Last week, I sent some thoughts on the reasons why Yah has us count 50 days until Shavuot. Specifically, I shared that we should be focusing on moving toward liberty for ourselves and others not only during this time before Shavuot, but also as we lead up to the “end of days”!

In addition to moving towards liberty, we should be counting the days and using our time wisely by focusing on moving towards FAITH.

I shared how the 50 days leading up to Shavuot symbolize a time period between two promises, both in the past and in the future.

Before the first Shavuot, Yeshua was been physically crucified, killed in the sight of His disciples. But His disciples still were not fully ready or prepared to go out on their own as followers of the Way. Yeshua had to remain on earth in His resurrected state for 40 days after His death, during the 50 days of counting between the Passover season and Shavuot.

Look at some of His interactions with the disciples during those 50 days of counting: in the entirety of Luke 24. All of these exhortations of faith were done during the 50 day countdown to Shavuot. Even after walking with Yeshua and hearing Him teach for 3 years, seeing all the miracles that He performed, His own disciples still lacked faith.

We are like this, aren’t we? Look at how far Yah has brought us! We cannot deny His hand in our lives. The things that have happened to us, the growth we have seen, the sins we have overcome, and the impossible that has been made possible. Think of your calling story, think of how you came to believe in God, and any miracles that you may have been witness to. And yet we act just like the apostles did. We don’t really believe. We don’t really have faith.

But we must! We need to move towards a life full of faith!

“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.” – Habakkuk 2:4

What does it mean to LIVE by faith? How do you LIVE that way? It must be imbedded in every thought, action, and word!

It’s a bit frustrating when I hear someone pray and ask Yah for something and then follow it up with something like “only if it’s according to your will” (As if God would ever do anything not according to His will?!?!?!). It’s almost as if they have no faith! Don’t we know what Yahweh’s will is? I mean for the most part it’s written in the Book! Of course, I understand that phrases like “God willing” notes that someone is submitting to the fact that Yah is in control (James 4:13-15), but we have to be careful not to let go of faith.

If “faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Heb 11:1), then it has to be more than just hope. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a separate word for it. I like to use the phrase “confident expectation”. You don’t pray for rain and then leave your umbrella at home just because the sky is still clear.

“Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” – Mark 11:22-24

So instead of saying “God willing” perhaps we should be saying “I have no doubt that God will come through for me”. That’s how we LIVE by faith- by not having any doubts, by not having any second guesses. Being assured that Yah hears us, that Yah cares for us, and that Yah WILL be active in our lives. Otherwise, we just bump blindly through life hoping that God cares enough about us to throw us a bone every now and again.

People of faith move mountains. People of faith are strong, passionate, and can accomplish much! Are we using these 50 days, and the time we have left on earth to cultivate faith? Are we actively practicing trusting Yah? Do we recount His many promises that He has fulfilled in our lives?

How can we remove doubt, without proving things for ourselves? If we do have doubts, if we do find ourselves with a lack of faith, it is because we are not spending the time proving things for ourselves. Thomas proved for himself that Yeshua was resurrected by sticking his fingers into the holes in Messiah’s hands and side (gross)!  John the Baptizer proved for himself that Yeshua was the messiah by asking Him. Gideon proved Yahweh’s promises for himself in the book of Judges by witnessing the miracle of wet wool.

Now, most of the time we don’t have to ask for miracles, but the point is that it is up to us to remove any doubts we may have and any lack of faith that might be in us by taking action. We can no longer be passive believers who think to ourselves “huh, I wonder if that is true or not” and then forget the thought and go about our day. We can no longer rely on the words of others, we must look for ourselves in the scriptures and experience Him in real life.

This is how we can grow in faith with the time that has been given to us.

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Hopefully by now we see now that we must be using our time wisely to develop both in liberty from sin and grudges and also in faith. But there are many things we should be spending these 50 days on, so let’s take a look at a third point we should be focusing on. We should be spending our time moving towards PERSONAL EXAMPLE.

Shavuot is also called the Feast of firstfruits. Why is it called that (aside from the obvious that it was the firstfruits of the wheat harvest).

“we also who have the firstfruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” – Rom 8:23

“Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” – James 1:18

So we see that having the set apart spirit, as was given at Shavuot in Acts 2, leads us to become a firstfruit to God. Now this word firstfruit in Greek means “the beginning offering”. We are not the only offering to Yah. We will not be the only ones of Yah’s people in the end. But we may be first, the beginning. We might lead the way.

That should make you stop and think, as it’s a huge weight of responsibility for us!

We are being watched in our actions. We are either setting an example, a witness for God’s way, or we aren’t. There are only two examples we can ever set.

Are we spending our time during these 50 days cultivating ourselves to be good examples for others? That’s something to think about.

You know, the nation of Israel was to be an example nation for all others to follow, but they failed in that commission. This is why a new/renewed covenant was entered into and other non-genetic-Israelites were allowed to become part of a new example nation of Israel. And we should desire to be part of that, to be examples.

“For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice  of Yahweh, to whom Yahweh swore that He would not show them the land which Yahweh had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”” – Josh 5:6

Today during these 50 days, we are caught between the memorial two promises (Passover and Shavuot), and in our lives we are caught between the fulfillment two promises (the first coming and the second coming). Similarly, the Israelites were between two promises, one was the Exodus from Egypt and slavery, a deliverance by the hand of Yah, and the other was entering the Promised Land. But because the people refused to follow Yahweh, to be an example nation, they never reached that second promise.

What about us? Will we fail at being an example as we wait for the return of Yeshua and the fulfilment of all prophecy? Are we using our time wisely?

There are some good practical ways to grow in our example to others, most begin with involve uncovering our own weaknesses.

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Messiah. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.” –Galatians 6:1-5

Here’s a thought: what if we were to have other people evaluate how we are as examples like it says here in Galatians 6?

Helping each other to see our weaknesses, helping with the burden of finding solutions, even though the person will have to bear the weight of their own positive or negative example on their own. It would be great if we would have these deep conversations with each other to help evaluate where we stand as first fruits, leaders and examples of a certain way of life. This is more candid even than what we could get from many of our family members- since we all have the same standard. It’s something to think about, a possible way to grow in this area.

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So here we are.

We find ourselves, between two promises. We have the first coming of Yeshua behind us, and the second coming before us. And now, during these 50 days of counting to Shavuot, we also find ourselves between two promises. The sacrifice of Yeshua to save humanity, and the gift of the set apart spirit to help us.

We are supposed to be counting the days, paying special attention to the time that is passing. Are we using it wisely? What are we focusing on every day?

Are we moving towards liberty? By freeing ourselves from the chains of sin? Are we constantly growing and removing bad habits and addictions? Are we granting liberty to others by getting rid of grudges and being forgivers?

Are we using this time to move toward greater faith? Proving all things for ourselves and not being people of doubt, but people who truly believe, know God’s will, and expect his active hand in our lives?

What about our example? Are we using this time to move towards a more positive influence on those around us? Knowing that we are the firstfruits, the leaders of God’s way shining a light for all to see? Do we reach out to others to help us see how we can improve in this area?

Again- Why didn’t Yahweh set a specific day and month for Shavuot? Why count down the days? To be aware that the days are quickly passing by. 

What are we doing with our time?

How are you using the remainder of these 50 days?

Redeem it now, my friends. There is not a moment to lose!

To liberty! Faith! And personal example!