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Have
Yourself a Yummy Little Channukah!
This great site has so many deelish
flavors, many organic and all natural, to get
you through this Feasting time without feeling
deprived! Just click the banner above to visit
and find such fabulous and healthy flavorings as:
creamy
Egg
Nog
spicy
Gingerbread
comforting
Pumpkin
And, hey, they even have some
scrumptious Pancake Syrups that are made with
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No sugar or other artificial flavors. Xylitol
is great to cook with, too, and you can get a bag of
that here, as well! They even have some lovely
essential oils like
PINE which is even
available organic and can really make the season
seem traditional! |
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Gift Ideas Needed?
*
Valid at HCGCoach . com Store *
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I also have created a greeting card for you here (& I really mean it:):
Shalom (sheepra@hcgcoach.com)
has sent you an eCard.
Many people mistakenly believe that Hanukkah is a "Jewish Christmas" because of both holidays falling within the same time frame each winter. Actually, both holidays are known for their display of LIGHTS. Hanukkah is also called, "Festival of Lights" or "Feast of Dedication" and I will explain why. Hanukkah begins tonight at sundown and lasts eight nights. This is NOT an empty, legalistic religious ritual as many mistakenly believe. Sure, it could be, just as some Christians religiously take communion and pray but have no relationship with the Father. If you know Him, Hanukkah is a beautiful picture of the MESSIAH! Salvation has come to us through the Jews. Through them, we were given the Word in writing and the Word in flesh. Christians, study your Hebraic roots and you'll see such depth emerge from the scriptures you'll marvel at God's vastness. If it were not for Israel, there would be no church. We are to provoke Israel, Yahweh's wife, to jealousy, and a wonderful way to do that is by keeping days set aside for remembrance. Hanukkah is also called "Feast of Dedication" and the Word shows Jesus/Yeshua participated in this post-biblical feast - it is not listed in the Hebrew scriptures with the holy-days in Leviticus. We can read about this in John 10:22-25. The scripture says: "At that time the Feast of the Hanukkah (Dedication) took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Yeshua was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Yeshua answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me. " If Jesus was born during Tabernacles/Sukkot (do a study on that - Bible teachers are divided on that theory but it's a fascinating study anyway) then He must have been CONCEIVED around Hanukkah! What a poignant prophetic picture of the LIGHT OF THE WORLD whose human form began to take shape when His Chosen People were commemorating the rededication of the temple and the Festival of LIGHTS! We as believers in Him are a temple for Him and He dwells in us. After the revolt against the pagan Greeks, the Jews, led by Judah Macabee, rededicated the (second) temple which had been desecrated during a years-long battle that left many Jews dead from Greek persecution. The Maccabees' fight was one against assimilation. They were determined, upon pain of death, to keep the commandments of Yahweh and not worship pagan gods, or even bow to them as was the decree from the ruler at that time, Antiochus IV. The special lampstand used for this holy-day is called a 'hanukkiah' which is a nine-branched candlebra, similar to the menorah described in Exodus and Revelation. The hanukkiah has one candle a bit taller than the others. It is used to light the others. This candle is called a SERVANT candle, or a chumash. Jesus is a SERVANT (Isaiah 53) and brought LIGHT to men. He humbled Himself, as a servant candle bows to light the others, to being us eternal life and restore us to the Father! Remember when Jesus preached about being the Light of the World? Remember when He said the light would be with the people for a little while? This was His prophetic Hanukkah message, so to speak. He spoke about being the Light during the celebration of Hanukkah. The miracle of Hanukkah is one of God providing LIGHT in the DARKNESS of the TEMPLE. Ponder that symbolism awhile! So after the Maccabees had regained control and had spiritually and physically cleaned house and run the Greeks off, they had insufficient oil to light the lamps (menorah). They had some, but only enough for a day. They used what they had, and God multiplied it. He kept the lamps burning for eight days; hence, the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah. If life begins at conception, Jesus lit up the world when He was conceived at this time of year (again, I will readily admit this is not a clear biblical teaching ... just a conclusion many Bible teachers have reached from 'doing the math' so to speak). His light grew brighter as He bent low to serve others, like the chumash/servant candle on the Hanukkiah. The light is still drawing people all these years later. The oil that lights us inside our temples is the Holy Spirit. So what about us? Have we ourselves been assimilated into a 'pagan culture' like believers in times past? Have we let our temples be defiled? Do you need rededication? Let the oil of the Holy Spirit light your lamp and burn supernaturally. Like the Maccabees, you don't have enough oil to do this on your own. You need a miracle to do it! Until next time: |
Matt
19:26
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