The Name of God

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Leviticus 24

For those of you Christians who still use the Name of God like an exclamation mark, let me suggest you read Leviticus 24 today.

Now, you need not fear stoning for saying “OMG.” But I think you need to ask yourself how important the Name of God and the precious Name of of Jesus is to you.

Then, ask yourself what your use of the Name says to people who hear it used in such a casual and irreverent way. As a representative of Jesus, does your vocabulary reveal Him the way He deserves?

What does your use of His Name say to God Himself? God is very serious about His Name.

We’d better be, too.

Shame On Us

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Leviticus 18-19

Happy 2sDay, 2.22.22 falling on a Tuesday. Such a fun fact for a day that won’t come around again for a hundred years.

Anyway, these days I’m reading in Leviticus and, sometimes the reading is hard. I find myself wanting to just get through this book and get on. But then I realize Numbers is next and I know I’m in for more of the same. So my prayer is that God will speak to my heart on 2.22.22 and grow me into a woman who knows Him better, loves Him more, and serves Him more effectively.

We can read these chapters and say, “That was then. This is now. What applied to them doesn’t apply to us in the 21st century. After all, we live under grace.”

I wonder.

18:22. What do you think about what that verse says? People say if we want to shove that verse down people’s throat then we need to hold each other accountable for all of it. You can’t just take a verse to make a point and ignore other verses you don’t like.

Exactly.

If we say homosexuality is detestable according to Scripture, then we must also condemn marrying a step-sibling, divorcing your wife and marrying your sister-in-law, or having sex during a woman’s period. In today’s world that is all legal.

Chapter 19 covers things like disrespecting your parents, insulting a deaf person, gossip, holding grudges, getting tattoos…

So where do you draw the line?

19:22.

Holiness.

Not just decency or moral conduct. Not just goodness. H.O.L.I.N.E.S.S.

Simply obeying the letter of the law doesn’t guarantee salvation. We who live after the cross understand that salvation comes only through Jesus’ work on the cross. But obeying the letter as well as the intent of the law should be evidence of our true salvation. Jesus didn’t tell us we could murder someone so long as we didn’t hate them. He didn’t throw out the law. He showed us the spiritual aspect of following the law.

This whole thing can be confusing. There is no way any of us can follow the law. But does that mean the law isn’t there for a reason, that because it’s hard we should just ignore it? I thank God Jesus paid the consequences for my failing to follow the law. But does that give me liberty to disobey?

Common sense tells us if people obeyed these laws spelled out in Leviticus we’d be better off. Our world would not be in the state it’s in.

And, Christian, if you aren’t holding yourself to the same standard God has laid before us… holiness… then we have no one to blame for the state of our world, or the state of our families, than the person staring back at us in the mirror.

Shame on us.

Mistaking Grace

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Leviticus

Sometimes I think we mistake grace for an eraser. We think it negates the requirements of acceptability to God, or that God’s grace just wipes away our sins…”Just As If I’d Never Sinned.”

What we read in Leviticus are the rules for addressing all kinds of impurity. It’s not a fun read. In fact, it’s tempting to just skip over the whole thing, thinking it doesn’t apply to us in 2022. But did God change the rules? Or are the requirements spelled out in Leviticus still a thing?

God’s law has not changed. The difference is after the cross the fulfillment of those requirements were transferred to Jesus. So, yes, the blood of bulls is still required. Jesus provided His own blood. The doves, the lambs, even the scapegoat are still required. Jesus became all of that to fulfill each requirement.

Now don’t go out and kill some unsuspecting farmer’s livestock. Jesus already did what was required once and for all. That debt has been paid in full by His own precious blood.

But just because the fulfillment of the Law was complete in Jesus, don’t skip over these chapters in Leviticus. I know they don’t apply to you in the material sense. But they do apply to you. It gives you such detail about what Jesus did for you. It’s a lot!

I challenge you to read these chapters carefully and let God reveal Himself to you as you do. There is much more to Jesus’ death on the cross than you might think.

We can, because of grace, stand before God “Just As If We’d Never Sinned.” But the fact is we did sin. And God’s grace cost Jesus a great deal. A great deal. He didn’t simply erase our sin. He painfully fulfilled all the requirements needed for the forgiveness of our sin .

Grace is not an eraser. It’s a gift that cost more than you or I may realize.

It’s Not Acceptable

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Leviticus 10

It’s hard to read about the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons who dared to worship God by their own rules. But it serves as a reminder how seriously God takes worship. We must worship Him in spirit and in truth. We must worship Him with clean hands and hearts.

Sin cannot worship God. And we cannot hope to worship God while sin is in our hearts, I don’t care if you raise your hands and work up a sweat dancing in the aisles. That is not a sign of true worship. Oh, the person caught up in the moment may be truly worshiping that way, but only if they have dealt with their sin first and are worshiping in spirit AND truth. The simple act of looking like a worshiper, doesn’t make one a worshiper.

After Nadab and Abihu were killed, the people worshiped God flat on their faces. I’m pretty sure they weren’t told to have a smile on their faces. And I doubt they were having a good time.

There are many examples of what worship can look like in Scripture from dancing in the streets to tearing clothes and shedding sorrowful tears. But the one thing all of these examples of worship have in common, the one thing that expresses true worship, is hearts surrendered to God, washed clean, pure, holy, and ready to worship.

Worship any other way is worship by someone else’s rules. It’s just not acceptable.

I hope you plan on going to church tomorrow to worship your Savior with fellow believers. But lets’ stop trying to produce an emotional experience in worship. Let’s be sure we all are worshiping from hearts cleansed by the blood of the Lamb according to God’s rules.

It’s Worth About A Penny

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Leviticus 9

When I read God’s instructions for the various sacrifices, I try to picture the scene. I am often struck by the gruesome death of one animal after another; blood splattered layer upon layer on the altar, then poured on the ground at the base; Aaron and his sons wearing blood on their ears, hands, and feet.

So much blood everywhere.

But God, in His Sovereignty determined before the creation of the world, that blood would be required for the forgiveness of sin. Without the blood no one could have a relationship with Him, no one could be saved from the consequences of their sin.

Friend – blood will be required when you face the Holy Judge, God Himself. And like it or not, believe it or not – you WILL face Him when this life is over.

We who have accepted in this lifetime what Jesus did on the cross will stand before the Judge wearing Jesus’ blood on our heads, hands, and feet because Jesus’ blood covers our sin. God will look at the blood of His precious Son and say, “Debt paid in full.” Our eternity will be in God’s sweet Presence, too amazing to be described by words.

But if you stand before God expecting to pay for your own sins with your own blood, you’d be putting about a penny toward your billion dollar debt. Far, far from paid in full. And owing the cost of sinning against God will be an eternity of horror you can’t even imagine right now, too painful to be described by words.

Our Holy God wants each of us to know Him, so He Himself came to earth, lived, died, and rose again to make a way for that to happen. You are a sinner. You are piling up a debt of sin against God that you cannot pay. So Jesus paid it for you.

Have you accepted it? He’s offering His blood to cover your sins. Personally, I think it’s a no-brainer. But God has given you the privilege of choosing for yourself. If you think your penny will cover the cost of your sin, then take the gamble and choose that.

I’m praying you’ll choose Jesus.

Serious Business

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Exodus 30

Worship is serious business. I know we don’t live in Old Testament times. I know we live under grace. But is worship less serious this side of the cross?

We read that people died for worshiping God in ways that suited themselves. You worshiped God in the way He demanded – or you’d better not worship at all.

Haven’t we made worship about ourselves? We take surveys and read studies that tell us how to fashion worship according to what we like, or how we think others will like so that they’ll want to join us.

I wish we spent as much effort on preparing hearts to worship God the way HE likes! I don’t see Scripture suggesting worship should be fun or entertaining. Do you? Yes, we are told to make joyful noise, to enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise. But I can do that going into a ball game.

Isn’t worship more than what it looks like? I see God telling the people to prepare, to repent first, to be holy…. THEN worship Him.

Worship is serious business. Or it ought to be.

It’s Not Enough

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Genesis 9

It’s not enough to confess your sins. Simply saying, “I’m guilty,” doesn’t always indicate repentance. Pharaoh said, “This time I have sinned. ” Yet his actions proved his confession didn’t translate into a changed life.

Have you prayed what we refer to as “the Sinners’ Prayer?” I hope so. But don’t believe for a minute saying the words guarantees God’s forgiveness. You must be born again. You must repent of the sins you confess, which means to turn from them, stop doing them, flee them. If saying those words doesn’t come from a changed heart – you are not saved.

We are wrong to guarantee heaven to someone who prays the prayer. You and I can’t guarantee heaven for anyone because we can’t know anyone’s heart but our own. Only God can do that.

Pharaoh confessed his sin but was not saved. His heart was unchanged. I pray the same isn’t true for you.

It’s Not Forever

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Job 42

I wonder how long Job suffered. From the moment he received the terrible news of his losses, to the moment he repented after hearing God speak, was it weeks? Months? Years? I don’t know. And I don’t pretend to know the degree of pain he endured during that time, however long.

But God pointed out something to me today I think some of us need to hear:

Job’s trial didn’t last forever.

Scripture tells us he lived 140 years after the events we read about in the book of Job. The reality is, as awful as it was, Job’s problems were a blip in the span of his lifetime. After God brought him through that period, he enjoyed life for another 140 years.

Are you going through something you feel might break you? You see no way out? No silver lining? If you know Jesus as your Savior, let God assure you this is a “light and momentary affliction.” Do you know who said that? It was the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17. If you know anything about Paul, I don’t think you’d define what he went through as light, or even momentary. The man suffered for the name of Jesus, nearly all of his adult life.

Whatever it is you are facing, God is able to see you through, even if you can’t see how. I’m not minimizing the pain you are feeling. Some of you are going through hard, hard situations right now. And some of you who went through hard times in the past, still carry the burden of loss. I know.

But I think God would have you know there is hope. Do you believe that? Do you trust Him?

Yesterday in Sunday School we talked about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I’m not going to tell you their story, but if you don’t know let me encourage you to read Daniel 3. It’s worth your time!

As the boys faced the fiery furnace, they declared their total trust in God by telling the king three things:

  1. God can rescue us
  2. We believe He will rescue us
  3. We trust Him alone with however He chooses to do that.

God doesn’t promise to keep us out of difficult situations. In fact, He tells us to expect them. What He does promise to His children is His Presence every step of the way. The king could see God’s Presence with the boys IN the fire!

And what I learn from these boys and Job is that if God brings us through our trial and gives us 140 more years to enjoy life on planet Earth, we win. If He chooses us to take us home to be with Him, we win.

Your difficulty right now will not last forever. I don’t know how God will end it, or when, but if you are His through the blood of Jesus, if you trust Him, He’s got this. Do you believe that?

I am praying that you will rest in the confidence that no matter how difficult life is right now, God is with you, God loves you, and there is a blessed solution to the problem.

It’s not going to last forever.

A Blessed Emotion

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Job 34:37

Elihu told Job he was “adding rebellion to (his) sin.”

We all sin. And sin separates us from God. When we sin, God convicts. We take God out of it when we call it simply a guilty conscience without considering where it came from. The guilt you feel comes from the hand of a loving God who wants you to repent. It’s His gentle way of restoring us to Him.

But we get pretty good at either learning to live with a guilty conscience, or denying it and refusing to feel guilty, telling ourselves things like: He started it. They deserved it. It’s no big deal. At least I didn’t kill someone.

Refusing to deal with sin is rebellion against God. Which is a sin in itself. Now you have two sins to confess, two sins to feel guilty about instead of just one. Every time you refuse to repent you add another sin, and another, and another.

Consider guilt a blessed emotion. Those feelings are meant to draw you to God. Don’t dismiss them. Don’t stuff them deep inside. Don’t rationalize them or minimize them. Let guilt do what it’s intended to do.

Ask God to forgive you. Repent of the sin you feel guilty about. Turn from that sin and toward God who loves you enough to make guilt a blessed emotion that can lead to forgiveness, and sweet fellowship with your Heavenly Father.

Remember The Day

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Job 29

Was Job wrong to long for the days before tragedy struck? He had been wealthy, respected, and revered. He’d been healthy and happy. Now, after losing it all he wished he could go back when life was easy and all his children were around him. Who wouldn’t?

Sometimes I think how nice it would be to go back to my childhood, in our comfortable home, hanging out with my little sisters. It was a time when our parents worried about paying the bills, putting food on the table, the need of a newer car… and I never gave those things a thought.

It was a time when my parents went to work, and we went outside to play.Oh, there were awful things happening in the world at that time. But our parents protected us from the worry of most of it.

I don’t think it’s wrong to look back. In fact, memory is a blessing to encourage us, teach us, comfort us, and to challenge us to do better and be better. But don’t live in the past.

Longing for the good old days shouldn’t prevent us from living today. We can’t go back. Those days are gone and will never return. But we have today.

We have today to do better and be better, to be nurturing a relationship with the LORD and being His servant. We have today to grow, and to represent Jesus to our neighbors and friends.

In fact, Paul tells us his philosophy:

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.(Philippians 3:13b-14)

Someday, years from now, someone is going to long for life the way it was in 2022. Maybe they’ll be remembering the day you introduced them to their Savior.