Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

Leviticus 10

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Leviticus 10:1-2 

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter ten - Our Response to God's Holiness - covering Leviticus 10:1-20, looking specifically at the theme - God's People Acknowledge God as Judge.  Here, the commentary focuses on God's judgement of sin - a topic not often discussed in church and certainly discussed less so in our larger culture here in the U.S. (or even tolerated). In v10:2 Nadab and Abihu were swiftly and harshly judged by God for their "unauthorized fire." We are urged to the the larger context in Leviticus 10 where it describes the Israelites' inaugural worship service - in the previous chapters God lays out the commandments for the sacrificial system and the role of the priests. As I posted Sunday, we are to approach God as Holy and set apart; hence we are to treat our time of worship with a level of seriousness and reverence - we should not be flippant about how we approach God.  On the same note, we must also look at sin as a serious matter; while sin is unavoidable as that is our nature and we cannot claim to be without sin (see 1 John 1:8), we must do what we can to avoid patterns of sin.  The commentary writes how "[s]in destroys.  It destroys not only the one who sins, but others.  Sin is not stagnant, so that we sin and that's the end of it.  When we sin, sin becomes easier the next time--easier for us, and easier for those who see us sin and get away with it.  Before long sin has proliferated and more and more people are being hurt by it."  The commentary pushes us to see how the Israelites were at a pivotal moment in their history - the inaugural corporate worship led by the priests God anointed.  We are to imagine how God's tolerance of Nadab and Abihu's sin could have led to even greater and greater sin - God had to deal with it severely lest it become a much bigger problem in Israel's development as God's people.  The commentary wraps by having us look at other scriptural examples where God dealt severely with sin.  One such example is from 2 Samuel 6:1-7 where a man named Uzzah was struck down for touching the ark - a Holy thing not be to be touched by anyone other than the priests, and only touched/used in the prescribed manner directed by God.  In this scriptural example, it should also be noted that the ark should never have been put on a cart as God had already prescribed that it was to be carried by the Levites on poles on their shoulders.   A second example comes from the New Testament, where in Acts 5:1-11, a husband and wife hold back financial offerings to the church and lie about it - and both are struck down.  RC Sproul, writing on DesiringGod.com, uses the same examples in this great post about God's Holiness and justice. The key takeaway from the commentary this morning is that we are avoid sin, confront it in our own lives so as to arrest it from growing into something more dangerous than it already is.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are Holy and You desire for Your children to be Holy - You call us and You have chosen the elect to be Your ambassadors to spread Your Word.  I am beyond humbled that You would choose me and die for me. I am not deserving.  I am full of anger, harshness, and worry.  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 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 God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I started chapter ten The New Way of the Spirit, which covers Romans 8.  My focus today is Romans 8:1-13, which my commentary refers to under the heading The Spirit of Life.  Building on my post yesterday, where I discussed my commentary's view that Romans 7:7-25 focused on unbelievers and the futile nature of pleasing God with just the law, Paul is now talking about believers freedom from the law in terms of how God, through the Holy Spirit working in us, brings about obedience that we are unable to achieve on our own. 

For today's verses - v1-13 - my commentary discusses four new privileges of living in the Spirit:

1. new freedom (v1-4); we "now" have no condemnation and as a result are truly "free" as Jesus "paid it all"; we are encouraged to remind ourselves of this freedom, particularly during times of trial and challenge
   
2. new mindset (v5-8); we have "a new mind...new attitude, orientation, bent, pattern of thinking, and affections"
3. new indwelling presence (v9-11); those in the Spirit belong to Christ (see also John 14:17, 1 Corinthians 6:19); v11 specifically gives us assurance of a future resurrection
4. new obligation (v12-13); "mortification" of sin is described we are encouraged to do all we can to avoid and kill sin in our lives; "say no to sin and yes to God!"

The commentary ends by emphasizing privilege #4 by stating that "[m]any people think you have to give up pleasure to pursue holiness, but you actually find pleasure in the pursuit. You find life. You find joy."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who dwells in me and gives me joy...and life!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of the blessings You pour out for me...particularly my salvation.  My sin - of many kinds, including anger, harsh words, etc. - continues.  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 accept Jesus 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.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6

 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22-23

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I moved on to chapter eight Raised to Walk in Newness of Life, which covers Romans 6.  My focus today is Romans 6:11-23 which my commentary refers to under the heading Actions We Must Take. In these verses, Paul encourages us to avoid the path of following our temptations into sin - as posted yesterday, our new identity in Christ means we are to leave behind our old self in experience a life in union with Him. We become "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (v11).  Paul then reminds us to avoid antinomianism where we adopt an attitude of permissiveness to sin (v15). Paul moves on to describe how we become more obedient to God and it is through Him - not of our own doing - see also my post during my reading of Piper's Providence.  Look closely at v17 where Paul says:

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed[.]

Paul thanks God for our obedience and it is through the sanctification process where we are daily in union with Christ and reading/studying God's word.  In v20-23, to help us see the consequences of sin vs life in Christ, Paul's contrasts the two writing how we may perceive freedom in a life of sin but instead we are slaves to sin and there is "no fruit" - plus and even worse we are condemned. 

My commentary urges us to "make war with sin" as God hates sin. We are also encouraged to see how grace is not just a gift but a power - based on our response to God's overwhelming love we seek to please Him.  My commentary ends by reminding us that with Christ we have superior benefits vs a life of sin and we are to submit to Him daily, allowing Him to do a work in us so that in return we are progressively sanctified and increasingly worshiping Him. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are indeed an amazing God and I see Your grace as not just a gift but power...power to become more like You and to please You in service and love. Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love.  I continue to sin...anger, 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 me today and every day.

Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

2 Kings 10-12, 2 Chronicles 22-24

 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 2 Kings 12:2-3, 2 Chronicles 24:2

 

Day 162 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues with a study of the divided kingdoms of Judah (tribe of Judah and Benjamin) and Israel (Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun).  This morning, I focused on the rise of Joash, Judah's first child-king. Following the violent deaths of both the princes of Ahaziah and Ahab (see post yesterday), Ahab's wicked daughter and Ahaziah's mother Athaliah ascends to the throne in Judah, unaware that Jehosheba (Jehoram's daughter) hid Joash, a young son of Ahaziah, saving Joash from the coup and fate that befell others in his family.

In Israel, Jehu destroys Baal worship and God promises to keep Jehu's "descendants...on the throne of Israel until the fourth generation" (2 Kings 10).  However, Jehu ultimately succumbs to sin.

In Judah, Jehoiada - priest and husband of Jehosheba - orchestrates the rise of Joash as king, and Athaliah is deposed and executed.   Jehoiada then leads Judah and Joash in renewing their covenant with God (2 Kings 11-12) (2 Chronicles 23-24).

While Joash does what is right in the eyes of the Lord, traces of paganism remain - this of course is the danger we all face when we allow sin to creep into our lives, including through relationships and other influences we have in our lives.  Both Judah and Israel pay dearly for how they allow sin to creep into their lives.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has helped protect myself from many sins - thank You Jesus!  I know I continue to have sin in my life but You have helped preserve and protect me!  I am not deserving of such love and blessing.  I worry and I have other 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.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Judges 13-16

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.  Matthew 5:27-30

Day 80 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) focuses on the story of Samson, whose love for an ungodly woman shows how flirting with sin can hurt us.  It is nonetheless amazing that of course God redeems Samson's sin to use him to destroy many of the Philistines.  Although Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord (Judges 13:1), He raised up Samson to lead and intercede on their behalf.  Far from a perfect leader, God used Samson to lure the Philistines into a trap (Judges 14:4). 

DesiringGod.com's post here warns us about flirting with sin and directs us to Matthew 5:27-30, where Jesus warns us about sin, emphasizing how sin includes matters of the heart, and Jesus directs us on how we should be prepared to take what some may see as drastic actions to address sources of temptation.

These are tough words indeed, but God hates sin and it separates us from Him - we must find ways to address it in our lives.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and I know You love me and use my sin.  Thank You for Your grace and compassion and how You redeem my sin for Your glory and purpose.  I am humbled and of course undeserving.  Please forgive me as my sin continues - I am too easily distracted by the world.  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.

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Romans 7

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! v21-25

Paul describes the struggle he had as a pious Jew and the struggle we all have without Jesus - we all want to be good, be better, and avoid sin - yet since The Fall we cannot avoid sin being in our nature. But Jesus provides The Way!  Hallelujah!  Jesus died so that all of humanity's sin would die with Him - giving us grace, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, the Word, eternal life...and SO much more! Amazing grace indeed!

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who provides life...and abundantly...far more than I can ever imagine!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such abundance.  I worry...all the time.  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.