and praying for His guidance.  I too, had to be tested.  It was for my own good.  It was to develop my own strength.  It was hard for Me too, but it was something that had to be done in order for my purpose to be fulfilled.”

“What happened?”

“It started a lot like your testing started.  I was walking through the dry desert grounds, My Father had gone ahead in the distance leaving Me alone.  I was physically tired and emotionally drained.  I was hungry and thirsty.  Of course, Satan was watching.  He is always watching Nehemiah, just waiting on the opportune moment to catch a child of God in a moment of weakness.  That is when He shows himself.  He usually begins by twisting The Word.  That is why you must study and memorize the scroll that contains The Word.  The only way to recognize that the enemy is twisting the word for his own purposes is to know the word yourself.  I used The Word like a sword to fight him when he tried to tempt me.  By quoting the correct words from the Holy Scriptures back to him, I gave him no place to stand.”
“He knew I was hungry and He tempted me to command the stones to become bread.  He knew I had the power to do this.  He had witnessed me doing this many times before, but I was fasting in order to hear from My Father.  He wanted to distract me from this focus.  So he found where he thought I would be the weakest and he focused on that.  I knew to keep my focus, and I gave him back the scriptures that say “Man shall not live on bread alone, but from every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  These scriptures were the whole purpose for Me in that moment; to hear the word of My Father and to know His will for Me next.  By focusing on the scriptures that I believed and had faith in, the enemy did not win that battle.”

“Wow, I’ll bet he left you alone after that happened!”

“Actually, Satan is pretty stubborn.  He returned to me a second time.  This time he wanted me to prove my power as The Son of God.  He quoted the scripture again; don’t ever think that the enemy has not read the scriptures.  He was once the great cherubim before My Father’s throne.  He knows The Word.  He just tries to twist the meaning.  He wanted me to jump from the highest point of the temple and prove that I was The Son of God by letting the angels save Me.  Of course, he really thought he would trick me into jumping to my premature death.  I had no doubt that the angels would save me, but My Father is the one who tests, and I am not the tester.  My role and purpose at this time was to be the servant.  The servant does not test the Master.  I gave Satan back some scripture to chew on:  “Thou shalt not put The Lord Your God to the test.”

“Yes Lord! And the victory must have seemed sweet to You; and Satan must have gone off to hide in shame!”

“Like I said, he is a very stubborn and determined being.  He returned to Me a third time with yet another temptation, which you should find very interesting. “

“Why?  What did he tempt you with the next time?”

“Pride.  He took me up to a high mountain again and he showed me all the kingdoms of the world.  He said I could have them all if I would just bow down and worship him.”

“That liar!”

“Yes, you are right.  He did not own the kingdoms of the world, My Father owned them, and I was already the rightful heir, but just the same, even if he had owned them; I would not have been tempted.  My place was to do my Father’s  will.  All the kingdoms of the world would not have benefited me if I had not obeyed My Father.  I would have simply been following my own self righteous ways instead of His.”

I knew this false pride.  It was very fresh on my mind, and my back and my aching bones.  Had Jesus not stepped in and saved me from my own foolish pride, I would not be here with Him, having this conversation. 

“Lord, I’m so sorry.  I was wrong to trust in my own ways and my own strength.  I will not make that mistake again.”

“I know your true heart wants to do better Nehemiah, and I have forgiven you.”

Once again we shared a wonderful meal, and then we got up to begin another journey.  My heart felt fresh and humble and full of renewed energy and enthusiasm.  Perhaps my troubles were over!

The water that washed through the area and flooded the valley left as quickly as it came.  It was strange how it just seemed to seep down into the rocky ground.  The sun came out and dried the way quickly.  We were once again dragging our tired feet through dusty roads and for the most part, we were the only sojourners on the highway. 

It was surprising to notice the figure of a young woman dressed in purple and red cloth strolling down the road, pushing a cart and singing a song.  She had such an enchanting voice!  The words of her song fell soothingly on my ears even before I saw her comely figure drawing nearer and nearer to where we would pass her on the road.
“Good day to you gentlemen!  Would you like to gaze upon the gems I’m pushing in this wagon to sell in the village?”

Jesus was strangely quiet.  I took that as acceptance and smiled back at the lovely young lady.  “Why yes, what treasures do you have for sell?”

She smiled sweetly up at me, meeting my eyes with a full wide stare, something that I was not accustomed to from the women of my day.  I thought things just must be done differently here in this valley, and I gazed into the cart she was pushing to see what wares she had to sell.

She dramatically pulled back a cloth that covered a cart full of gems.  I gasped at the brilliance of the many fine jewels that lay in a cloth lining around the bottom of the cart.  The sunlight glistened through them, and they sparkled up at me.  They were the most precious, beautiful, delightful gems my eyes had ever seen, even more beautiful than what I had seen in the crown on Queen Esther’s head as she sat on the throne with her son, The King of Persia. 

“Wow – they are dazzlingly beautiful!”

“Yes, they are! Some lucky person will soon become the owner of these precious jewels.  They have to be sold.  My Father has become ill, and my Mother has died.  They belonged to her, but she has no need of them now.  I would dearly love to keep them, but I must sell them to buy food and drink for my family and to obtain a doctor for my father’s illness.  I only need the right person to give me a fair offer.  I will not be stingy.  I am in desperate need of money as we have always been very poor, except for these precious items that we have held on to for far too long.”

The jewels sparkled up at me.  I reached in my pocket absentmindedly counting and jiggling the coins that I had put back for my provisions along the way.  I could offer her a price, and if she took it I could double my money from such a fine investment in the market place where the silversmiths worked making very fine jewelry.  She would be satisfied, and I would be much better off.  I had not needed money so far, but I was sure we could use a little help with lodging when we got to where we were going.  Somehow Jesus had been feeding us from the spoils of the land, but how much longer would we be that lucky?  Sooner or later we would need money and this opportunity was right in front of me, so easy to grasp. 
I knew the diamonds alone would bring double the coins in my pockets, not to mention the emeralds and rubies and sapphires that now gleamed from the open cart.  I took the coins that I had and held them out to her.  “Would these be a fair price my lady?”

“Ah….that is truly more money than I’ve ever had, but do you not have a little more?”

I knew she would be one to bargain, and I brought out the coin I had hidden before I made my offer.

She smiled at me that same way again, most charming and disarming, and she reached out and took every coin I had.  I blinked and she was gone, leaving a cart full of jewels at my feet.  I wondered how she disappeared so swiftly, but my good fortune was now in my own hands. 

I smiled at Jesus who had stood beside me not saying a word.

 “Quite a trade, huh?”

He once again was very silent.
“We need to be moving on.”
  
He headed back for the pathway, and I picked up the handles of the cart and began to push.  It was amazingly heavy, and I had not thought of how this heavy cart full of jewels would slow me down and make my journey harder, but I knew it would be worth all the trouble in the end.  I mustered up my strength and pushed on.  Jesus was making much better time, but He would stop and gaze back at me patiently and wait up when I fell behind.  Even as He walked ahead of me, I tried to speak loudly and make conversation.  I did not want the cart full of treasures to keep us from our talks. 

“Poor girl, I hope she is able to help her father!  She seemed like such a nice person and so lovely to gaze upon too.”

“A person’s beauty is found on the inside, not the outside Nehemiah.  I fear what was left of her heart was not so beautiful as her outward appearance.”

“Really!  I’m surprised.  Surely she had a kind spirit in wanting to give up all of these precious stones, more beautiful than any I’ve ever seen, and I have seen a few, for the sake of her starving family.”

Jesus said no more.  He wasn’t interested in talking about the young lady.  He was focused and intent on crossing the valley.
“Soon we will come to the field of fires.  You will need to trust me completely in order to cross safely.”

“Fires?”

“Yes, you will see.”

I looked at the wooden cart that I was pushing.  I knew the diamonds could survive fire and still be okay, but I wasn’t sure about the other jewels.  I would just have to find a way around these fields of fire.  I was sure I could find another way in order to protect the investment I had made for our future welfare.

Finally we stopped for a rest under a scruffy shade tree.  I uncovered the cart and gazed down at my treasures, picking up the stones in my hands and letting them fall through my fingers, liking the way they glittered in the sun.  I sorted the diamonds out, thinking they would be the most valuable.  I put them into a napkin and wrapped them separately.

Jesus sat quietly by my side, just watching, never saying a word.  I sensed that He was deliberately not talking to me and I wondered why.  I guess He could read my mind and we had reached a state of not having to talk out loud.  I stopped pondering this and turned back to sorting through the jewels in my cart.  It seemed that this treasure was all I could think about now.  I would be glad when we got out of the valley and I could sell them at the market and pocket enough cash to not have to worry about anything on my future journeys.  I covered the top of the cart carefully as we rose and headed back down the road.
 It wasn’t long before we came to a place that looked like an ash heap.  Everything was charred, burnt, melted down into nothing but ashes.  The land was empty and dry.  The air was heavy.  The way was dusty and dirty.  Some places in the ground still seemed to be smoldering from fires. 

“Be careful here,” Jesus said. 

“What is this place?”

“It is the old altar ground where men took their own children, put them up on polls, lit a torch and burned them as an offering to a pagan god.” 

I could almost hear the cries of innocent children rising out of the ashes.  I was suddenly terrified.  My cart seemed like a much greater burden to push through this area, and I didn’t understand when we came to the smoky areas why some of the fires still seemed fresh. 

“You do not want to understand all there is to know about these fires right now, Nehemiah.  Suffice it to say that I have found the children who were offered here, and they are loved and cared for by my Father now.”

I sensed a reverence in His voice that told me to observe in silence, and not to be too hasty in crossing through here.  I also sensed that many of the fires were still hot and would quickly burn or melt anyone or anything that came near them.  I looked sadly at my cart full of jewels.  I carefully picked up the jewels and wrapped them well in the blanket so they would not drop and put them deep into my pockets.  I lifted the cart up on my back and flung it over my shoulders.  It was heavy and very hard to carry.  I was very slow and my back ached as we moved carefully through this area, dodging the fires, going the long way around in many places.  By the time we reached a clearing my back was killing me.  In severe pain I lowered the cart to the ground once more.  I took out the jewels from my pocket and placed them inside the cart again.  The pain in my side and lower back did not go away.  It was going to be something I had to endure for awhile.  I had been through a lot to keep these jewels, much more than I had originally anticipated.

I had to ask Jesus to stop for awhile.  I very much needed to rest.  We sat down under the shade of an old tree and drank some water.  As we were resting, I pulled the cart next to me, unfolded the cover and recounted the jewels.  I knew how many diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and pearls I had.  I loved looking at them. I always marveled at the way they captured the light. 

Jesus was watching me hold them in my hands and moveing them back and forth to admire the quality, color and shine that I saw. 

“Nehemiah, you know, many things in this life can be very deceptive.”

I stopped watching the glittering jewels dancing in the sunlight and glanced up at Jesus as He made this comment.
“What do you mean, Lord?”

“I think you will see soon enough.  Let’s get started on our journey again.”

We were in the flat of the valley now.  I rolled the cart a little easier, but it still seemed very heavy.  Sometimes I hit bumps and ruts in the dirt and the jewels would bounce around.  I was being very careful not to let them fall out of the cart.  It was a hard job.  It was hard enough just walking on this long, hot dangerous journey.  The jewels I had in my possession now made it even harder.  I trudged on through, following Jesus, who was able to maneuver better and more swiftly than I could.  He was getting harder and harder to keep up with.  I tried hard not to lose Him, as I did not know the way without Him, but He seemed to have no thought for the heavy burden that I was carting along with us.

“Lord, will you please slow down a bit?”  I asked timidly.

“Why?”

“You know why.  My cart is hard to carry through this rough terrain.”
“I did not tell you to purchase that cart, Nehemiah.  It isn’t my problem.  I need to get where we are going, and I can’t slow down for an unnecessary cart.”

I pondered the true, but stinging words.

“But Lord, this cart was a good investment.  When we get to the city, I can sell it and we will not want for food ever again!”

 “Has your food not always been provided for you?  Have you lacked for anything in the past?”

He had a point.  God had provided everything we needed every step of the way.  But I clung to the fact that I had made a good investment and we would live luxuriously when this was over.  I thought to myself – He will see when that happens.  I tugged at the cart and kept on walking, trying to keep up with the fast pace, but the thoughts He was putting in my head frustrated me.  Finally I decided to break the silence.

“Okay – just tell me – what is it about these jewels that bothers You?”

There – I had said it – the elephant was out of the closet and we could have this discussion.  I DID want to follow Him, His way, but I just wasn’t very clear on His feelings right now.

He smiled at me.  It seemed forever before He answered.

“Did you like the way the sunlight glittered on the jewels as you looked at them earlier?”

Why did He do that?  I noticed that He never answered me directly, but always answered me with another question.  Why did He do that?

“Yes, I did like that sunlight glittering on the jewels.  It made them look quite beautiful.”

“My Father is The Light of The World.”

I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going.  What did one thing have to do with the other?  I walked along in silence, grasping for thoughts on how to respond. 

“Sometimes when we are walking through life, only the next step is illuminated.  My Father gives us just the light we need for our next step and just in the moment that we need it.  When the path is not fully lighted, you can only see one step ahead.  We walk in surrender to faith, even though we are unable to see the future, and we can’t completely comprehend the past.  We walk in the path of the light that we have been given.  It is The Father that gives us the light that we have.  We must reject the fear and doubt that threatens to overtake our journey.  We must be content right where we are each moment.  We must allow God to get us where we need to go.  Nehemiah, you must trust that the light He sheds on your path is always sufficient.  Dayenu !  It is enough!”

Wow, I was beginning to understand.  He had used that old Hebrew word that we recite every year at Passover, “dayenu.”  It meant that we should be satisfied with the place that God put us in this life, that we should be thankful in all circumstances, just to know that God is God.  Now I was getting the whole picture.
“Lord, do you mean that I should not have worried about investing in the jewels and selling them later to obtain gain so that we could always eat and have plenty?  Should I have trusted God for all we needed instead of striking out on my own and investing in the jewels?”

“Well part of that is correct.  That part about trusting God is correct.  It is not that investments are not good, Nehemiah.  Sometimes investments are wise.  It is acting on your own, without consulting God before you make the investment that could get you into trouble.  He is the only One you can trust to show you the true light of your very own unique path.” 

“Hmmmm…..”

“Did you fear that we would not have food Nehemiah?  Is that truly what made you buy those jewels?”

I knew the truth.  It wasn’t the fear that we would not have food.  It was my own greed, the desire to make a profit.  I had enough money in my pockets when I bought the jewels to feed us for the rest of the way.  I had not even needed it so far, Jesus has provided all the food all the way.   I wanted my own personal gain.  I had to admit it.  I looked down ashamed, and I saw that He knew.  He knew my shame.  He always did.  I felt really bad too.  I was remembering how I had fed all those homeless Israelites who came to work on the wall, but had no place to stay or eat.  God had provided.  I was remembering how back in the days that I was supervising the rebuilding of the walls and gates how I took nothing for myself, and had even used my own money for helping others who were working.  I hoped God remembered those things too.  I had temporarily forgotten.  Those things made me feel good about myself; but even I, the unselfish one in the past, had now been tempted by greed and want of gain.  It had snuck up on me without any realization of what I was getting into.  Who would have ever thought this would happen to me?  I thought of the enemy of God sleeping in the temple in the bed of the priests.  My heart sank.  I, myself, was as much a sinner.  I can’t tell you how sad this made my soul.  I guess nothing is beyond any man if he is tempted in the right way at the right time, unless he has the good sense to remember The Lord and turn to Him for advice on how to proceed.  I determined to do better in the future.

“Up until you bought those jewels, it seemed that we were content and happy on this little journey, in spite of the dangers and the long way.”

Once again, I knew He was right.  It was after I bought the jewels and had to push the heavy cart that things became a struggle.  It had become much harder after I had made the decision to take matters into my own hands, without consulting Him, or The Father.

I looked at my hands on the cart.  They seemed bound to it now.  I had made this investment and now I was tied to carrying through with it.  I had new responsibilities I had not anticipated or planned for.  I had to go on down the road with this heavy cart, pushing it ahead of me, feeling ever more tired of the struggle.  I had bound myself to all of this trouble.  I was waking up to the fact that I had made my own way instead of letting God show me how to go.  I remembered reading in the scroll about God’s friend David.  He said in one of the Psalms:  “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD; and he delights in his way.”  I thought of how delighted I had been before I bought the jewels and how I felt now.  The difference was in following my own way and in not following God’s way.  I wished I could turn back the time, but the deed was done.

I sadly trudged onward.  David had so often spoken of The Good Shepherd.  I had been walking the path with Him, but had not asked Him for help.  He had gently taken His rod and staff in the form of words and conversations and prodded my conscience.  Now, I had seen the light, but I had to decide how to proceed from here.

I bowed my head right there in the road.  I knew from here on out I needed to seek God’s will.  I quietly asked Him to forgive me.  I asked Him to guide me out of this quick-sand that I had fallen into.  I finally put my own understanding aside and trusted in God to show me the way.  I pleaded with God for help in making good choices from now on, and I gave all control over to Him for the remainder of this journey through the valley. 

                I walked along slowly now, pushing the heavy cart, listening, waiting to hear His voice to know what to do next.

I looked up to see a caravan coming our way.  How odd, to meet a whole caravan of people traveling down this lonely road.  The gentleman in the front seemed to be the wealthy owner of all the goods that followed on the backs of the camels behind him.  His men guided the camels with expertise and discernment.  I hoped he might be a man of great means who possibly might want to purchase my jewels.  Perhaps God was already showing me favor!  I smiled at him and waved for him to stop and speak with me.

                “Welcome, stranger, I wish you and your people a safe journey through the land.”

                “Thank you my friend, and may your journey also be blessed.”

                “Sir, I see you may be a man of great wealth, and perhaps you might be in need of some very precious stones, such as these that I have for sale today.”

                The man showed an interest, and I pulled the cloth back that covered the jewels in the cart.  They glistened in the sunlight, and the man got down from his beast and came closer to examine my treasures. 

                “Where did you get these jewels my friend?”

                “I bought them from a woman we met on the road earlier.  She needed money to take to her sick father.”

                “Did she give you a certificate of authenticity?”

                “Well…no..no, she didn’t have one of those, but they are pretty!  See how they glisten in the sun?”

                He reached out to pick up one of the diamonds and turned it upside down.

“Bring me the map” he said to his servant.  The servant quickly placed the map in his hands, and he held it under the diamond.  It was easy to read.  He could see every dot and every word and color on the map.  He looked up at me and shook his head.

                “My friend, these are not of good quality.  They are cut wrong, or else, I would not be able to read through these diamonds.   They will not catch the light as well as one of good quality.  He held the one I had handed to him against the one on his finger.  The brilliance of the shine on his diamond put mine to shame.  It was the real deal.  Mine was not.   My heart sank.  I was astonished and hoped that he did not become angry with me for trying to sell him my poor investment.

                I think he could read the surprise in my face.  I hoped he knew I was an honest man.  He took the diamond again and held it in my direction.  “Do you see the doubling effect?”  I looked closely.  I did see that facets were looking double instead of single as he held them up.    “This means it is only a good quality gemstone – not a diamond.”

                My eyes must have widened. 

                “I am sorry my friend, but you have been sold false merchandise.  I hope you did not pay too much for them.”

                Just all the money I had for the journey.  I did not say that part out loud.  I saw the look of pity he was giving me. 

                “Well, maybe some of the other jewels are okay” he said, hopefully.

                He shuffled through the pile and picked up what looked like a ruby.  I hoped it was real.  He held it up to the light, checking out the color quality, the cut, the size and shape.  He looked at his servant as he made comments.

                “Soft facets….tiny bubbles, see those little scratches?”

The servant nodded.  They both had a knowing look that was exchanged.  He handed it back to me. 

                “Sorry my friend, I don’t think I’ll be interested in these glass imitation rubies that you are carting through the valley.”

                My hopes fell.

                He glanced at the pile of jewels again.  An expression crossed his face, as if he had an idea.

                “I know you might not want to make such a trade, but I do have a young daughter that is much too young to appreciate the value of real jewelry.  I like to have her trinkets made up for her dress up games.  I always use cheap jewels, so if she loses them it is no loss to me.  I could buy them for this purpose.  Would you like to sell them for that reason?  Of course, the price would not be very much.”

I pondered the fact that any money would be better than the NO money I now had inside my pockets.

                “Make me an offer.”

It wasn’t long before the rich merchant went on down the road smiling happy with a gift for his little daughter, and I was left standing with a small amount of pocket change and an empty wooden cart.   At least he could probably teach his daughter a valuable lesson on what is real and what is not, and she might not have to learn this lesson the hard way as I had done. 
“Well, we will make better time now, since your cart will be a bit lighter.”  Jesus offered this comment in hopes of cheering me up.

Suddenly something rose up inside of me and I began to laugh.  I laughed and laughed, and Jesus joined me in the most hilarious laughter we had ever shared. We must have laughed for an hour, until our sides hurt and tears rolled out of our eyes. Every time we stopped we started laughing again.  All at once I felt lighter, so very free, and much, much wiser.

So all was not lost as we trudged through the flat part of the valley and made our way up to the Mountain of God.  How good that mountain looked off in the distance.  We were much closer now, and I could hardly wait to arrive. 

“Nehemiah, we must go through one more gate in this valley before we will begin to climb up to The Mountain of God.”
“Why would we go through another gate in this valley, Lord?  Haven’t we been through enough trials and temptations yet?”

“You have experienced much Nehemiah, but it is at this next gate, The Dung Gate, where you will learn to let go of those burdens and let me remove them from your life forever.”

“Oh.”  I thought of how I had let go of the jewels that were not real, and now I had only an empty cart to show for them.

“The cart needs to go too Nehemiah.  You must move on.  When the time comes you must be able leave it, to let it go, and to forget about it forever.  You have walked a long way pushing a heavy cart with worthless contents.  I can show you where to leave that cart.  Come with me, we must walk through the Dung Gate together.”

He was taking me to a place just outside the city that looked vaguely familiar.  Suddenly I realized we were walking right through The Valley of Hinnom.  I knew what went on here.  It was where the residue from the Temple was burned.  Suddenly I remembered Jesus telling me we would walk through some fires.  So that was what He meant.  We had already walked through some fires, but now they became closer and larger.  

Some of these gates just weren’t any fun.  I had thought when we got to the edge of the valley things might get a little easier.  Nope!  I could tell the Dung Gate was going to be another one of those less than wonderful places.  I knew I must keep following Jesus, no matter where He led me; so I kept walking. 




Now I think I felt humbler than I had ever felt in my whole life.  This valley floor was not the place for pride.  All kinds of shameful thoughts entered my mind here.  My memory was so much keener here and I didn’t like some of the things I was recalling.  The closer we got to the Dung Gate, the more I remembered the awful sins of my past life.  Most of them I had long forgotten.  Most of them I had stuffed away and never spoken to anyone about, not even my Heavenly Father, not even Jesus. But it was obvious that I still remembered them, even after all of this time, even after receiving salvation and being forgiven.  For some reason I had not forgotten them.

Friday, April 22, 2016

SEASONS - GOD'S SACRED HOLY DAYS - 7 DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)




SEVEN DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

The 7 days of Unleavened Bread start on Passover and last for seven days.     These are special sacred times that God has set apart from other days.  In these days we remember that we are merely humans who have a tendency to sin, and that God does not like sin, and that we must put sin out of our lives in order to grow closer to God. On some years a lot of my Catholic friends are observing Lent during these times and I notice many similarities between the two observances.  This year the Hebraic calendar for Passover came later than the time of Lent.  I chose to take the path that Jesus took and observe the days of unleavened bread.
  
This is how we show that we are followers of Christ, by trying to remain sinless like Him.   I emphasize the word TRYING.  It is an impossible thing for any of us to achieve without Christ.  We cannot do this on our own, but we must always continue to make an effort with God’s help.   This shows our desire to be like Him.  He looks on the desires of our hearts.

When the Israelites escaped from Egyptian bondage they were in a hurry and took their bread dough with them before it had time to rise.  When they baked it the next day, it was unleavened bread.  The bread was course and not luxurious like leavened bread, but they ate it and thought of the freedom leaving the leaven behind had given to them.  When they considered this, they became joyful and thought it was the most wonderful bread they had ever tasted!

It is the same with us when we leave the leaven of sin behind in our old life and put on a new coat of the blood of Christ.  For awhile we will taste new things, but our appetite for the old things may yet remain with us.  In time we will come to appreciate the fact that we left sin behind and the taste of the new things of God will bring us much more pleasure and joy than the old things from the old life.



The exercise of physically removing leaven from our homes and our diets during these days helps us to remember to keep the proper perspective on what we really need in life, and what we must put behind us in order to move on in God's Kingdom.  Yes, we should do this all through the year, every day of our lives; but keeping these seven days helps us to be better focused on that fact.  It helps us to think in different ways than we would normally think.  God speaks to us during these days of who we are and where He is going to lead us next.  He reminds us of what we need to be putting into our lives and what we need to be taking out of our lives.  

We begin these days by remembering and celebrating the atoning blood of the lamb at Passover and recalling the atoning blood of Christ which God gave to cover all the sin that we humans cannot rid from ourselves.  It takes the blood of Christ to wash us clean.  That is the first step, just the beginning of an ongoing sanctification process in the life of any follower of Christ.  Once we are clean, it is good to focus on staying that way for as long as possible.  So each year we go through these ritual reminders of how we are cleaned by God and how He wishes us to try to stay that way.  Each year we should be growing and developing and getting better at this.  That is why we always want to consider the symbolism of Unleavened Bread and continue to constantly apply it properly to our own lives.  

The unleavened bread is called matzah.  There is much symbolism in the making of the matzah. Abstaining from the leaven is a picture of how God's people must be called to holiness and separate themselves from sin and become a holy people by constantly walking with God.   




So, obviously, to show our agreement with God about what is good for us, on the first day through the seventh day of unleavened bread we do not eat anything with leaven in it. We completely remove all leaven from our homes before the first day of this feast because the leaven is symbolic of sin.   This is to say to God that we want to put all sin away from us and we will try very hard to do this with God’s help.  Physically observing the spiritual principals here is a way of saying we will not just give lip service in our worship, but we will physically afflict our souls as a gesture to show that we are willing to do what is necessary to follow God.  This feast is considered a high Sabbath where no work is done on the first day and the seventh day, except for preparing food without leaven.       

It is yet another sacred time, seven more days that God set apart to help us remember that He desires for us not to sin.  In Exodus 12:17 this feast was declared to be a memorial feast to be kept forever.    

So off we go before Passover comes to clean our homes and sweep out all leaven.  It is an interesting exercise to see how much leaven has become hidden in the cracks and crevices of our homes, and it all relates as a very eye opening parallel to show us the sins we have buried and forgotten down  in the deepest darkest parts of our hearts.  We try to pull this out, to remove all that we have not noticed because we were not focused on ridding ourselves of sin and we have just over looked these things.  This  time of self-examination is the time to be rid of it!  God gives us a pause in time to consider these things and to help us to focus.  We must do our spiritual housecleaning!  It is important!  It is really more of a spiritual rather than a physical cleansing.    

When the leaven has been all cleaned out of our house, we have a special little ceremony with our children in which we search for any leaven that might have been missed in our cleaning.  When found, this overlooked leaven is quickly swept up with a feather  into a paper bag and burned.   The children see that this is like asking God to forgive your sins.  Their eyes are opened to the fact that sometimes there are sins we don’t even see.  We ask God to help us find those sins and to help us to put them away forever.  It is amazing how the innocent hearts of children will absorb these truths so much faster than adults do.  Our children teach us to love God with tender hearts.  We must be sure to teach them all they need to know about God's feast days. We must be careful to keep the symbols and fables of Spring with the bunnies and eggs and baskets of goodies in their proper place - as just pretty little spring things to play with, games that we do for fun, like hide and seek, and not a part of the gospel story at all.  There is nothing wrong with these things until we put pagan tags or practices on them, or try to make them appear to be Christian when they are not.  Children learn fast.  If you do not tell them the truth, they will eventually discover it themselves.  Much better coming from the older wiser generation so that they have people to look up to and trust for truth. 

These customs observed during the days of Unleavened Bread teach children true spiritual symbolism.  They must know the sacred things first and most, and it is up to us to teach them how to sort it all out.  They are counting on us to show them the way through God's Kingdom.  We will be blessed and they will be blessed, it is a double blessing on a household!




None of us are perfect.  We always miss something.  That is why God sent Jesus.  He atones for all sins that we commit, but our observance of these Days of Unleavened Bread expresses our desire to be more like Him and our desire to learn to overcome our sins.  Self control is a virtue and a godly trait. This actual practice says in actions instead of words that we do not take the precious blood of Jesus for granted.  We do not want to have sin in our lives that we can prevent.  God always looks at the desires of our hearts and gives us grace because of Jesus.  When we come with obedient hearts He hears us and forgives us.

It is just as important to take unleavened bread into your body during this time as it is to leave out the leaven.  Why?  Because the bread clearly represents Jesus, Our Messiah!




The bread is without leaven, or without sin and we know Jesus led a sinless life.  Pick up a kosher sheet of unleavened bread and examine it.  It is striped, pierced and bruised.   The Messiah was wounded and bruised and it is by His stripes that we are able to be healed.  He was beaten for us.  He endured pain for our sins.  The  unleavened bread is a picture of this.  We bring this out in the Passover service as we speak of the bread that we take and say a blessing over it. There is a point in the Seder meal when we hide the beautiful bag that is made of three layers of cloth.  Inside is a piece of matzah.  Our children are told to go and find it.  Whoever finds the bag with the matzah inside receives a special prize.  This is to encourage the little ones to keep looking for Jesus until they find Him.  

The feast during unleavened bread speaks often of the sanctification process that each follower of Christ must go through.  The Messiah was set apart.  He was unleavened (sinless.)   He reminds us in his words to us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Gal. 5:9.)  This is another way of saying to us and reminding us that a small sin in our lives can spread and grow, causing us to puff up with pride and arrogance.  In the end it will defeat us.  It is totally unhealthy and bad for us.  It starts off small and gets larger and larger until it is totally out of control.  If you don't believe this put a large amount of leavening into a lump of dough and let it sit in your refrigerator for awhile.  You will be amazed at how it takes over the whole shelf when it rises!  

We have a funny family story that we always remember at our house on Unleavened Bread.  Our daughter Erin bought boxes full of yeast rolls to use at her sister's bridal tea.  The refrigerator went bad while she was at work, and the dough rose more and more throughout the day.  It looked like the bread monster had taken over the house when she got home.  Bread dough was coming out the doors and the refrigerator was totally beyond repair!  It was actually a hilarious thing to gaze upon if you were not expecting to see it!  A perfect picture of how the leaven of sin can get out of control too.  It can take over your whole life and ruin it if you do not purge it from your life. 

In contrast to all of this pride and arrogance of the leaven, we see the sinless body of Christ.  He is the bread of life!  He is the matzah!  He chose to be broken and offered up for you and I.   When we break the matzah we think of His broken body.  We realize He is the true Bread of Heaven, like the matzah that reigned down to feed the people in the wilderness.  If we take Him into our selves, we will always be nourished, always be satisfied, always be filled!  He is the health that we are seeking.  We must be taking in more of the Bread of Heaven!   

So we do not mind carrying out this ritual every year, because it reminds us to always be putting off our sin nature and replacing it with the Body of Christ.  The children who always imitate the adults learn so much from this time.  Adults are also stretched in their learning.  During unleavened bread we become very aware of the sins that affect the body.  By not putting leaven into our bodies we realize how much we  sometimes crave things that are not good for us, and how we must overcome the craving for sin by replacing the sin with the goodness of God. 

This fast of leaving out the leaven and putting in the matzoh teaches us not to be prideful, and helps us to realize that humility is the best way to live and be,  both before God and with our fellowman.   A lot of us have developed the habit of inviting each other over to share the meals of unleavened bread together at the tables of our homes and to share daily readings that speak of the practice of unleavened bread.  It is not required, it is simply something that we do willingly as an act of fellowship and our love for one another.   




This observance makes us more aware of how God’s children should be living all the time.  

It is a good way for us to encourage one another to stay on track with God's will in our daily lives.  

It is a great yearly reminder that always helps us to persevere and reminds us that we should continue to try to keep overcoming the world.

So, let us continue to break unleavened bread together forever and celebrate the Body of Christ!

Thursday, April 21, 2016

COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 116 - SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED A BROTHER TO HELP

Image result for Let my people go

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

So we left Moses standing there in front of the burning bush where he was clearly hearing the voice of God saying; GO!  Tell Pharaoh to let my people go!

Thinking about all the things that God had already said to Moses, I am reminded of the lyrics of that beautiful old hymn called “Here I Am Lord” especially when I read these lyrics:

I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin,
My hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear My light to them?
Whom shall I send?




Well, God was definitely set on sending Moses.  Moses, on the other hand, being so very human, had all these questions; “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you?’

So God tries to help him out.  God says to Moses “What is that in your hand?”  Moses replies that he is holding a staff. The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”

So Moses throws his staff on the ground and right before his eyes it becomes a snake.  Yikes!  He ran from it!  But God called down to him; “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.”  So, as frightened as he was, that is what Moses did.  Instantly the snake turned back into a staff.



As Moses stood in amazement, God explained what was going on.  “This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has appeared to you.”

God wasn’t through yet.  He told Moses to put his hand inside his cloak.  When Moses did this and then took his hand out again it was covered with leprosy, white as snow.  That must have felt pretty horrible! God then told Moses to put his hand back inside his cloak.  When Moses did this and pulled his hand out again,  his hand was restored! 

Well, Moses must have been amazed and God kept giving him even more instructions:  “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second.  If they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground.  The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”



All of this was astounding and amazing and it  should have convinced Moses that everything was okay; but Moses seemed to have a little confidence problem.  He brought up the fact that he had never been an eloquent speaker.  He mentioned that his speech was slow and his tongue did not always cooperate. 

God didn’t blink.  As a matter of fact, he got more aggressive with his plans for Moses. 

Moses obviously needed a few reminders!

I can imagine God’s voice becoming a whole lot louder with each statement as He addressed Moses with the obvious: 
“Who gave human beings their mouths?”
“Who makes them deaf or mute?”
“Who gives them sight or makes them blind?”
“Is it not I, the LORD?”
“Now go, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Well, you would think Moses’ confidence would have greatly improved by now.  Nope!  He gets even more shy and timid and says the unthinkable back to God:  “Please send someone else.”

Oh my, all the angels in heaven must have been terrified in that moment!  God had already given angry answers.  How could Moses say such a thing?  But he did say it; and the LORD’s anger burned against him! 

Folks, you can mark this down.  God is going to do what God is going to do!  If he doesn’t use you or me or Moses, He will command the rocks to do His will.  The will of God is destined to come about.  No exceptions, one way or the other!  Why are we so stubborn to that fact?  Taking this into consideration, I would say God showed a lot of patience with Moses.

“What about your brother, Aaron the Levite?  I know he can speak well.  He is already on his way to meet you and he will be glad to see you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.  But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”



One cannot help but remember how back in Egypt Moses had played second to his brother Ramses.  He had not wanted the responsibility of being in charge.  Now those same old tendencies were creeping back up, things he thought he had changed when he moved on to Midian.  God saw the problem and he brought Aaron to help, but he clearly told Moses to pick up the staff and keep it.  

It was Moses that God was going to use, however it took to get him there. 

They were no longer subject to Egypt, and God was calling the shots in this game.  God was about to teach Moses something he should have learned years ago; how to stand up to a Pharaoh. 



We all have Pharaohs; those people that are oppressing us against our will and holding us in bondage.  It takes God entering our lives, bringing His power to us, to give us the strength to stand up and face these people who have no rights over us.  

It never hurts when your brother knows your needs, agrees with you and goes along for moral support.  In the end you both will realize that it was the power of God that saved the day, and nothing that any man could do.  

If God is for you; who can stand against you?  Moses was about to discover the truth of this statement.  He picked up the staff and headed down the road.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

SEASONS - GOD'S SACRED HOLY DAYS - PASSOVER

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)





THE PASSOVER

I am a Christian, believing in Jesus Christ as Messiah.  I am NOT trying to act Jewish, I am simply trying to be a more accurate Christian. God used the Jewish people to teach the Christians how to live.   Because of this, I keep the Holy Days in my home according to the Jewish calendar, the same calendar that Jesus kept, on the same days that the disciples continued to keep, even after the Resurrection and Jesus's Ascension into heaven.    I have learned, like they did; that God gave these dates in the time order of appointed sacred times, and that they have never been changed by God, even after the fulfillment of the Resurrection on the second Holy Day of the Seven Days of  Unleavened Bread, during Passover  Week which we call Early First Fruits.  

If the order of these Holy Days were changed by God, like many people think, and God's calendar ended at the cross, so much of God's story that He tells through the Holy Days would remain unfulfilled!  Yet; sadly; many stop their religious observances after the celebration of Passover and The Resurrection.  By only keeping and observing a portion of the well laid out plan of God, the continuation of God's plan would be skewed.  There are three more holy sacred times that HAVE NOT YET been fulfilled that come AFTER the Passover.  Teaching people to forget these Holy Days and God's calendar only helps Satan to keep God's people skewed.  It keeps them from seeing all of God's complete prophecies.    This year Passover (which includes The Days of Unleavened Bread and Early First Fruits) will be observed April 22 - 30th.  It is a very sacred and holy time that is rich with ancient history and modern transitions.    I feel sorry for anyone who is so caught up in the trappings of the world's teaching that they miss or dismiss the true time of Passover.  

Many people think Passover started with the Exodus from Egypt, but the whole concept actually began way back in the garden with Adam and Eve.  God first showed the concept of Passover to Adam and Eve when He killed an animal and used the skin of the animal to cover their nakedness.  It is thought by the sages that God roasted the meat of the animal killed to cover Adam and Eve’s sin, and they ate a meal together just outside of Paradise.  This was the beginning of God repairing the breach caused by their sin inside the garden.

In this sense, observing Passover is the beginning of repairing the breach between God and mankind.  Note that it was initiated by God, planned and laid out as a way for us to come back to Him.  God has never wanted mankind to be separated from Him.  He has used Passover to teach us this.

We know that Adam and Eve taught a concept of Passover to their children who taught it to their children all the way up through history right to the  present generation where we are living now. 
    

Even when the great flood came, Noah kept count of God’s sacred days and he and his family celebrated them together on the ark.  Afterwards Noah’s son Shem became the family high priest for the first new family after the flood.  He taught about God’s sacred holy days in the first school that he founded to teach people about God's way of life. 

Many generations later, in the days of Moses God’s people were taken into slavery and held captive by an Egyptian Pharaoh.  God told Moses to lead the people to freedom.  When Pharaoh refused to let the people go God sent plagues across the land of Egypt.  The last and worst plague was the death of every first born son.  Before this night, which was Passover, God instructed Moses to tell the people to put the blood of a lamb over the door posts of their homes.  On this night, if the Angel of Death saw the blood of the lamb over the door post of the home, he would pass over and the first born of that house would be saved.  This is how God helped His people remember this sacred time even when they had been held for years in captivity and had not been allowed to worship Him or keep His sacred times.  God was reminding them that HE set the dates of our time.  He is the eternal timekeeper.  He stands outside of time; but He has planned for every second of our life as He watches over it.  Some of our seconds, minutes and hours are more blessed and sacred and should always be set aside.  



Many years after the wilderness experience of the Israelites, during the days of Solomon’s temple, the people brought their lambs to the temple to be slaughtered by the priest.  Each sacrificial lamb wore a sign around its neck with the family name painted on it.  The blood of the lamb was poured out at the altar and the meat was taken home and roasted on a pomegranate pole until it was done and the whole family would gather in the home and have a sacred meal to remember how God had atoned for their sins by the blood of their lamb.  They would also remember how God had delivered their ancestors from the bondage of slavery and led them through the wilderness to the promised land.  All of the lamb was eaten in this meal.  If any was left over it was burned in the fire.  The stories of these things were told each year to the next generation so they would always remember the sacred stories of God.  Are you passing them on to your next generation?  It is so easy for children to see these stories when you observe the Passover Seder inside your home.  

 Then came the days that Herad was king.  Jesus Christ was born to a young virgin named Mary.  Jesus grew up keeping God’s sacred, appointed times.  He was the first man to ever live without sin.  He was the Son of God who came from God to earth in the form of man.  He endured every temptation known to mankind without sinning.  He was a great teacher and He taught about The Kingdom of God.  He had many followers and they were called disciples.  



Jesus and His disciples understood sacred, appointed times and they observed The Passover for seven days.  On the night before Jesus was crucified the disciples ate the Passover meal with Jesus.  On that night Jesus asked them to always remember him with this meal.  Shortly after that He was crucified.  He hung on a cruel cross, suffered and bled and died for my sins and your sins and the sins of those disciples that ate at the table with Him.  He was the Holy Lamb of God.    

On this very same day called Passover Jesus Christ became the lamb for the door post of our hearts.  He atoned for our sins by giving his life in exchange for the debt of our sin.  He redeemed us from the bondage of the slavery to sin.  Christians must remember this at Passover .  He commanded us to always remember this.  At the time the disciples participated in the Passover with Christ before His crucifixion they were on their way to being REAL Christians, the very blessed People of a Resurrected Messiah.  They had done all that was humanly possible and Jesus was about to do the rest.  There were appointed, sacred times for fulfilling all of this.  God had set them in motion from the foundation of the world.  Jesus understood this.  He waited on God's timing and then accepted His mission to save the world just as they had mapped it out from the very beginning.    

Today we have come to  know that Jesus Christ was the Holy Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.  He was and is our Passover.   He fulfilled every thing  that had been learned in the keeping of Passover for all the years before and after His death, burial and resurrection.  He asked us to always remember.




The people who love God today still keep the Passover and they have not forgotten Jesus’s words when he said “Remember Me.”  They know that Jesus became our Passover lamb and that His blood was perfect blood which atoned for all the sins of mankind forever.  God’s people still keep God’s sacred, appointed time called Passover.  We remember each Sabbath and we remember each Passover.   In all the years that have passed, God's people have never forgotten.

So now we all know of these things which came about over time through the different generations of people serving God that further fulfilled the meaning of Passover.   These little stories were added to the whole story and passed on from each generation of people as pieces of Passover developed and unfolded and happened in their own time.  

From the beginning of time God wrote, knew and understood the whole story, but we have had to live through the story in order to understand it all.  We will always remember to tell the story to our children, to pass it on to the next generation.  They must understand all these things that God used to teach us that Jesus Christ would become The Lamb of God offered up for the sins of the whole world.  Each year we remember and we tell our children of the greatest love story that ever happened, all the while hoping that they too will learn and grow and love and know the goodness of The Lord and pass the beautiful story on to their children one day. 




At Passover we glorify the Lamb who is worthy to open the scroll; the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the world, who hung on a cross to pay for the sins of all mankind.  He is worthy of all glory and honor and praise.   We must always remember how much God loved us to send Him to us.  We must always remember how much He loved us to die in our place.  

Passover is all about remembering the most important things of God which we should never forget.     


The Passover season lasts for eight days.  The Seder meal is eaten inside the homes of God’s people on the first day just after sunset.  The meal is served on white linen tablecloths by candlelight and special blessings and prayers are recited to help us remember and to allow us as a family to offer up our thanks to a God with a heart bigger than the sky.  

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