from the heart

Leviticus - A Study in Personal Holiness

Wow...what a huge number of rules and regulations for those priests and Israelites.  Leviticus 16 is my personal favorite - as it details the amazing picture of God's sacrificial system, and the concept of the "innocent for the guilty" that continues through the life and death of Jesus.

Remember as you read Leviticus....

...that God is a holy God and to fellowship with Him is to be holy.
...that God is gracious enough to give us a process for holiness - today through Christ.
...that God does not honor (in fact, abhors) unholy practices and lifestyles.
...that God is well-known for judging sin. 
...that everything you read in Leviticus is a shadow of the coming reality (Christ).

Are we obligated to do those same things as the Leviticus priests?  No, not the ceremonial processes.  But remember, within the ceremonial descriptions we also have the moral imperatives that God has given us - and these reflect His unchanging personality.  Don't skim Leviticus - read it to know more of the unique Holiness of the One Living God. 

And be thankful that our holiness is perfected in the sacrifice of Christ! 

Out of Bondage and Into Worship

If you're reading through the Word with us - you're out of Exodus and into Leviticus!  Congratulations. 

Are you getting the drift of reading through the Bible? We're seeing big, BIG themes open up for us, and maybe even taking the time to dig into a little side-trip or two for more details.  That is the joy of reading it all.

Exodus is about God's DELIVERANCE from bondage.  God clearly knows how to do this. If He can rescue millions of Israelites and remove them from a huge military superpower of the day, what does that say about His ability to rescue us.  "Egypt" is a picture of bondage, and the Exodus is a picture of God's deliverance from sin and separation. It is not ONLY symbolic - it is certainly a real even - but it is also symbolic.

So where do we go from bondage?  To worship!  From the amazing details of the tabernacle, God shows Moses how He wants to be worshiped - and now Moses is to instruct the Levites - hence, LEVI-ticus.  Now, the Levites led the worship through a series of ceremonies and sacrifices that would remind us of our sin and God's forgiveness.  Ultimately, all worship should do that and even to this day, the Lord's Supper vividly reminds us through worship ceremony of those same facts.

Try to read it and see through the ceremony to the greater reality which was to come - Christ!  That's the key to reading this great, great book - knowing it is a shadow of the things to come.

Two Keys to Exodus

Exodus is a great book - and an uncomfortable one. The book is about two things:

1) The hardheadedness of man.
2) The kindheartedness of God.

Nothing has changed. Honestly, can you get any more demonstration of "God with us" than the miraculous deliverance from Egypt, the parting of seas, the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night and on and on? You'd think that Israel would get the fact that God was especially fond of them. And that He was on their side. But, they just rebelled and complained and grumbled. One word is "murmur."

I love what Charles Spurgeon said about the word and the people who "murmur." "The very word murmur, how simple it is, made up of two infantile sounds, mur - mur. No sense in it, no wit in it, no thought in it, it is the cry rather of a brute, not a man. Murmur - just a double groan."& If you are a complainer, Exodus is your mirror - look long enough to grasp the lunacy of complaining.

God, one the other hand, is kindhearted. Over and over, He PROVIDES.

He provides deliverance, leadership, food, water, direction, the Law, rest, wisdom, order in society, and a practical, relevant way to worship Him.

But with all that, He provides even more today through Christ. He's especially fond of us.

As I think of it all, my murmur fades into gratitude.

They meant...but God MEANT

One of the greatest lines in the Bible is Joseph's, "...you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good..."  (Gen. 50:20)  Many are the times I've remembered it as life hits me like a bus - or quoted when someone else felt thrown under the same bus.

It means that evil doesn't triumph - even though it sometimes looks that way.

It means that the worst motives on earth will be overruled by the best motive - God's.

It means that all the wickedness, scheming and hatred in the world cannot thwart God's purpose.

It means that life may throw junk in the pot, but when God pours it out, it is a rich and healthy stew.

How does God do this?  That I don't know.  I just know He does.

The Palace Chronicles

Joseph is my favorite guy.  Genesis 45 details the end of story. What a life - but what does it tell us?

It tells us "Life can only be lived by looking forward.  It can only be understood by looking back."  My friend Wayne Barber is given the credit for that quote - but I give the credit to Joseph for living it out so vividly. 

Imagine what was going through his mind as he was rejected by his brothers and sold to slave traders.  If there was ever a dysfunctional family, Joseph's was it.  Imagine how it must have felt to be falsely accused and thrown in prison - then forgotten for years.  I'm sure what went through Joseph's mind all that time was similar to what goes through your mind and mine when things don't look so good.

But at the end?  "And do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life."  (Gen. 45:5)

In other words, I'm OK with all that stuff I went through, now that I see how God has used it.

The challenge is to live forward while realizing that one day we'll look back and "get it."  In God's eyes, the purpose is always there - we just need to believe that.

From the Pit to the Palace

Joseph - the incredible journey.  Genesis 37-41, if you're reading through the Word with us, is all about Joseph's trip from the pit (where his jealous brothers threw him) to the palace (where his Mighty God put him).  Everything in between those two events is a testimony to this fact:  GOD IS IN CONTROL.

What a coincidence that when his evil brothers wanted to put him to death, Midianite slave traders just happened to be coming by in that desolate land.  (Gen. 37:25)

What a coincidence that they sold Joseph to Potiphar, Pharoah's officer.  (Gen. 37:36)

What a coincidence that Potiphar's house was blessed when Joseph was there. (Gen. 39:5)

What a coincidence that the cupbearer of the king remembered Joseph at a critical time.  (Gen. 41:12)

And finally (yes, I know, I'm tired of the line, too) what a coincidence that Pharoah chose Joseph to lead the land during the years of blessing and famine.  (Gen. 41:39-40)

By now, hopefully, you'll realize NOTHING in life is a coincidence.  Nothing.  God takes every circumstance, every angry and jealous word, every act done in malice and somehow weaves it all together into the tapestry of His will.  God truly does cause all things to work together for good.

Joseph's journey from pit to palace opened the door for the nation of Israel to be saved from the famine.  Remember, when you are wondering what is going on, God is NOT.  When you doubt His involvement in your life, He is BUSY arranging for everything to work together for a good purpose - HIS.

Living with a Limp

Jacob wrestled with God. 

That is not an easy subject to get your arms around, but the Bible says, "...for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."  This angel that Jacob wrestled with, and this whole family thing that he struggled with (father-in-law, Laban) unfolds over twenty-some years.  Read about it in Genesis 28-32.

And yet he prevailed.  Here is a picture of all the irregular people we've ever had to deal with.  A picture of all the frustration and calamity and unfairness we may have experienced...and a picture of dealing with (what we perceive to be) the reluctance or slowness of God to bless.  Have you ever been there?

The key to understanding all this is to go back to these chapters and see this:

    Jacob obeyed God each time God spoke to him.
    Jacob responded to God's blessing by giving back to him a tithe. (28:22)
    Jacob gave credit to God as the blessing flowed.  (30:30; 31:9)
    Jacob reminded God of His promise.  (32:9)

I'm sure we could go on - but you get the point.  Here's a man that walked pretty closely to God, and was unwilling to look elsewhere for "the blessing."  He knew he was doing the right thing for the right reasons. He knew that the circumstances didn't look favorable to him as he traveled toward Esau. 

But he believed God. Therefore, he wrestled with the angel until daybreak - and was blessed. 

Yes, he walked with a limp from that day on.  But he also walked with a blessing. 

Faith Has Great Reward

It's difficult to walk by faith in a God you cannot see - and Abraham gives us a great example of how hard, and how blessed, it is to do so.  Genesis unfolds this walk for us in so many ways, mainly by letting us look into the life of a man who had learned to hear from God and follow Him.

That's what faith is, you know.  Hearing God and obeying Him, regardless of how you feel or how the circumstances look.  Here's a modern definition of it.

"Faith is living as though the Bible were true, regardless of feelings, circumstances or cultural trends." 

That's not an easy walk - but it is rewarding to walk with God.  Let me summarize Abraham's life.

The Lord's first words to Abraham:  "Go forth from your country..."  (Gen. 12:1)

The Lord's last words about Abraham:  "Abraham...died in a ripe old age...satisfied with life."  (Gen. 25:8)

The Cliff's Note version (above) simply points out that life is better when we follow God.  There are many ups and downs.  The details between Gen. 12:1 and Gen. 25:8 are numerous and involve incredible amounts of detail.  Each event is a story unto itself. 

But in the end, there is no greater reward than the reward of knowing that you live life as God intends.

Walking by Faith

Meanwhile, back in Genesis....Abram was a man God decided to use to lay down the foundation of how man and God would walk together.  He's actually called by many, "The Father of Faith."  Among the words that come out of the story of Abram (Abraham), we should be familiar with are "faith" and "covenant." 

God entered into a covenant relationship with Abraham and the people who were to come from his loins.  But before that covenant was enacted, God spoke to Abraham.  God is a God who speaks.  He gives us His spoken word, and He also now gives us His written word.

Can you imagine God speaking to you, and the first words He says to you are, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house to the land that I will show you."  Gen. 12:1 

It's pretty clear to me that when God speaks, He wants us to believe and then obey.  It's not easy - after all God often seems to speak about things that we never think are possible, right?  Things like, "I'm going to make a great nation out of you - even though you don't have any children at all - and you're over 90 years old."  Things like, "I'm going to bless all the nations of the world through you."  Or, "Your descendants will number more than the stars in the heavens." 

Sometimes, Abraham seemed to believe God easily.  Sometimes he laughed.  But always...God's word came to pass. 

What is God saying to you?  And how are you taking it?

JOB - The Climax

I remember climbing to the point of a high Rocky Mountain at the Continental Divide and looking over the valley below. I recall that the vantage point there gave new perspective to the the struggle I had getting to the top. I remember thinking that the view I had at that moment was worth the pain in getting to the top.

Job probably experienced the same thing - except his was the struggle of real life and the pinnacle of maturity.  Job's conclusion:   

"Hear, now, and I will speak;  I will ask Thee, and do Thou instruct me.  I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees Thee.  Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:4-6)

In other words, Job saw God in his afflictions - at long last.  He saw purpose and he saw a plan.  But more than that, he saw the power of surrender and trust.  Notice that he saw it all in looking back.  Hindsight is, as they say, 20-20.

I've often said that if I could live life looking forward the way I see it looking backward, I could walk with a great deal more trust.  And this just the key - faith IS living life forward with the same confidence that comes from knowing God has taken all the events of your past and woven them together for good.

I'm encouraged that God deals with Job's "friends" in their discouraging accusations.

I'm encouraged that God expects Job to pray for them...and blesses him when he does. 

I'm encouraged that God blesses Job's latter days more than the early days. 

I'm encouraged that God got Job through it.  And I'm encouraged He can get you through it, too.