For All The Bean Counters and Mathematicians

Leviticus 4:46-49 says, “So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families. All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting numbered 8,580. At the LORD’s command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.
Thus they were counted, as the LORD commanded Moses.”

Observation: The book of Numbers deals with…numbers. There was a lot of counting going on. Here we see that those men from the tribe of Levi (the Levites) were set apart for a special duty. They were essentially responsible for the tabernacle and worship duties towards God. Moses’ responsibility was to do a head count and hand out jobs to each group. Once Moses knew how many men he was dealing with he would have a better job managing the roles and responsibilities.

Application: I’ve got to be honest here, at first reading it’s difficult to figure out how I can apply Numbers 3-4 to my daily life. But you have to remember that something as simple as knowing what and who you got so you can accomplish something was sort of invented by God through Moses for the benefit of the Israelites. So there is a certain beauty here. Some people get numbers, their life is numbers, they love numbers. Other people could care less about numbers, they don’t understand numbers, and it shows in their finances. It doesn’t really matter if you are a mathematician or not, you need to know a little about numbers so you can better manage your life. You can’t manage what you can’t measure. And if you can’t measure what you have, you can properly manage it. So I guess my application for this passage is that there is something beautiful about counting and knowing what you are dealing with. Weather it is your personal budget, or you are a manager of people, or whatever, you need to know what you are dealing with to be a good steward of what you have been given. Moses was being a good and obedient steward with the people he had. He measured the numbers, assigned the jobs, manged the people, and was found obedient in the process. Cool.

Prayer: God, teach me the importance of knowing what you have entrusted me with so I can be found obedient and responsible. Make that true in my personal life and my professional life.

Are You Guilty or Innocent?

Acts 24:1 says, “Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.”

Observation: Paul pretty much lived his ministry life in jail. He was always causing “trouble” by telling people that Jesus was the only way to God. He would go into the synagogues, streets, homes, wherever he went, he was preaching Jesus. And this time was again before a judge being convicted by the high priests and elders of the synagogues. They were accusing him of causing unrest within the people. He was essentially asking questions that people didn’t want to hear, and giving answers that were not very Jewish at the time.

Listen to their complaints in Acts 24, “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

Paul was being charged with going against the system. What was it that allowed him to never back down? I think if you and I had been blinded by the light from Jesus, told what to do, healed, and sent on our way, we probably wouldn’t be so quick to back down from a spiritual or cultural fight.

Application: If I was put on trial for going against the system, what would I be charged with? If I landed myself in jail, once I was released would I keep on preaching or would I turn and run to stay out of “trouble?” I would love to think that I would have the same determination as Paul, but I can’t say for sure because I have not been tested the same way he was. I do hope that I can be accused of preaching Jesus and asking questions that cause people to question their own belief system. What do you believe? Why? Are you willing to stand up and defend it no matter the cost?

Prayer: God, let the things that people say about me condemn me of being a follower of the Way, a sold out follower of Jesus Christ. Let me not back down when my convictions are leading me. Today, give me the strength to stand up for what is right no matter the cost I would pay.

“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.”

Leviticus 26:40-42 says, ” ‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers—their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.”

Observation: God began in Ch. 26 by telling the people what their reward will be for obedience. He said they would be well taken care of. God then goes on to tell the people what their punishment will be for disobedience: He will rock their world and life will be pretty horrible. But several times in this passage He always reminds them that if they will change their ways and repent, He will be quick to forgive and watch over them and provide for all their needs. In the above passage he makes it simple, confess your sins, and your fathers sins, and we’ll be good. He is looking for a humble heart (which was brought to completion through Jesus Christ, the most humble of all). He says that he will remember his promise to Jacob and all will be well.

Application: We know from Bible history that the Israelites did not do a good job of obeying God, and all the things He warned them against came to fruition. When we read the Old Testament people often note how vengeful God is. That He allows horrible things to happen to His people, and to others. But if we look at Leviticus, we see that in everything He commands, He is constantly admonishing his people to follow his commands. And if they break a command He always gives them a way to get back into fellowship with Him. He tells them a beautiful statement: I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. God so desires to walk with us, but he is asking obedience and trust! Why do I not obey God at times in my life? Probably because I have taken HIs forgiveness for granted. I abuse His love.

Prayer: God, thank you for always forgiving me. But God, I ask that you help me to walk in your commands. My most fervent prayer is this: “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” I want to be yours and I want you to walk with me everyday!

Revert To Original Settings

Leviticus 25:20-22 says, “You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?”  I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.  While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.”

Observation: The year of Jubilee was an amazing event. Every 50th year everything would revert back to the original setting. It’s like when you are working on a compute file. You can make changes to a file but if you don’t like what was done you can revert back to the original settings. God did this in Israel. It was applied to land, people, possessions. In the above passage God commands that every 7th year they are not to plant anything in the land. He assures them that He will take care of them by providing food that will last until the 9th year. And there was a practical reason for letting the land rest. Has anyone ever read “The Grapes of Wrath?” You’ll remember that the “dust bowl” was created by over planting and not allowing the land to rest. God is brillant, He knew this because the land belonged to Him!

Application: So check this out, the point of Leviticus 25 in my opinion is that everything God gives to man is a gift based upon a promise. And it all belongs to God and is from God and maintained by God. Man has no control. And when he thinks he does, God will revert it back to the original settings. God wants us to know that eternal life is a gift from Him, and even when we abuse it, it will revert to the original settings and keep us in alignment with God. God will provide in every instance. Everything! And just so we know there will be times in our life where we must totally rely on Him providing, just as Israel had to do every 7 years.

Prayer: Thank you God for those times when I mess things up, but you revert my life back to the original setting you had planned for me.

I Forgot

Leviticus 22:31-33 says, “Keep my commands and follow them. I am the LORD. Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”

Observation: I think the Israelites had a memory problem at times, as I do myself. They were easy to forget what God has done for them. It seems like miracles were not enough to prove to them that He was God. So in this passage He one again reminds them of who He is. He is Lord, He is Holy, He saved them from bondage.

Application: I need to be reminded daily of what God has done in my life. There are many similarities between the Israelites and myself. I am forgetful. God can do a great work in my life, and the next day I forget. The most important work He has done is the very same He did for Israel. He says I am the Lord who makes you Holy. That is the only reason we are allowed access to Heaven. We a part from Christ in us are not Holy. But He makes us holy. He has rescued us from bondage of sin and death.

Prayer: God, don’t let me forget today what you have done for me. Thank you for making me Holy.

Everyone Has a Bad Day Sometimes

Psalm 13 says, “How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.”

Observation: Kind David, the man after God’s own heart, was struggling. He felt that God was not hearing him in his time of need. Going so far as to think God has forgotten him! He was forced to deal with his thoughts. What kind of thoughts do you think he was having? He felt that the bad team was winning. He then demands that God listen to him. He said “if you don’t listen, I’m dead!” He then tries to appeal to God’s competitive side saying, “if you don’t help, evil wins.” After this self argument, he remembers that God can always be trusted, that He loves us, and that we at the very least have salvation. And that is worth singing about.

Application: Everyone has one of those days when they think the world is caving in on them. That is just a matter of fact. But how do we deal with it? I think what I have learned from this psalm is that I can cry out to God with all frustration. But I must always remember that God can be trusted. This is easier said than done. I have salvation. That is always worth singing about.

Prayer: God, you know my heart. You know my needs. You know my fears and frustrations. I pray that when I am in those ugly spots and it seems like I am drowning, you remind me of the gift you have given me.

A Teachable Heart

Acts 17: 24-26 says, “Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.”

Observation: Apollos knew his stuff. He was obviously a smart man who loved God and knew His word well. He was a strong communicator. He was gifted. He did all these things in boldness. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speaking they saw his gifts in speaking but knew they needed to correct him. They taught him more about who Jesus was. He received it and went on to do great things. Later on, Paul refers to him as a man who has furthered the gospel.

Application: I need to be teachable just as Apollos was. I think I know what I’m talking about, I have a good heart and love to tell others about what I have learned about God. But, when I get corrected or shown something that I didn’t understand I sometimes take it personal. Why should I feel this way? A part of being a Christian is realizing that we never have it figured all out and there is always something new to learn about the character of God. The Bible tells us that one day we will be complete, but that will not come until the day we see Jesus again. Until then, it is a process, a journey.

One thing that jazzes me up more than anything is when I encounter a person who wants to grow in their faith. They soak up everything they hear about God and His word. This is a teachable heart. I think Jesus loves a teachable heart more than just about anything else. When he recruited his disciples, he was looking for men with a teachable heart. If we have that heart, imagine what God can do with that!

Prayer: God, make me teachable. Let me learn something new about your character everyday! Put me in the path of someone who wants to teach me something new. Put me in the path of someone who I can teach something new.

To An Unknown God

As I was reading Acts 17 this morning, the following passage struck me, “Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

Athens was the intellectual capital of the area. There was an openness to new ideas on every subject. Paul used this to his advantage. But the problem was that all they did was sat around talking about and listening to the latest ideas. What’s wrong with that? That made it possible for Paul to tell them about Jesus Christ. We go on to read, however, that Paul was unable to start a church in Athens. My guess is because they sat around talking about and listening to new ideas. They never decided to believe in something. But just to be safe they would cover their bases and give respect to all God, know and unknown?!?

When I was young, I remember sitting with friends at school talking about religion. Do you remember those days? We would throw out all sorts of ideas. I was brought up knowing about God, and for the most part I knew what I believed. One thing that always saddened me was when I would talk with someone who knew a little bit about everything but had no real conviction or belief system. They would talk and listen to new ideas. But those ideas never really took roots and turned into something more. How could I share my ideas about who Jesus was and make it more than just idle talk?

As I look back, all of those discussions may or may not have been productive. But I was able to share my ideas about who Jesus was. What I really regret was that I talked a lot about him, but never really let me friends see him in action in the way I acted. As I look back I think that my actions and my words could have met up a little bit better. But today, I have opportunity to sit and talk with people who are also searching for something. Like Paul, I can tell them about Jesus. If it takes root then Amen! If not, did I fail? Not as long as I was obedient.

God, today I hope I have the opportunity to tell someone about who Jesus is in my life, and that those words take root and grow.

Leviticus: A Love Letter from God

Today, as I was reading Leviticus 10-12 my mind began to wonder as many do when reading the book of Leviticus. But the more I read the book of Leviticus, I’m impressed by something God is doing in the midst of all the rules and regulations. God was giving the Israelites a healthy and safe way of living. They had been slaves for hundreds of years and most likely took on most of the Egyptians customs and ways of living. God wanted to bring them back into relationship with Himself, and protect them in the process..

As He described what was lawful and unlawful to eat, we see that the food that was lawful was healthier than the unlawful food. Take the creatures from the sea. Only things with scales and fins were lawful to eat, so shell fish, crab, lobster, would have been unlawful. But those are the most tasty! True, but they are incredibly unhealthy. Those are the creatures that eat all the junk at the bottom of the oceans.

So in the midst of all the rules, God was loving His people and wanted them to be healthy and safe. It’s no different than being a parent. I tell my boys what is lawful and unlawful every day. Why? to protect them and keep them safe and healthy.

Jesus said in Matthew 5, “”Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The law is a beautiful thing because it demonstrates God’s love for His people in writing, like a love letter from Him to us. Jesus came to fulfill or carryout the commandments of the law that we were unable to do. That is where grace is engaged!

Thank you God, for loving me so much. Let me be one who follows your commandments and let me be one who walks in your grace.

Law Vs. Grace

Simon Peter said a bunch of goofy things in the Bible. He is also credited as totally denying Jesus Christ when he should have been embracing him most. But for all the things he said, he was enlightened by the Spirit of God and made a profound statement in Acts: “Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

Thank you God! Thank you Peter for speaking up! There were those who wanted to sprinkle on a little Law with Grace. But Peter understood that you can’t do that. For hundreds of years, the Jews were unable to hold themselves to that standard. Peter called it out.

Today, we still do the same. Mix man’s laws with God’s grace. God is all about faith through his son. So take hold and live it out. Let Jesus live through you to do what needs to get done for those around you.