Leviticus 16:29-18:30
Mark 7:24-8:10
Psalm 41:1-13
Proverbs 10:15-16
Leviticus 18:3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.
God said they "must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices." This reminds me of the saying that we are to be in the world but not of the world.
God brought them to Canaan a land of abundance knowing of the evil and corruption there. Why would He do that? Let's face it there is evil anywhere we go on this earth there is no place they could go that would not be corrupted but this place was also "flowing with milk and honey". Wherever they were they had to be conscientious bout following God and obeying His commands. I think that under the oppression of the Egyptians it would be easier to remember to stay away from their ways. I think that for a believer who really trusts in God it is easier to remember to look to Him and follow His ways when things are tough. Those are the times when we feel helpless. Times that we feel that we can't do it on our own. At that point we look to God for help. I would think that while in captivity they were sure to pray and follow the laws and practices that God commanded trying to get His favor. Trying to get a response from Him. But when they get to Canaan they will have reached the place He promised and received His favor. They would be free and living in abundance. I think it is easier to forget about God and what He wants when we have what we want. When we are feeling like we can do it on our own because all is well.
Leviticus18:24 “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. 25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.
God went through a long list of things that they were not supposed to do. Things that the Canaanites were practicing. Things that "defiled" the people and the land. These are no different today. We can read any of the sinful things that God warns against in the Old Testament and New Testament and be able to find examples of them all done today in this world. Evil has not changed. The result of sin is the same. Corruption of the body mind and spirit and death. Fortunately, God does not change either. He loves us and is faithful. He fulfilled His promise to save us from our sin and death. So as Christians when we obey Jesus it should not be motivated by our need for Him to help us when we feel helpless but by our trust in His love and faithfulness. I am not saying that we should not look to Him and focus on Him in suffering we absolutely should, but we should focus on Him not on us and our wants and needs. And then when we are not in times of suffering but instead in times of abundance and blessing we are more likely to continue to focus on Him. And when we focus on Him then we are more likely to recognize the things in this world that are trying to drag us into sin and be different than the world. Jesus tells us that if the world hates us then we are doing it right. In fact if you seem to be getting along well with the world then you may want to consider what that means in light of Jesus words.
John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
These songs today were like a message through music for me to go with today's post.
Without Jesus "I was walking the wayside
Lost on a lonely road
I was chasing the high life
Tryna satisfy my soul"
With Jesus we are His "Child of Love"
And even though I am still living in this world and will still struggle and stumble "Nothing can change the way [He] loves me."
"Oh, I have days I lose the fight
Try my best but just don't get it right
Where I talk a talk that I don't walk
And miss the moments right before my eyes"
But I don't want that I don't like that. It makes me want more. I need to repent and come to the Lord in prayer.
"When I just can't see past myself
Lord, help me be...A little more like Jesus, a little less like me"
The more I turn to Him and seek help to be more like Jesus. The more I study the more I surrender to Him the more I can put the first things first.
"First thing's first
I seek Your will
Not my own
Surrender all my wants to you
Keep the first thing first
To live Your truth
Walk Your ways
Set my eyes
Lord I fix my face on you
All my desires reversed
To keep the first thing first"
Thank you Lord for your word in my daily reading but also for speaking to me through music. But I guess since You made me and know me better than I know myself that is what You would do. I love that about You!
Beautifully written. Amen.