Leviticus: Set Apart

I just finished a personal study on Leviticus and I am still chewing on that book. That is the deepest the Lord has ever taken me. Two words come to mind when I think of Leviticus... Set Apart. 

God's heart is family. God will do everything he has to do to keep, hold, and have His children close to Him. He took care of His children in Egypt and made a way to get them out of bondage. He provided for them food and shade from the heat during their travels. And once they got situated, He began to teach them all the ways He wanted them to be set apart. 

This has really REALLY convicted me. Like I said He is all about family. He wants you to resemble Him so much that no where where you go, travel or attend, you still portray His family. You carry His name. ( I could stop here and preach, quick get the organ!) Some might read Leviticus and think God is a God of rules of do's and don'ts and yeah I can see that but, I saw something different. God shows the Israelites how to live holy, a lifestyle unlike any other of cleanliness. The Israelites had been under the control of a ruthless, Immoral society and where some may see God as tedious I see it as God was making sure He covered everything to provide His children the perfect opportunity to serve Him in holiness and be blessed. The Israelites had lost their sense of right and wrong, clean and unclean so God was conducting His children into a new family tradition. The Israelites had been adopted and He was having to show them the new ways of His family. He gave His children the best outline to make the Israelites look and behave unlike any other culture at that time. The best part was that God wanted it to be done out of free will and free choice. Notice many of the scriptures He begins by saying IF you bring me this offering... Meaning he didn't make ONE Israelite follow His law. It is it has been and will always be our choice to be apart of His family. 

Oh there's so much. I'm still munching. More to come. 

Moses' Tablets

I recently just reread Chapter 20 in Exodus where Moses received the Ten Commandments. It's been years since I've read that passage in Scripture and it has wrecked me all over again on a new level.(Proof the Word is alive.) Understanding that Moses was so obedient climbing Mt. Sinai over 6 times to hear from God audibly that's just the first. (Look up a picture of Mt. Sinai in Egypt) But, I've related this monumental moment in christianity to our society these days and I'm not sure our generation would make it into the promise land either. I see a lot of similarities actually between the Israelites and this generation today. It's prompted me to challenge my own self and reflect on if I follow the Commandments day in and day out. I realized I've battled 5 of the commandments throughout my seasons of life and so I've challenged myself to focus on one commandment each week and really try to uproot whatever it is that might not please the Lord. I encourage you, reread the commandments. It's still holds power today in 2016. P.S. If you think you got it down pat and you're good because you don't break any of the commandments, read passed chapter 20. There's over eighteen more laws that we overlook. But, that will have to be another blog for another day cause whoof! They get down to the nitty gritty!

New Bucket List Idea

Hiking Mount Sinai 😍😍😍😍😍😍

Exodus Endeavors

As I posted in my last blog, I'm currently on a hike through the first books of the Bible. I came across some more interesting information found in Exodus. Moses had a fond relationship with his father-in-law so much so there's a chapter dedicated to Moses listening to the advice from him. I imagine that his father-in-law was watching all that Moses was doing within a day and realized, he had too much on his plate. It was more than work, it was stress. It was wearing Moses out. His father-in-law, Jethro, gave him advice on how to set up leadership to deal with his matters. I found this very interesting that in the second book of the Bible that qualities of leadership and of those in leadership are listed from the very beginning. We like to attest mentally that leadership began with the disciples but, on the contrary it began way before then. In Exodus believe it or not, Jethro shows the four steps in leadership and in qualifying for leadership. He's now one of the men on my list of respect and wisdom. Leaders - Should Inspire 1) Able 2) God-fearing 3) Shows the true way to walk in life 4) Appointed a job 5) Judges small matters 6) Does all things for the love of man He goes on to show Moses how to break apart his leadership so that he isn't carrying too much which in historical terms, this is the beginning of court systems. Leader of Thousands - My words (Shepherd) - Sees the big picture - Sees what's good for the whole congregation Leader of Hundreds - My words (Visionary) - Sees the regulars and keeps them regular - Notices how the group sways - Able to see the majority vote Leader of Fifties - My words (Coach) - sees the potential in these few - pours into these because they possibly are the next leaders - has a high level of influence - devoted Leader of Tens - My Words (Fundamentalist) - all about relationship - fisherman - hardest workers - 100% in all the way - focuses on needs - disciples - patient Where do you see yourself within this list of leadership?