Day 12

As You Rise ... Leviticus 23-24

Chapter 23 in mp3
Chapter 24 in mp3

On your Sabbath why do you continue to work when you could rest?

Do you have a day where you actually rest and think of God?

Is it the LORD's day? Or is it your day?

Is is a day for God where, at most, you do only the good things? Or is a day of anger and yelling?

As You Walk By The Way ... Leviticus 25-27

Chapter 25 in mp3
Chapter 27 in mp3

First is the blessing for those that stay the course with the LORD:

I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

Then comes the warning for those that do not follow the LORD:

But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these ... I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies ... And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins, and I will break the pride of your power.

Do not think just because our country was blessed in the past that the blessings will continue. At one time we followed Christ. At one time (just over 100 years ago) the study of law at universities in our country was studying if the law was right according to God's law. It is easy to see that when our country was close to God, He blessed us. And it will be easy to see that as we now have fallen from Him, he will work against us. And if we continue on this path it is three strikes and you are out. Of course out means: "I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you."

When You Lie Down ... Mark 1-2

Chapter 1 in mp3
Chapter 2 in mp3

What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.

Demons know Christ. Demons even fear Christ. Many of us know Christ, but then after that we just don't care. It seems the new/old thing is the: God loves me, I'm a good person, therefore He wouldn't send me to hell. And we all live happily ever after riding unicorns that eat rainbows.

Yeah, sure.

The truth of the matter is you and I are evil and full of sin. If you have listened so far from Genesis to Leviticus: you KNOW you are evil and full of sin. There are plenty of times in my life where I have failed at living the way God wants me to. Same for you.

It isn't about just knowing. It is about knowing and doing. But, we can't ever meet that standard, so thank God for his short cut: knowing and believing in Christ. Christ did the doing and He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Day 11

As You Rise ... Leviticus 15-18

Chapter 15 in mp3
Chapter 16 in mp3
Chapter 17 in mp3
Chapter 18 in mp3

Don't we all love getting a stomach virus? Most people call it the stomach flu, but flu is usually short for influenza which is a viral lung infection. So you should rather call it a stomach virus so as not to confuse the people who get the flu shot ( for influenza ).

Anyway, for the sake of the reader I will stick the Leviticus version of the hated problem we all get to face with the stomach bug: discharges. One word for either the "praying to the porcelain god" kind or the sitting kind. We had the wonderful joy of everyone in the family getting discharges within about two days.

And having the greatest nurse on the face of the planet like I do ... does anyone want to guess the best way to keep others from getting discharges? Consider everything you touch or wear dirty. Wash regularly. Don't touch anything the sick-ie touched or slept on. Keep your food stuff separate. And after they are all done being "sick" expect them to be still contagious for a bit. At the end of all this CLEAN EVERYTHING.

Our problem was that we were on vacation and living much closer than normal. Usually we have the 'sick bathroom' and keep the sick-ie somewhat quarantined. But, we couldn't. Interesting how useful Leviticus would be on keep the stomach virus 'plague of all plagues' from spreading.

As You Walk By The Way ... Leviticus 19-22

Chapter 19 in mp3
Chapter 20 in mp3
Chapter 21 in mp3
Chapter 22 in mp3

Molech, Ba'al, Kronos, or a god by many other names was worshiped far and wide in the lands near Israel. Many years later after the city of Carthage was defeated by the Romans is was said by Cleitarchus ...

There stands in their midst a bronze statue of Kronos, its hands extended over a bronze brazier, the flames of which engulf the child. When the flames fall upon the body, the limbs contract and the open mouth seems almost to be laughing until the contracted body slips quietly into the brazier. Thus it is that the 'grin' is known as 'sardonic laughter,' since they die laughing.

God's commands about love and sacrifice are rather strange in comparison to the lands that surrounded them. But, today are we any different? Today we sacrifice our children to the gods of greed, lust, and wealth. We now have a president who argued as a senator to take newborn children and set them upon a shelf to die. A practice that still goes on today. We take the life of the unborn just because we do not want them. And fathers take the future of their children by leaving the home.

How far we are from loving others as if they are you.

When You Lie Down ... Matthew 27-28

Chapter 27 in mp3
Chapter 28 in mp3

Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani ... My God, my God, why have you forsaken me

If I said the words: "On a hill far away. Stood an old ....". Would you know what came next. How about "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me". Do you know what comes next?

Psalm 22


Why Have You Forsaken Me?
To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.

...

16 For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet —
17 I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.

...

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.

Day 10

As You Rise ... Leviticus 11-12

Chapter 11 in mp3
Chapter 12 in mp3

Today we live in a time of refrigerators and anti-bacterial soap. Interesting facts about food and Leviticus ...

Did you know you hunt rabbits after the first really hard freeze? That way all the sick ones will be dead and only healthy ones are left. You really don't want to try and eat them at other times. Good way to get sick.

The gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon? Salmonella.

Huh ... God had some really good food rules for Israel.

As You Walk By The Way ... Leviticus 13-14

Chapter 13 in mp3
Chapter 14 in mp3

At work we had a room with leaky windows. Over time the sheet rock on the wall got mold in it. They tore out a few pieces ... then some more ... and finally to get rid of it they had to seal the room and tear everything out.

Bet you didn't know Leviticus had the same rules for house contamination.

When You Lie Down ... Matthew 26

Chapter 26 in mp3

... send me more than twelve legions of angels?

We have no idea what real power is. I have always disliked how Christ is portrayed in movies. All soft and wimpy.

Christ was the most powerful man to have ever lived or will ever live on the earth. With a single thought all of creation could have been wiped out. With a single word every living man on earth could have been destroyed.

For us power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And Christ was fully man. For every temptation we have had, he would have felt. Yet Christ chose not to destroy us ... even though we deserved it. Christ chose to save us.

Day 9

As You Rise ... Leviticus 1-5

Chapter 1 in mp3
Chapter 2 in mp3
Chapter 3 in mp3
Chapter 4 in mp3
Chapter 5 in mp3

... without blemish.

How many of us give to Goodwill brand new clothes? The youth at our church worked at a local shelter's store sorting out the clothing people dropped off. Most of it we just threw into the trash. Would YOU want to buy torn clothes with stains? And if you can't sell it you don't put it in the store.

We are not called to give the stuff we should have thrown into the trash. We are not called to give what we do not want anymore. There are uses for items in good condition, but charities are not replacements for the trash pickup.

Is what you give for the LORD without blemish? Or was it what you thought you could do without?

As You Walk By The Way ... Leviticus 6-10

Chapter 6 in mp3
Chapter 7 in mp3
Chapter 8 in mp3
Chapter 9 in mp3
Chapter 10 in mp3

As I listened to the very first part of these verses I thought of all the times I picked up someone else's penny. Or received more than what I was do. I looked in my hand knowing that what I was doing was wrong. Yet, I still closed my fist. As long as I could keep it secret ... maybe no one would know. But, I knew. And God knew.

I pray that we all listen to God when He burdens our hearts with the desire of honesty. And I pray for His forgiveness for every timed I have failed.

When You Lie Down ... Matthew 24-25

Chapter 24 in mp3
Chapter 25 in mp3

Lord, when did we see you ...

I love that question. So often I look first to see what others expect of me. Like most people I tend to treat my boss better than the least of the people I know ( my boss does have the power to fire me ). And, at its heart, the reason I treat him better is because it is better for ME.

Me Me Me. It is all about me. If the person on the phone was your boss and not the co-worker you hate ... would you answer differently? Would you answer at all? Helping your boss maybe a positive for you ... and anyone would do that.

But, God knows our heart. It should not matter if there is a positive outcome for us. We are called to serve. To feed and welcome and clothe and visit and love.

Love them as if they were you.