Archive | May 2015

Leviticus 18 – Keep my statutes…I am the Lord your God

May13

Good evening y’all. Happy Midweek 🙂

Today we are studying chapter 18 of Leviticus.

Be blessed 🙂

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“The Lord then told Moses to tell the people of Israel, “I am Jehovah your God, so don’t act like the heathen—like the people of Egypt where you lived so long, or the people of Canaan where I am going to take you. You must obey only my laws, and you must carry them out in detail, for I am the Lord your God. If you obey them, you shall live.I am the Lord (Lev 18: 1- 5 TLB)

God specifically told the Israelites they are not to copy the way of life practiced by the Egyptians or the Canaanites. These people were not living according to Gods standards and He didn’t want His chosen ones to think it was okay for them to live the same way.

Its the same with us. God has given us instructions on how to live as Kingdom children, His chosen ones who have been bought and redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. We have to obey the instructions because we are not of this world. In Romans 12: 2 we are told not to copy the pattern of the world.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”.(Rom 12: 2 NLT)

We are to obey Gods laws because He is our God and its only in obedience to Him do we truly find life.

If we want to live life in all of its fullness, then obeying Gods instructions and following His leading is key. 1 John 2: 15 -17 says:
“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever”. (NLT)

God goes on to give a list of instructions regards sexual morality they must obey in verses 6 – 23. First thought that came to mind as i was reading this is that, do these laws still apply to us today? I hear people say we are new testament Christians no longer living under the law but under grace. Does that mean this part of the bible is no longer relevant to us?

I got the answer to my question in Matthew 5:17-19

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven”.(NLT)

God still expects us to obey these laws. I’m amazed at the level of detail God gave them. He didn’t leave any stone untouched. He covered every possible scenario 🙂 . I realized those laws are for our benefit and it will do us good to obey them

The latter part of verse 21 states “for you must not bring shame on the name of your God. I am the Lord”. That means we shouldn’t indulge in anything that doesn’t bring glory to God, so that we don’t bring shame to His name. 

Are we bringing shame on the name of our God through our actions?

In verses 24 – 30, God reiterates the need to be obedient to his instructions. If we don’t, the consequences are dire. We risk loosing our relationship with God and missing heaven altogether. We mustn’t defile ourselves by following the pattern of the world. 

Remember we are Gods chosen ones bought with the precious blood of Jesus. Therefore we can’t live our lives as we please for our lives is no longer ours. It now belongs to God.

“For God has bought you with a great price. So use every part of your body to give glory back to God because he owns it”. (! cor 6: 20 TLB)

Prayer:
Father thank you for your word. Please forgive us for the times when we have defiled ourselves by following foreign practices; where we have brought shame and dishonor to your name. Give us the grace to obey you even when its not convenient. Thank you for being our God and for choosing us. In Jesus Name we prayed. Amen.

I’m blogging through the bible with good morning girls. check us out at www.goodmorninggirls.org

***With God all things are possible***

Leviticus 16 – The perfect atonement

May11

Good evening y’all. Happy Monday 🙂

Today we are studying Leviticus 16. Reading through the chapter gave me a deeper appreciation for Jesus and the price He came to pay in order for us to have a relationship with the Father.

Be blessed 🙂

I found a few similarities between what God asked of them in today’s chapter and what Jesus did for us.

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1) They had to use blood of animals to atone for their sins. The priest first, for himself, and then for the rest of the congregation –  Jesus didn’t have to atone for His own sins as He is the perfect High Priest. His blood brought us a new covenant without limitations 🙂
“He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. 27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins” (Heb 7: 26 -27 NLT)

2) The priests couldn’t go into the tent where God dwelt whenever they wanted. They didn’t have easy/free access to God. Jesus’ death on the cross has made it possible for us to have access to God whenever we want.

“And so, dear brothers, now we may walk right into the very Holy of Holies, where God is, because of the blood of Jesus. This is the fresh, new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us by tearing the curtain—his human body—to let us into the holy presence of God” (Heb 10: 19 -20 TLB)

3) The sacrifice had to be at a set time every year but Jesus paid it once and for all and removed the need for yearly atonement.

“The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship” (Heb 10: 1 NLT)
“But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. (Heb 10:12 NLT)

Hebrews chapter 9 gives us a good summary of this chapter.

“7 But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle[d] and the system it represented were still in use.
9 This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. 10 For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.
11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. 26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.” (Heb 9: 7 -15, 24 – 26 NLT)

Prayer:
Dear Lord, we thank You for today. We thank You for loving us enough to send Your only Son to die for us. Thank You for the blood He shed so we can now come boldly before Your throne. Help us to daily live for You and in obedience to Your word.Thank You Lord. In Jesus’ Name we’ve prayed. Amen.

***With God all things are possible***