Max Lucado Daily: He Rested
He Rested
Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:01 PM PDT
“He rested on the seventh day.” Exodus 20:11, The Message
Read what Jesus did during the last Sabbath of his life. Start in the Gospel of Matthew. Didn’t find anything? Try Mark…. Nothing there either? Strange. What about Luke?... Not a word about it? Well, try John. Surely John mentions the Sabbath. He doesn’t?
No reference? Hmmmm. Looks like Jesus was quiet that day….
“You mean with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath?” As far as we can tell.
Leviticus 14
Cleansing From Defiling Skin Diseases
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease,[a] 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields.
8 “The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair and bathe with water; then they will be ceremonially clean. After this they may come into the camp, but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. 9 On the seventh day they must shave off all their hair; they must shave their head, their beard, their eyebrows and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean.
10 “On the eighth day they must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an ephah[b] of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, and one log[c] of oil. 11 The priest who pronounces them clean shall present both the one to be cleansed and their offerings before the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
12 “Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil; he shall wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. 13 He is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering[d] and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. 15 The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand, 16 dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the LORD seven times. 17 The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. 18 The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for them before the LORD.
19 “Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from their uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering 20 and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for them, and they will be clean.
21 “If, however, they are poor and cannot afford these, they must take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for them, together with a tenth of an ephah[e] of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of oil, 22 and two doves or two young pigeons, such as they can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.
23 “On the eighth day they must bring them for their cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the LORD. 24 The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering, together with the log of oil, and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. 25 He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. 26 The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before the LORD. 28 Some of the oil in his palm he is to put on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering—on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. 29 The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for them before the LORD. 30 Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, such as the person can afford, 31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the one to be cleansed.”
32 These are the regulations for anyone who has a defiling skin disease and who cannot afford the regular offerings for their cleansing.
Cleansing From Defiling Molds
33 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 34 “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mold in a house in that land, 35 the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like a defiling mold in my house.’ 36 The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mold, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house. 37 He is to examine the mold on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, 38 the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days. 39 On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mold has spread on the walls, 40 he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town. 41 He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town. 42 Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.
43 “If the defiling mold reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, 44 the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mold has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mold; the house is unclean. 45 It must be torn down—its stones, timbers and all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place.
46 “Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening. 47 Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes.
48 “But if the priest comes to examine it and the mold has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the defiling mold is gone. 49 To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. 50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. 51 Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. 53 Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”
54 These are the regulations for any defiling skin disease, for a sore, 55 for defiling molds in fabric or in a house, 56 and for a swelling, a rash or a shiny spot, 57 to determine when something is clean or unclean.
These are the regulations for defiling skin diseases and defiling molds.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Revelation 3:14-22 (New International Version, ©2011)
To the Church in Laodicea
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
A Matter Of Perspective
March 15, 2011 — by Joe Stowell
[You] do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. —Revelation 3:17
One of my favorite stories is about the Texas rancher who was doing agricultural consulting for a farmer in Germany. He asked the German farmer about the size of his property, to which he replied, “About a mile square.” When the German asked the Texan about the size of his ranch, the rancher explained that if he got in his pick-up truck at dawn and drove until sunset he would still be on his ranch. Not to be outdone, the farmer replied, “I used to have an old truck like that!”
All joking aside, it’s important to have the right perspective. Unfortunately, the Christians in Laodicea had the wrong perspective about wealth (Rev. 3:14-22). By all appearances, they were rich. They had plenty of earthly goods and thought they needed nothing—not even Jesus. But Jesus had a different perspective. In spite of their material prosperity, He saw that they were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (v.17). So He invited them to become truly rich by seeking what only He could provide: purity, character, righteousness, and wisdom.
Let’s not make the Laodicean mistake. Instead, let’s keep our perspective right about what it means to be rich. True wealth is not measured by what you have but by who you are in Christ.
In Christ we’re rich beyond belief
With wealth the world cannot see;
We have new strength and character,
New righteousness and purity. —Sper
The poorest person is he whose only wealth is money.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 15th, 2011
The Discipline of Dismay
As they followed they were afraid —Mark 10:32
At the beginning of our life with Jesus Christ, we were sure we knew all there was to know about following Him. It was a delight to forsake everything else and to throw ourselves before Him in a fearless statement of love. But now we are not quite so sure. Jesus is far ahead of us and is beginning to seem different and unfamiliar— "Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed" (Mark 10:32 ).
There is an aspect of Jesus that chills even a disciple’s heart to its depth and makes his entire spiritual life gasp for air. This unusual Person with His face set "like a flint" (Isaiah 50:7 ) is walking with great determination ahead of me, and He strikes terror right through me. He no longer seems to be my Counselor and Friend and has a point of view about which I know nothing. All I can do is stand and stare at Him in amazement. At first I was confident that I understood Him, but now I am not so sure. I begin to realize that there is a distance between Jesus and me and I can no longer be intimate with Him. I have no idea where He is going, and the goal has become strangely distant.
Jesus Christ had to understand fully every sin and sorrow that human beings could experience, and that is what makes Him seem unfamiliar. When we see this aspect of Him, we realize we really don’t know Him. We don’t recognize even one characteristic of His life, and we don’t know how to begin to follow Him. He is far ahead of us, a Leader who seems totally unfamiliar, and we have no friendship with Him.
The discipline of dismay is an essential lesson which a disciple must learn. The danger is that we tend to look back on our times of obedience and on our past sacrifices to God in an effort to keep our enthusiasm for Him strong (see Isaiah 1:10-11 ). But when the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come the ability to follow Jesus truly, which brings inexpressibly wonderful joy.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Don't Switch Channels - #6307
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
I shocked my kids one day. I told them I could remember life without television! Yeah, I know you can't believe the reaction to that. It's inconceivable to them that there was ever life before TV. Well, I was there I'm afraid to say.
Now, I've seen a lot of changes since we got our first TV. I think I was about five or six years old, and my Dad brought home this little box with a seven-inch screen. My Mother and I would like burn out our eyes, sitting next to it trying to find whatever was on in that little box. And if you didn't like what was on, there wasn't a lot of choice; there were like not very many channels.
Over the years independent networks began to develop and they began to have more choices. And then, cable TV, and then you got like hundreds of choices. And finally, along comes the remote switch and you don't even have to get up if you don't like what's on the screen. You just push a button! I'm really good at that thing! You just change the channel or turn it off. Of course, you might just be turning off a message you need.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Don't Switch Channels."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Chronicles chapter 26. It's about a Jewish king, King Uzziah, who was a legend in his own time. He was blessed by God. He defeated the ancient enemies of Israel. He built these impressive towers. He had the most advanced army of his day. But, 2 Chronicles chapter 26, beginning in verse 16, says this: "But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense." Now, you might remember that only a High Priest, a consecrated High Priest could enter into the Holy Place of God and do that. But, this is a proud, arrogant, spiritually insensitive act on his part.
"Azariah, the Priest," it says, "with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. They confronted him and said, 'It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests - the descendants of Aaron - who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you've been unfaithful and you will not be honored by the Lord God.'" Well, it says, "Uzziah had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, but he became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead." And we go on to read that he had leprosy until he died, and had to live in a separate house.
Here's a story of a powerful man, and courageous priests. He didn't like what he heard from them, so he just changed channels. He didn't get angry at what he had done; he got angry at the people who cared enough to confront him with what he'd done. Now, the important exhortation in this story is this: listen to your confronters. The more successful we get, the more we need them and the less we want them. The best friends you have are the ones who are willing to tell you the unpleasant truth about you; who hold up a mirror.
So, how do you react to your critics, your confronters, your correctors? Think about your reaction to the suggestions of the corrections that you've gotten say from your parents, or from your mate. Did you blow up? Did you walk away? Or did you honestly consider whether there might be at least some truth in what they said?
Right now, God is probably assigning someone to be your confronter. He does that because He loves you. You need one. Who is it? Are you listening even if the news is hard to take? Or do you leap to the defensive and you shut down if you don't like what you're hearing? Your confronters may or may not say it well. They may or may not have the right attitude. But they may have a point. Listen to your confronters. They may help you avoid a crash later.
I know you want to tune it out or turn it off when your confronters are broadcasting. But you need that news. Don't switch channels.