Saturday, January 3, 2009

The Blood of Bulls and Goats

Leviticus 1:3-5

A priest in Israel had many important duties during the course of a day while working in the tabernacle. One of the most significant tasks was the pouring of the sacrificial blood onto the brazen altar, which sat near the door of the tabernacle. The blood was a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ, which would be shed at Calvary for the removal of our sin debt. The door is Christ, the only way to get to the Father (John 10:7).

The role of the one who had sinned was quite simple, but very important as well. If you sinned, you were to take a male from among your cattle and offer it of your own free will as a sacrifice. The priest inspected it to make sure that it was spotless and without blemish and then you laid your hand on its head as a type of the transference of your sin onto the body of this animal. Only then did you kill it, for it was now a sacrificial animal, bearing your sins in its body.

God thoroughly inspected His Son’s life and found Him to be spotless (2 Corinthians 5:21). Then He placed upon Him the sin of the entire human race; past, present and future. When the man symbolically transferred his sins onto the animal, it could then die. When Jesus bore our sins at the cross, He was ready to cry “It is finished” (John 19:30).

Not until Jesus cried “It is finished”, could He die! In that moment, He had fully made the payment for our sins, “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). When you accept Him, you are accepting the one who did what bulls and goats could never do (Hebrews 10:4), for they could only cover up sin. These animals brought God no pleasure (10:6).

The death of Jesus on the cross satisfied the wrath of God and now you can face this day with a clean conscience (Hebrews 9:14), knowing that you need not bring an animal into Him, for He has taken care of this once and for all. No more bulls and goats for we have our redeemer!

May God’s face shine upon you today.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Any Old Bush Will Do

Exodus 3:1-4

Everyone has feelings of inadequacy once in a while, regardless of what one might do, or how well that they do it. These feelings, if not harnessed, can cause you to sit on your talents, instead of using them for God.

When God chose to speak to Moses on the backside of the desert to equip him to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt, He spoke to him from a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. As a veteran of many nights sleeping under the stars, Moses had no doubt seen many brush fires, but this one caught his eye as there was no smoke accompanying the flame. Smoke denotes consumption, and this bush burned with fire, “and was not consumed” (verse 2).

God could have used anything to get Moses’ attention, but He chose an ordinary old bush to place His fire in. There is nothing special or unusual about His selection, but His touch on that selection turns it into a legendary story. You may see nothing special about you or your talents, but God is not looking for the spectacular, only the willing!

Paul wrote, “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27). I can think of few things more foolish than speaking from a burning bush, or few things weaker than a desert shrub, but God uses them so that, “no flesh should glory in his presence” (1:29).

Let your life be a bush used by God. Where the world burns us up and discards us when the fire isn’t as bright or as beautiful, the Master just keeps burning through us with His righteousness and true holiness. When you light up your world with His love and kindness, it causes men to turn aside to see, just as Moses did.

I fear that so many in the world have stopped turning to see the church, for they have been duped before by the same old wildfires of the past: fire and flash that lead to religious exhaustion. When God burns the bush, He gets the glory, because your fruit speaks continually of Him.

“You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14, 16)

May God’s abundant grace follow you today.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

It's A Brand New Day

Genesis 1:1,2

Both Genesis and John start with, “in the beginning”. Genesis tells of God creating, while John tells us that the Word (Jesus) was present in that creation. Whatever the beginning might be, Christ is there. He said as much of himself, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending” (Revelation 1:8); and again, “…the first and the last” (Rev. 1:11).

As you begin a brand new year, let The Beginning have all of your heart. If you have never accepted Christ as the price paid for your sins, there is no better way to start this year, than to place your confidence in Jesus and His finished work at the cross. Just accept Him as Savior and believe He will save you.

In this New Year, many shallow resolutions will be made by people hoping to drop those extra holiday pounds, or write their first novel, etc. Nearly just as many of those resolutions will be broken in short order. People often have good intentions, but very little resolve to see these things through.

When Jesus walked the earth, He was the Word that “dwelt among us” (John 1:14). When our beginning is set and established in Christ, it causes us to behold His glory, “as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”. Allow Christ, who is grace and truth to establish you and to lead you into paths of righteousness all throughout this year.

Let your sorrows and cares of the previous year vanish with the turn of the calendar. Easier said than done, right? Notice that when Genesis 1:1 ends, the earth is in a chaotic state, but God is not satisfied to leave it there. The earth does not reform itself, but rather it sits and allows the Spirit of God to move on the face of the waters (vs. 2). The Hebrew word for “moved” in that verse is better translated “hovered”. His Holy Spirit loves to hover over your life and bring beauty out of chaos.

It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32), and it is His New Year’s Resolution to you to provide the gift of righteousness and the abundance of grace.

Go in that knowledge, and abundant grace is yours today!