Newsletter for the Month of Iyyar by Sherry Lush
Greetings and welcome to the month of Iyyar as we count the Omer!
This is the only month in which we count the Omer every day of the month. During the counting of the Omer, we are to be working on reaching higher every day in some way making ourselves better – more like the Messiah! When you think that we just came out of Passover where we cleaned our houses meticulously and reflected on what needed to be cleaned up in our own hearts, now we have 50 days to continue to give ourselves to the Holy Spirit, and allow Him to do His work in our lives to clean up those hidden place and raise us to a new level of love and holiness.
I read a story of a lady who ran her hand across a wooden wall and felt a small sting, but paid no attention. About a week later her finger began to ache and swell and turn red. She realized then that the tiny sting she had felt had been a splinter, and if she did not treat it, the little splinter could infect her entire arm and cause serious problems. And tiny sins can grow and cause infection in our spirits if we don’t address them and do what is necessary to get rid of them before they become a very big problem. During the counting of the Omer, we concentrate on going up and getting rid of the smallest sins.
*Psalm 139 23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
On the very first day of the counting of the Omer, Yeshua appeared to Mary Magdalene and some of the other women and Peter also who had come to see if the women were telling 'idle tales.'
And on that same day, two disciples were traveling to a village called Emmaus, a seven mile walk from Jerusalem. Yeshua came along side of them and talked with them, but they did not recognize Him, until they sat to eat with Him and He blessed and broke the bread – and their eyes were opened to see that it was King Yeshua!
These disciples returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and those who were with them and said, The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon. And as they spoke, Yeshua appeared in their midst – not constrained by an earthly body, and said, 'Peace to you.'
On the 40th day of the Omer, Yeshua ascended into Heaven, telling His followers not to leave Jerusalem until the promise of the Father was fulfilled during Shavuot and the Holy Spirit would be sent. (Luke 24:50; Acts 1;9-12)
It would have been the month of Iyyar, during the counting of the Omer that Yeshua ascended!
Another amazing fact about Iyyar is that G d promised that if Israel followed His ways, 'the diseases I have placed on Egypt I will not place upon you, for I am G d your Healer - Jehovah Rapha (אני י י רפאך).' The acronym for this last phrase spells out the name of the month of Iyar (אייר), thus indicating that Iyar is a month full of promise as a time for healing.
We at Alpha and Omega Ministries pray that you are all learning and growing in Yeshua as each day passes. As the prophecies continue to unfold before our eyes in the headlines almost daily, we sense that the Lord’s return is very near and we are told that he will come again as He went. He went up in the clouds into heaven. So look up, dear friends, He will come from heaven soon! We are praying for all of Israel, for the IDF soldiers to be surrounded and protected as they battle to protect and defend their citizens and their nation. We pray for Israel’s leadership to be strong in the Lord as they stand in the face of the world turning against them. We pray for America as our president is turning his back on Israel and that he will hear from heaven and change his ways toward them. And we pray
Baruch ha ba be’Shem Adonai. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
May we all be found doing good deeds and building His Kingdom when He comes!
Peace to You!
