When You're In Love

Two weeks of discussion about lukewarm living can really start to get me down.  I don't know about you, but constant focus on my weaknesses, shortcomings and/or sin starts to make me wonder if I can really be a Christian.  Am I going to have to memorize the whole Bible now?  Worse yet, will I need to do everything I says in order to stay saved?  Forget the effort, will I ever be able to accomplish all this?

The response to the discussion of the past couple weeks isn't supposed to be "trying harder."  The response He wants us to have is to "love more."

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV)

When we love God, we make Him our highest priority.  We look for opportunities to spend time with Him.  We want to get to know Him.  We want to hear His voice because we know that His words are worth hearing, valuable, and true.  We enjoy being in His presence and we hurt when we sense He is away.  Our love for God is more important than anything else in our lives.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8 NIV)

When we love God above anyone or anything else, we find ourselves doing strange things like talking to Him all the time (1 Thessalonians 5:17), listening to Him and putting it into practice(1 John 5:3), and even loving every person we meet (1 John 4:21, Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 5:43-48).  You even find yourself at peace, not fearing anything because perfect love drives out all fear (1 John 4:18). Love really does conquer all.

Do you love God with everything or do you hold some things back?  
Are you in love with God or in love with the idea of a God who will be on your side?  
What does your life look like when you're in love?

Eight Days Later

The LORD said to Moses, "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her menstrual period. On the eighth day the boy's foreskin must be circumcised. (Leviticus 12:1-3 NLT)

Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, He was named Jesus, the name given Him by the angel even before He was conceived. (Luke 2:21 NLT)

Today my family celebrates the birth of my wife, Traci.  It wasn't that long ago that we were celebrating the birth of Jesus.  Many people "let down" from their Christmas celebration during this time.  Some use up their vacation time through the end of the year.  Students enjoy a "break" from school through the end of the year and the beginning of the next.  Christmas gifts get "enjoyed" and decorations often come down.  The weeks following Christmas seem to be about "packing up" those memories and moving on.

Jesus' parents, however, lived a different several weeks after Christmas.  Celebrating the birth of their son only began that night in the stable when the shepherds interrupted any hope of sleep.  No, that night would only be the start.  This new child would change their lives for a long, long time.

Eight days after his birth, Jesus would be named at his circumcision ceremony.  He would be declared an Israelite, one of God's chosen people, and would bear that mark for the rest of his life.

Mary and Joseph had just traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census - a trip that brought them 60 miles as the crow flies, probably double that through the mountains...on foot.  Now they had other provisions of the law to fulfill.  The circumcision could have taken place right there in Bethlehem, but by the end of the month they would be travelling again.



After waiting thirty-three days, she will be purified from the bleeding of childbirth. During this time of purification, she must not touch anything that is set apart as holy. And she must not enter the sanctuary until her time of purification is over. (Leviticus 12:4 NLT)

"When the time of purification is completed for either a son or a daughter, the woman must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification offering. She must bring her offerings to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. The priest will then present them to the LORD to purify her. Then she will be ceremonially clean again after her bleeding at childbirth. These are the instructions for a woman after the birth of a son or a daughter. "If a woman cannot afford to bring a lamb, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest will sacrifice them to purify her, and she will be ceremonially clean." (Leviticus 12:6-8 NLT)

"The firstborn of every mother, whether human or animal, that is offered to the LORD will be yours. But you must always redeem your firstborn sons and the firstborn of ceremonially unclean animals. Redeem them when they are one month old. (Numbers 18:15-16 NLT)

Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so His parents took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. The law of the Lord says, "If a woman's first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD." So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—"either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." (Luke 2:22-24 NLT)

All too often, we move past Christmas quickly and move on with "normal life," but for Mary and Joseph this simply wouldn't be the case.  After the purification and dedication ceremony in Jerusalem, they moved back to Bethlehem until the wise men came to visit.  This is quite a bit of travelling for a family who is unable to afford a lamb for the purification ceremony.  But, they had each other...and the promise of God.  It wasn't a problem that their lives were turned upside down.  They were together...with God.

Greater than The Law

Place the Bread of the Presence on the table to remain before Me at all times. (Exodus 25:30 NLT)

"You must bake twelve loaves of bread from choice flour, using four quarts of flour for each loaf. Place the bread before the LORD on the pure gold table, and arrange the loaves in two rows, with six loaves in each row. Put some pure frankincense near each row to serve as a representative offering, a special gift presented to the LORD. Every Sabbath day this bread must be laid out before the LORD. The bread is to be received from the people of Israel as a requirement of the eternal covenant. The loaves of bread will belong to Aaron and his descendants, who must eat them in a sacred place, for they are most holy. It is the permanent right of the priests to claim this portion of the special gifts presented to the LORD." (Leviticus 24:5-9 NLT)

I watch the political arena this time every year and I find myself thinking about the issue or rights all the time.  It seems as if we vote for candidates based on what they are going to give us: lower taxes, more money, better security, religious freedom, the right to marry, etc.  We get so caught up on what we have the right to do.  We focus on the constitution, the bill of rights, amendments, laws, and justice appointments.  Since that is the kind of power we are giving our political leaders, I guess it makes sense that we focus on these things.  I think we can forget, though, that there is something greater than the constitution and politician-given rights.

David was running from King Saul - the political leader who was turning corrupt and wanted to kill him.  David needed a place to stay, a way to protect himself, and some food to eat.  He asked a Levitical priest for help.

Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have." "We don't have any regular bread," the priest replied. "But there is the holy bread, which you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently." "Don't worry," David replied. "I never allow my men to be with women when they are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!" Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the LORD in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread. (1 Samuel 21:3-6 NLT)

The priest gave David bread that was supposed to be reserved for the priests alone.  It was set apart as holy for the priests.  They were given the right to hold on to that bread.  The priest saw, however, that there was something more important than his rights at stake here.  David and his followers needed food.  The priest put aside his rights to do something greater.  He fed his future king.

I think we can get so caught up in the discussion about our rights, that we forget a more important principle.  Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.  The government offers me the right to do all kinds of things that I choose not to do simply because they don't honor God or build up His people.  God's plans, His agenda, His desire for our lives is far more important than our rights.

Pharisees in the New Testament era were upset at Jesus because his followers were picking grains of wheat, cracking them open, and eating them on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees laws said that was harvesting crops and, therefore, work that was forbidden.  They asked Jesus why he didn't stop his followers from doing such things.

Jesus said to them, "Haven't you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. And haven't you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? I tell you, there is One here who is even greater than the Temple! But you would not have condemned My innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!" (Matthew 12:3-8 NLT)

There are things more important than the law.  Our forefathers understood this.  They approached our independence as a country with great struggle and trepidation.  They were going to be breaking the law in a way that had the penalty of death.  When they wrote their reasons, though, they pointed the world to one greater than the law.  They pointed us to God.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..."

There is one greater than the law - the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth - of all that is seen and unseen.  He is the one who gives us rights.  He is also the one who teaches us not to use our rights for selfish gain, but to build up His Body and to point people to Him.  Everything else...well...just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

Be Holy

The LORD also said to Moses, "Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. (Leviticus 19:1-2 NLT)
 

"You must be careful to keep all of My decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the LORD."(Leviticus 19:37 NLT)

This is a rather interesting chapter in Leviticus.  God instructs us all to "be holy" because He is holy.  Holy simply means to be set-apart...different.  How does God want us to be different?  Well, there's a wide range and variety of ways.

Read the entire chapter today.  It's worth the time.  You can pull out your own Bible or read it in about any version you want at this link.  (I usually do my daily reading on the YouVersion electronic Bible.)

Just when I think I'm getting my walk where it needs to be, I read a passage like this.  Some of the items are "far fetched" in my mind.  I wouldn't even have considered going against God in those ways.  Others, however, hit just a little too close to home for comfort.  (I'm not going to tell you which ones fall into which category.  My guess is that your list would be different anyway.)

My point is this.  Are you being holy as He is holy?  How's your walk?  Does it match God's desire for your life?  Wherever you find yourself getting off the path, it's a great time to get back on.

Blood

The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the LORD. The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover. "This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. (Leviticus 16:1-3 NIV)

For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. (Leviticus 17:11 NIV)

I learned an interesting concept early in my adult life while Traci and I worked in children's ministry.  Whenever a child would get in "trouble" with us by misbehaving, they would suddenly become our "best friend" afterward.  Anything we would ask, they would do.  They would try to find ways to make us happy because they knew they had made us unhappy by misbehaving.  They wanted to "make up" for what they had done wrong.

After these earlier experiences, I noticed the same pattern in my life as well.  Whenever I had done something "wrong" or seemed to fall short of my parents', teachers', or bosses' expectations of me, I noticed that my immediate actions would be to try and "make up" with them or "pay them back" for my shortcoming.  My dad would even joke with me when I tried to pay him back.  "You owe me your life," he would say.  "Don't worry about paying me back.  Let's just go from here."

God shows us just how serious it is to fall short of His expectations.  When we sin, we owe him our lives.  The only way to make atonement (make up) for falling short is to pay with our lives.  "It is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." (Lev. 17:11b)  Old Testament practices with regular animal sacrifices remind us of that fact.  Sin is serious stuff - not to be played with.

I'm so glad that God doesn't leave it at that.  In addition to reminding us of the fact that we "owe Him our lives," He also offers to say "don't worry about paying me back" - if we start over with Him again.  That's why Jesus died on the cross.  "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)  Because of him, we can "go from here."

So what do you think?  Do you want to make things right with God?  Do you want to make up with Him?  Do you want to go from here?  Accept the payment of the blood of the Lamb.

Battle Scars and Open Wounds

"If the disease breaks out all over their skin and, so far as the priest can see, it covers all the skin of the affected person from head to foot, the priest is to examine them, and if the disease has covered their whole body, he shall pronounce them clean. Since it has all turned white, they are clean. But whenever raw flesh appears on them, they will be unclean. When the priest sees the raw flesh, he shall pronounce them unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; they have a defiling disease. If the raw flesh changes and turns white, they must go to the priest. The priest is to examine them, and if the sores have turned white, the priest shall pronounce the affected person clean; then they will be clean. (Leviticus 13:12-17 NIV)

Have you ever read through the Old Testament regulations for what is clean and unclean?  The details are rather amazing.  Sometimes, when I don't skim over them but actually read them, the regulations surprise me.  This one is an example.

I would expect that a person that has obviously been affected by a dreaded skin disease, with evidence covering him or her from head to toe, would be considered unclean and banished from the camp.  The exact opposite is true.  This person is "clean."

I would expect a person with a little sore that is still open and raw would be considered clean.  It's just a little sore, after all.  Nope.  This person is "unclean."

It got me thinking.  Often times the people most active in the church are often the ones with "open wounds" and who are looking for healing.  They so desperately want help that they are willing to join groups, help on teams, and even run things.  All the while, they have "raw flesh" that hurts every time someone bumps up against it.  They are hurting.  What they really need is a safe place to heal and people who will love them.

On the other hand, others think they can't be be of any use to God in His Church because of their old battle scars.  They've experienced being beaten up, hurt, and thrown out.  Sometimes they have been thrown out by the church.  But those battle scars show what they've been through, not what we're going through now.  If anything, they have experiences that God can and will use to help the healing of others...if they will let Him.

It's counter-intuitive, I know.  But maybe that's the way God wants it.  It's just one more place where His wisdom outshines the wisdom of the world.