Dear Brethren,

With all the news surrounding the top world story of Covid-19, it's been easy to get distracted on what God would have us to begin focusing on as the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Jolinda and I usually begin the deleavening process weeks before however with the many hours of communicating with the brethren overseas and the additional time to communicate with the Home Office and setting up a web meeting for our local brethren -- we're behind our usual time schedule.  But -- the first phase has started.  

As is our custom, last week we began "locating the leaven" .  We begin by finding the obvious items and place them in a large bowl on the counter to be eaten as soon as possible.  Jolinda and I usually try to locate the leaven in the cabinets, pantry and freezer and then she goes back and begins cleaning each kitchen cabinet individually (usually finding a few things we missed the first round). The process eventually expands to the living room the office and our vehicles where we search, sweep or vacuum. 

Each of you have your traditions and challenges in locating and removing the bread, crackers, yeast, baking powder, soda and other leavened products from your homes.  You clean the crumbs out of your refrigerator, kitchen drawers, clean the oven and often move the refrigerator and stove to clean behind them.  Many are challenged by the cleaning of the dreaded toaster which is packed with crumbs that want to stay intact whether we shake it , take it apart, blow air into it, dangerously spray water into it (while it's unplugged) or throw it our (like we've done before.)

Most church members who have deleavened their homes and vehicles over the years have many stories to tell and lessons learned as they have spent hours, days and sometimes weeks -- in cleaning to remove the leaven out of their homes and off their property.  While a thorough cleaning clearly demonstrate a zeal to obey God's commands and teaches us many lessons about the removal of sin from our dwellings -- we must also be mindful of the spiritual purpose of these days.  The spiritual lessons of deleavening our lives should not be overlooked.  God teaches us an important principle as we go through the process of removing the physical leaven from our homes. He wants us to understand this really points to removing the spiritual leaven from our temple, the place where He and the Holy Spirit are to reside within us.

David talked about the importance of searching ourselves for the spiritual leaven and asking for God's help to find and uproot it.  As he said:  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalms 139:23-24)

As the new year on God's calendar is about to begin and we observe the first of the seven annual Festivals in His plan, let us be reminded of the awesome plan of Salvation that God is working out for all of mankind and the sacrifice our Savior made for each of us. What a privilege our calling is and the opportunity to be a son of God in His soon coming Kingdom.

Have a blessed Sabbath, 

Dave