Checking in...and a bit of news

Hello! It’s been a while since I posted on here. Writing this feels like I’m reconnecting with dear friends, many of whom I have never met but are friends nonetheless.

How have you managed throughout the last few months of this pandemic? I hope you have stayed well and untouched by the nasty Covid-19 virus!

The isolation and social distancing orders have certainly changed the extent to which we have connected with each other physically here in southwest B.C., Canada. However, our modern age of virtual connection has kept us attending church (albeit in our homes), doing Bible studies together (through Zoom etc.), and catching up on friends and family through phone calls, emails, Facebook, and other ways. And isn’t it wonderful that God is not quarantined or in any way limited by this circumstance!

Perhaps this time has been one of catch-up or getting ahead for you. Maybe you have begun or completed a project that was previously a good intention only. That has been the case for me.

I’m happy to announce that a continuation of the story begun in my novel Destiny’s Hands, is now finished and available for purchase.

Just to refresh your memory, Destiny’s Hands is a fictional retelling of Bezalel’s story (the man who God chose to craft the Tabernacle and its worship accessories). The sequel, Under the Cloud, continues the story of the exodus.

Here’s the book description:

“Fifteen-year-old Zamri lives in the shadow of her brilliant brother Bezalel. While he crafts the gold and bronze articles for Tabernacle worship, all she can look forward to is a life of women’s work—work she finds uninteresting and confusing. But no one can keep her from dreaming. She imagines becoming a leader among women like her hero Miriam. That all changes when the dashing Pallu wins her heart.

“Trek through the years of exodus with Zamri as, within the strictures of Israel’s patriarchal society, she grows into mature womanhood. Discover with her how dreams need never die, indeed can come true in the most unlikely ways.”

Under the Cloud is available worldwide in paperback and ebook editions through Amazon.

• Under the Cloud on Amazon.com

• Under the Cloud on Amazon.ca

In case you missed it:

• Destiny’s Hands on Amazon.com

• Destiny’s Hands on Amazon.ca

What has this unusual time meant for you? I’d love to hear. Leave a note in comments, or email me HERE.

Does God discipline us with illness?

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Leviticus 26,27; Psalm 39

 
TO CHEW ON: “But if you do not obey me, and do not observe all these commandments… I will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart” - Leviticus 26:14,16

“Remove your plague from me;
I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
Deliver me from all my transgression;
Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.
I was mute. I did not open my mouth,
Because it was You who did it.” Psalm 39:8-10

Was David (the writer of Psalm 39) right in connecting his sickness to God’s hand of discipline? Reading Leviticus and Psalm 39 together, it’s hard not to make that connection.

In fact, the consequence of sickness as a result of sin is a connection made in other places in the Bible.

In the New Testament, when Jesus and His disciples were confronted by a man born blind, the disciples asked Jesus, was it the man’s sin or his parents’ that was the cause of his blindness. Jesus replied, neither, but this blindness occurred so God’s works should be shown in him (John 9:1,3).

However, Paul connected the ill health of the Corinthians with the careless way they were participating in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:30). And James, when speaking of prayers for the sick, mentioned confession and forgiveness of sins (James 5:13-16) as integral to healing.

Exactly how God is involved in / causes / allows / disciplines with our sicknesses we probably won’t know until eternity. But one thing is certain—our repentance from sin resets our relationship with God. Even harsh Leviticus 26 bears this out:

“But if they confess their iniquity … then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham I will remember…” Leviticus 26:40,42.

I love how my Bible’s study notes sum this up:

“Re: “Then I will remember My covenant” (Leviticus 26:42): The theme that God remembers His promise and never goes back on His word is emphasized in the covenant relationship. The community of the covenant is never without hope. God is always ready to receive His people in repentance even after they have failed and abandoned Him” - Brad H. Young, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 167.

PRAYER: Dear Father, please convict me of sins in my life that make me vulnerable to sickness. May I be quick to repent and turn from them. Amen.
 
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 39

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Ancient food bank

"Gleaning" by Arthur Hughes

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 21-23; Psalm 37

TO CHEW ON: "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor: I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 23:22


God makes no secret of the fact He is for the poor, pities the poor, and wants those that identify with Him to defend and help the poor. In today's reading we have one way people could do that: by harvesting carelessly, making sure there was something left for gleaners. Then, one year in every seven, they were to let fields lie fallow, leaving the entire volunteer crop for the poor (Exodus 23:11).

Here are a few other pro-poor policies and attitudes found in the Bible:

• A relative should be allowed to redeem a poor person's possession (Leviticus 25:25).

• The rich were not to turn away as in ignore or grow calloused toward the poor person's plight (Deuteronomy 15:7).

• The person holding the poor person's pledge (or down-payment) was not to keep it overnight (Deuteronomy 24:12). (Perhaps because the pledge would be something the person needed for their very health or well-being, like their cloak for warmth).

The results and rewards of helping the poor also show God's sympathetic heart. toward them. The person helping the poor:

1. is called "blessed" (Psalm 41:1) and "happy" (Proverbs 14:21).
2. is loaning to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17).
3. will get the wealth of those who take advantage of the poor (Proverbs 28:7).
4. won't lack (Proverbs 28:27).
5. will find their generosity helps them to follow Jesus in discipleship that readily abandons all to Him (Matthew 19:21).

God's attitude toward the poor prompts us to take a long hard look at our own attitudes. Do we avoid going to places where the poor will approach us? Do we "hide our eyes" from the panhandler, the raggy man seated outside Safeway beside his coin pot, the dusty woman pushing her grocery cart of blankets and bottles (Proverbs 28:27)?

It might be a good idea to settle on a strategy of sharing with the poor. Some ways that come to mind:

• Give regularly to organizations that help the poor and homeless.

• I read of someone who, when approached by a beggar, empties his pockets, giving him/her all the cash he is carrying at the time.

• I heard of someone else who designates a monthly sum of money to give away to the poor. He gives it as the needs/requests come.

How do you help the poor?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your tender heart toward the poor. Help me to have Your attitude. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 37


MORE: The flip side.

The flip side of being a helper of the poor is being a helpee, that is, the poor person needing help. Most of the poor are not lazy deadbeats at all, but people who for one reason or another are needy.

Todd Burpo, author of Heaven is for Real found himself in that position when his four-year-old son became deathly ill. Here are his words describing what it felt like to need help:

"... pastors and their families are usually most comfortable in the role of 'helper,' not 'helpee.' Sonja and I had always been the ones who visited the sick, brought the meals, cared for others' kids in times of need. We were adamantly self-reliant—maybe in retrospect, to the point of being prideful. But that gruelling stint in the hospital snapped our pride like a dry twig and taught us how to be humble enough to accept help from other people, physically, emotionally, and financially" - Todd Burpo, Heaven is for Real, p. 153.

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 Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The lure of the occult

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 19-20; Psalm 36

TO CHEW ON: "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:31


What do we make of such a prohibition in our time of occult popularity? The paranormal is a movie and book genre of its own with a huge following. Many look at getting their palms or tea leaves read, or following their horoscope as a lark and entirely harmless. What about hanging onto objects that are supposed to ward off bad luck or attract good luck?

The Bible is very clear in its prohibition of witchcraft and related occultic activities.

• God is against it - Leviticus 20:6, 27; Exodus 22:18.

The story of King Saul illustrates this. 1 Samuel 28:1-24 tells the story of his desperate seeking out of a woman with connections to the spirit world when he no longer heard from God. 1 Chronicles 10:13 gives us God's perspective on what he did.

The story of Manasseh is another example. His avid pursuit of the occult brought calamity on the nation (2 Kings 21:1-17).

• Witchcraft defined: What exactly are we talking about? Deuteronomy 8:10-11 lists the activities that are called an "abomination" to God:

"For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead" (NLT).

Isaiah describes the speech of a medium in these spooky words:

"You will speak out of the ground; your speech shall be low, out of the dust; your voice shall be like a medium's, out of the ground; and your speech shall whisper out of the dust" - Isaiah 29:4. 

• Sorcery is also condemned in the New Testament - Galatians 5:20; Revelation 21:8.

• Witchcraft's root: The sobering words I will end with, though, are Samuel's words to King Saul after he had committed blatant disobedience:

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry" - 1 Samuel 15:23.

If we follow the lure of the occult to its source, we find a familiar and perhaps not-so-foreign-to-us root: REBELLION. So even though we've avoided practicing blatant forms of occultism, we may not be as lily white as we'd like to think!

PRAYER: Dear God, I confess that I have been rebellious. Help me to see any heart rebellion for the serious issue that it is. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 36

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Superstition

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 16-18; Psalm 35

TO CHEW ON: "They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons after whom the have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations." Leviticus 17:7

Were these people knowingly sacrificing to demons? The word "demons" - "having the form of a goat or a satyr" has overtones of animism. The picture I get is of a people puzzled by and fearful of natural phenomenon. But instead of acknowledging God as the creator and sustainer of life, they are trying to appease some folk god (goat or satyr) thought to be in charge of these things.

However it came about, this false worship offended God at the deepest level. An end note in my Bible expands on this:

"The greatest sin in ancient Israel was idolatry (see Deuteronomy 32:17)...The essence of the Jewish monotheistic faith was contained in the verse, "Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!" - Deuteronomy 6:4 (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 153).

Though we ourselves may eschew any overt involvement with the demonic, I wonder if there remains a vestige of it even in the lingering hold superstitions have on us. Do we ever find ourselves thinking, after a day has got off to a bad start: There's bound to be more because bad things always come in threes? Or saying things like "Gesundheit" after a sneeze, or "Touch wood" after mentioning that things are going well? Or fearing Friday the 13th? Or avoiding black cats and walking under ladders? Or needing to wear certain lucky clothes and go through certain luck-generating routines before a sports event?

Any fear we feel, any changes in behaviour we make that are inspired by superstition show that at some level we're sacrificing — to what? Demons? God's prohibition to Israel through Moses's words in Leviticus ring across the centuries to us today: "They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons..."

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to recognize false worship in my life in whatever form it takes. Please free me from bondage to superstition or anything else that would make me a slave to anyone but You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 35

MORE: Do you believe in bad luck?

Well don't! As John Piper writes in article he wrote on a Friday that was also the 13th day of the month:

"In Christ there is no Bad Luck"

"Today is Friday the 13th! Bad luck day.

In case this or any other superstition frightens you or, worse, controls you, take the sword of the Spirit and kill it.

Here’s a few sword thrusts that I use.

There is no enchantment against Jacob, 
no divination against Israel; 
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, 
“What has God wrought!” (Numbers 23:23)

Does this apply to us Christians? Yes. Because “It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7).  That’s us. We are Jacob. We are Israel.

And because we are, "all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

So in Christ we cannot be cursed. There is no jinx or hex that can stick against those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. (Galatians 3:13)

Christ took on himself every curse that is against me. God is for me and no one can successfully be against me.

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1John 4:4)

© 2011 Desiring God

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Praise seminar

TODAY’S SPECIAL: : Leviticus  14-15;  Psalm 34

TO CHEW ON: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1

This little psalm helps us understand some of the facets of praising God, both in speech and song.

Our praise encourages others to praise Him:

“The humble shall hear of it and be glad
Oh, magnify the Lord with me
And let us exalt His name together (34:2-3)
Oh fear the Lord you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.” (34:9)

Our praise dispels fear and brings boldness:

“I sought the Lord and He heard me
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant
And their faces were not ashamed.” (34:4-5)

Our praise can be an act of faith as we invoke God’s presence into our situation, no matter how fearful or mundane:

“This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him
And delivers them. (34:6-7,17-22)

So many things in life are out of our control. Right now, I'm writing the talks for a class I'll be giving at church, and making my talks into slide presentations. But I don't have a projector. So I'm trusting that the media department at our church can help me put this together. In the last few months it's becoming evident that our little granddaughter is facing a probable diagnosis of cerebral palsy. A few years ago when we were away on a summer holiday, our fridge began dispensing water all on its own so we came home to a flooded house and a big renovation. So many things in life, little to big, can and sometimes do go wrong (or what we consider wrong).

In all of life's uncertainties the tendency is to worry. But it's a choice. So right now I’m going to turn my thoughts from fear, worry, and anxiety to praise. I will open my  mouth in praise for all aspects of the situations I'm in. I will remind myself that God is bigger than all the things that make me fearful. And I can do this in the blink of an eye, whenever a fearful thought wants my attention, all day long--that is, continuously.

What will your continuous praise encompass today?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for Your greatness, so worthy of my continuous praise. Help me to have a disciplined mind and mouth to choose to praise You above every other response. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 34

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God's eyes on you

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 11-13; Psalm 33

TO CHEW ON: "Behold the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
On those who hope in His mercy." Psalm 33:18


After drawing attention to the grandeur of God's creation, the heavens, the seas, the earth and its nations, the psalmist zooms in. Speaking from God's point of view, first His lens catches the crowds: "....He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth." And then with several clicks on the + button, He's looking right at individuals — you and me. With each person He sees something unique:"He fashions their hearts individually". He sees and comprehends everything each one does: "He considers [understands] all their works" - Psalm 33:15.

His attention is caught particularly by those who are linked to Him in a trust relationship. What does He see and know?

• That we trust in Him (Nahum 1:7).

• Our days from beginning to end; both their number and what will fill them (Psalm 37:18, Psalm 139:15-16).

• Our everyday comings and goings (Psalm 139: 2-3).

• Our names (John 10:3).

• Our minds and hearts (Jeremiah 20:12).

• Our thoughts (Matthew 12:25; Luke 11:17)

• Our motivations (John 2:25)

• Our secrets (Psalm 44:21).

• That we are loyal to Him. In 2 Chronicles 16 we have the story of Hanani the seer who came with a message to King Asa of Judah. It was a disappointing word about how because Asa had gone to Syria for help and not to God, he would suffer ultimate defeat. Then Hanani makes this insightful comment about God's help: "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" 2 Chronicles 16:9.

Psalm 33 underlines this aspect of God's sight and knowledge. "Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him...To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine."

What are our needs today? Are we going to God first for help with them? Or are we relying on our own devices, casting about for ways to help ourselves? Whether it's sickness, business trouble, a stalled career, tangled relationships or whatever, let's bring our cares to Him first and in this way, draw the attention of His searching eyes.

PRAYER: Dear God, it is reassuring to know that You see me personally. Today I am troubled by ___. I know You have a solution to my problem. Please show Yourself strong on my behalf. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 33


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A shocking conclusion to a beautiful day

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Leviticus 8-10; Psalm 32

TO CHEW ON: “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.
So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” Leviticus 10:1,2


Things were going so well on this day when the tabernacle worship was begun. Just before our focus verses we read of how God’s glory appeared and His fire came down supernaturally, devouring the offering. The amazed and dazzled congregation fell on their faces at this sight of God’s presence and approval.

Even as this was going on, Aaron’s sons snatched their censers, filled them with incense and fire, and began making their own offering.

What were they up to? Was this an attempt to gain a little credit for their service? Or perhaps they were showing off. Or maybe they were experimenting to see what glorious thing God would do next.  Or could they have been confused by too much wine?

We’ll never know. But lest we leave thinking God harsh and arbitrary for judging them in this way, let’s look behind their seemingly small “sin” and think about how their actions can be a warning to us.

1. Proud ambition:
Matthew Henry’s commentary suggests they were “… proud of the honour they were newly advanced to and ambitions.” What we don’t find in the passage is God’s command that they make this extracurricular offering. It was their own idea.

2. Unlawful fire:
Their presumption included taking, not the fire from the altar that was to be used in offerings but with blatant disregard filling those censers with their own fire.

3. Impulsive:
It sounds like their act was done quickly, on impulse, while Moses, Aaron and the people were preoccupied.

4. Drunk:
They may have been drunk, for immediately after this happened God addressed Aaron with a warning about serving sober (Leviticus 10:8-11).

We take away from this incident a reminder that God is holy, other, different from us. No matter what the culture of our times says about permissiveness and how breaking rules is no big deal, He doesn’t change. From this story we can learn:

• Personal ambition has no place in God’s service.

• No matter what our status or position, we shouldn’t presume to step out on our own but wait for God’s direction.

• Obedience is important, even when no one is looking.

• God’s service calls for our best focus and concentration.

PRAYER: Oh Father God, this story reminds me that You are not to be taken lightly. Please give me a renewed realization of Your holiness and respect for who You are and what You say. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 32

The Bible Project VIDEO: Leviticus (Torah Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Hiding Place

Jochebed makes a basket for

Moses - Exodus 2:1-8

(Illustrator of Lillie A. Faris's

'Standard Bible Story Readers,

Book 1-5', 1925-28)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 5-7; Psalm 31

TO CHEW ON: "You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues." Psalm 31:20

When I think about God and hiding, I recall Corrie Ten Boom's book, The Hiding Place. In it, not only did the Ten Boom family hide the Jews, but God was a hiding place for them. (Remember the story of how Corrie and Betsy got a Bible past the guards and into prison with them?)

Whether we're in trouble or just need a refuge from the wear and tear of life, the thought of a hiding place in God is mighty attractive. The definition of the word "hide" expands our view of what this can mean.

[hide: To put or keep oneself out of sight, conceal. To keep secret, withhold from knowledge. To block or obstruct the sight of, keep from view. To keep oneself out of sight, remain concealed. To remain concealed as a fugitive.]

With those definitions in mind, let's look at some of the mentions of hiding and God in the Bible.

• God conceals us:

David is asking God to conceal him from the "plots of man" and the "strife of tongues" in our focus verse today. He prays similarly in Psalm 27:5 for God to hide him in the time of trouble, and in Psalm 64:2 from "secret plots" and "rebellious workers of iniquity."

• We hide in God:

We are the ones who run to God for hiding. "You are my hiding place," says David in Psalm 32:7; "In You I take shelter" - Psalm 143:9.

• We're close to God:

When we're hiding this way we stay close to God: "under the shadow of your wings" - Psalm 17:8.

• He hides and protects:

God becomes to us both a hiding place and a protection (shield). How? Through His word - Psalm 119:114.

• Hidden lifestyle

Hiding in God is where we can actually live: "He who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" - Psalm 91:1. I think of an iceberg and how it is nine tenths under water. That's how I envision this hidden life with God and ask myself, is the one tenth public part part of my life evidence that the nine tenths part is actually living and hidden in God?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to hide in You in every sense of the word. May Your presence shield me from trials, enemies, tongue strife etc. But mostly, may the part of my life that people see be evidence that I am close to You, hidden in You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 31

The Bible Project VIDEO: Atonement (Theme Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Browse in your Father's clothes closet

Image: Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 1-4;  Psalm 30

TO CHEW ON: "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness." Psalm 30:11


What are you wearing right now? Chances are it's something comfortable, suitable to the temperature in the room, car, outdoors or wherever you are, and was chosen with various things in mind.

Clothing does so much. It protects and warms us (or is scant enough that we don't get too warm). It preserves our modesty and may hide what we consider physical flaws and shortcomings. We choose our clothes with many things in mind—comfort, style, the activities we're planning to do wearing them, season of the year, color. They give subtle messages about our status and wealth, whether we're neat or sloppy, how we feel about the occasion and the company we're in.

We find many references to clothes in the Bible, both literal and symbolic.

Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, they felt the need for physical clothes. The patriarchs tore their clothes to demonstrate grief. The clothes of the priests were rich with meaning and symbolism.

The many things that clothes do for and say about us give the clothing metaphors and symbols that run through the Bible added significance.

• God dresses like a warrior - Isaiah 59:17.

• His provision in the Old Testament is symbolized by the priests who were "clothed in salvation" - 2 Chronicles 6:41.  (As we read today in Leviticus 1-4 about about the offerings the priests had to make so that sinful people could approach a holy God, we can only imagine how bloody and soiled their priestly clothes must have become--a reminder that salvation is costly.)

• God exchanges our filthy spiritual clothes for clean ones - Zechariah 3:4.
• He cleans up prostitute Israel and dresses her in embroidered cloth, sandals of badger skin, fine linen and silk - Ezekiel 16:10.
• He takes off the pigsty rags of the prodigal and puts on the best robes, rings and sandals of a son - Luke 15:22.
• He gives those who trust in Him clothes of praise, salvation, righteousness (Isaiah 61:3,10) and in our focus verse, "gladness" - Psalm 30:11.

• His children are dressed like king's kids.
• The royal daughter wears clothing "woven with gold" - Psalm 45:13. 
• The training of our parents is jewelry—"a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck" - Proverbs 1:9.  
• Wisdom is our head-ornament and crown - Proverbs 4:9.

• God gives us a whole wardrobe for life on His side.
• There is armor for fighting - Ephesians 6:13-17.
• There is the unencumbered spandex of the Christian race - Hebrews 12:1.
• And especially for women, there are the clothes of good works, godliness (1 Timothy 2:10), and a quiet and gentle spirit (1 Peter 3:4).

• To meet Him someday, he provides a wedding garment (Matthew 22:11) of "fine linen, clean and bright" (Revelation 19:8).

I ask myself, and you, what spiritual clothes are we wearing? Have we chosen to claim all God's promises and let Him take off our sackcloth of worry, fear, care, and life-distraction? Have we browsed through His rich clothes closet for all that's available to us?


PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for all that these spiritual clothes signify of salvation, protection, purity, plenty, preparedness, identity as Your children, and more. Help me, by faith, to put on clothes from Your closet today. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 30

The Bible Project VIDEO: Leviticus (Read Scripture Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Practical holiness

"Gleaners" - A way to take
care of the poor. Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 19:1-19


TO CHEW ON: "And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 'Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel and say to them: "You shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy."'" Leviticus 19:1-2

Holy (holiness) [qadosh  - to be set apart, dedicated to sacred purposes, sacred, clean, morally or ceremonially pure] is a preoccupation of Leviticus. In chapter 19 the writer (Moses) commands Israel to be holy and follows with a list of practical dos and don'ts that flesh out holiness (set-apartness) in their setting. This list includes:

DO:
- Honor parents (Leviticus 19:3).
- Observe the sabbath (Leviticus 19:3).
- Offer sacrifices willingly and by the rules (Leviticus 19:5-6).
- Build into your farming practices a way to take care of the poor (Leviticus 19:9-10).
- Promptly pay what you owe (Leviticus 19:13).
- Judge righteously (Leviticus 19:15).
- Deal openly with neighbour disagreements (Leviticus 19:17).
- Love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18).
- Keep the bloodlines of your cattle and the seedlines of your plants pure (Leviticus 19:19).
- Keep clothing fibers pure (Leviticus 19:19).


DON'T:
- Make or worship substitute gods (idols) (Leviticus 19:4).
- Treat sacrifices casually (Leviticus 19:7-8).
- Steal (Leviticus 19:11).
- Lie (Leviticus 19:11).
- Profane God's name by swearing (Leviticus 19:12).
- Cheat or rob your neighbour (Leviticus 19:13).
- Take advantage of the disabled (Leviticus 19:14).
- Show favouritism to anyone (Leviticus 19:15).
- Spread gossip or hearsay (Leviticus 19:16).
- Hold secret grudges or brood on ways you can get back at your neighbor or countryman (Leviticus 19:17-18).

What observable everyday behaviors. Though Christ's sacrifice has fulfilled the Mosaic law so that we no longer carry out the Old Testament ceremonial dos and don'ts on this list, I would submit that at least five items on the "Do list and every item on the "Don't" list  still apply to us in our setting today (not as a way to gain salvation, but as a way to live in harmony with God and people).

A sidebar article in my Bible about holiness sums it up well:

"When God commands us to be holy even as He is holy, He is simply calling us to let Him do through us what He does in and of Himself (1 Peter 1:15-16). God is absolutely "abandoned" to the purpose of manifesting the beauty of His character. This is not petty arrogance or egocentrism on God's part for the essence of God is that He always selflessly gives...It is the clear call to make the ultimate choice of abandoning ourselves to that one purpose: to let God be God through us — engulfed in the flames of holiness, yet wondrously released from all other competing affections." - Stphen Fry, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 155-156.

PRAYER: Holy God, please tutor me in the ways of holy living in my circumstances. Help me to make holy choices in the multitude of decisions that I will face today. Amen.

MORE: "Holy" by Nichole Nordeman



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Talebearing—is it a big deal?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 19:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people." Leviticus 19:16

In the middle of Leviticus (a book we tend to ignore because we think it's mostly a set of dry instructions for Old Testament Israelites), comes a down-to-earth chapter on practical holiness. In it are several guidelines about the use the tongue: against lying (Leviticus 19:11); against using God's name in oaths and profanity (Leviticus 19:12); against cursing the deaf (Leviticus 19:14); against being partial in judgment (Leviticus 19:15) and then something we might consider almost too trivial to include in this list of grave sins—against being a talebearer (Leviticus 19:16).  What is this, and could God's ban on this activity for the Israelites be relevant for us today?

What is talebearing?
[Talebearer = rakiyl  is also translated slander, slanderer and informer.]

Talebearers are characterized by activities that include:

• Revealing secrets (Proverbs 11:13).

• "… idle wandering about from house to house … also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not," Paul says in describing their activity to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:13.

• They concern themselves "… in other people's matters," says Peter - 1 Peter 4:15.

Talebearing is hard to resist, though.

• The writer of Proverbs describes talebearing words as "tasty trifles" - Proverbs 18:8.

• It's also a social activity that may fill a need. The people Paul described as talebearers were young widows. We can easily see how doing the gossip circuit could fill a hole in their lonely lives, getting them out and circulating "house to house" with something important to pass on.

The effects of this type of talk are devastating.

• It can impact hearers at a deep level. Those tasty morsels "… go down into the inmost body" - Proverbs 18:8.

• Talebearers and their words separate friends - Proverbs 17:9.

• They cause strife in the larger community - Proverbs 26:20.

I would submit that those talebearing words that God told the people to avoid thousands of years ago are just as dangerous and destructive today—to both spread and hear. How can they be avoided?

• Don't associate with people known for any sort of insincere speech advises the writer of Proverbs (Proverbs 29:19).

• Stamp it out (by not listening to it and not spreading it) and thus calm strife in the larger community - Provers 26:20.

• And we could pray this prayer that David prayed, sincerely and often:

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies. - Psalm 141:3,4 (emphasis added)

PRAYER:  Dear God, I admit, I have at times been a talebearer. Please forgive me. Set that watch in front of my mouth and prick my conscience when I entertain talebearing thoughts, so that I can stop them at their source and they never get as far as crossing my lips.  Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God likes integrity

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 19:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "You shall not … deal falsely, nor lie to one another." Leviticus 19:11

In this chapter where God elaborates through Moses on the things that please and displease Him, He repeatedly refers to things we might lump under the heading "Integrity."

[Integrity: 1) Uprightness of character, probity (which means virtue or integrity tested and confirmed; strict honesty). 2) The condition or quality of being unimpaired, sound. 3) The state of being complete or undivided. - Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary.]

In addition to not dealing falsely or lying to each other generally (Leviticus 19:11), the Israelites are to carry this integrity into the various relationships of their lives. Integrity is needed when they deal with:

Neighbours: No cheating or robbing them (Leviticus 19:13); no going about behind their backs slandering them or taking a stand against their lives ("… secure yourself by false testimony or by silence and endanger the life of your neighbor" (Leviticus 19:16 AMP).

Employees: No holding back a worker's wages then they have the ability to pay (Leviticus 19:13).

Family: No secret hatred (Leviticus 19:17), no holding grudges (Leviticus 19:18).

Do these principles still apply in our time?  Do we ever speak out of both sides of our mouths as we interact with friends, neighbors, and family members? Do we pay employees fairly and on time? Do we use our own names online in places like Twitter? Or do we use pseudonyms so we can say things that we'd be embarrassed to own in real life?  Do we project our lives honestly on Facebook?

I'm not suggesting we endanger our safety by giving too much information, especially online. But don't we run the risk of being found out and losing our credibility with people if we're being intentionally deceptive? Of course we know that we can't pull the wool over God's eyes even if we tried—and He has some pretty strong words to say about liars (Revelation 21:8).

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to see areas in my life where I'm tempted to be less than honest. Help me to be a person of integrity in all my relationships. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)