Sunday, February 4, 2018

Week Five

Welcome!  We pray that you have all had a precious time worshipping the Lord this morning!  Below you will find some thought provoking questions that will provide you a starting point to your journal writing to complete this week.  We hope that you will find this time soul satisfying!


Our reading this week was Leviticus 8:1 - Numbers 7:89 .

1. How do you measure your own righteousness? Do you look to certain people in your family, or maybe those in church as a benchmark? Cling to God's promises to make you holy, and pray that He would set you apart for Himself. (Lev 20:7-8)

2. What concerns, problems, or sins in your life are you enslaved to? How would a year of jubilee change your life? What can you do to experience jubilee? Praise the LORD who cares for His people and gives them freedom and new life in Him. (Lev 25:10)

3. In the course of a typical week, in what ways do you "serve" God? In what other ways might God be urging you to give back to Him? Ask God to provide you with an opportunity today to implement at least one of those ways. (Numbers 3:5-7)

4. Reflect on the blessing found in Numbers 6:22-26. What does this command to Moses reveal about the nature of God? When have you seen evidence of God's "favor" and "peace" in your life recently? Worship God for His kindness to you and ask Him to speak this blessing through you.

In Leviticus 25 we read about the Year of Jubilee, in which all debts were forgiven and all debtors were paid.

When we are in Christ, every day can be the Year of Jubilee. We can say to those who are in debt to us by their mistreatment to us "I forgive you and release you from your debt. You are free to go. I leave you in God's hands to let Him deal with you, because as long as I am trying to deal with you, He won't"

When we miss to consistently practice the act of forgiveness we could very easily stop the flow of blessing and power of God as it should  in our lives.



Forgiving is difficult, tough, but no matter whatever the reason, how justified it is or not, when we fail to forgive it cripples our faith, steals our joy and bring bitterness and bondage into our lives.

In the Bible we are called to forgive, but to forgive God's way, how God does. The kind of forgiveness that is not based on feelings but a deliberate act of our will

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.- Ephesians 4:32

He never holds a sin against us and it's how He expects us to forgive others.

If you're like me, you  may come to a point in which you believe that forgiving "that person" is humanly impossible, and it may be...but God wants us to be free from the pain and destruction that unforgiveness brings into our lives.

The good news? He knows we cannot do this on our own. But until we take the first step to forgive our freedom and healing will never come.

People (even from church) may betray you, may offend you but the Bible says in Luke 6: 28
"bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."




Trust me, our flesh immediately will refuse to do this, but because we can trust the Lord, and He loves us, we obey Him and we know that it's the only way we will live free and victorious.

Today choose to forgive, God's way and bless those who hurt you or curse you. You'll be amazed to see pain and disappointment vanishing away, washed away by God's love

• Reverence of parents, widows, elderly, and the poor.
• Fair business transactions: “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (19:35-36)
• Worship God only, refraining from worshiping idols.
• Refrain from gossip and slander, extend love and goodwill toward neighbors
• Have honesty and integrity.

Anyone reading the book of Leviticus for the first time must wonder, “What are all these animal sacrifices about?” Can you imagine what the inside of the Temple area where these animals were sacrificed must have looked like? Can you imagine having to bring a lamb to be slaughtered every time you want to confess your sin? It’s hard to imagine, but there was a reason for all God commanded.

Have you ever caught yourself  giving thanks that you live under New Testament grace rather than the Law? Me too, but if we pass too quickly over them, we might miss seeing what our salvation cost our Savior. You see, Jesus was our blood sacrifice. Redemption wouldn't have worked if Jesus had died of a heart attack, because we know that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22).
The Israelites were continually reminded of the cost of their sin. But today, having never experienced the constant slaughter of thousands of animals, some might take their salvation lightly, not realizing what exactly it required. The flogging and crucifixion of Christ was a horrible scene. Isaiah 52:14 tells us, “Just as there were many who were appalled at him -- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.” People were appalled! His face and body so marred that they couldn’t even tell there was a human being hanging on the cross. That truth alone should move us to tears of sorrow and gratitude for what He did to redeem us. Without Jesus we’d be without hope and eternally separated from God!

The goat set free, or “scapegoat” in Lev 17 was us! Jesus was the one who took our punishment, so that we could be set free!

Now, instead of bringing our lamb to the altar, we can point to the Lamb of God, who offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. His blood washes us completely each time we come to Him seeking forgiveness, and one day we’ll bow before Him in heaven, and sing praises to the Lamb who redeemed us with His blood (Rev. 5:9-10). What an awesome day that will be!

The reason for the requirements in Leviticus was to teach Israel and us that all life belongs to God and that only He is able to handle it rightly. Our God reigns over all creation! We need to recognize, both in thought and actions that our life belongs to God, and all other life around us.

So let me ask you, how well do you trust Him?  Are you trusting in His  power and wisdom to guard and guide your life each day? Have you relinquish control of both your life and others before Him? Are you wholly resting in Him, or still trying to manipulate certain circumstances?

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Week Four

Welcome!  We pray that you have all had a precious time worshipping the Lord this morning!  Below you will find some thought provoking questions that will provide you a starting point to your journal writing to complete this week.  We pray that you will find this time soul satisfying!


Our reading this week was Exodus 22:1 -  Leviticus 7:38.

1. For what attributes of God are you most thankful? In that list, did you include "holy, truthful, and just"? (Sometimes we just focus on God's love, mercy, and grace.) Meditate on God's awesome character and pray that you would drawn into His glorious presence. (Exodus 24:16-17)

2. Using a pencil, write down several personal habits, thoughts, or actions that you know would not meet with God's approval. Now erase each item, one at a time. As you do, thank God that He has cleansed you through the blood of Christ. (Exodus 30:19:20)

3. How does a heavy heart with sin weigh down your worship of God? Write a note of confession to God. Lay down before Him anything that might possibly interfere with your worship life. Ask God to show you what needs to  be done to reconnect with Him. (Leviticus 5:5-6)

See you next week!

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Welcome to Scripture Saturday!

This coming week's memory verse is Leviticus 10:3...

Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD meant when He said, 'I will show Myself holy among those who are near me. I will be glorified before all the people.'" And Aaron was silent.


Have a blessed and precious day and week everyone!