Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparation for us to eat the Passover.” Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.” (Luke 22:7-12)
It was important to Jesus to eat the Last Supper with his apostles. Judas would let the Jewish leaders know as soon as the apostles were alone, so Judas couldn’t know the location of their Passover dinner. Jesus made the arrangements for their Passover dinner ahead of time and sent his closest friends, Peter and John, to prepare in the Upper Room. Jesus, introduced by John the Baptist as the lamb of God, was to be the new Passover lamb. Since Passover was from sundown to sundown, Jesus would have to be sacrificed by sundown the next day.
The Passover lamb is a symbol of freedom. Moses and his brother, Aaron, repeatedly asked the Egyptian pharaoh to release the Jews from slavery. He refused, so God sent ten plagues on the Egyptians, the tenth plague was to kill the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. The Jews sacrificed a lamb and placed its blood over their door frames so the angel of death would “pass over” their homes and not kill their firstborn sons. After this tenth plague, the Pharaoh freed the Jews from slavery.
We can prepare to make Jesus our Passover lamb by placing God on the throne of our lives. Whatever we talk most about is what is on our throne. If we talk most about our worries and fears, they are on our throne. Jesus died, a sacrificial lamb, to set us free from negative emotions. If you’re worried about something, declare, “Bad things are happening, but I prayed and believe God will turn it around.” It is only when we replace the worries and fears on our throne with God that we can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
The thirteenth step to leaving a bad habit or trait at the cross is to prepare to make Jesus our Passover lamb by placing God on the throne of our lives.
Father God, thank you for sending Jesus to be my Passover lamb of freedom from worries and fears. I believe you will turn around the situations causing me negative emotions when I keep you on the throne of my life. When I approach Your throne with confidence, you will give me mercy and grace and replace my ashes with joy. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
We all have worries in our lives. We have talked a lot about freeing ourselves from all the negative emotions. I am trying so hard to take it to God and then to give it to him, so I am free of worry and negative emotions. I am doing so much better at this. I give God the Glory and I credit you with all your help on this topic.
Thanks but give all the credit to God. He drives me to do it almost every day when He doesn’t have something else on my plate. Love you, Sis.