Title: From Victory To Tragedy / Topic: Presumption

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 10; Leviticus 11; Leviticus 12; Acts 16

Scripture: Leviticus 10:1-3
1 Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. 3 Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said:
" 'Among those who approach me
I will show myself holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.' "
Aaron remained silent.

Observation: This is how the first day of Aaron's ministry ended: with the death of his two eldest sons consumed by fire "from the presence of the Lord." Just moments before this catastrophe, the Lord had sent down fire and consumed the offering from the altar, which had this result: "When all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown." (Lev. 10:24) It is at this moment that Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, made a fateful decision to do some "freestyle or improvisational" worship. They grabbed their censers (incense containers) and threw some incense in and, lighting it, offered this before the Lord. Whether they were just caught up in the moment and wanting to worship God, or whether they were just grandstanding, we don't know. But what is clear is that this act was contrary to what they had been instructed to do and because of it, they died.

Application: I think of Aaron going in mere moments from the pinnacle of ecstasy as God shows up in power to validate his ministry to the pit of agony at God shows up in power to kill his sons for their departure from the protocol. This is a truly devastating emotional hit! What is the lesson of this sobering incident? It is that there is no place for presumption on the part of those who represent God. We are not freelancers, exercising our own tastes. We are ambassadors conveying the directives of the King.

Prayer: Lord, help us to honor you and never to approach ministry with casual or carefree attitudes. Remind us, Lord, that while we can be joyful and jubilant, we must remain reverent and respectful for you, our God, are an awesome God.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Title: God Showed Up / Topic: Confirmation

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 7; Leviticus 8; Leviticus 9; Acts 15

Scripture: Leviticus 9:22-24
22 Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down.
23 Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

Observation: This is the first day upon which Aaron and his sons have performed the sacrifices as Moses instructed them. As I read the account of all the details of the sacrificing, I wondered how Aaron and his sons felt about all of this -- the strange outfits, the odd and bloody ritual -- what were they thinking? And the people, how did this all play out to the rank and file of Israel. Then, at the end, "the glory of the Lord" shows up! "And when all the people say it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown."

Application: As a pastor, this is what I always hope for: God shows up and validates my ministry. Sometimes even when you do your best to bring the word that God has given you, it can leave you feeling a little flat and wondering, did I miss it today? But when God shows up with a strong sense of his presence, that makes all the difference! I am so sure that Moses and Aaron and the people were grateful for this tangible demonstration of God's approval and blessing. The people shouted for joy! I always want to function in such a way that the tangible sense of God's blessing is a regular, if not constant, part of the experience. I know that we must walk by faith, not by sight, but I also know that God delights to bless his people and to confirm his word to them.

Prayer: Lord, I so desire to know your glory in my daily life and especially in my ministry. May I so walk as to give you cause to confirm your work through me with signs following, as you will.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Title: What A Mess! / Topic: Sin

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 4; Leviticus 5; Leviticus 6; Acts 14

Scripture: Leviticus 4:27-31
27 " 'If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, he is guilty. 28 When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect. 29 He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. 30 Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 31 He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

Observation: The regulations regarding sin offerings are given in this chapter. As I was reading, I thought of the mess and the expense of this. Think about it. If I sin, I must take a female goat without defect. I am to lay my hand on its head and slaughter it. It's a bloody mess -- quite revolting! And the cost of this goat that is sacrificed would be a hit on the finances of the family.

Application: Thank God that this system is not in effect today. "If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) The downside of this is that it can tend to cause us to minimize sin -- to think little or nothing of the impact that it has. The old system brought home the seriousness of sin in very real ways.

Prayer: Lord, thank you that Jesus took my sin upon himself and died for me. I want to walk in your grace and forgiveness and in your empowerment to live a righteous life. May I take sin very seriously and may I stay far away from sin in my life.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Title: Even God Can't Please Everybody / Topic: Doing What's Right

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 1; Leviticus 2; Leviticus 3; Acts 13

Scripture: Acts 13:48-50
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.

Observation: Paul and Barnabas had been preaching in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch but some of the Jews very jealous of their success and spoke against them abusively. At that point, Paul and Barnabas state their intention to leave the synagogue and go out to preach to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were happy to hear that and they responded. And "all who were appointed for eternal life believed." And yet there was open opposition to Paul and Barnabas and they were forced to leave.

Application: I see Paul and Barnabas doing everything within their power to respect the Jews and only turn to the Gentiles after the Jews turn them away. But with the success that they had with the Gentiles, the Jews didn't like it at all and "stirred up persecution" against them. What I get out of this is that you can do everything right and still have people mad at you. You can dot every i and cross every t and still have people who will turn on you and persecute you. If even Paul and Barnabas couldn't please everyone, I should not be surprised when people don't like me or what I am doing in Jesus name.

Prayer: Lord, help me to concentrate on you -- pleasing and following you. And help me not to worry about what others might say. I want to follow you no matter what the opposition. Help me, Lord.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Title: The Faithless Prayer / Topic: God's Goodness

Today’s Reading: Exodus 39; Exodus 40; Psalm 15; Acts 12

Scripture: Acts 12:5, 7, 9, 12-16
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him... 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists... 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 12 ...he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15 "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

Observation: The church was praying for Peter, but when he was set free by the angel, they didn't believe it, in fact they were totally shocked that Peter was there. This clearly shows that though they were praying, they did not have faith that God would actually save Peter. Their's was a faithless prayer, but God answered it anyway.

Application: I have heard Christians give formulas for getting God to answer prayer. Everything from getting two people to agree, to laying on of hands; saying certain phrases like, "in the name of Jesus," and even reminding God that what is being prayed for is assured in the Bible. The truth is, approaching prayer that way reduces those things to gimmicks. But here we see an answered prayer where even those who prayed it did not expect it to be answered. Wow! What this says to me is that God is faithful to answer any prayer that will bring about his perfect will, and, of course, we don't really know just what that might be at any given moment. So just pray and ask God. He might just give you an answer that you don't expect.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord that you are good and that you take good care of us. Help us to continue to pray, and leave the rest up to you.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Title: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished / Topic: Criticism

Today’s Reading: Exodus 37; Exodus 38; Psalm 19; Acts 11

Author's Note: Today's reading is rich and I would like to point out some items to look for as your read. Notice the detailed instructions for the tabernacle and its furnishings. Beautiful wood, gold, silver, bronze, are used -- all with carvings and intricate detail. And note the incredible amount of weight in gold, silver, and bronze (see chapter 38 footnotes) -- over seven tons in all! -- and this weight doesn't include the fabrics, skins, and woods used. That's a lot of weight for a "portable" system. They had to do church as a team. Enjoy Psalm 19 -- it's one of my favorites -- so many beautiful truths there.

Scripture: Acts 11:1-3
1 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."

Observation: The Gentiles have become saved for the first time! Hallelujah! Right? Wrong. There are people complaining. And Peter is called on the carpet to explain and defend his actions.

Application: It always amazes me when I get to this part of Acts. And yet, I shouldn't be surprised. Even when people are getting saved, there are those in the church who will complain. They will find fault with something for some reason. There is nothing good that you can do in the church without meeting some resistance from somebody. As my title says, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.

Bottom Line: I must decide not to worry about critics, knowing they will always be there and that they will always make their whining voices heard. That is not to say that all criticism is bad -- not at all. But those who chronically complain and never lift a finger to help are not worth listening to. I will listen to those who are next to me in the battle, but those who stay away from the fray and send their barbs after the fact, I choose to ignore.

Prayer: Lord, help me to play for you, my audience of one. May I please you and not worry about pleasing men. And keep the spirit of criticism away from our church. May we be grateful and happy and supportive.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Title: The Compelling Vision / Topic: Leadership

Today’s Reading: Exodus 35; Exodus 36; Acts 10

Scripture: Exodus 36:1-7
1 So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded."
2 Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work 5 and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done."
6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Observation: Here we clearly see Doing Church As A Team in action. We have all the skilled craftsman headed by Bezalel and Oholiab who are using their skills to create all the parts needed for the tabernacle, furnishings, garments, etc. And we have all the people bringing offerings for what they were building. In fact, they brought so much that the workmen complained to Moses and told them to stop!

Application: I absolutely love this and regard it as one of the most successful examples of vision casting I have ever heard of. Because the vision was successfully communicated, the craftsman took up the job and the people gave. And we see that this was not isolated to a few. No, all the skilled craftsman worked and all the people gave. For me is this a great inspiration and challenge. Moses did a fantastic job getting the message across to the point where all the people bought in to the vision and invested their talent and treasure.

Prayer: Lord, I want to be this kind of effective communicator -- sharing the vision and seeing people eager and excited to be a part of it. Help me to have clarity, passion, integrity, and your empowerment as I share what you have called me to do. May I lead with power and declare such a vivid vision that the only problems we have are too much giving, too many servants, too much excitement and enthusiasm. This is the kind of leader I want to be. Help me Lord.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.