“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Leviticus 9

“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:6-8

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - moving on to chapter nine - Powerful Worship - covering Leviticus 9:1-24, looking specifically at the theme - Powerful Worship Includes Submission to God's Word. Here, the commentary examines the broad brush of how God commanded Moses and the Israelites regarding the details of worship.  In the inaugural worship (described as powerful per my post yesterday), "God's people in worship submitted to what God had said regarding worship." The implication is clear: while the ceremonial law, including the Old Testament sacrificial system, no longer applies, God still seeks an appropriate worship from believers, as our worship reflects how we submit to God's Word, and it is how we relate to God.  The commentary notes "three ways worship relates to submission of God's Word":

1. "We Submit to God's Word by the Act of Worship": throughout scripture (see Psalm 96:8-9, John 4:23, Matthew 6:10, and Revelation 4:8 as examples) God commands us to worship.  The commentary exhorts believers to see how we must attend church weekly as "[n]othing is clearer, more fundamental, and more imperative in God's Word than God's people gathering to give worship and praise to God.  We submit to God's Word by the act of the worship."
2.  "We Submit to God's Word by the Way We Worship": We are to sing praise to Him; we are to be contrite - so humility and confession are important; we are to pray; we offer gifts and tithes; and we read and examine scripture. "God's Word does not tell us to critique what others do in worship, but to worship.  We are not spectators, we are participants.  The almighty, holy, sovereign God meets with us in worship.  He has told us to gather to worship Him, and He has told us what to do in worship."
3. "We Submit to God's Word by a Life of Worship": God does not need animal sacrifices as described in Leviticus, and He does not want empty rituals  - He wants our heart. We are encouraged to fully submit to God in all areas of our life.  We are encouraged to follow Micah's words (Micah 6:6-8).  

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who has provided amazing churches for me to experience powerful worship.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless me in this way, or in any way.  I am full of anger and harsh words.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

Leviticus 9

And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:23-24

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - moving on to chapter nine - Powerful Worship - covering Leviticus 9:1-24, looking specifically at the theme - Powerful Worship Follows Preparation for God's Presence.  Here, the commentary focuses on how in Leviticus 9 we see a description of the "inaugural worship service for the tabernacle that God had commanded to be built during Israel's wilderness wandering.  God had told them to build the tabernacle; they obeyed and built it.  God had told them to consecrate Aaron and his sons as priests, and they did that [Leviticus 8].  God had told them what sacrifices to offer and how to offer them [Leviticus 1-7]. Now, the time of preparation was over and the time of worship had arrived, and, and if any worship experience could be described as powerful, this one was powerful.  It was ordained by God, blessed by God, and visited by God.  God can use it to teach us something about powerful worship."

The commentary describes powerful worship as an undeniable demonstration of God's power moving in our life or in the life of others near us.  The commentary then pivots to how believers can consistently experience powerful worship as believers often do not experience such powerful worship because we are focused perhaps solely on secular aspects of the worship experience such as the music, or the sermon. Or believers may focus on earthly concerns or cares and such distractions prevent us from experiencing powerful worship. We are then urged to see how we don't experience powerful worship simply because we weren't ready to receive anything from God[, as p]owerful public worship is so often preceded by powerful private worship."  The commentary points out how the Israelites inaugural public worship was preceded not just by preparation via learning about how to perform the sacrificial system as the means of atonement or or learning about how priests are to be consecrated and ordained.  The inaugural worship was also preceded by a recognition and acknowledgement of all that God had done for Israel at that point: delivery from bondage in Israel (including the 10 miracles/plagues God demonstrated to Pharaoh/Egypt), provision for food and water in the wilderness, God's awesome presence at Mount Sinai, the giving of the Ten Commandments, etc. As we prepare for worship on Sundays, we too prepare our hearts for worship.  We should recognize and acknowledge all that Jesus has done for us and how He is all that we need.  We should pray that we exalt Him during our time in worship, and for God to prepare our hearts to receive Him and His Word for us.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who has done so much for me - my words and worship cannot fully describe the breadth and depth of Your love for me, how You reign, and how awesome You are.  Thank You Jesus for Your love for me and of course for my salvation - the greatest gift of all time.  I am not dserving of such a gift and for how You love me.  I am often harsh with others.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

 Leviticus 17 

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:15-16

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - starting chapter fifteen - Laws of Worship Prefiguring Christ - covering Leviticus 17:1-16, looking specifically at the second theme for the chapter - God Commands Us How to Worship Him.  Here, the commentary, as the theme explicitly states, focuses on how God wants us to worship Him.  In the Old Testament, specifically in Leviticus, God lays out the the sacrificial system, and here in Leviticus 17, God lays out the place and manner in which sacrificed animals were to be offered.  The commentary states "God did not allow His people to offer personal sacrifices any way they wanted to offer them, any place the wanted to offer them.  God still expects us to worship Him according to His Word, not according to our desires." The commentary then pivots to the new covenant believers have with Jesus Christ, and how "God has abolished His old covenant laws about worship....However, God gives worship commands in the new covenant too."  The commentary provides the following scriptural examples in the New Testament for how God commands us to worship Him:

• Hebrews 10:25: meet together for corporate worship
• John 4:24: worship Him in spirit and truth (based on God's Word)
  
• Psalm 95:1: worship through songs of praise
• Hebrews 13:15-16: worship through words of praise and through sacrifice of time, talents, and money; gifts that glorify Him

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God and You are worthy of my worship and praise - non stop!  My white hot worship!  You do so much for me and of course You died for me!  I am not deserving of such blessings - not by a long shot.  My sin continues - grumbling and complaining, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for today and every day.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Romans 12:1

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1

This morning, I pause my study of Haggai to prepare for leading Sunday school tomorrow where our focus will be on Old Testament prophecies of Jesus - The Life of Jesus (Part 1 of 2). One of the OT prophecies comes from Psalm 40:6-8 and discussed in Hebrews 10:14 where Jesus is the perfect sacrifice.  I am then drawn to Romans 12:1 where Paul exhorts believers to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice.  John Piper, in this post on DesiringGod.com, draws on this to share that while mercy to others is important, worship of God is first and foremost and that "Before Paul describes our new life in Christ as merciful, he describes it as worshipful. Before you think that the Christian life has everything to do with being merciful to people, realize that it has everything to do with being worshipful toward God....Before we give ourselves away in mercy to man, we give ourselves away in worship to God. This is crucial to see. We must never let the Christian life drift into a mere social agenda. I use the word “mere” carefully, because if God is left out, our mercy will be mere social agenda. We do no one good in the end if we are not worshiping and leading them to worship in the acts of mercy that we do. If our good deeds are not expressing the worth of God, then our deeds are not worship, and in the end, will not be merciful. Making people comfortable or helping them feel good on the way to everlasting punishment, without the hope and the design that they see Christ in your good deeds, is not mercy. Mercy must aim to make much of Christ. No one is saved who doesn’t meet and make much of Christ. And not to care about saving is not merciful.  Therefore, it is absolutely essential that Paul put worship before mercy and that he define the Christian life as worshipful before he defines it as merciful." 

Amen!  We exist to worship and bring glory to God!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God worthy of my worship and I know I exist to worship You and bring You glory.  You are SO good...and SO good to me. Thank You Jesus for my salvation and for the mercies that are new every morning and never cease.  I am undeserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dsutin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

1 Corinthians 10

I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 1 Corinthians 10:20b-22

I continue my study of 1 Corinthians.  I am assisted in my study by the Christ-Centered Exposition Series commentary for this book.  Today my focus is a review - unaided by the commentary - of 1 Corinthians 10:14-22.  Here, Paul uses a series of rhetorical questions to admonish the Corinthian Christians for their participation in idolatry (see also posts 07-OCT and 08-OCT where I left off before my pause).  In v14, he gets right to the heart of the matter (idol worship) - don't do it! He then, starting in v16, constructs his argument against idol worship by comparing communion, or the Lord's Supper, to idol worship.  In v16, Paul asks rhetorically whether partaking in the Lord's Supper is participation in the blood and body of Christ.  In v17, he answers his own question in the affirmative.  In v18, Paul then includes Old Testament sacrifice and worship of God in his argument, sharing how with OT testament (see Leviticus 1-7) worship and sacrifice, the priests participate "in the altar" as believers do with the Lord's Supper.  In vv19-20, Paul then pivots to idol worship and foods sacrificed to idols - writing that the Corinthians' attitudes towards idol worship is NOT something that is meaningless to God and their Christian freedom is not intended to allow them to worship idols.  Idol worship is sinful and it breaks the first two of the ten commandments.  Paul then concludes the text for today by sharing how you cannot worship both demons/idols and God - we do not want to provoke a jealous God because we are not stronger than He is and we invite His wrath (that led to the death of so many Israelites as depicted in scripture). 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - despite my sin.  Thank You Jesus.  Please help me overcome and turn from my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior....to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.

Luke 1

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior....to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. v46-55, 67-79

As I start this study of Luke - see overview here - I am struck by the worship songs of both Mary and Zechariah.  Worship should be an important of our relationship with Jesus.  There will be times when we struggle to see God's love for us - even though we know God has done great things for us - including dying on the cross!  Therefore, it is important that we daily take the time to draw on the great things God has done for us so that during those times of struggle we can "hang on" to the good that we have sown as a daily practice. 

John Piper provides a great definition of worship for us.  Piper makes a distinction of "inner" worship versus "acts" worship.  Inner worship reflects a heart condition where we "valu[e] or a treasur[e]...God above all things" (vs "vain" worship with just our lips).  Acts of worship include what we say or sing about God or what we do for others, serving them as the hands and feet of Jesus.


Piper encourages us: "[d]on’t neglect to do good. Share what you have. Such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Both of those are acts of worship".

Paul does so as well:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and You are worthy of my praise both in words and deeds.  My cup overflows.  Thank You Jesus for the rich blessings You poured out for me and that You continue to pour out for me.  I am unworthy of such love.  I worry...among my many sin.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness....But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

Leviticus 2

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness....But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Romans 6:13, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - looking at chapter two - Giving to God in Worship - covering 2:1-16, looking specifically at the theme We Exalt Jesus, the Center of Our Worship. Here, the commentary looks at how the grain offering as described in Leviticus 2 points to Jesus and how we are to exalt Jesus in all aspects of our worship. 

• We demonstrate gratitude for how God provides
• We demonstrate dedication to God as our Lord and Savior, including dedication to how God expects us to repent from our sins and ask Him for forgiveness
• We are reminded that with the sacrificial system, first given here in the Old Testament with Leviticus and then done away with as Jesus died once and for all, God is not interested in empty worship rituals but in our heart condition - see post from a few days ago

The commentary emphasizes how Jesus makes possible our dedication by giving us a new self and new life.  Romans 6:13 is referenced how we are to dedicate ourselves to God and righteousness/holiness - we can do that through the life and new creation Jesus makes possible. 

We are urged to see how Paul uses Levitical language (see Leviticus 2:12, 14) in 1 Corinthians 15:20 where he refers to Jesus as the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."  The commentary states: "the resurrection of Jesus is the first of a great harvest of souls who will be gathered in heaven for worship."  We are urged to reflect on how our worship here on earth, and how despite how we may strive to dedicate ourselves in worship now, it cannot compare to the worship we will experience in Heaven.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is worthy of my full attention, dedication, and white hot worship...You loved me and saved me, even though I was an enemy of God; and you still love me and never leave me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings - not at all!  My sin continues and I am easily distracted by the world and I often seek my own comfort first above You.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

 John 4:1-26

The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. John 4:19-21

I continue my study of John, and today, I build on my review of John 4:1-26 by summarizing the text via an outline/divisions and a main point for the text.

Main point: God wants us to live intentionally for Him in worship and to seek and save the lost.  

1. Jesus acts with intention - there is nothing aimless about what He does as all is orchestrated with divine purposes. We should live with intent, leaning on God to understand His will for our lives.  Lean into God through daily study and prayer of God's Word to renew your mind so "that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2). 
2. Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman helps us see that regardless of race, ethnic, economic, social, or cultural boundaries, we all sin and are in need of a savior.  The most important commandments are to love God, and to love others (Matthew 22:34-40).  As we love others we seek to save.
3. Worship of God is not dependent on a physical location or a church building and God designed us for both individual and corporate worship. As the Holy Spirit dwells within us, believers become the temple.  See Matthew 18:20, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20.  Worship God anywhere, individually, AND go to church!      

Comment and discuss this post

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that loves, saves and provides others, including the church for us to live as You designed to worship both individually and corporately.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You save nor bless with the church.  My sin is great and it continues....daily.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your messages for me today and every day. 

Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.

Hebrews 9

 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. Hebrews 9:1

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 9:1-10, specifically on the text of 9:1-5, leaning on my commentary for its observations on the first division entitled "The New Covenant Worship of God Foreshadowed".  The commentary first emphasizes human nature and how people tend to place faith and trust in what they can physically see and touch; this emphasis is important context to appreciate how the original readers of Hebrews may have felt about the rituals of worship, including the tent of worship (tabernacle), the sections of the tabernacle, how worship was to be carried out, etc. as observed in the Old Testament - see also Exodus 25-30. The commentary shares: "[t]he Jewish Christians to whom the author was writing would have understood the holy place and the most holy place to be inextricably linked to the way God met with his people."  At the same time, the author of Hebrews sought to encourage the believers reading the original letter to see Jesus Christ as "[t]he epicenter of new covenant worship[... it] is not in a place, it’s in a person[.]" While the author of Hebrews does seek to encourage Jewish believers to see Jesus and worship of Him as superior, it is worth noting that the author "doesn’t degrade these representative objects of the old covenant. He dignifies them and shows how their placement in the tabernacle demonstrated deeper realities."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and You dwell within me, allowing me to worship - not in a place but anywhere.  You also allow me to access the Father directly without need of a priest - I can go directly to You to intercede for me.  Thank You Jesus for these blessings!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great, and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore.

Leviticus 17 

So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. Leviticus 17:7

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - starting chapter fifteen - Laws of Worship Prefiguring Christ - covering Leviticus 17:1-16, looking specifically at the first theme for the chapter - God Commands Us to Worship Only Him.  The introduction to this chapter of the commentary states the Leviticus 17 "begins a new division in [this book of the Bible]."  The first 16 chapters or division focuses on doctrine of worship, while the the second division starting here in Leviticus 17 looks at application or how to "demonstrate holiness in every day life."  Leviticus 17 specifically looks at application in the context of how to worship, which according to the commentary is "central" for all of God's people - and this is true today for believers just as it was true for the Israelites.  The first theme of the commentary for Leviticus 17 looks more closely at idol worship, and zeroes in on Leviticus 17:7 where God offers strong, some would say profane, language to condemn those who pursue idol worship. The commentary then pivots to how believers today fall prey to idol worship by pursuing idols of the following types:

• possessions (wealth, things of this world)
• people
• pleasure
• promotion/status

Of course, I am now different than anybody else and I have pursued such idols in my life and even today if one examines my life one will find idol worship in some form or another - I cannot claim to be without sin. I am grateful for the sanctification process through which God helps me turn away from sin - I know this process continues.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me, is patient with me, is full of grace for me, and who sanctifies me - thank You for these blessings and I know You bless me and so many more ways!  I am not deserving of these blessings.  My sin of harshness towards others and worry continues.  Please forgive me. Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

Leviticus 9

And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:23-24

This afternoon, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter nine - Powerful Worship - covering Leviticus 9:1-24, looking specifically at the theme - Powerful Worship Results from God's Visitation.  The commentary highlights v9:23-34 to unequivocally state that the Israelites experienced powerful worship as "the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people." The commentary then goes further to ensure that this demonstration of God's visitation is what all believers should seek from worship and to avoid any focus on anything that people do as part of worship, like music or worship.  We are pointed to Leviticus 9, the inaugural worship service for the Israelites, where the commentary states "the people produced no music." Similarly, throughout the Bible, we see how God works through ordinary people to produce miracle after miracle - the message is consistent: God is enough; we should not focus on any specific type of music or any particular speaker we believe is powerful or insightful.  The commentary encourages us to seek God alone in our worship.  Pastor Jared delivered a sermon this past Sunday (26SEP2021) that underscores the very important message that "you don't need more than Jesus, you need more of Jesus."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are more than enough and all that I need!  You do it all for me and You died for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You do everything for me and how You died for me.  I lack patience and I have anger.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cacner and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 1:6-14

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 1:11

I continue my study of the last four books of the OT using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book as my focus remains Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament.  Today, I complete a commentary-assisted review of Malachi 1:6-14. The commentary offers both an introduction, two divisions for this text, and a conclusion that summarizes the text and offers application.   

Excerpts from the introduction:

• Given God's judgement on the priesthood in the text for their failure to lead worship with all of their heart, soul and mind - to offer their best - the text offers us an opportunity to examine our own worship to test whether we are truly offering God our best.  Worship is described as "an attitude of one's heart" towards God.  
• Based on what God has done and continues to do for us we should be loving, fearing and worshipping God!

Highlights from the commentary for the two divisions:

• God’s Complaint against Israel’s Priests for Their Depraved Actions of Worship (1:6-12) 
• God’s Complaint against Israel’s Priests for Their Apathetic Attitudes toward Worship (1:13-14)

The priesthood in Malachi's time had grown cold in their worship.  As an example, they offered not perfect, spotless sacrifices, but blemished and imperfect sacrifices.  They did not offer their best.  This of course was reflective of their heart towards God - despite who God is, what He had already done, and continues to do for them (and us). God not only expects our best but He deserves it!  He is worthy! For believers of today, there are many distractions that we allow to separate us from a worship of Him.  We should throw ourselves at the mercy of God to forgive us when we do this - He will welcome us back if we truly return to Him with a repentant heart and if we recommit to loving Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind.  The commentary shares how we cannot hide from God - He knows our heart.   

Excerpts from the conclusion:

• Text to consider for appropriate responses: Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5. 
• Recommended applications: (1) offer your body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), (2) offer finances to God as spiritual sacrifice (Philippians 4:14-18), (3) offer praise to the Lord (Hebrews 13:15), (4) offer up good works (Hebrews 13:16), (5) offer up those who have accepted the gospel as a result of your sharing (Romans 15:16).

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who is worthy of my praise and worship!  Thank You for my salvation and for the mercies You pour out for me every day and that never cease.  I am not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Pages: 55-63

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering chapter two - Reading the Bible toward White-Hot Worship.

Here, Piper seeks to demonstrate the second of six implications that flow from the ultimate goal of reading the Bible (as listed in my previous post); this second implication is that "that the supremely authentic and intense worship of God's worth and beauty is the ultimate aim of all his work and word[.]"  Piper describes the six stages of redemptive history (predestination/Ephesians 1:5, 14, creation/Revelation 4:11, incarnation/Revelation 5:12, propitiation/Revelation 5:9, sanctification/Philippians 1:11, consummation/2 Thessalonians 1:10), demonstrating that, through scripture, worship is the goal of all God's acts. 

Piper then describes authentic and intense, or white-hot worship, writing that "there is a correlation between the measure of our intensity in worship and the degree to which we exhibit the value of the glory of God." We are encouraged to pursue not "lukewarm" relationships with Jesus, but instead ones that display "zeal" and "fervent" worship (Romans 12:11). Another dimension to this zeal and fervent worship is that it is authentic and undivided - there must be no competitors to God nor half-hearted affections. Piper points to the following scripture as evidence:

• Luke 10:27
• Deuteronomy 4:29, 10:12
• 1 Samuel 7:3
• Proverbs 3:5
• Zephaniah 3:14
• Psalms 9:1
  

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who gives me inexpressible joy - thank You Jesus - in all things I see Your hand and Your ways and deeds are both perfect and full of love - for me and for all of Your children!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving for all the love and blessings You pour out for me.  I worry...please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

Ecclesiastes 5

For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear. Ecclesiastes 5:7

I continue my study of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is a commentary-review of Ecclesiastes 5:7, which covers the second division of the commentary chapter titled Religion Is Meaningless without Jesus - this second division specifically is referred to in the commentary as Through Christ, We Can Approach God with Confident Reverence.  The commentary shares how in American culture "[w]e have a hard time understanding the concept of the fear of the Lord because we live in a culture that has no reverence for authority. We no longer approach parents, teachers, or coaches with respect. Lack of respect and honor has bled over into a new casual Christianity where Jesus is our...copilot and not so much our absolute, formidable King and awe-inspiring, sovereign Master.  We should humbly submit to and stand in awe of God who knows all of our sins and empty promises. People may try to object to this idea and say, “Well, that is just the Old Testament,” but Jesus warns us to fear Him who can destroy soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). We are called to reverent awe of God."  We are encouraged by the commentary to approach God through Jesus as the only way - John 14:6.  The Old Testament is described as temporary as it only foreshadowed how the incarnate Jesus would serve as the perfect and final sacrifice for all of humanity's sin forevermore, tearing the curtain in the temple that separated worshipers from access to God.  The commentary refers us to Hebrews 10 where Jesus is described as a better mediator and we can approach Christ in confidence.  Specifically in reference to Ecclesiastes 5:7, the commentary shares: "[d]espite our careless words and empty religion, Jesus brings us back to God. He fully cleanses us and allows us to come boldly before God’s throne. We do this individually in prayer and private worship. Jesus makes this clear in John 4 with the woman at the well. You no longer have to go to a specific physical location to worship God. You can pray and worship Him anywhere. But while we can approach God in private worship, we approach Him in a special way in corporate worship. Now, according to Ephesians 2, we are the new temple where God dwells. Hebrews 12 says that when we gather for corporate worship, we gather at Mount Zion in the presence of God Almighty, innumerable angels, and the saints who have passed on. But we are still called to listen and fear!" We are also referred to Romans 12:1 where Paul shares how believers are to "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion - going to the cross so that I can have not only salvation but also access to God whenever and where ever I am.  Thank You Jesus that I can approach You in confidence.  I am not deserving of such a loving and caring God.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

Ecclesiastes 5

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is an unassisted review of Ecclesiastes 5:1-6, which covers the first division of the commentary chapter titled Religion Is Meaningless without Jesus - the first division specifically is referred to in the commentary as Religious Ritual without the Fear of God Is Meaningless .  Here, Solomon calls out those who focus on the "theater" of church worship - where the focus is on something other than God - this could be the self-edifying prayers of a worshiper, or the sermon from the pastor, both of whom may be focusing on self-glorification vs glorifying God.  For worship, Solomon rightly seeks to focus our hearts solely on Jesus and His glory.  God not only deserves this glory, we exist for this purpose!  Also, God is in control (He is in heaven - v2) and we should be careful how we approach God, recalling how inappropriate worship in scripture (see also how Aaron's sons died in Leviticus 10:1-2) is sinful.  We are to love God first, then love others and our worship should reflect this focus. Yes, God wants us to worship Him in song and praise, to offer heartfelt and authentic prayers, but he also wants us to "be still and know that [He] is God" (Psalm 46:10).

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a good, good Father and I love You - You are worthy of my worship and I know that is why I exist.  Thank You for the blessings of a church that respects Godly worship.  I am not deserving of the blessings for how You directed me to my church, and how You bless me in so many other ways - my cup overflows!  I am not deserving because my sin is great and it is daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 1 Corinthians 11:7-9

I continue my study of 1 Corinthians, moving on to an assisted review of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary volume for this book.  From the commentary for this text:

Main idea: "God’s instructions, not past experiences, must govern Christian worship if it is to be pleasing to him."

Key excerpts from the introduction:

• Based on a view of man and woman as "complementary" - see John Piper on this topic; the commentary quotes The Danvers Statement and the Nashville Statement: 
• Both Adam and Eve were created in God’s image, equal before God as persons and distinct in their manhood and womanhood (“Danvers”). 
• Distinctions in masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order (“Danvers”).  
• WE AFFIRM that divinely ordained differences between male and female reflect God’s original creation design and are meant for human good and human flourishing. WE DENY that such differences are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy to be overcome (“Nashville,”article 4).
• The Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, manifests the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the roles of both men and women (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18; Galatians. 3:28). 
• Both Old and New Testaments also affirm the principle of male headship in the family and in the covenant community (Genesis 2:18; Ephesians 5:21-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Timothy 2:11-15) (“Danvers”). 
• Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse. 
• In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands’ authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands’ leadership (Ephesians 5:21-33; Colossians 3:18-19; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7) (“Danvers”). 
• In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men (Galatians 3:28; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 1 Timothy 2:11-15). (“Danvers”). 
• WE AFFIRM our duty to speak the truth in love at all times [Ephesians. 4:15], including when we speak to or about one another as male or female. WE DENY any obligation to speak in such ways that dishonor God’s design of his image-bearers as male and female (“Nashville,” article 11).
• Such statements sound countercultural (and they are!) in a society awash in so much confusion about gender and sexuality.
• First Corinthians 11:2-16 beautifully complements these principles as it provides a Trinitarian lesson for the proper roles of men and women in corporate worship. Seven principles are set forth for our instruction.  

Major divisions:

1. We Must Honor the Principle of Divinely Ordained Authority (11:2-3): Paul begins on an encouraging note to affirm a basic principle of the gospel as he seeks to correct errant Corinthians' views on Biblical manhood and womanhood. "The basics of the gospel were not Paul’s creation. He passed on, as we must, the good news he had received. Paul then, in verse 3, lays down the basic theological truth that will serve as the foundation for the remainder of this section[.]"  We are also referred to Ephesians 5:23. "The issue of male headship is taught to apply to the home and church, yet Scripture nowhere teaches male headship in general with application to the whole of society. And the issue is one of function, not essence. It is an issue of assignment, not nature. We know this because men and women, husbands and wives, equally bear the image of God. They are equal in essence and essential being. Further, and more importantly, Christ the Son is equal in essence and essential being to God the Father. This is classic and biblical Trinitarianism.  Now, there is one caveat. Christ, as Son of God, is essentially superior to man (husbands) as well as superior in spiritual authority over him. That truth is also taught throughout the whole of inerrant and infallible Scripture. So, to summarize our foundation verse by way of paraphrase, this is what Paul is saying: We must understand that the spiritual authority over every man is Christ, the spiritual authority for a wife is her husband (or a father for an unmarried daughter), and the spiritual authority of Christ (God the Son) is God (the Father). There is no inferiority in submitting to one’s divinely ordained head. It is for humanity’s good and the glory of the triune God."  
   
2. We Must Honor the Principle of Proper Social Expectations (11:4-6): "These verses address the specific topic that demands Paul’s attention: proper adornment in public worship....The Corinthians consistently blended together elements of the Christian faith with practices from their pagan past....Confused interpretation influenced by their pagan background likely influenced the practice addressed in 1 Corinthians 11 as well.  By interpreting Christian claims against their own pagan background, they perverted and distorted the Christian faith [on gender roles]."
   
3. We Must Honor the Principles of Glory, Creation, and Purpose (11:7-9): "The greatest thing in all of creation that brings glory to God is man (humanity). Similarly, the greatest and most magnificent thing that ever came out of a man is his female counterpart....Further, as Genesis 2:18 teaches, God made the woman as “a helper corresponding to [the man],” someone that perfectly fits and complements him. Again, all of this points to the essential Christocentric nature of authentic worship." 
   
4. We Must Honor the Principles of Angelic Observation and Submission (11:10): "First, angels, like us, were created to glorify God (Ps 148:2). Second, angels delight in worshiping and serving God (Rev 7:11-12). Third, angels gladly submit to the authority of God in all things (Ps 103:20). Fourth, angels attend our worship services and observe what is going on (Rev 1:20). Fifth, they celebrate when we worship properly and are disappointed when we don’t (Acts 12:23). Therefore, we should be sure to worship in a God-glorifying way because our fellow servants, the angels who minister to us (Heb 1:14), want to join us in humble, proper worship that focuses on Christ and honors and glorifies our heavenly Father (cf. Isa 6:2-3)."
   
5. We Must Honor the Principle of Interdependency (11:11-12): "There is no superiority of men over women or women over men. There is a divine design of both complementarity and interdependence."
   
6. We Must Honor the Principle of Nature (11:13-15): "The point, however, is clear. Men should look like and be easily recognized as men, and women should look like and be easily recognized as women. There should be no gender blurring or gender confusion."
7. We Must Honor the Principle of Common Practice (11:16).

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves and gave me my wife Lisa in marriage as an interdependent helper to raise Godly children - thank You Jesus!  I am blessed.  Yet I have fallen down and continue to fall down in my role as spiritual leader of the household.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from such sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

Leviticus 6-7

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:29

This afternoon, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter seven - Serving God in God's Way - covering Leviticus 6:8-7:38, looking specifically at the theme - We Maintain Holiness Before God.  Here, the commentary focuses on how God desires us to avoid uncleanliness (or sin), and for us to "show reverence for God's means of atonement."  In several places in the text for today, God commands the Israelites to keep the place of worship clean - the implication being for Christians of today is (per the commentary) that God "does not want us to engage in something holy, like worship, when our lives are unholy.  He wants us to live holy lives and offer holy worship." We are urged to see how this principal in Leviticus shows up elsewhere in scripture, including Isaiah 52:11 and in 2 Corinthians 6:17 when Paul quotes Isaiah 52:11. 

The commentary for today and this chapter wraps by urging believes to not treat Christ's sacrifice "flippantly."  God designed the Old Testament sacrificial system and all of its details perfectly with an eye towards having the Israelites work through the details carefully to ensure complete obedience to God.  While this sacrificial systems is no longer used for Christians, God nonetheless wants us to see Christ's death on the cross as a very serious matter and an act that demands both our attention and ongoing focus was we approach worship and every aspect of our life.  We must remain right with God.  As a scriptural basis for how we are to remain right with God and to not treat His death on the cross flippantly we are to refer to Hebrews 10:29.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are Holy and You are perfect and all of your designs are perfect, including how You command us to worship.  I have also seen Your perfect design in my life with how You orchestrate the many blessings I experience - thank You Jesus!  Yet there are times when my worship is treated flippantly - please forgive me Jesus! Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."

Matthew 2

"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." Matthew 2:2

I maintain a pause of my study of 1 Corinthians as I continue using DesiringGod.com's Advent devotions where I pick up on Day 8.  Here, John Piper unpacks Matthew 2:2 as he describes how God is using a star to "guid[e the] magi to the Son of God to worship him."  Piper first starts by sharing how many Bible readers concern themselves with "theories that are only tentative in the end and have very little spiritual significance."  Piper uses several examples of how the Bible does not share how a star can guide people (and rest over a place per Matthew 2:9); nor does it share how Jonah survived being in the belly of a fish, how manna fell (Exodus 16), nor how the moon turns to blood (Joel 2:31, Acts 2:20, Revelation 6:12).  Piper refers to people preoccupied with how these things occur as having "a mentality for the marginal."  Instead Piper seeks for us to "cherish...the great central things of the gospel: the holiness of God, the ugliness of sin, the helplessness of man, the death of Christ, justification by faith alone, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the glory of Christ’s return, and the final judgment."  Coming back to the star, Piper shares: "what is plain concerning this matter of the star is that it is doing something that it cannot do on its own: It is guiding magi to the Son of God to worship him.  There is only one Person in biblical thinking that can be behind that intentionality in the stars: God himself.  So, the lesson is plain: God is guiding foreigners to Christ to worship him. And he is doing it by exerting global — probably even universal — influence and power to get it done."  Piper also wants us to see how God's design is for "all nations (see also Matthew 24:14) to worship His Son."  This includes not just all nations, but in everything we do we are to bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31).  Piper concludes the devotion by building on yesterday's devotion by sharing that Matthew begins with a "come-see" Jesus and at the end we have a "go-tell" all nations about Jesus. "The magi came and saw. We are to go and tell."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who is in and over all things in the universe...and You saved me!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such grace and blessing.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

Leviticus 12

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:15-16

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter twelve - God Rules from Our Birth - covering Leviticus 12:1-8, looking specifically at the first theme - God Requires Separation from Unbelievers.  Here, the commentary focuses on how at this point in the Old Testament, the Israelites were preparing to enter Canaan, the land God promised to Abraham (Genesis 12:7), and the land God led the Israelites to out of the wilderness after leaving Egypt. The commentary explores the pagan worship of the cultures in Canaan and its neighbor Moab - the pagan worship of both of these lands included use of human blood and/or human pain/sacrifice.  God of courses detests false gods and worship of these false gods, and the commentary states that childbirth as depicted in Leviticus 12 involves both human pain and blood; so by implication, childbirth, although not sinful, is loosely linked with the pagan worship of Canaan and Moab. Hence, God calls for the mothers to be purified as a prerequisite of the worship experience.  As a key takeaway for today and the theme for today - God Requires Separation from Unbelievers - the commentary urges us to see how our worship separates us from unbelievers.  The commentary also offers two additional takeaways - how believers separate ourselves from unbelievers:

• truth separates us: since (and because of) the Fall, childbirth was painful and often dangerous, sometimes leading to death; death was associated with sin (since the Fall); the concept of original sin and how the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23) is unique to Christianity as is the role Jesus plays in redemption, forgiveness of sin, justification, sanctification, glorification, and eternal life.
  
• obedience separates us: Leviticus is just one book of the Bible but what we see just in this one book is how God governs every aspect of our lives - including all the details; God does bring about obedience as the fruit of our faith and believers obedience is designed to allow us to not only be separate, but different in the sense that unbelievers see and experience something that draws them to Him.
  

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who created me and those around me and I am grateful for the life You gave me and for those in my community - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless me.  I worry.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.   

God Wants Us to Worship Publicly and ALL THE TIME

2 Chronicles Chp 27

I often hear why we must worship publicly - corporately, if you will - on Sunday. 

God of course wants us to work together - because we are a body:

¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 

 ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

 ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:15-27)

Secondly, we should wear our faith on our sleeves for all to see as a witness to the greatness of God.

6 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. (2 Samuel 6:16)

Although Michal despised David, this of course is no reason why David - and all of us of course - should not be worshiping God with such fervor - particularly as this shows others that there is a God who can be loved so much!

Now...on to Chronicles chapter 27 where it says:

¹ Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. ² He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the LORD. The people, however, continued their corrupt practices. ³ Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the LORD and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. ⁴ He built towns in the hill country of Judah and forts and towers in the wooded areas. 

We should go to church corporately - worship with our heart on our sleeves as this will allow us to bear witness to others.  We can bear witness in many ways - for example we can create sanctuary for others to experience Jesus through love, comforting, being welcomed, etc.  Jotham failed to do this and look - his people failed to worship and "continued their corrupt practices".

My Prayer: Lord, you are awesome and I want to proclaim your greatness to all - yet my worship is weak, particularly my ability to spread your good news to others. Forgive me for my weakness and my fear in this regard.  Help me and give me strength so that I can worship anytime, anywhere and with anyone.