Leviticus 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: BATTLING ANXIETY - April 10, 2018

It’s two-thirty in the morning. Everyone is asleep. Everyone, that is, except you! Thoughts rage through your mind. The green numbers on the clock are the only lights in your room, indeed the only lights in your life. Another hour passes. What a mess!

What does all this anxiety, all this restlessness mean? Simply this– you are a human. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It doesn’t mean your parents failed you or vice versa. And, this is important, it doesn’t mean you are not a Christian. Jesus battled anxiety, for heaven’s sake! In the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed three times that he wouldn’t have to drink of the cup (Matthew 26:36-44). He was anxious, but he didn’t stay anxious. He entrusted his fears to his heavenly Father and completed his earthly mission with faith. And he will help us to do likewise!

Read more Anxious for Nothing

Leviticus 11
Foods
1-2 God spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, Of all the animals on Earth, these are the animals that you may eat:

3-8 “You may eat any animal that has a split hoof, divided in two, and that chews the cud, but not an animal that only chews the cud or only has a split hoof. For instance, the camel chews the cud but doesn’t have a split hoof, so it’s unclean. The rock badger chews the cud but doesn’t have a split hoof and so it’s unclean. The rabbit chews the cud but doesn’t have a split hoof so is unclean. The pig has a split hoof, divided in two, but doesn’t chew the cud and so is unclean. You may not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

9-12 “Among the creatures that live in the water of the seas and streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But anything that doesn’t have fins and scales, whether in seas or streams, whether small creatures in the shallows or huge creatures in the deeps, you are to detest. Yes, detest them. Don’t eat their meat; detest their carcasses. Anything living in the water that doesn’t have fins and scales is detestable to you.

13-19 “These are the birds you are to detest. Don’t eat them. They are detestable: eagle, vulture, osprey, kite, all falcons, all ravens, ostrich, nighthawk, sea gull, all hawks, owl, cormorant, ibis, water hen, pelican, Egyptian vulture, stork, all herons, hoopoe, bat.

20-23 “All flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. But you can eat some of these, namely, those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground: all locusts, katydids, crickets, and grasshoppers. But all the other flying insects that have four legs you are to detest.

24-25 “You will make yourselves ritually unclean until evening if you touch their carcasses. If you pick up one of their carcasses you must wash your clothes and you’ll be unclean until evening.

26 “Every animal that has a split hoof that’s not completely divided, or that doesn’t chew the cud is unclean for you; if you touch the carcass of any of them you become unclean.

27-28 “Every four-footed animal that goes on its paws is unclean for you; if you touch its carcass you are unclean until evening. If you pick up its carcass you must wash your clothes and are unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.

29-38 “Among the creatures that crawl on the ground, the following are unclean for you: weasel, rat, all lizards, gecko, monitor lizard, wall lizard, skink, chameleon. Among the crawling creatures, these are unclean for you. If you touch them when they are dead, you are ritually unclean until evening. When one of them dies and falls on something, that becomes unclean no matter what it’s used for, whether it’s made of wood, cloth, hide, or sackcloth. Put it in the water—it’s unclean until evening, and then it’s clean. If one of these dead creatures falls into a clay pot, everything in the pot is unclean and you must break the pot. Any food that could be eaten but has water on it from such a pot is unclean, and any liquid that could be drunk from it is unclean. Anything that one of these carcasses falls on is unclean—an oven or cooking pot must be broken up; they’re unclean and must be treated as unclean. A spring, though, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but if you touch one of these carcasses you’re ritually unclean. If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, you must treat it as unclean.

39-40 “If an animal that you are permitted to eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass is ritually unclean until evening. If you eat some of the carcass you must wash your clothes and you are unclean until evening. If you pick up the carcass you must wash your clothes and are unclean until evening.

41-43 “Creatures that crawl on the ground are detestable and not to be eaten. Don’t eat creatures that crawl on the ground, whether on their belly or on all fours or on many feet—they are detestable. Don’t make yourselves unclean or be defiled by them, because I am your God.

44-45 “Make yourselves holy for I am holy. Don’t make yourselves ritually unclean by any creature that crawls on the ground. I am God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Be holy because I am holy.

46-47 “These are the instructions on animals, birds, fish, and creatures that crawl on the ground. You have to distinguish between the ritually unclean and the clean, between living creatures that can be eaten and those that cannot be eaten.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Read: Mark 9:14–29

Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.[a]”

Footnotes:
Mark 9:29 Some manuscripts prayer and fasting

Only by Prayer
By Xochitl Dixon
Everything is possible for one who believes. Mark 9:23

My friend called me late one night during her cancer treatment. Grieved by her uncontrollable sobs, I soon added my own tears and a silent prayer. What am I supposed to do, Lord?

Her wails squeezed my heart. I couldn’t stop her pain, fix her situation, or find one intelligible word of encouragement. But I knew who could help. As I wept with my friend, stumbling through a prayer, I whispered repeatedly, “Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.”

When we call on the name of Jesus, He can enable us to believe and rely on the power of His presence.
Her cries quieted to sniffs and whimpers, until her breathing slowed. Her husband’s voice startled me. “She’s asleep,” he said. “We’ll call tomorrow.”

I hung up, weeping prayers into my pillow.

The apostle Mark shares a story of another person who wanted to help his loved one. A desperate father brought his suffering son to Jesus (Mark 9:17). Doubt clung to his plea, as he reiterated the impossibility of their circumstances (vv. 20–22) and acknowledged his need for Jesus to empower his belief (v. 24). The father and son experienced freedom, hope, and peace when Jesus stepped in and took control (vv. 25–27).

When loved ones are hurting, it’s natural to want to do the right things and say the perfect words. But Christ is the only One who can truly help us. When we call on the name of Jesus, He can enable us to believe and rely on the power of His presence.

Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Oh, how we need You, Jesus.

Share your prayer request and pray for others at YourDailyBread.org.
The name of Jesus is the powerful prayer that leads us into His mighty presence.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Complete and Effective Decision About Sin
…our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. —Romans 6:6

Co-Crucifixion. Have you made the following decision about sin—that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you– not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified— just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be mentally and spiritually convinced, but what we need to do is actually make the decision that Paul urged us to do in this passage.

Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important decision, saying, “Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that sin is dead in me.” Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.

This was not some divine future expectation on the part of Paul, but was a very radical and definite experience in his life. Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you until you know what the level and nature of sin is in your life— to see the very things that struggle against God’s Spirit in you? If so, will you then agree with God’s verdict on the nature of sin— that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin” (Romans 6:11) unless you have radically dealt with the issue of your will before God.

Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is His life? “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. So Send I You, 1330 L

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Built to Last - #8152

It's a ghost town now. But in the 1880s, she was one of the boomtowns of California-all because of some silver in the ground. When the price of silver soared, so did their fortunes and so did the population of this little town that we visited not too long ago. But when the price of silver crashed, well, of course, so did the town. Back in some of her better days, a fire hit the town and it burned a lot of it to the ground. The only original buildings still standing there today had one thing in common. In a town that was mostly wood structures, these were the ones that were made of adobe. They've reconstructed some of those wood buildings, but hey, they weren't there long ago because, of course, they couldn't survive the fire.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Built to Last."

That ghost town actually tells a story; what survives is only what is built with something lasting. After we take our last bow, sometimes just with the perspective of passing years even, that's how your life and mine will be. All that will matter is what was really lasting. All that really matters now is what's going to last, and it's tragic how ultimately meaningless much of what we spend ourselves on really is. Maybe God has arranged it for someone to be listening right now who is pouring a lot into goals and to stuff that really don't matter much. He's been trying to get a wakeup call through to you so you could rearrange your priorities to make a far greater difference with the rest of your life than you've made until now.

In 1 Corinthians 3, beginning with verse 11, which is our word for today from the Word of God, He pulls back the curtain and shows us the view from the finish line of our lives. He says, "No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." That's a heartbreaking picture. You get to the end of the one life you had, and everything you did with it burns in a fire marked "meaningless." Nothing to show for the one life I lived.

Now is the time to think about how lasting what we're doing and building really is; how eternally valuable it is, because then it's too late. What we read from the Bible makes it clear that the only foundation for a life that matters forever is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He's the one who died for your sins so you could be forgiven, and He walked out of His grave so you could live forever. If your life seems hollow and unexplainably empty, it may be because Jesus is missing. He's the one you were made by. He's the one you were made for. If you would place your life in His hands today, then today could be the end of the wasted years and the beginning of the greatest years of your life.

And if you belong to Jesus, be sure you are, as Jesus said, "seeking first the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33) and not your own kingdom. A life that survives every fire and matters forever is built this way: by basing every decision you make only on what Jesus says. You make sure that the people in your life are what you put first, not the projects, not the business, not your entertainment, not even a church. The people are what's going to last when everything else has burned. And the most eternal legacy you could leave with your life is to introduce someone else to Jesus Christ. Above all, be sure you have anchored your life, your soul and your eternity to the only One who can take you to heaven, and that's Jesus Christ who died to get you there.

He's actually come to you through this little visit today, because He is ready to come into your life at your invitation. Will you tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm yours." You say, "I want to know how to do that; how to make that work." Go to our website and get this done. It's ANewStory.com.

What a tragedy it would be for a winner here for this blink of an eye to be a loser there for all eternity. Spend what you've got on what lasts. Be sure you belong to Jesus Christ.