Monthly Archives: February 2013

February 18

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Leviticus 8-10

Were Nadab and Abihu so puffed up about their new-found status as priests that they thought they could do whatever they wanted? Did they have this great idea and think they could impress God with their ingenuity? I’m very sure they believed in God. But they must have thought they could go to Him on their own terms.

Scripture says that one day, at the name of Jesus EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. There is NO OTHER name under heaven by which we must be saved. Jesus said… I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. NO ONE comes to the Father except by me.

John 3:16 makes it clear that eternal life comes through believing in the Son. His name is Jesus. Not Buddha or Mohammed or any other false god. I didn’t come up with that. God did.

Do we really believe that? Then we had better get busy letting our loved ones know because they might be trying to get to God using unauthorized fire. Ask Nadab and Abihu how that turns out.

Heavenly Father, help us today to reach out to someone who is lost. Help us to intentionally introduce them to the only one who can save.

February 17

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Leviticus 5-7

My sister got a ticket this week. She was running errands before work and went to a place she wasn’t real familiar with. After taking care of her business she pulled out of the parking lot, then turned right on red. She hadn’t gone far when she heard the siren and saw the flashing lights. She pulled over to give the police car the right-of-way, knowing she had done nothing wrong. But the policeman pulled up behind her and got out of his cruiser.

“Do you know why I stopped you?”

“I have no idea.”

“There’s a sign back there that clearly says… no turn on red.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see it. I don’t usually take this route. Can you just give me a warning?”

“Lady, you just blatantly broke the law and there’s a consequence for breaking the law.”

When my sister told me about her encounter with the policeman she was disappointed. She wished the officer had been a little more understanding but she said… I broke the law. I’ll pay the ticket.

That’s kind of what God told Moses here in chapter 5. Even if a person unintentionally commits a sin, once he learns of it he will be guilty. God doesn’t accept the “I didn’t know” defense any more than that police officer did. Even when we truly didn’t know.

Do not be fooled. God does not ignore sin and there are serious consequences for committing them. Let’s be people who know what the Bible says and recognize sin when we see it. Let’s be quick to confess and allow God to forgive us. And let’s be gentle and loving enough to encourage others to do that, too.

February 16

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Leviticus 1-4

I guess I always pictured the priests doing all the work for a sacrifice. Today when I read I noticed that the person coming for forgiveness seems to do the slaughtering in front of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord. After the animal was killed the priests took over.

If I’m reading this right, anyone who sinned… your average Joe, a community leader, a priest… was required to spill the blood of his sacrifice himself. I am reminded that salvation is personal.

When I sin I must go to God on my own behalf. I must personally lay my life at his feet and submit to Him. I need to ask for forgiveness for myself. I need to ask Jesus to come into my life. No one else can do it for me.

A Jew wasn’t forgiven if he stood next to someone who offered a sacrifice. He wasn’t forgiven if his parents did what was required. I think he had to raise that knife and slash into that animal until its blood was spilled. He had to lay his own sins upon that sacrifice in order to receive forgiveness.

Dear Father, Thank you for making salvation personal. Thank you for offering yourself as a sacrifice for my sins. And thank you for the forgiveness that is mine when I come to you.

February 15

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Exodus 39, 40

The tabernacle finished, the glory of the Lord filled it. The Israelites lived next to the place where God dwelt. They could see the pillar of fire and the cloud and know God was right there with them. When he moved, they  moved. When he stayed, they stayed. They couldn’t step out of their tents without the visible reminder of God’s Presence.

What an awesome privilege they had. But we have something even better.

We don’t have to look at a pillar of fire. For believers, we just have to look within ourselves. Yes there are times I wish I had that tangible presence I could look at to remind myself He is here. But Jesus promised never to leave or forsake us.

Israel couldn’t say that. God was in the tabernacle and if a Jew decided to pick up and move away, God would not have gone with him. God’s Presence was visible, but God had confined Himself to the tabernacle.

Since the cross, God can call us to go across the country or around the world and he will go with us. His dwelling place in no longer man-made, as beautiful as that tabernacle must have been. God’s dwelling place is in the hearts of believers and visible through our obedience. He is as real today as he was in the days of Moses.

You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!

February 14

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Exodus 36:8-38:31

What I love about the making of the tabernacle is the teamwork involved. The talents these people had astounds me. Every detail God instructed Moses was carefully followed and all the Jews had a part in it’s making. Whether giving their half shekel or weaving the material or building the structure, everyone was important in the construction.

It must have been a great time to be an Israelite. They had an important project and they were all involved in making it happen.

Are you involved in the work of your local church? Do you, with other believers use your talents to further God’s kingdom by teaching or discipling, singing or changing light bulbs, mowing or visiting the sick?

God has given you talents and abilities. Are you using them to honor him and help your church accomplish what God has asked us to do?

My prayer is that you will commit yourself to the work of a Bible-believing church. It takes all of us to get the job done.

February 13

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Exodus 33:7-36:7

God describes Himself in this passage. As He passed in front of Moses He said:

The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sins of the father to the third and fourth generation. (34:5-7)

God wants us to know him. He’s not some big mystery in the sky. He’s real. And he is the same today as he was the day he walked so close to Moses he could put his hand over Moses’ eyes.

So what is it he wants us to know about himself? He wants us to know he is loving, faithful, compassionate and forgiving. But let’s not stop there. He also wants us to know, as loving and compassionate as he is, he cannot let sin go unpunished. God will never ignore sin or overlook disobedience. And the wages of sin is death.

However, that same Holy judge who demands holiness of us, lovingly offers cleansing from every sin we’ve ever committed. He is faithful to forgive us when we repent. The forgiveness is there for the asking because he is who he said he is.

God, I thank you that you want us to know you. Thank you for revealing yourself to Moses and to us. You are compassionate and gracious, loving and faithful. You are holy. And I thank you that you have provided everything we need for the forgiveness of our sins. Continue to reveal yourself to us as we walk with you today.

February 12

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Exodus 30-33:6

This is one of those passages I read and just shake my head. What were they thinking? God had shown Himself to the Israelites through the plagues in Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, manna and quail, water from a rock, a pillar of fire and a cloud to guide and protect them. And, not least of all, they heard His voice on the mountain. Could He get any more real?

So why, after Moses had been gone for only 40 days, did they decide God was in a golden calf that they watched Aaron make out of their jewelry?

I don’t know what they were thinking but the Bible said they were out of control. No wonder God was angry enough to destroy them all.

But Moses rallied those who still had faith in God and all the Levites answered the call. Moses gave them each a sword and instructed them to go through the camp and kill everyone who had rejected God. 3,000 people died because they chose the idol over the one true God.

I’m glad God doesn’t want us to go about killing unbelievers. But do we see that, once again, God is demonstrating how serious he is about disobedience. When he says don’t worship anything but Me… He means it.

Lord, help us to examine ourselves and recognize those things, or positions, or people, or dreams that have crept to the front of the line. I want to be someone who worships You and You alone. I pray that we all will put aside everything that even hints at becoming more important than You. May you find us faithful today.

February 11

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Exodus 28&29

While reading these chapters today I am struck by how complex was the act of sacrifice for sin. From the color of thread for the priests’ robes to the amount of grain used in an offering, the ritual had a lot of detail to follow. I sit here wondering why God demanded so much in order to forgive the sins of Israel.

Why blue robes, pomegranates, gold bells, breastplates and jewels? Why bulls AND rams AND lambs? Why blood on the earlobe? I find myself wanting to know the significance of every detail.

Jesus has become our high priest and our perfect sacrifice, according to the New Testament. His work at the cross didn’t do away with what we read today. It completed it.

Maybe God made the rituals so complicated for Aaron to show us how seriously God takes sin. God doesn’t take sin lightly… nor should we. What Jesus did on the cross was complicated and detailed. And it fulfilled God’s requirements once and for all.

We no longer need to sacrifice bulls, but blood is still required for the forgiveness of sin. No amount of bulls’ blood can wash sins away completely. It took the precious blood of Jesus to accomplish that.

Holy God, your requirement for the forgiveness of sin is complicated and detailed. I thank you that, because of Jesus, those requirements are fulfilled. May we accept your forgiveness and realize what it cost Him to provide forgiveness for us. May we not take for granted His precious blood.

February 10

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Exodus 25-27

How did they do that? They were in the middle of a desert. There was no electricity. No fabric stores or sewing machines. How did they create the ornamental details out of metal without lead molds and furnaces? How did they get the precious metals in the first place?And how did they even know what cherubim looked like?

Reading the description of the mobile tabernacle with the altar and utensils makes me wonder. This could not have been easy. And why did God inspire someone to write it all down and preserve it for us in 2013?

This was the place the Israelites would go to meet God. It was a place carefully prepared for God to make his dwelling place on earth. It was like nothing else around.

Today is Sunday and many of us will go to a building to worship God with other believers. And although I think we need to show respect for the material building we designate as a place to meet God, the Bible says that since the cross we are a temple to the Lord. God Himself dwells in each of us who know Jesus as our Savior.

I believe God is asking me today if I have put any thought into His earthly dwelling place… my heart. Is my life filled with things that make Him uncomfortable to live here? The great thing about this house guest is that He wants to help me clean up. He is willing to point out the things in my life that shouldn’t be there and, if I ask Him to, He’ll get rid of it. He’ll wash it away with His own blood.

Dear God, Thank you for making me Your temple. Thank you for taking up residence in my heart. Show me the things that don’t please You, then may I allow you to clean it up. May You find my heart a place fit for a King today.

February 9

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Exodus 22-24

God promised the nation of Israel that if they obeyed him and followed the laws he set down he would be on their side. He would defeat their enemies and drive out the people now living in the land he had promised them.

But, God said, he wouldn’t do it in a day. Little by little he would drive out the inhabitants until the Jews were ready to take possession of the land.

Have you ever had to wait for an answer to prayer?

If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time you’ll agree that God’s timing is often not the same as ours. I imagine when the Jews marched out of Egypt they figured they’d be mowing the grass in their new homes in Canaan in a few short weeks.

God had a different time table. Little by little, he told them.

We don’t like to wait, do we? In our age of instant gratification, microwavable dinners, the fastest internet service we can find, we want our prayers to be microwavable, too. Ask and you’ll receive… now.

But while we learn to wait for God’s timing let’s not miss the lessons he wants us to learn along the way. God wanted Israel to increase enough to take the land. He wants our faith and trust, our maturity to increase enough for us to handle the answers to our prayers, too.

Father, thank you for answered prayer. Forgive us when our faith is shaken when we don’t receive the answers we want fast enough. Teach us to wait and learn, to trust you not only with the “what” of our desires, but the “when” as well.