BLESSED IS SHE WHO HAS BELIEVED THAT WHAT THE LORD HAS SAID TO HER WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED!!!

The dark day in which we live in is not unlike the time when our Savior first came to the earth, a day where darkness and evil prevails.

King Herod who ruled at that time was a cruel and evil man. It was said that he killed his own children because he feared they would take his throne.

That same evil spirit prevails today as thousands of babies are sacrificed because of the self seeking, self gratification of their parents. Not only are they being aborted in their mothers wombs, but we hear on the news every day countless tales of the cruelty of parents abusing and killing their children.

Just as King Herod sought to kill the baby Jesus, that same spirit is seeking out today those who would truly carry Jesus in their heart. That evil spirit wants to abolish any mention of the name of Jesus. His mission is to stop the birth of Jesus in the lives of those in the earth today just as it was then.

In this day just as it was in the day our Savior was born, the Lord is looking for Marys who will be faithful to Him. In Him there is no gender. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to strengthen those hearts who are fully committed to Him." 2Chron. 16:9

Reading the Magnificant in Luke 1:46, we see that Mary was a lover of God who knew the scriptures, she knew His Word. He is looking for those who are lovers of God just like Mary willing to believe that He can do the impossible by the power of the Holy Sprit in their lives.
"Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!!! " Luke 1:45

TRUSTING GOD IN THE MIDST OF CHANGE

Life is continually changing. The death of a loved one, the loss of a job, an illness,and growing older to mention a few. Then there are changes that appear to be good changes, but require adjustments that can sometimes be difficult, such as marriage, the birth of baby, a new job, moving to a new place. What ever it may be life is continually changing. I read a Christian article recently that said we need to "embrace change." Yet we often resist change. It has been said, "that we are creatures of habit" and change requires that we come out of our comfort zone.

Let's face it we just don't like change. We like to stay where things are comfortable and familiar. Yet God taught His people in the Wilderness to depend upon Him and embrace change instead of resisting it.

Paul tells us this picture of "the children of Israel in the Wilderness" is given to us as an "example" to follow.

They camped out in tents on their way to the Promised Land of Blessing. Each day they would get up and look to see if the cloud had lifted over the Tabernacle which housed the presence of God in the center of their camp. He gave them a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead them. When the cloud lifted they moved, if it stayed they stayed. They never knew from one day to the next whether or not they would be moving to another location on their way to the Promised Blessing God had for them. They could be in one spot for only one day, or it could be months or even years before they would move.

This way God was teaching them to depend on Him. I am sure there were some places where they got comfortable and thought maybe they would like to stay in this place and make it home. And then they would get up the next day and the cloud had lifted. Then there would be places that were uncomfortable, probably where there were snakes and scorpions and they couldn't wait to leave. And they would end up being there for a long time.

Life is like that. We don't know what tomorrow will bring as we camp out in these "tents" called bodies on our way to the Promised Blessing (God has great and precious promises in His Word ).You may not like where you are camped out right now. You may have just experienced a loss in your life, or it maybe an illness you are having to endure. Something may have happened and you feel like your world is falling apart.

Yet when we have the Lord in the center of wherever we are camped we are going to make it through. We look to Him to lead us and guide us into His great and precious promises. He promised He would not leave nor forsake us. He promised us an "abundant life" (Jn.10 :10). He said "I will make a roadway in the Wilderness and give you streams in the desert." Trust ME!!!Is. 43:19

God tells us in His Word that He has come to gives us an abundant, blessed life. Just like a woman when she finds out she is pregnant and God is going to bless her with a child. At first there is no sign that she is going to have a child. To look at her you would never know. Her body begins to CHANGE and actually life gets worse for awhile. She begins to swell, and right before that child is born she becomes quite miserable experiencing a great amount of pain. But then when that baby is born what a blessing!!!

Some of you look at your circumstances right now and there is no sign of blessing. In fact it looks like things are worse and life is painful. But the Lord says "hang in there! Trust Me! Don't look at your situation as it is. Blessing is coming!!!

The Lord says "Before the birth pains began she gave birth and delivered a child? Whoever heard of such a thing? Would I bring to the time of birth and then not cause delivery?" Is. 66:7

Trust Him that even in the midst of the worst circumstances that He is going to do something great in and through your life. Remember there was a whole generation of people who never entered into His "promised blessing" because they didn't listen to Him, believe Him and obey Him. I believe there will be many people in Heaven who never experienced His blessing on this earth, because they chose to dwell on their circumstances instead of trusting God

Make sure that He is in the center of your "camp (life)". Look to Him to lead you and guide you, not at how bad your circumstances are. We serve a God who never changes. He is the same God today who led His children through the Wilderness thousands of years ago. Embrace the change in your life. Know that He who is faithful will bring you though what ever circumstance you face in life. "I am the Lord and I change not." Mal. 3:6

TIMES OF PAIN AND SUFFERING

Losses in life can be extremely painful and hard to understand

Whether it is the the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, or an illness that keeps us from experiencing life in it's fullness, we struggle to undrstand why. How could our loving Father allow this to happen? While we know we live in a fallen world and we face an enemy, we also know that there is nothing too hard for our God. There is nothing that can happen that doesn't first filter through His hands. So we cry out for insight and understanding.

In this lifetime we may not find the answer. "All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. " 1Cor. 13:12b NLT The best that we can do is trust Him that He has an eternal purpose that we cannot yet see. We give to Him that which we do not understand. We give Him our hurt, our pain our loss to be offered up as a sacrifice, Saying "I don't understand Lord, but I trust You." David said"I will not sacrifice that which cost me nothing."2Sam. 24:24

I think of the woman with the alabaster box. She gave all that she had, the most expensive thing that she could give to anoint His Body. In our brokenness we can do the same thing. There is an anointing that comes with brokenness when we willingly give that which cost us. When we give our hurt our pain, our loss, saying, "Lord I don't understand, but I trust You." There is an anointing that will be used for the glory of God, as we journey toward our Heavenly Home. God uses those who give their all to Him, trusting Him, in the dark painful times in their lives.

When we trust Him in times of great trial and hardship He will bring us through and use what we have offered up to Him that He may be glorified."I will deliver you and you will glorify Me." Ps. 50:15

"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt." Mark 9:49 Our sacrifices are seasoned with salt, making the world hungry for God. I believe that one day we will see those in Heaven who are there as a result of those painful things we went through in this life and chose to offer up to our Lord. Trusting Him in our deepest darkest times, that eternal purposes are being achieved.

Meanwhile His grace, mercy and love is sufficient to get through any trial or tribulation this life presents. He has promised He would not leave nor forsake us.

"Trust Him when you don't understand. Trust His heart. Trust His purpose. Trust Him when it is your heart that is broken. Trust His goodness. Trust Him beyond the grave. Trust Him to know best. Trust His plan to be bigger than yours. Trust Him to keep His Word. Trust Him to be on time. Trust Him to be enough. Trust Him to set you free. Trust Him and Him alone. The times when you and I can't trace His hand of purpose, we must trust His heart of love." Anne Graham Lotz

Lord, help us as we lift up to you all our hurts, our pain, our loss as a sacrifice. Strengthen us in you. We pray that You will take all the the enemy has used to cause hurt and pain in our lives, and turn it around for Your glory. Let our sacrifices be seasoned with salt and used for eternal purposes. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2Cor. 4:18

IT'S TIME TO FIGHT!!!

It's time for God's people to reailze that we are in a battle!!! Yes the enemy has stolen from us, that is his mission. Remember "The thief comes to kill, to steal and to destroy"?? John 10:10

But now it is time for God's people the "Church of Jesus Christ" "the Army of God" to rise up and put on her armor. Be armed with the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit and take back what the enemy has stolen. "I command you .....be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."Jos.1:9

Yes we have got to be strong! The enemy isn't intimidated by our whinning and crying about what is going on in our lives and in this country. And frankly God isn't impressed with it either. It doesn't mean he isn't a compassionate loving God. He loves us and wants us to be blessed. "I have come that they have life and have it abundantly." Jn 10:10b

He has given us all we need to have victory over the enemy. He has given us his Word and His great and precious promises!!!


The enemy has stolen our children our marriages, our homes, and now it looks as though he has taken over this land. The divorce rate in the church is right up there with the secular world. Many church going families have lost their children to drugs and alcohol. But God has given us all we need to have victoy over the enemy. But is going to take getting into the Word and meditating on the Word as the Lord told Joshua. He told Joshua not to be sidetracked by the enemy "don't look to the right or to the left, but meditate on My Word day and night and then you will succeed." Jos1:8

God was telling Joshua how to fight the enemy because Joshua was the one to lead God's people into the Promised Land. Remember a whole generation died under Moses leadership and never entered into all that God had promised them because of disobedience and unbelief. I believe that many people today will die and go to heaven, and never really receive all the promised blessings that God had for them here on this earth.

God wants us to be blessed. He wants our homes, families, and our children blessed. He wants our land blessed. We must rise up and be the church! We must determine to study the Word, not just by ourselves, but in a good Bible Study. We will never arrive at the place where we can't learn from His Word. There is constant revelation in His Word. His Spirit will constantly reveal to us the deep truthes of His Word. We have to know his Word to have success.

"The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all it's fullness." John 10:10

"My people are "destroyed" for lack of knowledge." Hos.4:6

THE GOD OF IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS

Crossing over the Jordan River into the Promised Land looked like an impossible situation because the river was at flood stage because it was "harvest time". The Bible tells us that the banks of the Jordan always flooded at harvest time.

God told the priests who were carrying the Ark of The Covenant (which represented the presence of God) to go before the people into the Jordan. As the people followed the priests carrying the Ark the waters parted and God's people walked over on dry ground into the Promised Land. Joshua 3

That is the way it is in our lives today. Many times when God is ready to do something wonderful in our lives or fulfill a promise we have been standing on, the enemy comes in like a flood.

God said, "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." Isaiah 59:19

That standard is "His Word". Keep your eyes focused on God and His Word, His promise that He wants to fulfill in your life. "My Word that goes forth from My mouth, shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

LIFE CAN DEAL SOME HARD BLOWS, BUT JESUS SAID

Life can deal some hard blows, but Jesus said,"You will grieve, but your grief will turn to wonderful joy when you see Me again". You have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice and no one can rob you of that joy. It will be like a woman experiencing the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives place to joy because she has brought a new person into the world. You have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy." John 16:20b-22

As we journey through life on this earth we will experience times of intense pain and suffering. Jesus compared it to that of a woman in labor, but oh the joy when that baby is born. He has promised us that one day when we see Him again there will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no more good byes, but only endless joy. Until then God has promised us He would never leave nor forsake us.

These words written by my daughter Janet just before the death of my grandson seem to put life and the grief we experience in this world into perspective.

" We live in a fallen world and sickness and disease are a part of this world. But God has promised us that He would never leave nor forsake us. Ryan may be suffering now, but so much more awaits him in heaven because of his suffering here on earth. Whether that be now or 70 years from now. We waste precious prayer time with our Father by asking "why?" Yes, He allows our anger and our questions, It's okay. But remember that our life here whether it be two days or a hundred years, is very brief when you put it next to eternity, and those of us who call Jesus Lord will spend all of that eternity in bliss.

My son has a wonderful spirit that he has been blessed with. That spirit could carry him through anything. When it's all said and done, that's what's important, that our souls are walking with God. My whole heart aches for my baby, but in my heart of hearts, I know that I know that I know that he is blessed of God and that God is carrying him in His hand every step of the way, that has to be enough for me."

Written by Janet Davis Dickinson 2 weeks before her son Ryan's death.

"What we suffer now will be nothing compared to the glory He will give us later. For all creation is eagerly waiting for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are."Romans 8:18

GOD'S WORD IS SO PROFOUND!!!

God's Word is soooo profound!!! I just came across these words "The life of the flesh is in the blood". Lev 17:11 It just seemed to jump out at me! God isn't just talking about human blood or animal blood, but a much deeper meaning.

The life of our flesh is in the Blood of Jesus Christ. His Blood gives us life! It gives us not only eternal life but the life of Christ in us. Just as our physical body cannot live without blood, we cannot live spiritually without his Blood. Even in our fleshly bodies His Blood makes us alive with His Life!!! Praise The Lord!!!

THE DAY IS ALMOST HERE!!!

THE DAY IS ALMOST HERE!!!
"The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber. The night is nearly over the day is almost here." Romans 13:11-12

The dark time in which we live is almost over and "The Day" of the return of the Son is almost here.
Our Father knows us so well. He knew we would be in danger of oversleeping. Like the bride I once saw in a movie who overslept on the day of her wedding. You wouldn't think that would happen, because a bride looks forward to her wedding day most of her life. Could it be that she was so engrossed in things that were going on the night before that she overslept?

Isaiah 52: 1 "Wake up, Wake up, O Zion Clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor!"

Romans 13:12-13 Tells us "to get rid of our evil deeds, to shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourself with right living being decent and true in everything we do."

We all know that weddings take preparation. The bride needs to take time to prepare herself for her groom. She spends time making sure everything is perfect for her him. She wants to look radiant for the once she loves. So she must spend time in preparation. She wouldn't dare appear with a stained wrinkled dress to meet the one she loves on the most important day of her life.

Please be aware dear ones of the time in which we are living. Jesus said we were not to be like the Scribes and Pharisees who did not understand that it was the season for the Messiah to come. These were educated men who should have known, because there were clear indicators throughout the scriptures describing God's plan for His Son to come. But He was right there with them and they didn't recognize Him.


We are given all the signs for His return. We must realize the urgency of the hour. We must not be so engrossed in the darkness that we are deceived and keep putting off preparation for His Coming. Don be caught off guard!!!

We must WAKE UP, the night is nearly over and The DAY is almost here! The Bride must begin preparation for her Groom!

WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE!!!

When we stand before Him and realize that all those things we fretted about here on this earth were taken care of. He did it, He brought us through!!! He was faithful to bring us through all those difficult times. We dwelt in these earthly tents traveling on our way to the Promised Land. The journey was long and difficult at times, but He fed us with Manna from Heaven (His Word) to strengthen us. We were given water through His Word when we were dry and thirsty. He gave us His Holy Spirit to guide us so we would not lose our way.

In the Old Testament God's people celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles every year. They built tents or tabernacles to dwell in during these feast. This was so they would recall how God brought them through the wilderness, dwelling in tents on their way to the Promised Land. How he supplied their every need, feeding them with manna from Heaven, giving them water from a rock when they were thirsty, a cloud to guide them by day and fire by night.

I can't help but think about how we today go through our trials just as they did, on the journey of life on this earth on our way to the Promised Land. And one day we will be able to recall how on this earth He brought us through all the difficult times we had in this life. All those trials and circumstances, that at the time we couldn't see how we would make it.....He was faithful and met our every need!!!! He brought us through!!! WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE!!!!

REASSURANCETHAT GOD KNOWS EVERY SITUATION WE FACE IN LIFE

GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN US,WE JUST NEED TO REMEMBER TO CRY OUT TO HIM.

"Can a woman forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See I have your name written on My hand. Isaiah 49: 15-16 NLT

What a wonderful illustration of God's love!!!

We sometimes feel as though God has forgotten us, yet he tells us in this scripture that He could no more forget us than a mother could forget her nursing child. Our name is inscribed on the palm of His Hand. What comfort we can receive from this promise!!!

A nursing child cries out to it's mother upon whom it is dependant for food and nourishment, from which it derives it's strength. There is no way that nursing mother can forget that child when it cries out. When her child cries milk begins to pour from her breast.

God is saying, "when we cry out to Him that nourishment is there, strength is there. He supplies the needs of His children.

He goes on to say in the second part of verse 16: "Your walls are ever before Me" In other words, "I know what you are going through, I know the things that are hindering you, I know every situation you are facing in your life."

The thing is we must not forget to cry out.

The enemy is attacking like never before because he knows his time is short. All we have to do is cry out and trust our God in our personal lives and for our nation. He will bring us through. He promises us that He has not forgotten.

SARAH PALIN "ONLY DEAD FISH GO WITH THE FLOW"

THOUGHTS FROM THE EVENTS OF THIS PAST WEEK:

The response to Sarah Palin's decision to step down from her post as Gov of the State of Alaska should not come as a surprise in view of the results of the 2008 presidential election.

The negative response is only representative of the spiritual regression of our nation. In the 2008 election such crucial issues as Abortion, Stem Cell Research, and Same Sex Marriage, to mention just a few, were considered not as important as the state of our economy, even to many who call themselves evangelical Christians. Instead of looking to the Lord as their provider and depending upon Him, the majority chose to look to a man as their savior, their way out of financial distress. President Obama has been pictured with a crown of thorns and heralded as the one who will get America out of her mess. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." PS. 33:12

We cannot blame the world, for they are blind and deaf according to the scriptures. If you will remember, it was not the world that Jesus was speaking to when He was angry with the money changers in the temple .....but it was the religious people, those who should have known better. The Bible tells us "for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." We are "the light of the world." Christians are way the world sees Jesus and yet we have become so much like the world that it is hard to differentiate between the two.

We need revival in "the Church." We talk so much of needing revival in our nation, spiritual renewal must begin with "the Church" the "Bride of Christ." You cannot revive something that has never been alive and "the world" is not spiritually alive and never has been. God said, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn (repent) from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2Chron. 7:14).

I can't understand why all those people who were friends of Michael Jackson, who professed to be Christians did not help him see Jesus. Yet in his funeral service they were so absolutely sure he was with the Lord. I don't know, I am not Michael's judge. He was a very sick and depraved human being and that is not judging, but obvious by his life. Where were all those good Christian friends when he was having to keep himself drugged all those years just to be able to cope with life?? Maybe some did witness to him and he rejected God, I don't know. Maybe he accepted the Lord Jesus in the end, I hope so.

But to say that he was definitely in the arms of Jesus ...sent a false message to the millions of people who viewed that funeral. I for one would not want to be held responsible for sending such a message. It's like saying, "live your life any way you want and in the end you will end up in the arms of Jesus. " It sounds good, but it is not the truth.

Yes, God is a God of love "He would that none should perish, but have everlasting life." But we can't expect to live a life of sin and end up in heaven. God's word says," The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolater, all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8).

Now back to Sarah Palin. As I said the response to her decision does not surprise me, because we have become so attuned to the world' s way of doing things that actually hearing from God on the path that we are to take in life is foreign to us.

Unfortunately most Christians do not know what a "higher Calling" means. I wonder what would have happened if Abraham, when God called him to a land he knew not of, had resisted and listened to those around him who could not see how he could possibly be making the right decision. After all how could someone just pick up and leave their home and drag their family into the unknown? I am sure there were scoffers everywhere who could not understand his reasoning in making such a decision. "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1Corn 1:20).

Jesus said, "My sheep know My voice and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27).

It takes courage to step out and do what you know God has called you do and in the way He has called you to do it. "Come out from among them and be ye separate," saith the Lord (2Corn. 6:17).

I remember a time in my own life having to step down from a position knowing there was no way if I stayed in that position that God would be glorified. God's work could not be accomplished in light of the strife and lack of unity. I too was told I would be called a quitter. But my purpose was to accomplish the work that God had called me to do and to follow His direction for my life, instead of be manipulated by those who had no understanding of my "higher calling."

"Only Dead Fish Go With The Flow."

Pray with me for revival among God's people, that we we come out and separate ourselves from the world and be "the Church", "the Bride" He's coming back for, a Bride that's passionately in love with her Groom. Lord help rid us of our apathy and lukewarmness(Rev. 3: 15-16). Help us to search our hearts and return to our "first love" (Rev. 2:4). Give us a passion for You instead of "Going Through the Motions."

Listen to the song by Matthew West "Going Through the Motions." Click on Video Bar ( at the right of the screen). What kind of a world would it be if we as Christians gave our all and stepped out to follow His leading??
I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR SOME OF YOUR THOUGHTS.

HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR HEART LATELY???

Have you checked your heart lately??? There is a disease that usually goes undetected and if not treated could result in death.

It is important to have physical exams and it is also important to have spiritual exams. You could be suffering from heart disease and not realize it. Things that will hinder you spiritually could be lurking in your heart without you having any realization of it being there.

Jer. 17:9 tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" It is very important to have healthy spiritual lives so that God can work in and through us, so it is very important to ask the Holy Spirit to do a spiritual examination.

It happened to me. I thought I was doing great spiritually. I was doing all the right things (or so I thought), I was ministering to the poor, I was helping those in need as much as I could. I was teaching a Sunday School class and even preaching occasionally. On the outside everything appeared to be fine (just like those people Jesus was preaching to in Matt 23:27, you know the Scribes and the Phairsees).

Then God got my attention. Sometimes "through the pain in our lives God speaks the loudest" (C. S. Lewis). At first I didn't think that it could possibly be anything wrong with my heart. After all I am a minister and I knew God was using me to some extent, working in the church ministering to others etc. After all I was really trying to work hard for the Lord.

Then things began to happen in my life that I just could not understand. I know God has said that we will all have trials and tribulations, but that we are overcomers. But it was during this time that I asked God to examine my heart. That's one thing about trials and hardship, you will either become bitter or you will become better. You will either draw closer to the Lord or go father away. I wanted to draw closer.

When I asked the Holy Spirit to examine my heart, he began to show me that I had some serious heart problems. One infection called "Pride" was one that was severely crippling my walk with the Lord. I also found out that Pride was not easily recognizable. Most people deny it's existence, and it could easily go undetected, possibly causing death. Two more infections that usually go along with Pride were "Envy" and "Jealousy". These were very serious and could be very detrimental to a Christian's life. Another was called "Judgementalism." . These heart infections usually result in something called a "Bad Attitude." Bad Attitudes will crop up from time to time and can really adversely affect your witness for the Lord.

Well Praise the Lord, Jesus the great physician performed heart surgery and transformed my heart. It was painful at first when I realized how I had let my heart go and get into such a bad condition. I realized that without my knowing it, the enemy had probably turned others away from Christ because of me. I think that hurt more than anything. What a deceiver he is! All the time I thought I was the model Christian, he was working havoc in my heart.

I am telling you all of this because I want you to realize how important it is that you ask the Holy Spirit to regularly examine your heart. Your eternal life and the lives of all those close to you could be in danger of spiritual death.

Some one told me of a relative who was a very active church member. She was very much a servant except to those who were in her family. She had family member who said they would not attend church because of the bad treatment they had received from her. I am sure you are thinking, "some people just look for an excuse." But what if this is true, and because of the condition of this person's heart someone is turned away from the Lord? Could this be one of your family members? Could you be standing in the way of them having a relationship with the Lord and not even realize it?

I remember a few years ago working with two people who loved to talk about the church that they both attended. At the same time they were constantly fighting. One day one of them expressed, "she hated the other one and wanted to pinch her head off when she saw her singing in the choir." There were several of their co workers who were not saved, and the remark was made "if that is Christianity I want no part of it." The sad thing was they oblivious to fact that they were a bad reflection on the Lord. They were unaware of the condition of their hearts.

As I said my friend, when we neglect to have our heart examined spiritually, it could result in spiritual death, not only ours, but family members and others close to us. For your sake and the sake of others, please have a regular examination.

Psalm 145:17 tells us that, "the Lord is near to all who call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desires of those who fear Him: He will also hear their cry and save them."

That is a promise that He gives us. When we truthfully ask him to examine our hearts as the Psalmist said, "Search me O' God, and know my heart; try me, know my thoughts and see if there is any wicked way in me"Psalm 139: 23-24. I thank God that His mercies are new every morning. I thank Him that He forgives even my unintentional sin. He forgives me even when I sinned and didn't realize it.

This is what Chapter 4 in Leviticus is all about, God's provision for unintentional sin. As you study this with me, you will realize again how God left nothing out. These sacrifices would represent what His precious Son would do for us one day at Calvary. He loved us so much He made sure that nothing would stand in the way of His children's fellowship with Him, not even unintentional sin.

How important it is that we ask him to examine our hearts and confess any unintentional sin. We are the only way the world is going to see Jesus.

As I have said in previous blogs posts, God is calling us to a walk of holiness. "Without holiness no one will see the Lord," Heb. 12:14

Again my favorite scripture, that I believe is prophetic for the time in which we are living:

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord arises upon you and His glory appears over you." Isaiah 60:1-3

We must continually ask him to search our hearts. We are that light, the only way this dark world will see Jesus. He said, "If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me." John 12:32

LEVITICUS CHAPTER 4

In this chapter we will talk about the "Sin Offering." It was a required offering, remember some offerings were voluntary and some were required.



One of the purposes of this command was to make the Israelites aware of their unintentional sins. It was for those who committed a sin without realizing it. It was a sin committed out of weakness or negligence as opposed to outright rebellion against God.


If you broke the law out of ignorance, you sinned and didn't realize it, this offering would restore fellowship with God.


This reveals an underlying truth, "we are sinners by nature." We are prone to sin even when we don't know it.



Something had to die, blood had to be shed for even unintentional sin.


Isn't it wonderful to know that God took care of everything even when we sin out of ignorance? He loved us so much that he was to let nothing stand in the way of our fellowship with Him. Remember these offerings and sacrifices were a picture of what His precious Son, the Lamb of God would do for us.



I think one of the greatest spiritual awakenings I have had, next to my salvation experience, was when God revealed that I had sinned unintentionally and out of ignorance.


When we truly ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the things offend Him and keep us from looking like our Savior, He will. I began a few years ago asking Him to reveal to me anything in my life that was keeping me from having that intimate relationship with Him that I had longed to have.


He began to show to me my life through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. I saw that over the years I had let sins such as pride, arrogance, envy and jealousy creep in. I was unaware of the fact that I was not truly glorifying Him in my life.


Sometimes we can go along in life thinking we're okay if we just do all the right things such as going to church, praying, witnessing, giving, doing good deeds. What looks good on the outside is not always good on the inside. This is one of Satan's biggest deceptions. As long as we are not aware of the sins that have crept into our hearts, he has it made. He is working through us and we don't even know it.

We can become religious if we are not careful, just like the people Jesus was speaking to in Matt. 23:27. They were religious people, He called "hypocrites." "For you are like white washed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness."



God knows when our hearts are not right even when we don't. So what should we do to make sure that we are aware of any sin that might creep into our hearts?


We must continually ask God to search our hearts. This is a must dear friend.


Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me O' God, and know my heart; try me, know my thoughts and see if there is any wicked way in me."


The Psalmist is saying "I am naturally a sinner and there could be some sin there that I don't know or realize."


We must ask God to search us, test us, know our thoughts, because we still have that old sin nature that wants to take over and run things. Unfortunately He will be there till the day we die, so we must continually ask God to search our hearts.


Verse3 discusses the sin of the priest or spiritual leader. God had separated them for leadership and He knew that if the priest went wrong the people would follow. He had to offer the most valuable animal, a young bull with no defects. He is more accountable than the people, therefore more is expected of him.


If you desire to be in any kind of leadership, you must count the cost, because more is expected of those who answer the call to leadership.

James 3:1 " Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness."


Verses 5, 6, and 7 talks about the blood that was applied. The blood that was shed restored the fellowship and worship of the priest.


Blood had to be shed, because sin was serious to God. Our sins do not go unnoticed. Our relationship with God is based on the fact that blood was spilled. The blood of His precious Son.

We need to keep saying "Search me and try me O' Lord.


Verses 8-12 God wanted the fat, the fat that covered the inner parts. The fat was considered the best. Here we see again God desires our best. The best that is inside us. He desires "truth in the inward parts." Psalm 51:6


He desired the fat on the inward parts not the hide, the head, the organs that we would consider valuable.


We want to look holy or appear holy on the outside, but it is not the outward, but the inward best that He desired.


The rest would be burned on a wood fire in an ash heap.


Isn't it funny how we concentrate more on the outward (our good deeds and all), and He is more concerned with the inward.


One day the outward will be ashes and dust.


Verses 13-21, talks about when a community or a nation sins. We see here again where sin is important to God. If a nation sins unintentionally, a high price was to be paid. The most valuable animal had to be offered, a young bull. It was the same offering as the priest who had sinned unintentionally.


This shows that just as there is an individual responsibility, there is a corporate responsibility. God judges individuals, but He also judges nations. And when He judges the whole nation we are in it.


This is a scary time for our nation, especially as I heard just yesterday that our President declared that, "we are not a Christian Nation."


The scripture for the repentance of a whole nation is 2Chron. 7:14-15, "If My people, who are called by My name (Christians), will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways( repent), then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be opened and My ears attentive to their prayers in this place.


Note that the scripture says, "If My people." I have often thought it odd that we talk so much about needing revival in this nation. You can't revive something that has never lived. Christians have to be revived, but those who are not Christians have never been born spiritually. They are spiritually dead. We need revival among God's people.


We must pray for our nation and our leaders, but first we must pray for God's people to be revived. The condition of our nation is a reflection of the Church. This is why I believe God is calling His people to walk "holy" before Him. And as I said in earlier posts, "those who are hearing from Him are answering this callto holiness."


We tend to get angry when we see all that is going on in our nation. We are not to get angry at the sinner. In fact Jesus said, "forgive them for they know not what they do." They are blinded to the truth. If you will remember Jesus didn't get angry at the sinner, He was angry at the money changers in the temple(the religious people) He said, "My house will be called a house of prayer."


There is little praying going on in Today's churches. If you do have a "prayer night" usually very few show up. I like what Jim Cymballa said in his book, "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire," "You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning. You can tell how popular the pastor or evangelist is by who comes on Sunday night. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting."


We have to, as God's people, humble ourselves and pray and seek his face (ask him to search our hearts as we said earlier) and turn or repent from our wicked ways.


That is what is wrong with the world, they haven't seen Jesus in the Church. What was the scripture I quoted earlier, Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." When we, as Christians, lift him up for the world to see, we will start seeing people drawn and souls won.


Verses 22- 26 These scriptures speak of the unintentional sins of leadership, not spiritual leadership just leadership. Verses 27-35 speak of the unintentional sins of a member of the community sins. The sin offering for these unintentional sins are less (a male goat and a female goat), but a price had to be paid. Blood had to be shed. Sin causes death.


That is something to think about because sin causes death today. When there is sin in our lives, even what we refer to as little sins or unintentional sin, it causes death. It could be the spiritual death of those close to you. It causes the death of happiness peace and joy and the abundant life God promised us.


Jesus paid the price our sin once and for all on the cross at Calvary. As we are seeing in the sacrifices, God did not leave one thing out, even sin that we do unintentionally. These sacrifices would be a picture His Son the Lamb of God.


Just as the Israelites would lay their hand on the head of the young lamb or bull and slaughter it in payment for their sins, our sin was was laid on the Son of God. He was the "slaughtered Lamb," slaughtered for our sins.


We can have fellowship with our Father because the price has been paid. God loved us so much that He made sure everything was covered in those sacrifices, even unintentional sin. We saw in the sacrifices that everything was exposed as the sacrifice was cut into pieces. Just as our Savior was hanged naked on a cross and every part of Him exposed to the world.


We represent Him to the world. What an awesome responsibility!!! Let us strive to lift Him up and glorify Him in all that we say and do. Let our lives be a "living sacrifice," a sweet smelling savor" to our Lord.

"DARKNESS COVERS THE EARTH"

Isaiah 60:2 Says, "See darkness covers the earth and thick darkness the people."

Has there ever been a time any darker? Have you ever seen evil any more rampant than in our world today? All you have to do is listen to the news. The news today is filled with slaughter of innocent children, not to mention the murder of millions of the unborn. So much murder, violence and drugs. We hear talk of cloning and designer babies. I am astounded by things that I hear on the news each day. You think, how could this world get any darker?

Could this possibly be the time that the prophet Isaiah is speaking of?

Yet the scripture tells us that at the same time "darkness covers the earth and deep darkness the people," that we are to "arise and shine" He tells us, "for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord arises upon you."

This speaks of God's church. This is a dark time for the world, but an exciting time for God's people.

I am sure that your are thinking, "How can it be exciting when we as Christians are being persecuted?" The Bible tells us during times of persecution that God's people grew in number.

I believe what happened in the physical in the Old Testament, happens for us in the spiritual today when we trust Him and believe His Word. Scripture tells us, "it was given to us for an example." I believe as we draw closer to the Lord and grow in Him, God's church will arise and shine. Then we will begin to grow in number as others come to the light of His glory. Jesus said, "If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me."

What did it say again? "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord arises upon you." WE are to be the light in this dark world.

It is time for God's people to rise up and be "the Church", "the Bride" spoken of in Ephesians 5:25. This scripture tells us that, "Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by washing her with water through the Word, to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."


That is what is happening to us as we study Leviticus,. We are being washed by the water of the word. We are being "cleansed and made holy" as He ministers to us through His Word. What a timely study!!

The world needs to see Jesus and the only way is through you and me. We are that light for this dark world. As we go through Leviticus and apply the sacrifices to our lives we will look more and more like our Savior and His glory will arise over us. Hallelujah!

Leviticus Chapter 3


In chapter 3 we find another offering called the Fellowship Offering or Peace Offering. This offering is the third of the voluntary offerings. It was given to express gratitude to God. It symbolized peace and fellowship with God. We know that Christ is the only way to fellowship with God and we will see Him in this offering.


We are told that "He is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except by Him." Only through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus can we commune with the Father.


The only way Israel could have fellowship with God was to follow the instructions given to them. We can appreciate Jesus so much as we see Him in the sacrifice and know that He fulfilled each and every requirement for us.



So how can these requirements apply to our lives today as we offer up our lives as a living sacrifice?

We read again in Chapter 3, as in chapter one, the sacrifice had to be from the herd or the flock. In other words it was to be personal or something that belonged to the person offering the sacrifice.

As we seek to die daily to become that living sacrifice, we must ask the Lord to search our hearts and show us the things in our lives that keep us from being a reflection of Him.

Often pride is one of the greatest hindrances. I know that it has been in my life. It is one of the greatest tools the enemy uses. It is also one of the things that God says He hates. It has to be eliminated for others to see Jesus in us. For you see Jesus was a servant to all. If we are to be like Him, we are to be servants and not just to those whom we want to serve, but to all.


Maybe you have problems with jealousy, envy or strife or not being able to forgive. Whatever it is that keeps others from seeing Jesus in you , confess it and ask forgiveness. He will help you overcome it when you lay it on the altar. When we strive to put them on the altar crying out to the Lord for strength, we will begin to look more like our Savior to the world.


Jesus hang naked on that cross, exposed for the world to see. In Him there was no pride, selfishness, envy, jealousy, or unforgiveness to keep him from fulfilling the will of His Father. He died for the very ones that persecuted Him and hung Him on that cross.


We see again as in chapter one with the Burnt Offering, it had to be an animal without defect. Jesus fulfilled that requirement. He was without sin, without defect We will never be perfect, but we must strive for our lives to be a reflection of His, going from glory to glory.


There is a Chorus called "I Will Call Upon the Lord." The words are, "I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies." Since doing this study I keep wanting to say, "I will magnify the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. Then shall I be saved from my enemies."

Who are our enemies? We sometimes think of our enemies as people, but the Bible tells us we fight not against "flesh and blood." Our enemies are not people as Satan would lead us to believe. Our true enemies are the things that keep us from reflecting Jesus in our lives. So I shall sing "I will magnify the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. Then shall I be saved from my enemies."


We are told in Verse 2, that the one making the offering had to lay his hand on the head of the victim. As was said previously in Chapter 1 , this was an act of transferring sin from the person to the sacrifice. Just as when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we transferred our sin to Him. It was our sin that killed Him.


We also see in Verse 2 that it had to be at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.........at the door. It had to be offered at the door. Jesus Christ is the Door. "He is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except by Him." (John 14:6)


This is God's way of saying it had to be on His terms not ours. We can't work or earn our way by doing good deeds. We can't think that just because we are basically good people, that we will be accepted into the Kingdom. We can't think that just because we go to church every Sunday and work for the Lord that we are Christians.


What are God's terms? You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He died on the cross and was raised from the dead. You must confess that you have sinned and ask for forgiveness. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You must be willing to repent or turn from your sin and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.


The Bible tells us, "That if you confess with your mouth , 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved" (Romans 10:9-10).


I am sure you are thinking that most people who are doing this study should know the plan of salvation. You would be surprised at the number of people in the world who think just because they are good people, who have always gone to church, that they are automatically a Christian. There are many who fill our churches, who have not had a true conversion experience.

We have to come on God's terms and that is through Jesus Christ, He is the only way ...He is the Door.

The second part of verse 2 talks about "the blood being sprinkled on the altar." Blood had to be shed from the first time man sinned in Genesis chapter 3. Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves to hide their sin. God covered them with the skin of an animal. This was the first time blood had ever been shed.


People try to cover their sin in many ways today. Sometimes they just try to ignore it and act as if they had not sinned. Others will try to cover up their sin by doing good deeds. But we know that the only way sin can be atoned for is by shed blood. That was done for us once and for all when the Lamb of God shed his blood on the Cross of Calvary.


The first part of verse 3 tells us that from the Fellowship offering, he is to bring a sacrifice made by fire. In the Bible fire represents judgement. Jesus was judged for our sins.


We also see in the scriptures that fire can also represent "fiery trials." We discussed fiery trials at length in Chapter 2. We are told that in this life we will have trials and tribulations. When we offer them up to the Lord, trusting Him to bring us through, we will overcome. We are told that "we will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." (Rev. 12:11).


The second part of verse 3 states, "all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys.


I am sure you are thinking how ugly, yucky and gross all of this sounds. Why all of these details? How in the world could this apply to me?


That is what our sin looks like to God. Sin is ugly to God! The details of our sin is important to God. Things we want to dismiss and would prefer not to look at, and view as unimportant, are important to God.

God wanted the fat that covered the inner parts as sacrifice. The fat was considered the best, it was the choice portion.

We talked about the inner parts in Chapter1. He wanted them exposed and washed. Now we see that He desires the fat (the best) around the inner parts. The inside was important to God. There was no mention of the outside. He was concerned about the inside.

When we talk about the inner parts how can this apply to our life and Jesus life?

What about your life on the inside, in the inner parts? Psalm 51:6 says, "Surely You desire truth in the inner parts."

God wants us to be truthful about what is in our hearts. It is hard to be truthful with ourselves and admit our faults. Pride sometimes keeps us from admitting the truth about ourselves and confessing that there are areas in our Christian walk where we fall short.

Many times instead of laying them on the altar and asking forgiveness and repenting, we shrug them off. We hate to admit the truth and examine our hearts as we are told to do.

I have been guilty of this in my own life. I was aware that there were areas in my life that were not pleasing to the Lord. I was guilty of having bad attitudes, convincing myself that I was justified in my feelings. The Holy Spirit would convict me, but I would often pay little attention to His promptings.

My heart breaks when I look over the years in my life and see the missed opportunities to show Jesus to someone, because I was more concerned about self and refused to examine my heart.

If we want to look like our Savior we must be truthful in the" inner parts." God desires the best that we can give.

What about Jesus? Do you know Him in the inner parts? Do you know Him intimately? .

In Genesis we are told that Adam knew Eve and they bore fruit. They bore the fruit of the womb. The word knew used here meant "intimate. "

When we have an intimate relationship with our Father, we will bear the fruit of the Spirit.

We are told that, "the world will know that we belong to Him by the fruit that we bear."

Jesus said, "Many will come to me in that day saying, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in your name?" Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you.' (Matt. 7: 22)

In today's language many will say,"I sang in the choir, I taught Bible School, I gave to the poor, I worked in the church, I served on committees. I did many wonderful things for you Lord."

Do you know Him? If you do you will bear fruit. You won't have to strain to bear the fruit of the Spirit. It will grow naturally from your life. Does a tree have to strain to bear fruit?

It takes spending time with someone to get to know them. You can't get to know someone by waving at them once a week.

When we spend time with Him and in His Word, we will come to know Him in the inner parts.

That is what is so wonderful about these studies in Leviticus, we are learning the character and the nature of Jesus. We are getting to know Him in the "inner parts."

In verses 6-12, we see the same requirements if it is to be a lamb from the flock that is offered. In verses 12-16, again the same requirements if a goat is to be the sacrifice.

Whatever the sacrifice, God desires our best.


In verse 17, we read, " This is a lasting ordinance for the generation to come wherever you live; You must not eat any fat or any blood.


Isn't it strange that those very things are harmful to us in our diet today?

GOD BLESS.

Leviticus Chapter 2

LEVITICUS CHAPTER 2

The study of Leviticus shows us all the requirements Israel had to go through to achieve forgiveness of sin. Jesus fulfilled all them for us as the sacrificial Lamb of God. We can learn from these sacrifices and offerings how to become more like Christ in our Christian walk.

Our prayer will be "Lord help us to die daily so that Your Son can live through us."

I am so excited about Chapter 2 that I can hardly wait to share it with you. It is amazing how something written by the hand of God thousands of years ago can speak so explicitly to our lives today.

Yet Paul tells us in 1Cor. 10:11, "These things happened unto them for example." They are examples for us to learn and grow by.

Jesus prayed in John 17, "Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth. As you have sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world."

In Chapter 1 we talked about the "Burnt Offering." It was to make payment for sins. It showed a person's devotion to God in the offering......we saw Jesus Christ and His devotion to His Father in the offering.

We too can show our devotion to our Lord as we offer up our lives as a living sacrifice, as we lay everything at the altar. Everything in our lives is exposed before Him as we search our hearts as the Psalmist did, saying, "Search me and try me, if there be any thing wicked in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Burning flesh was a sweet aroma to the Lord. Flesh is a word used to describe that "old sinful nature" that we are born with. When we truly offer up our lives as a living sacrifice, we will become "a sweet smelling savor" to the Lord, dying to that old sinful nature.

In Chapter 2 is another offering called the "Grain Offering." In this offering we see Jesus in His humanity. He was fully God and fully man. It represents His life here on earth, the trials and the sifting He went through.

As we read verses 1-3, we see again much detail, and as we noted before details are important to God. In our busy lives we tend to over look details, but to God details are important, especially in how we live our lives.

1. When someone brings a grain offering to the Lord, his offering is to be of fine flour. He is to pour oil on it, put incense on it 2. and take it to Aaron's sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the fine flour and the oil together with the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 3. The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons, it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the Lord by fire.

I am sure you are thinking, "How in the world could all this apply to me?" Well we are going to see just how awesome God's Word is........He is speaking to us today just as He was speaking to Israel thousands of years ago.

The scripture tells us it had to be of fine flour. Just to look at flour you would think it is so fine, how could there possibly be any need for sifting. At least it appears that way.

Jesus told Peter, "Satan desires to sift you as wheat." Sometimes we think we are "fine" "we're okay".......no need for sifting, yet God sees things in our lives that we don't see. I am sure Peter thought he had it all together.

After all he was walking and talking with the Master every day. How could there be anything in his life that needed to be sifted? Peter thought he was "okay." But Jesus knew Peter had some things that needed to be sifted out of his life before he could be used. I am sure that Peter would have never ever imagined that He would deny the Lord. He thought he was "fine."

Sometimes because we go to church, participate in Bible Studies, sing in the choir, do all the things we think a good Christian should do, we are like Peter. We think how could there be anything in our lives that would call for us to be sifted. We think we are "fine," we think we are "okay."

Can you imagine the guilt Satan put Peter through? The pounding he received, he was crushed over what he had done. He was truly sifted. Yet God sees things in us that we don't see, things that keep others from seeing Jesus in our lives.

But then, after the sifting, remember what happened? Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. He preached and three thousand were saved in one day. Boy what a difference sifting and a little oil makes!

Now what did it say about the grain offering? Pour oil on the fine sifted flour. We know that oil represents the Holy Spirit, and incense represents the prayers of the saints. The Scripture says, "it is an offering made by fire," fire symbolizing purifying.

What does this say about the "fiery trials" in our own lives? Sometimes it is hard for us to understand why we have to go through some of the trials we have in our lives. We want to say "Lord, why is this happening to me?"

Yet when we submit ourselves unto the Lord in the midst of our fiery trials, praying and trusting Him, He will use it for our good and His glory.

When we say, "Lord I trust you, even though I don't understand," then our "trials," "our sifting" is anointed by the "Holy Spirit (oil)," and will be used for His glory.

Jesus knows, just as He knew about Peter, that there are some things that need to come out before He can use us in the capacity that He desires. Remember what He told Peter, "Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat,. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back you will strengthen your brethren." (Luke 22:31) Boy did he ever strengthen the brethren......look what happened at Pentecost!



Yes, when we come through our trials , we can strengthen others that God places in our path.

Rick Warren put it so well when he said, "Life is a series of problems (trials). Either you are in one now, you are just coming out of one, or you are getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is "God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making you happy." We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is "to grow in character and Christ likeness."

That is what this study is all about, "becoming more like Jesus" so the world can see Him. His life was a living sacrifice. He too, was sifted. He went through a sifting in the wilderness before His actual ministry began.

He was sifted in the wilderness for forty days, when He was tempted to turn the stones into bread to satisfy His own hunger. He was tempted in every way in His life here on earth. His life had many trials, but He passed every test.

The Father would say, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Will He be able to say of you and of me, "well done thy good and faithful servant"?



In verses 4 through 10, we are told the grain offering had to be made without yeast mixed with oil. Yeast in the scriptures represents sin and oil represents the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had the Holy Spirit, and in Him there was no sin. When we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, He can help keep us from sin.

In verses 11 through 13, we find that not only was the offering to be without sin, but also there was to be no honey in the offering.

Honey is a sweetener that breaks down when the temperature goes up. That is why there was to be no honey.

How does that apply to us? We can pretend to show love and be a sweet person, but if it is not real love produced by the fruit of the Spirit, it will break down under the pressure of the fiery trials in our lives.

We can be sweet, loving people by our own power, but only the Holy Spirit can produce in us the real fruit that will last in times of trial. Haven't we all at one time or another tried to be sweet, nice, loving people in our own power, only to see it fail in the midst of a trial? Only the power of the Holy Spirit can make us into that sweet, loving person we desire to be.

Salt was another ingredient that was to be with the meal offering. "Col. 4:6, "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you might know how you ought to answer every man."

Believers are called "the salt of the earth." Salt makes you thirsty. Our lives should make others thirsty for God.

Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth , but if salt loses it's flavor, how shall it be made seasoned? It is then good for nothing, but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." Matt 5:13

I wonder if this is not the problem we are having today, if maybe as believers we have lost our saltiness. Why are we not seeing more people coming to the altar, more people accepting God's salvation? Could it be that we have lost our "flavor"?

The Bible says "taste and see that the Lord is good." When others "taste Him" through our lives, does it make them thirst and hunger for more?

Verses 14 through 15 speaks of crushed heads of new grain mixed with oil and baked. This was typical food for the average person, even a poor person could afford this offering. In other words there was no excuse for not making this offering......anyone could make it.

We can all give to the Lord an offering made by fire, when we submit to Him, trusting Him through our fiery trials, letting the purifying process take place.

Then we will be "an aroma pleasing to the Lord."

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

All of the sacrifices we see in Lev. should make us so thankful for what Jesus did for us. He fulfilled all of it on the cross.

Not only should it make us more thankful, but also more conscious of our sin. Some of the little things that we do, that sometimes we just shrug off, such as bad attitudes, judgement of our fellow man, pride, gossip, jealousy. I don't know about you but I am speaking for myself, I am guilty. I can look back and see that I have committed all these sins and not really thought a lot about it. I just dismissed it as being human. Yes, I realize His grace covers me, but that makes me want to all the more be a living sacrifice for Him.

We wonder why the world is in the shape it's in ....why so much darkness? It is because we the Church are "the light of the world," and we have let our light diminish.

After 911, most of the people who came into the churches, left and didn't stay. It was because they didn't see Jesus. He wasn't there. He said "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me" We are the only way the world can see Jesus .....in the way we live our lives and show Him to the world.

I believe God is doing something through the study of Lev. and other studies similar that I see going on in other churches and groups. When you see God doing the same thing simultaneously, you can bet He is up to something. To those who are listening, He is calling them to a deeper walk with Him.

He is cleaning us up ......"washing us with the water of His Word, so that He may present us (the Church) to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." Eph. 5:26

Yes, He is coming back for a Bride that is totally in love with Him!!!

LEVITICUS: GOD TEACHING HIS PEOPLE HOW TO WORSHIP AND WALK WITH HIM

I am doing a study of the Book of Leviticus that I am very excited about. It has been and is continuing to be a life changing study for me.

I am not a theologian, I can only share what the Holy Spirit is speaking to me as He is washing me with water through the Word (Ephesians 5:26- 27). Water is a symbol of the Word in the Bible. By meditating on His Word in the study of Leviticus, I am learning what constitutes true sacrifice. I see the heart of God for His people, for you and for me.

The Message Bible says "I'll pour water over you and scrub you clean. I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God willed not self willed. I'll put My Spirit in you and make it possible for you to live by My commands (Ezekiel 36: 26-27).

Leviticus focuses on the worship and walk of God's people. "You shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy"(Lev. 19:2).

We know that the way to God is only through blood sacrifice and that sacrifice was made through His Son Jesus. Please stay with me here and don't think I am getting into legalism. I am aware that it is by grace that we are saved and not by any work that we can do.

In the sacrifices that God commands Moses to have His people make, we see a picture of Jesus and the sacrifice that He made for us. But we also see the heart of God for us in our lives that we may become "a living sacrifice" offered up to Him. This is my heart's desire, I want my life to be a picture of Jesus.

It is not anything that we have to do, because the ultimate sacrifice has been made through Jesus Christ. Yet those of us who are seeking the heart of God can receive much from these scriptures.

Each sacrifice is very detailed. Details that you would think would have very little meaning for us as God's people( Christians) today, yet you will be surprised at what God wants to say to us today through those details.

Leviticus shows God's people how to fulfill their priestly calling. 1Peter 2:9 tells us as born again children of God we are all called to be priests. In other words all of us have a ministry.

Pray that God will speak to your heart through these sacrifices as we realize that Christ fulfilled everyone of them. And that we will be encouraged to offer up to Him our lives as a living sacrifice, so that the world may see Jesus in us. That is what the world needs, they need to see Jesus. Then revival will begin.

I will be excited to hear how these scriptures touch your heart as the Holy Spirit speaks to you through them.


Leviticus Chapter One

The scripture tells us that the Lord called to Moses from the Tent of Meeting. In other words Moses was where he needed to be to hear from God. Are you where you need to be to hear God's voice?

Do you have a special time set aside just to spend with Him, meditating on the scriptures, sitting at His feet? Jesus said "My sheep listen to My voice; I know them and they follow Me"(John 10:27). Moses was where he was supposed to be and God spoke to him.

In our busy life styles it is hard to find time to be still long enough to hear from God. We are always on the go with good intentions of spending time with Him. Too often that time is put off till the end of the day, when most of us are too tired to meditate on His word and wait patiently to hear His voice. The sad part is we so need to hear His voice and gain the strength that can only come through feeding upon His word.

It is the "Bread of Life" nourishment for our souls. We could not survive indefinitely without physical food, we would die. God gives us spiritual nourishment through his word. That is why we see so many Christians who are spiritually weak. It is essential that we spend time in Bible study and time with the Lord in order to survive. Then when the enemy comes in, and he will, we will have the strength to fight him, using God's Word(the sword of the Spirit).

I am sure most of you know that, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded. Now let's get to some meat of the Word.

God then began to give instruction for the first of five offerings. This offering was called the "Burnt Offering." This was a voluntary offering, one you did not have to give.

They were to bring an animal from the herd or the flock, a male without defect. Jesus was without defect, in Him there was no sin. It had to be from the herd or the flock. This meant it had to be domesticated. It couldn't be some wild beautiful animal such as an elk or deer. It had to be from the herd or from the flock. Something that belonged to them. It had to mean something to them, an animal that belonged to them.

You know often we want to say we have sacrificed something to God that looks good to us. Something we think looks beautiful. It may look good to us and even to other people, but really it wasn't much of a sacrifice. The dictionary says that a sacrifice means "to suffer a loss." We often find it hard to even turn over our plates and sacrifice a meal. ( I don't know about you, but fasting is hard for me). God wanted it to be a sacrifice......it had to mean something to the person who was offering it.

He was to lay his hand on the head of the animal. It signified a transfer of obligation to suffer sin. This act made it personal. Something had to die because of that person's sin. Blood had to be shed. An innocent victim would have to die, because a sin had been committed. The animal would be put to death in the place of the individual. The individual himself would have to slaughter the animal.

This is what happened when we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we designated Him as a sacrifice for our sin. Our sin killed Him. He died in our place for our sin.

This act of transfer of sin to an innocent animal made them more sensitive to their sin. They had to actually lay their hands on the head of the innocent victim. Are we sensitive to our sin? Or do we just have the attitude "I'm not too bad, God knows my heart."

Are we aware of the bad attitudes, sins of jealousy and pride in our lives, or do we just shrug them off as insignificant? Do we really realize that these sins killed our Savior and that He was the innocent victim? We see through these sacrifices how ugly sin is and how much God hates it. Sin causes death, the death of happiness, the death of joy, the death of relationship.

Because we are saved by grace, I think we don't take sin as seriously as we should. Jesus suffered and died for every bad attitude, for every time we walked in pride and stubbornness.

If there is one message God wants to get across through these scriptures, it is that sin is ugly and He hates it. It was your sin and my sin that killed His Son.

I have been praying that God would help me to recognize my sin, and not just shrug it off and dismiss it. I have asked Him to help me be aware of bad attitudes and the pride in my life (one of my big issues).

God's instructions in verse 6 was to skin the animal and cut it into pieces. This was so that every piece would be exposed. Do your realize that every part of Jesus life was exposed? He hang naked on the tree, nothing was hidden, everything exposed. Even his prayer life was exposed. There are things we say in prayer that we would not want another human being to hear. Everything in his life was exposed.

In Psalm 139: 23-24, the Psalmist says,"Search me O God and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts and see if there is any wicked way in me." Our sin needs to be exposed and confessed. We need to acknowledge that we have sinned and repent. Sometimes we sense the Holy Spirit convicting us of some attitude or wrong doing. We think, well it's okay God's grace covers my sin. But God hates it my friend. He hates sin, He makes that clear through these scriptures. Sin causes death.

In verse 7, the priest were to put fire on the altar and arrange the wood on the fire. This speaks of the cross (wood) and judgement (fire) ....of the sacrifice Jesus made when He went through the fire of judgement being judged for our sins.

In verse 9, the priest were to wash the inner parts and the legs with water and burn all of it on the altar.

How is it with you inside in the inward parts? Sometimes that is the hardest part .....to look on the inside and confess that you are wrong, to ask God to expose your sin. Psalm 51:6 says, "Surely You desire truth in the inner parts." It is hard to admit that your attitude was bad or that you may have been acting in pride, or that maybe your motives in a certain situation were not right.

The inner parts and the legs needed to be washed with water. We need to be washed with the water of the Word in the inward parts, and our legs so that our walk with God will be a pure and holy walk.

All of it had to be burned or consumed on the altar. Have you put it all on the altar? We all remember the old hymn "I Surrender All." But have you really surrendered everything? Have you laid it all on the altar, holding nothing back?

9b "It is a burnt offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord." When I think of an offering made by fire, I think of the fiery trials we go through, things we don't understand, but we trust God anyway. Offering our trials up to Him as a sacrifice, trusting Him that it will be for his glory and our good. He purifies through the fire and cleanses us with water through the Word, when we are trusting Him as we go through the trying times.

Verse 14 tells us that it could be an offering of birds, pigeons or turtle doves. This was so that no one was left out. If you couldn't afford a bull, lamb or goat you could bring a bird. Anyone could afford a bird. In other words there was no excuse for not making a sacrifice. But keep in mind this was all voluntary.

Verse 16 said, " He is to remove the crop." this was considered the useless part of the bird. God wants the best of our lives. Sometimes we offer Him what seems to be the easiest. He said, "They honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." God wants our hearts. He wants the best.

We see so much detail involved in the sacrifices. Everything had to be done a certain way. He wanted everything done just right. We live in such a busy world that we pay little attention to details, but God is interested in the details of our lives. Things we easily dismiss are important to God. Scripture tells that "it is the little foxes that spoil the vine." "It is the "little sins" we that consider unimportant that cause us to bear bad fruit, and after "all aren't we are identified as belonging to Him" by the fruit that we bear? There is no little sin to Him. Sin cost the life of His precious Son. God hates sin whether we consider it as small sins or big sins. He hates sin. He shows us this over and over in Leviticus.

Lord, Thank you for Your amazing grace that covers our sin. Help us Lord to examine our lives and be aware of our sin. Reveal to us anything that is not pleasing to you, so that we may confess and repent. Help us to look more like Your Son, so that we can show Him to the world. Help us to offer up lives that we may be a living sacrifice, an aroma pleasing to you.

Ephesians 5:2 "Walk in love as Christ has also loved us and has given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor."