February 24, 2012 - Leviticus 21, 22, 25

Friday, February 24, 2012
Leviticus 21, 22, 25

A large portion of today's reading focuses on the rules for
priests. God sets the bar very high for His priests because He wants
their example to be an imitation of His holiness. The priests were not
permitted to touch nor have relations with the unclean and blemished.
In the same way, God can't have any part with us unless we are seen as
clean and without a blemish. Our only means of achieving a place with
God is by being separated from our sin. As Steve mentioned yesterday,
Jesus is the only one that can separate us from our sin and make us
holy before God the Father. Even here in today's reading, God makes it
clear, "I am the LORD, who makes him holy." (Leviticus 21:15) God
never intended for us to achieve holiness on our own. God's plan has
always been to help us. He helps believers today through the Holy
Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 12:3, the apostle Paul said, "So I want you to
know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and
no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit." If Jesus is
Lord in your life, then the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart. If the
Holy Spirit dwells in your heart, then you are capable of living a
holy life, for the Spirit of God is your strength. When you allow God
to be in control, you will experience the fruit of the spirit. In
Galatians 5:22-23, Paul said, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control. Against such things there is no law." What fruit is
better than that?

In God's holiness, we also find rest. In Leviticus 25, God gives
laws concerning rest in the "Sabbath" and "Jubilee" years. Sabbath
years occur every seven years and require the Israelites to rest and
worship. The Jubilee year occurs every fifty years and provides not
only a time focused on rest and worship, but also on redemption.
During the Jubilee year, slaves are set free and property is redeemed.
Under these provisions, God reminds us that no person or property can
be owned by people. Everything belongs to God and everything we have,
we are borrowing from God. With this fact in mind, the Holy Spirit can
also free our dependence on worldly possessions. In Matthew 6:19-21,
it says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do
not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Let's not allow our self-worth to be tied into the accumulating of
worldly possessions. Let's instead, desire God's holiness and perfect
will, which leads to treasures in heaven and the fruit of the Spirit
today.

God Bless,
Anthony