Leviticus 11:45 I, the Lord, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God. You must therefore be holy because I am holy.
I have to admit having read through the Bible before, I am once again struggling to read portions of the Old Testament. It is difficult and tedious, very detailed. God was very specific about the set up of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the offerings, the way the priests were to dress and carry out their duties in the tabernacle. The procedure for carrying out each type of offering is at times disgusting to read, but also very specific down to what parts of the animals are to be removed, burned and/or consumed. God gives specific instructions as to what is to be consumed and whether or not it is appropriate for His people. It is a lot of information for my mind to absorb, and hard to imagine what it was like to have to do it all. Thank goodness for Jesus or we would still be doing all of that today. I know there is meaning to the rituals and traditions of that time, and I respect it but, I am thankful I do not have to go through all of that to be close to God and to please Him. He called His people out, He required much of them and after a time Christ came. What a gift, what a sacrifice, what an amazing gift for us so that we don't have to go through a priest or ceremony of some kind to be close to God. I am thankful for the time and the ceremony of my own making that is God's each day. We all can make our quiet time a personal ceremony for God each day. Have you made time for Him today? Have you read His word? Have you talked with Him? Take time to tell Him how much you love Him, need Him, cannot imagine life without Him. He has given us so much, we have so much to be thankful for. I cannot imagine what kind of person I would be without Him. I have tried, and it is quite painful to even think of what path my life could have taken without a relationship with Christ. Whether you realize it or not, we are chosen, set apart, a holy nation that God wants to use to further His kingdom. There is no greater reason for Him to wait for Jesus' second return. There are so many people who need Him and deserve the chance to know Him. I hope I can be more of His light to someone today. What a difference a day can make in someone's life with a smile, kind word, selfless gesture. We can always do more, we can always do something of worth.
I have to admit having read through the Bible before, I am once again struggling to read portions of the Old Testament. It is difficult and tedious, very detailed. God was very specific about the set up of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the offerings, the way the priests were to dress and carry out their duties in the tabernacle. The procedure for carrying out each type of offering is at times disgusting to read, but also very specific down to what parts of the animals are to be removed, burned and/or consumed. God gives specific instructions as to what is to be consumed and whether or not it is appropriate for His people. It is a lot of information for my mind to absorb, and hard to imagine what it was like to have to do it all. Thank goodness for Jesus or we would still be doing all of that today. I know there is meaning to the rituals and traditions of that time, and I respect it but, I am thankful I do not have to go through all of that to be close to God and to please Him. He called His people out, He required much of them and after a time Christ came. What a gift, what a sacrifice, what an amazing gift for us so that we don't have to go through a priest or ceremony of some kind to be close to God. I am thankful for the time and the ceremony of my own making that is God's each day. We all can make our quiet time a personal ceremony for God each day. Have you made time for Him today? Have you read His word? Have you talked with Him? Take time to tell Him how much you love Him, need Him, cannot imagine life without Him. He has given us so much, we have so much to be thankful for. I cannot imagine what kind of person I would be without Him. I have tried, and it is quite painful to even think of what path my life could have taken without a relationship with Christ. Whether you realize it or not, we are chosen, set apart, a holy nation that God wants to use to further His kingdom. There is no greater reason for Him to wait for Jesus' second return. There are so many people who need Him and deserve the chance to know Him. I hope I can be more of His light to someone today. What a difference a day can make in someone's life with a smile, kind word, selfless gesture. We can always do more, we can always do something of worth.
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