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Today’s Reading Numbers 8-11, Colossians 1 

With spring in the air, we were starting to see the formations of baseball teams and softball teams. This is a memory from childhood when we would play softball or basketball where there would be team captains.  Each captain would handpick each of the individuals for the team. This process can be hard on both sides: hard for the captains to try to keep everyone’s spirits up and then hard for the individuals getting picked because of being the last one picked.  In the end someone will not be happy.  The difference with Christ choosing us is we all win.  He chooses all of us, we have the option to be accepted. He has hand picked us already.  

Numbers 8:14-16

“Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself.”

In Numbers 8, we see God is preparing the Levites as the chosen individuals to be set apart for the whole nation of Israel. We see how He has hand-picked them to be the priesthood to intercede, and to petition God for the entire nation. In this particular instance, God is hand-picking representatives that will be connecting with him.  He shows how he will provide for these people through these intermediaries. He can use many avenues to bless us.  We have to be in tune with his overall purpose for each of us,  this only happens when we have a relationship with him. 

 Colossians 1: 21-23

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

In Colossians 1,  it shows us again that we are hand picked for God’s grace and glory. It tells that we were already alienated and lonely and in despair, but Jesus understood this and still hand picked us to be with him.  We all have hand picked by him, but we have to accept that we are worthy of his grace.  He is ready to give us comfort and peace if we would accept it as a gift. 

A couple of days ago I had the honor of participating in a game with my kids.  The object of the game was to tie or come up with the same result as the other team.  Once you tied with the other team, the first person who recognized it was the same would scream.  Then the team that lost would then become part of the other team.  Then you would search for other teams to compete, until you are all on the same team.  It was fun and exciting on many levels:  the kids had a blast and each person wanted to tie with each other.  On another level, it was showing us how it is possible to not be the victorious one and still have fun.  It shows how God’s love no matter what the outcome of the situation,  we always win and he has chosen us not to fail, but to succeed with Him and each other.  

Be blessed 

Todays readings: Numbers 1-2, Psalm 64 and Hebrews 11

How do you handle hard situations? Maybe you receive a bad report from your Dr? Perhaps you are struggling in your marriage or having conflict with a child? How do you deal with situations that are out of your control? When the world is a mess around us, how do you react? What do we do? How can we respond?

Hebrews 11 has the answer for us today…

BY FAITH

Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
Hebrews 11:1-3

By faith Abel… by faith Enoch… by faith Noah… by faith Abraham… and by faith even Sarah…
Hebrews 11 is full of ordinary people who believed that God would do what he promised. That is why they are known as heroes of our faith.

I look at these stories about the lives of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah and feel like my life does not compare to theirs. I was not asked to do what they were asked. I feel less than them. But, how can we (you and I) become heroes of the faith?

BY FAITH

By Faith means believing that God loves us and wants the best for us. We have to hold an active confidence in God and know that He is the one who provides for us our daily bread. He is the only one who can satisfy our wants, needs and desires. By faith we believe that God is omniscient and omnipresent. He knows everything and He sees everything. He knows everything about us and He already knows what we are going to face in the future. He is greater than anything in this world.

By faith we can talk to God. We can pray and ask Him for wisdom, guidance, peace and direction in our lives. We can look to Him for strength to keep going. By faith we know that He will provide all we need in His time.

When we have doubts and questions, we need to read and meditate on Hebrews 11. We need the constant reminder of what God did for His people. They had faith that God would see them through and God did. By faith they carried on, even when it was hard and they could not see the outcome. Is that you today? I have a few things in my life right now that I cannot see the results and that can get me worried and frustrated. But I am told in this passage that BY FAITH, God will provide. My job is to keep believing and looking to Him.

Reading for today:  Leviticus 24-25; Psalms 81; Hebrews 9

The Book of Leviticus and the Book of Hebrews is the “heart” of the differences in beliefs between Christians and Jews.

Today’s readings are particularly filled with some of the most meaningful enunciations between the Old Covenant that God made with Moses and the Jewish people, and the New Covenant that God made with all of mankind with the death of His Son Jesus.

What I think is particularly important to call out is the Old Covenant was with the Jewish people.  The New Covenant, after the crucifixion of Jesus for our sins, was extended to not just the Jewish people but for the non-Jewish people, otherwise known as Gentiles, or all of mankind.

The Book of Leviticus walks us through exhaustive details that God provided to Moses about how the Jewish people, who God had recently rescued from Egypt, should show reverence and thanks to Him.

God’s outline to the Jewish people during the Old Covenant was essentially about sacrifice, discipline, and worship to Him that He required the Jewish people to perform to atone for their sins.

The author of Hebrews tells us in chapter 9, the rituals, and practices of the Old Covenant, 9 “It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience – 10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.”

Verse 15 tells us, “And for this reason He (Jesus) is the Mediator of the new covenant by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

In other words, Jesus’s death on the cross, the shedding of His blood, was the New Covenant God formed with us.  No longer were the detailed rituals of animal sacrifices outlined in Leviticus necessary for the atonement of our sins.  Jesus’ death on the cross took care of that for us.

Hebrews 9 indicates, 26 “…He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

What is confirmed in today’s reading is that Jesus is the way to Heaven.  It is not about sacrifices, rituals, or acts, that will get us to Heaven.  It is about our faith and belief that Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins.

If you are interested to learn more about Hebrews 8 and 9, Pastor Gary Hamrick at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, VA has a great sermon explaining the Old and New Covenant.

Today’s reading:  Leviticus 19-20, Hebrews 7

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:1-2).

The first two verses of Leviticus 19 set God’s expectation for his people.  His message was very clear.  Be holy.  The problem was…his people needed help understanding exactly what it meant, and how holiness was to show up in their daily living.  What about you?  Do you know what it means to be holy and how it shows up in your life?  To be honest, I needed a little help connecting the dots.

The Hebrew word for “holy” means to be set apart for a specific purpose.  The purpose for which the Old Testament Israelites were set apart, and the purpose for which Christfollowers today are set apart, are the same.  We are to be used for God’ purposes, to bring glory to him.  That makes sense to me, but what does it really look like to be set apart?  How does it look to be different than others?

It is no surprise that the Israelites needed help connecting the dots too.  The next 35 verses of Leviticus 19 are a painfully detailed description of God’s expectations for how his people were to act.  In the Old Testament, this was the recipe for being set apart.   Have you ever wondered why some people think the Bible is a book of don’ts?  This is why.  In 37 verses of Leviticus 19, the words “do not” appear 26 times.   Nevertheless, for God’s people in the Old Testament, the law outlined in Leviticus was the recipe they were to follow to be holy.  Set apart.  Different from others.

Fortunately for us, we are not under Old Testament Law.  Jump forward to Hebrews 7 with me.

For the law made nothing perfect, and now a better hope has taken its place.  And that is how we draw near to God…it is Jesus who guarantees the effectiveness of this better covenant (Hebrews 7:19, 22).

We no longer have to rely on sacrificed animals and priests to be the mediator between us and God.  Jesus, our high priest, is our eternal mediator.  Under the new covenant, Jesus’ death on the cross was the once and for all payment for our sins.  If we accept him as Savior and Lord, his blood will cover our sins and make us perfect and acceptable to God on judgement day.

Makes sense, but again, how is being holy supposed to show up in our daily actions today?  Fortunately Jesus collapsed all the Old Testament do’s and don’ts into two guiding principles for our lives.

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).

When our actions consistently demonstrate that we love God and love other people, we will look different than others.  Holy.  Truly set apart.

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 8-11, Psalm 110, Hebrews 4

Oh, Leviticus. The book a Leviticus is the blueprint and the guide for the Levitical priest of the Hebrew to follow as a guide. Each piece and each word in Leviticus had to be done to precise letter. The most important things were in the details of each of the words. As a child, I remember reading through the first several books of the Bible, I was always confused. I did not understand why such detail was made for each chapter. As I grew up, I was able to understand how these precise details were the things that were needed for the children of Israel at the time. This is part of the Old Testament, to give us precise direction because we need this attention and direction for our life.

The specific information that we receive from Leviticus is similar to that of the understanding of time. We have to be given precise information about time for our minds to grasp the abstractness of God. God has allowed us to understand time, so that we can understand him better. In our most recent developments we can get time down to the trillionth of a second. At the beginning of the 1900s we could give time down to a second. At the beginning of the 12th century, we could get time down to portions of a day.

It’s in these details that we are able to have some foundation and clarity of our purpose. It is in these details that we understand God‘s work in us better. When I was a young adult, I had an understanding of how to digest the word of God. The understanding goes like this: the word of God is like a Thanksgiving feast, the first day you were eating so much and trying to digest it all. The following day you can have the leftovers. Then the following week you can boil the bones and the meat to make a soup.  Each time that we are digesting the word of God, sometimes we get so much from just the overall text. Then we can get down to the sentences and paragraphs and phrases. Then we get down to a single word that speaks to us on a profound level.

Sometimes we can run through life at such a breakneck pace that we do not understand and see the details of our life. This past week my youngest daughter brought home a project that she had worked on for several weeks in class. As part of our routine, she leaves her class work on the dining room table for me and my wife to review and to look over. This particular project was about her. It was a non-fiction, biological sketch of herself.  Now, I typically review these things and glance over them and put them away. This time, I reviewed it a little bit more closely. And when I reviewed it, the text touched my heart so much that I became very emotional. The above picture that you see for today’s post was the one that she had drawn.  Each of the figures that she has drawn shows each person in our family, their age, and the things that they love most. If you look at the one under each one, it shows something different. But under the picture for me, her father, it shows that the thing that I love most is her.

Lord, allow us to be able to be in tune with how you show the specific details in our life. Lord, allow us to be open to the whisper, the vapor, the flowers that are in our life. Allow us to be where you want us to be influencers to others as you have been influential to us through the small details.