Ministry Adventures with Cathy

What gives with Passover?  Is it significant?  Please allow me to begin answering this question by sharing with you that when we, as believers in Jesus, gather in church to worship, when we assemble at Bible studies and dig into God’s word, when we spend time with God during “quiet times,” when we share Jesus with those who don’t yet know Him, we are doing so because of Passover!  The body of Christ is in existence today because of Passover.  The Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote in I Cor. 5:7, …Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.  What am I saying?  Passover, the first feast that God gave to the children of Israel, focuses on redemption through the shed blood of the Passover Lamb.  And, that Passover Lamb is Jesus!  Passover is the foundation of our faith.  Passover points to the death of Jesus.  Jesus was crucified on Passover. At the first Passover in Egypt, God said, For I will pass through the lan...

Our tree remains up and decorated!  Yes, our Christmas tree!  What’s wrong with this picture?  Nothing!  WHY, however, is our Charlie Brown tree standing in our living room (bowing slightly towards the floor)?  The answer:  OOBNA!  A friend of mine coined that phrase.  It means “On Or Before, Never After.”  According to this acronym, birthday cards, Christmas cards, or anniversary cards need to be received ON OR BEFORE the exact date of the celebration…NEVER AFTER.  As a side note, I’m so thankful that my friends honor several of the Jewish feasts (Lev. 23) for multiple days.  I always breathe a sigh of relief when I open a package of Chanukah cards on the first night of the commemoration and there are seven nights remaining in this joyous memorial! Consider with me, though…isn’t OOBNA a Biblical principle?  The Bible tells us (with an “exclamation mark” inflection), “NOW is the accepted time!  NOW is the day of...

I’m from the Bronx.  Have I told you?  Please take note that it’s “THE” Bronx.  It’s something special…it’s set apart.  Do you know of any other city, in this case “borough,” that has a definite article preceding it?  “The” seems to herald “Bronx.”  An English grammar document on the Internet states that we can use “the” to refer to people or objects that are unique!  OK, I’m not getting uppity about my hometown.  “The” reminds me of its uniqueness to me.  I have fond memories of my childhood in the Bronx.  And, I always smile when I reflect on God taking me out of the Bronx, out of New York City with its massive Jewish population, and bringing us to the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona to engage in a ministry to the Navajos and Hopis…ultimately moving us to the Phoenix metropolitan area where He called me to share Jesus with Jewish people.  WHY did God lead me away from NYC to the desert?  Well, we do find the desert in ...

JOYFUL INCARNATION! The angel told Joseph  . . .and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.   (Matthew 1:21) Christmas is Jewish.  It has to be.  Think of it.  What did the world know about Christmas at the time of the first Christmas?  There was something far greater than tinsel, fruit cake, and cards at that time in Biblical history.  There was Messianic fervor.  There was a longing for the Messiah!  The Jewish people were living in the expectation of the coming of the Messiah.  Consider this with me: Christmas isn’t the beginning.  The Bible doesn’t begin with the Christmas story.  Christmas is a fulfillment of what God had promised in the OT.  The Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah.  And He came!  And, He’s coming again.  Are we, as His followers, living in the excitement of the second coming of the Messiah? Jesus came the first time t...

OCTOBER 2016 Ask your Jewish friends about their recently observed holy days: Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot* (Feast of Tabernacles).   Ask them how they honored these three feasts in the seventh month on their religious calendar.   Show them that you are interested in them.   And, aren’t we?   As I write, my Jewish friends are celebrating the joyous holiday of Sukkot, which is the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-43).  The festivities began this year, 2016, at sundown on Oct. 16 th and will continue until sundown on Oct. 23 rd .  Sukkot occurs five days following Yom Kippur.  Sukkot is the final ingathering of the harvest.  What a joyous gala…and one that is hugely significant, Biblically speaking!  The eternal message: once again, God Who dwells with us, has provided!  Do your Jewish friends know this truth? I love to talk about Sukkot with Jewish people.  Of course I do…...

SEPTEMBER 2016 As I was saying. . .I love Autumn!!  Yes, I know, at the time of this writing, we continue in the season of summer.  But, Autumn’s a’comin’!!  I say that rather confidently.  And I smile at the thought of cooler temps, the one street in Phoenix with golden leaves on the trees, and pumpkins on display in grocery stores.  I can, however, PROCLAIM with utmost confidence and certainty that JESUS is coming!  And my heart is ablaze with HOPE and JOY!  And , it is Elul!!??   REALLY?  What’s an “Elul?”  Elul is a month on the Jewish calendar which began on Sept. 4 th this year and will end on Oct. 2 nd when Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) begins and Jewish people observe what they label as the “10 Days of Awe” – between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  Well, you’re most likely thinking, “It’s all Greek to me.”  My response, “No, it’s Hebrew!”  But, bottom line: what’s the big deal?  Answer: ...

I LOVE August!  Don’t you?  Each year I feel a sense of excitement when I turn the calendar page to August.  I’m serious!  Why am I so jazzed when August hits?  I know that autumn is just around the corner.  I truly LOVE autumn.  I so enjoy the fall landscape with the plethora of color, the briskness in the air, and the smell of fireplaces.  Well…I’m remembering years past…in NY!  In Arizona…southern Arizona specifically…we don’t have a bevy of colored leaves adorning the trees.  Actually, we have one street in Phoenix that you can travel going south, in and around December, and marvel at the golden leaves on the trees!  And then you can turn around and travel north on that same street and continue to gaze!  It’s worth it!   I wouldn’t describe our temperatures in the Phoenix metro area in the fall as brisk.  The mercury during the day in September/October continues to hover around the triple digits.  B...