The 26th January on the Gregorian Calendar is set aside each year as the designated so called “Australia Day” – a day off work to celebrate all things Australian.  Many people will be at the beach, in parks and at home having barbeques.  The promoted meat of choice for this day is Lamb.

This should be cause for the people who belong to Yahuwah, who are living in Australia to pause (selah) and discern what is going on here.  We are also joined by our brothers and sisters around the world who are awake and paying attention, in discerning these events.

We have a nation today, setting itself apart to honour the idols it has created for itself and to offer a burnt offering of a lamb on its altars.  Let those who have ears to hear, hear (shema).

I was born in Australia, grew up in Australia, love a meat pie and a beer in moderation and have consumed plenty of Vegemite, Milo and Tim Tams in my younger days.  I have lived most of my life near the beach and spent plenty of days in the water.  I love the beauty of this country and have travelled all over it meeting and interacting with many warm hearted, down to earth and hard working people.  So there are indeed good things to observe and appreciate. These things however are never to be elevated above, before or instead of our Heavenly Father Yahuwah or His Son our Messiah Yahushua.  Exodus Chapter 20 verses 3-6 make this quite clear.

Why is it we can put so much time, energy and money into promoting and observing the things created by man and not into the simple instructions of a loving Heavenly Father to celebrate HIS days that are on HIS calendar?  It shows where the heartof the nation is at.  Still not enough yet who can discern the lies and deception.  Still not enough yet who will make the time to actually study the scripture.

We as Abba’s people are certainly not against the country where we were born and live.  We hate seeing our countrymen consistently being lied to and ripped off.   We care about and pray for this country and want to see it prosper.  Scripture tells us to pray for the place where we live so that things can go well for us.  In fact, scripturally, things will go well for Australia according to the measure of how they treat us as His people.  This applies to every nation.  History is littered with the blessings and curses that followed the nations relative to how they treated the true biblical Israelites.

At the heart of the matter today is LAMB.  It is a very strong “tradition” and one that is heavily promoted and advertised.  I wonder who is making the real money today  – is it the hard working Aussie farmers and their families?  If that is the case then great.  No worries.  I for one am more than happy to see farmers who work hard to provide food and in particular good healthy (clean and uncontaminated) food to other Aussie families.  Good on ya.  However if it is just to line the pockets of yet another group of corporates, “fleecing” the people, then like many other Aussies I have had a gutful of that.  Like the line from the classic Australian movie The Castle – “Tell them to get stuffed”.

Can you feel my passion?  You know I see a lot of similarities between the “fair dinkum” Aussie man (not the dumbed down, beer swilling “yobbo” stereotype handed to us) and men from Texas.  There is a strength of spirit or inner man that I see in them both that is sometimes hard to articulate.  Given that I am married to an American girl whose “grand-daddy” was a Texan and that my “best mate” is a Texan I have an idea of what I am talking about.

In fact, I was in Texas in 2014, at the airport with my family and a man stopped me and in particular interacted with my son.  He bent down and handed something to him, which I have to this day.  He was a Special Forces Commando returning from a tour of duty in the Middle East.  Here was this big strong guy, displaying the weariness of a tour on his face and the sense of loss from being away from his family, gently interacting with my son who reminded him of his own child.  Our family touched his heart that day and make no mistake this man was stronger and larger on the inside than he was on the outside.  The TRUE REFLECTION OF A MAN.

For Abba Yahuwah’s people we have a national identity.  We have a land.  We have a covenant.  We have a constitution.  We have a King.  He has a people.  We have tribes within that Nation,  We have clans within those tribes.  We have families within those clans.  We are not lost, but we are scattered.  We don’t know each other yet but that will change.  We are physically apart but we are united “echad” in the body of Messiah.

So that brings me to the point.  He and He alone is the Lamb that we choose.  The choicest Lamb without spot or blemish.  He has already been inspected, chosen, slain and offered.  He was and is perfect.  No longer any other Lamb needed.  His blood is on the doorposts of our hearts.

The choice of which Lamb you are going to select is critical.

Perhaps soon we will see a false lamb paraded before our eyes.  Those with eyes to see will see the spots, the blemishes and the uncleaness and reject it as a counterfeit and unclean thing and totally unacceptable.  Others unfortunately, lacking discernment will follow after the wolf in sheeps clothing.

John 1:29 – “The next day Yochanan saw Yahushua coming toward him and said “Behold, the Lamb of Yah, who takes away the sin of the world.”

So in the end I agree with one of the themes of Australia Day – it’s all about the Lamb.

Greg (On behalf of the Paradigm Shift Team)

PS – To my brethren “across the ditch” in New Zealand, my wife and I had our honeymoon there and have fond memories of some special and magnificent NZ lamb dishes.  Need to give credit where it is due!