Speaking of Tattoos...

So is a spot on your skin, a boil, a scab, a mark of yellowish color with white hair or any of the flaws mentioned in Leviticus 11-14 considered Leprosy? I thought leprosy was when your nerves slowly diminished so that you began to rub the endings of your digits off.? Psshhhh, Whatever...
What does this have to do with a Tattoo you ask, well obviously not much. But what better way to break the ice for a conversation about marks on your skin that caused a person to be unclean than to begin with a quick note to skin art. (remember, it's permanent - Crawl from Son-In-Law) So all throughout these chapters the identification and care for these gross little skin infections is discussed. It is even clarified more so that there be no confusion in what is a mark of uncleanness and just a mark to get you thrown out of the tent for the night. [Sidenote: Sleeping with the camels has got to be yucky. Plus the dust of a desert blowing into your wounds, as if God was saying, "be more careful about how you take care of yourself." I mean, would you rather... Have dust in open sores while sleeping outside all night, up to a week long, then have to clean them and get inspected by a priest. OR, treat your skin however you'd like and probably get skin disease, sleep inside and most likely be struck down by God in the form of thunderous lightening crashes burning the flesh off your body front of your family and friends. I know what I'd choose.]

The real point of this article is to talk about chapter 14. If you were to reference Jesus healing a leper in the gospels, Luke 8 I think, you'd find Jesus saying to the guy, "go show the priest." Or something like that. I think it is unbelievable that in His healing of the leprous guy that he was significantly pointing out this exact chapter of Leviticus. I think it was because He wanted to tell the guy, without telling the guy, who He was. You see the cleansing process is the most intriguing one i have seen thus far in the book. There is a really cool duty for the cleansed person and the priest to do together. One cool thing is the handling of the wood, scarlet string and hyssop and the two birds, showing the symbolism of the cross, and the payment of Christ on the wood. The other is the redemption of the one bird's life by the blood of the other bird. One bird is killed and its blood poured over the wood, scarlet string, hyssop and other bird while held over running water. The now blood covered and then washed second bird is set free in the forest.

Go read up to this yourself or read it again if you've passed it and read Luke 8 also if you have time. Fascinating how God is in every detail of how He acts towards His Son and His people. Nothing is insignificant in scripture.

b

Leviticus 10 - Began writing before thanksgiving...

"...it is what the LORD spoke saying, 'by those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored'"

This is what I do. I read more than I should because I've come across extra time. Well that ends now. Reason: I have a job.
With gas going to be below $1 by next year, terrorists attacks in Pakistan and India and the economy in the pits for most I call out loudly, "the end is near, repent!" Metanoeo! To change your mind for something radically better seems to be a reassuring thought. I hope none would change for worse. I must confess my thoughts of our God are (present tense) not worthy. Forget my actions. Don't even consider the way I treat my wife. Let not there even be a mention of what my eyes look to and my mind wanders after. What thoughts do I consider, regarding God, that are not worthy of Him? Well, I'll tell you a couple... I feel so very catholic in this moment. My confession is that the verse at the top of this post has struck a cord with me, and we thought Leviticus would be a bore.
"By those who come near...", whoa! So two things jump out of the page. Some can come NEAR and SOME can come near. Only those selected by God could venture near him. Election in the old testament--- Calvin is very relieved I'm sure. But, also there is an oddness of being near to God. Was it different then than now? It has to have been. I think I've been near to God for along time now. Wait. I have rarely been dumped face down as I've read about an encounter with the presence of God, or had a glowing face as He passed me by, metaphorically.

Ah-ha, "I will be treated as holy...". Treating God as distinct, separate and set apart can not be separated from this true experience. I am beginning to glimpse the fuller message here. But I still know that the approach towards the Almighty requires a careful process.

In conclusion, I apologize for I know there is rambling in this post. The striking absolute power and purity of the Lord just has not allowed me to brush past the honor of standing in His presence at the sacrifice of Jesus.

This is the painting called "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Rembrandt. It is one of the most fascinating pieces of art I have ever seen. Not in person, but in life size print. I drew it one time with pencil, and focused on capturing the son and father mainly. If you can take a look at it for a bit and remember that we are the other son so often. I get mad about what God doesn't do for me, or what I am missing out on b/c God isn't acting like I want. Then again, I find my self other times feeling like I can only come to Him like the tattered, torn prodigal. The blessing of conviction for the awful posturing I tried to enter the Lord presence with. Just like the sons of Aaron only there is a mercy and grace that was not present before the time of Christ. If you think about it Christ allows us to treat God like trash. He apologized and felt the unbelievable wrath of our inconsiderate will towards the God who would save us.
b

Leviticus 10, 16

Merry Christmas.  The celebration of our savior's birth is a wonderful time of reflection.  As Emily and I have just experienced new life and the excitement mixed with pain, sleeplessness and gross stuff it is amazing to think that our heavenly father would put our Messiah through all of that. But praise God for allowing Jesus to endure the world as we know it.  We have a path of righteousness laid out before us that will lead us to the promised land.  All we have to do is walk with Him.

Leviticus continues to paint a vivid picture of God's holy righteousness and mans futile attempts to live a life that is pleasing to him.  In chapter 10 Aaron losses two son's due to their inability to follow God's commands.  they are careless and show disrespect to their maker and instantly they are in the presence of their king, no longer on earth but now dead.  Let us take every opportunity to show the Lord reverent fear.  Pray that the Lord would remove the calluses that prevent us from fully understanding our depravity and need for atonement.  My prayer for you is that the presence of the Holy Spirit will not be squelched, that the your sin will not be a hindrance preventing you from hearing his call, "come to me, die to self, I will lift you up".  Faithfulness, obedience and sacrifice these are the characteristics of Christ-likeness that I want to live out and pray that you would walk in the ways of the Lord as well.

w

Levit 8-9

Gentlemen, 

This morning was a very beautiful picture of the Lord's presence extended.  I woke up rested, alert and eager to dive into God's word and spend time in prayer.  Unfortunately, this is not the norm but I know it is the way God intended our commune to be.  Sin is an ugly enemy but when we walk in the light and bath ourselves in the truth sins grip begins to loosen ever so slightly and that is a time of rejoicing and utter fear, for you know it is at this very moment that sad bastard is pinning his ears back and preparing for a full-on assault.  Bring it on!  I am victorious in Christ, no one has power over me.

I really enjoyed my studies this morning as Moses begins to unveil God's commands to Aaron and his sons.  The attention to detail is mind-blowing.  Moses is God's chosen servant to convey his message to the people of Israel but he is not responsible for shouldering the entire load. God is ordaining Aaron as high priest and his son's as heirs to the position.  The chain of command was very interesting to me.  God is clearly in control and he choses to speak to one person, Moses.  Moses is responsible to pass along the very words of God to Aaron and his sons who in turn are responsible for leading the entire nation of Israel through the santification process.  Could you imagine the weight Aaron is feeling?  The pressure to know God's commands and follow them out would be overwhelming.  But, Aaron and his son's listen and follow the lead of Moses who walks them through the entire process before handing over the reigns.

Once Aaron and his sons are ordained Moses calls them to duty and their first task is a simple one: offer three sacrifices on behalf of the nation of Israel.  But the first thing Aaron and sons do is offer sacrifices for their own sin.  If we are ever going to be effective workmen for God's kingdom we must first cleanse our own lives.  Aaron and sons did this very thing.  We are so eager to help others, to teach others, to give advice to others but what about you.  Are you clean?  Have you sought atonement for your own sin?  The call to Christianity is way more selfish than I think most make it out.  We serve a very selfish God.  He wants us and expects all of us.  He doesn't want a part or portion he wants our complete surrender and worship.  If we want to be an impact player for the kingdom we must be most concerned with keeping ourselves in the game.

wg

Life in General

Well boys, this is not a cry for help but a cry for PRAYER. We all need to pray for our leaders in this country. As the market continues to fluctuate (more down as today's 680 point drop) we can see how even the best country can be foiled. I am reading also in Revelation and this weeks chapters are speaking of the fall of Babylon. This is in reference to the spiritual Babylon that is ongoing in this world. By this I mean the piling up of sin and ungodly things that happen all around us day by day. These things become all consuming and we cannot keep ourselves away from them. These things ultimately lead to destruction! In the same way this is what is actually going on in our country. We like sheep have fallen off the cliff and have no direction as to what right is anymore. Our value system has become so skewed that we no longer see God as the only way and the only one we can rely on. This country was founded on Christian freedoms (which we still have thankfully) but today the deviancy of our citizens is causing even the Christians to have a worldly view. I am concerned not only about what our lives will be like in the next 20 years, but what will our children be exposed to and what will our freedoms be like then? We need to remember that God's will may be for ultimate destruction of the USA, but we can still have a role in doing what God has set out for us to do here and now. I challenge you all to pray fervently for each other to look not at the menial trials that we face each day, but to focus on winning souls and reaching out to those that are spiritually burdened. This is a huge task, but why don't we do it? I am the world's worst at letting opportunities slide by because I don't want to offend anyone. That is not acceptable. God made us and brought us together to spur one another on, and so lets do it. Go ahead, talk to someone about the real things in life, not the weather.

Thanksgiving Starvation

The Lord's grace is sufficient but I do not like taking it for granted.  How do we become so in love that we recognize our starvation for Christ?  I spent very little time with the Lord the past four days and I knew heading into a break from routine that it would be an issue.  But, I was so grateful for the Lord's willingness to accept me at any time, under any circumstances, for any length of time.  If you will surrender your heart to the Lord, you will reap a harvest.  

Let's dive back in. Leviticus 6

Now that the Lord has established the sacrificial system he returns his attention to the priests and making sure that they are fully aware of their role's.  As a former vocational minister I am aware of the responsibilities that are placed upon us to shoulder the wait of God's people.  Ministry sounds fun and easy but that is not how it was designed.  God has very high expectations for the priests.  They are the go-between for God and his people and the responsibility they carry is not to be taken lightly.  I think they have a healthier understanding of the sanctity of worship than anyone else and God is trying to make it clear to us that he is to be served with honor and reverence.  The Tabernacle was a place of worship and a earthly housing for God.  Everyone new what it was there for and had a reverence toward it.  What is your tabernacle?  It should be our bodies.  The Holy Spirit resides with us and we no long have a veiled relationship with our creator but we may approach the throne of grace with freedom and confidence.  Praise God for granting us access at anytime, place or under any circumstances. 

"Lord, I pray that you who continue to give me eye's that view life through an eternal perspective.  I want to see you for who you are and fall more deeply in love with you."

w