This letter was mailed to United Church of God members early in February 2013.

Happy Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost! It may be a little early for Pentecost, but I wanted to include all three in my greeting because you have three personalized Holy Day offering envelopes enclosed with this letter.

I would like to remind you about our personal relationship with the One around whom these annual festivals revolve and about the future that He has prepared for us in the Kingdom of God. Let's look at three important ways that understanding the meaning of God's Feasts can help us grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

Some religions think that before His human birth Christ was a created angel. Others believe that before His human existence He was merely a thought in the mind of God the Father. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The first point is that Jesus Christ is eternal and divine just like the Father.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). In verse 14, "the Word" is revealed as Jesus Christ.

During His ministry He sent His disciples out to preach the gospel. They returned, rejoicing that even the demons were subject to them in His name. Jesus again revealed His divine preeminence over the angelic hosts by replying, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18). During a heated confrontation with Pharisees and other Jews who claimed that they, not Jesus, were the rightful, physical and spiritual descendants of the patriarch Abraham, Christ revealed His true divinity: "before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58).

The apostle Paul wrote that when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea after the Passover of the Exodus they "drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). Jesus Christ eternally existed as a member of the Godhead before His human birth. That's why His human life, given as the Passover sacrifice for our sins (1 Corinthians 5:7), can pay the death penalty for all of mankind and not merely for one person only.

The second point: Though Jesus Christ did not sin, He fully understands our trials and temptations.

We are so humanly fallible, so in need of God's mercy, and oftentimes we feel like there is so little hope that we will truly overcome and make it into God's Kingdom. Then into that void in our lives came our Savior and High Priest!

"Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesusthe Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16). Christ understands our troubles and struggles. He is willing and able to extend His grace to us, as we seek His help to overcome and enter His Kingdom.

Finally, the third point I wanted to share with you: Because of Christ's personal sacrifice for us, God forgives our sins—and therefore, we should forgive those who sin against us.

This is a key point in the prayer outline that Jesus gave His disciples—which includes all of us—in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. Forgiveness is a critical part of prayer and our spiritual lives.

At the Passover we prayerfully seek to humbly accept God's mercy and grace given us at our repentance and baptism. The fulfillment of that holy festival commemorates Christ's sacrifice of His life so our sins can be forgiven. Yet we can prevent that mercy being shown to us by not being forgiving to others—a sobering thought! To develop a forgiving spirit, we needwhat He inspired Paul to call "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, [which] will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). Let's ask for that wonderful, inner peace that comes from forgiving others as our loving Savior Jesus Christ forgives us.

May God richly bless you and provide all your needs through Jesus Christ, our Lord during this year's Passover and Pentecost seasons.