Nathan Neighbors
Follower of Christ, Husband, Father, & Youth Pastor
Guest Blog written by: Colin Raynor
Sanctify: To set apart as or declare holy; consecrate.
We were made to be different!
How many times in today’s reading were the people told to be different? All throughout the reading we read things like, you shall do this, and you shall do that. God was telling Moses that we are made to be different. The way it is written sets it up perfectly. Chapter 19 of Leviticus starts out with a section that says The Lord Is Holy. Then one chapter later we are told “You Shall Be Holy”. In that section he tells us to be different. “And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things and therefore I detested them. But I have said to you, you shall inherit their land, ….. I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.” So as we go throughout our day, as believers we need to remember that we were made to be different. We were made to tell people the Good News, and what better way than to show them how God wants us to live.
1 Corinthians 6:11
“Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
This book is one that many people skim over. Leviticus isn’t the most interesting read, but it is part of the whole Word of the Lord and because of that – it’s important. These first fourteen chapters deal heavily with how the people of Israel were taught to bring offerings to the Lord and to make atonement for their sin.
As I read this section of scripture this morning I’m struck by how specific the Lord was with the people about their offerings. The people were told exactly what to bring and how to bring it to offer their best to the Lord. For example, “If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect.” Leviticus 1:3 “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…” Leviticus 2:1
Can you see how much thought and time must have been taken by the people to bring their best to the Lord? Do we take this kind of care and put this kind of thought into the tithes and offerings we give the Lord? These people were told to bring their very best and sacrifice it to the Lord. They were told to bring their very best meat, grains and oils and give them up. This wasn’t because the Lord needed it. God doesn’t need anything from us. They were told to give these things up to remind them of their utter dependence on the Lord.
Today I think we have too much. We are too “self-sufficient” for our own good. How often have you been the one in the pew who waited to pull out your wallet till just before the plate passed by your pew? I know I’m guilty. How little thought do we put into our offerings? Yes, salvation isn’t about how much we give to the Lord or how much we work for the Lord…it’s about the finished work of Jesus. However, our response to such a gift should be to give generously back to the Lord. We can never out give the Lord. May we take time each week to consider what the Lord has given us and put far more thought into our weekly tithes and offerings. Don’t wait for the plate to pass you by this week. Go to the plate with expectation and be prepared to give out of a heart of gratitude.
Guest Blog written by: Savannah Elgin
Have you ever gone into the kitchen to make a meal and you were almost done when suddenly you realized that you didn’t have one ingredient you needed. Or if you were building something and you just needed one more foot of wallpaper. You almost had everything but then you didn’t.
God had a task for Moses. It was to build the Tabernacle. At first, Moses was probably overwhelmed. Then God went into detail, calling out people by their name, and exactly what they were trained in. Ex. 31:1-3 says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, see, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts.” God had planned in advanced to have all the ingredients or materials. He didn’t forget anything.
Nathan Neighbors 