DIAGNOSIS

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 13

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).

The ancient Caesarea Maritima city and harbour was built by Herod the Great about 25-13 BC. It served as an administrative centre of Judaea Province of the Roman Empire. You can read in Acts chapter 10 about the story of Cornelius, who lived in Caesarea. Cornelius, his family, and neighbours were cleansed from the leprosy of sin as the Holy Spirit came upon them.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.

Key Verse: Leviticus 13:44

…he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his sore is on his head.

When Jesus healed the 10 lepers, as recorded in Luke 17, He said to them, “Go show yourselves to the priest.” The priests were the medical doctors of the day. Jesus’ miracles will always stand the test of medical scrutiny. The word “leprosy” is found 28 times in Leviticus alone. Obviously, God and Moses treated this disease most seriously. There are two purposes for the instructions concerning leprosy. First, the health of those suffering from this dreaded disease, as well as the protection of others from the disease, and second, the spiritual lesson that leprosy illustrates. Leprosy illustrated for Moses the spiritual corruption that will infect God’s people if left untreated, and if there is no separation from sin.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord, please bless those that serve us in the medical profession. You care about every detail concerning our health and the treatment of our diseases. You are our Healer, Lord Jesus. Please help me to keep clean spiritually. Give me a heart that yearns to honour You always in all I do, say, and think. I pray these blessings through the Person of the One who healed many lepers, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

From time to time Norma-Jean and I have sent offerings to the Leprosy Mission of Canada. A pill has been developed which can halt and reverse the spread of this disease, particularly if taken regularly at an early stage. Thousands have been helped. In the early 1970’s I travelled to Calcutta. There I spent time with missionary Mark Buntain, who established a wonderful Christian congregation and built a great hospital. In a Sunday morning service we were together at the altar laying hands on the sick, praying for their healing. Before me stood a lady with an obvious leprous sore on her head. To my shame, I drew my hand back, but not Mark. He laid his hand upon her forehead, and prayed. The following Wednesday she appeared at the church. The leprous sore on her head was gone. She was pregnant at the time. Norma-Jean and I took on the support of the Avatoon family (the husband and father had left them). She named the new baby, David, after me. I have never felt so unworthy. Today, the three children are professionals in various fields. Reynold, our son, met the eldest daughter in Calcutta a few years back and took a picture (below). What a joy to receive his first-hand report! Reynold and his wife Kathy were there dedicating a school building project on behalf of Crossroads Missions. Many of you supported this project that helped to get young children away for a few hours each day from the city dump and into school. Reynold called this missions project, “Treasures in the Trash.”

Yours because of God’s concern for every person,

David

Below is the picture of Rita Avatoon. I first met this person when she was a little girl living in a Calcutta slum with her leprous pregnant mother and another sister. A baby boy soon arrived. Mother named him David. Norma-Jean and I had a part in supporting this family until all three children graduated from University.

BE HOLY

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 11-12

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).

This Desert Horned Viper can be found in Africa, the Sinai Peninsula, Israel and Arabia. Satan, Lucifer, once one of the most beautiful angels in Heaven, the enemy of all that is holy, is called “That Old Serpent” in the book of Revelation (Revelation 12:9 and 20:2).

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.

Key Verse: Leviticus 11:44a

For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.

God is holy! The four living creatures in Revelation 4:8 worship God by saying, “Holy, holy, holy.” God’s Word to us is, “be holy.” Self righteousness is as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6); therefore, in God’s eyes, being holy is not attained by keeping the food regulations found in these chapters. These requirements may be good for your health, but keeping them does not make one holy. Romans chapter 4 is an important New Testament reading in order to understand the holiness God provides for us. Please do as I have done this morning and read 1 Peter 1:13-16. You’ll discover that God’s Word makes it clear that we are to live holy lives. We are holy before God and are to consistently conduct ourselves in a godly way.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

I realize, Lord God, that, like Abraham, I am righteous before You by faith, and like Abraham I am to demonstrate righteousness by obedience. Grant me grace to conduct myself in a righteous way, doing what is right before You and before people. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

At a gathering of Pork Producers of Ontario, I was asked to say the blessing over a feast which featured, what else, roasted pork. I thought about my late Father-in-law, Godfrey Rutledge, who prayed over one meal at our dinner table, “Lord, if You can bless under grace what You cursed under Law, bless this food.” Needless to say, he did not partake, but the rest of us enjoyed our meal, pork included. I thought of my own Dad, who spent over 20 years in Egypt. He said that the pigs ate the garbage and so he would not eat pork there, but here he enjoyed it greatly. As I prayed about my blessing for the Pork Producers, I saw in my mind’s eye the vision of Peter with the unclean animals in the sheet let down from Heaven. There, in my imagination, I saw a pig front and centre on the sheet. I blessed the meal with a clear conscience. I’ve just read again Acts 10:9-16.

Yours for holy living,

David

AN ACCEPTABLE OFFERING

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 9-10

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in these caves in the region known as Qumran. These scrolls are a collection of 972 texts consisting of Biblical manuscripts from the Hebrew Bible as well as other documents. They were discovered almost 70 years ago in clay jars hidden in the caves which are located in the mountainsides on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name. These are the most ancient scrolls in existence. The scroll with the book of Isaiah, the “Gospel” of the Old Testament, is exactly as we have it in our Bibles today. Portions of every other Old Testament book except for Esther are in the scrolls. The Bible is reliable!!!

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.

Key Verse: Leviticus 10:11

…and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.

In today’s reading, we learn about the conduct of the priests and the judgment of God on misconduct. There are most serious consequences to the failure to follow God’s instructions, particularly for those whose calling is in leadership. The priests were not to drink any intoxicating beverages. Why? They must be fully aware at all times in order to distinguish right from wrong, the holy from the unholy, and the clean from the unclean, so that they could, by example as well as words, teach the people God’s ways. How often have God’s leaders and followers alike, lost our ability to discern what is right and then do it. The book of James should be regular reading for us, not just when our reading schedule requires it. It’s the New Testament book of Christian conduct. Consider the purpose of the Law for those who believe in Jesus… Read Galatians 3:23-27.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Thank You, Lord God, that I live in the time when I know Your grace, and I am justified by faith, not by the works of the Law. May I never take careless advantage of Your forgiveness, but may I live “With the smile of Your approval on my life.” In Jesus’ Name. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I had the honour of interviewing the Hon. Joseph R. Smallwood, Premier of Newfoundland, and one of our Fathers of Canadian Confederation. He said, “I don’t drink alcoholic beverages because I may be just one drink away from becoming an alcoholic, and I don’t wish to take the chance of destroying my life and hurting everyone around me.” At 15 years old in the United Church in Brockville, I went forward to the front and signed a pledge that I would not partake of intoxicating drinks throughout my life. It was at what was called, “a temperance service.” I’ve never been sorry I did this. Keeping that promise has enabled me to minister with integrity to many alcoholics and those who were chemically dependent. I had a great-great-grandfather who was an alcoholic. He lost the farm and simply disappeared. His only known son, my great-grandfather, Joseph Mainse, was converted to Christ at a Methodist Church, and that changed the entire direction of my family.

Yours for knowing right from wrong and the holy from the unholy,

David

CONSECRATION

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 8

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).

The High Priest washes his hands at the Brazen Laver. Behind him stands the replica of the Brazen Altar. During the Summers of 1997 and 2012 thousands visited the Crossroads Centre in Burlington, Ontario, to tour the replica of the Tabernacle which was created by Teen Missions International of Florida.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where my son, David Reynold, took the photo. click HERE.

Key Verse: Leviticus 8:5

And Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord commanded to be done.”

The first seven chapters of Leviticus speak of the sacrifices. Chapter eight introduces the priesthood. As sinners we need a sacrifice. As believers we need a priest. We have both in Jesus Christ. He offered Himself as the final Sacrifice on the Cross, then He entered the heavenly sanctuary as our Priest. The ear, the thumb, and the big toe represented hearing the Word of God, doing the will of God, and going where God commands. Notice that Moses did not say, “This is expedient, agreeable, suitable or traditionally proper.” He did not lead by consensus. Seven times in this chapter the word “commanded” is used. In tomorrow’s reading, we’ll learn the results of obedience. Here’s a sneak peek…”The glory of the Lord shall appear to you” (Lev. 9:6).

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, grant me the grace of strict adherence to Your Word. I find the symbols of Your Priesthood in the Old Testament and the fulfillment of those symbols in Your life and teachings, as described in the Gospels. Thank You that You established “Truth” in these ways. Finally, You confirmed the truth in practice, evident in the lives of believers in the Acts of the Apostles and in the detailed writings of those Apostles. Please sanctify anew my hearing, my doing, and my going. I pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

While still a teenager, I heard the Rector of a local Anglican (Episcopalion) Church say that it is absolutely essential to “Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God.” Some statements, such as this one, have been indelibly engraved on my mind. I’ve just read again Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:7-13. You may want to click on those references and read them with me. I understand that God has put His laws in my mind and has written them on my heart. I make myself available to Him to do this every morning. What an amazing privilege to say, “I know Him,” and to be certain that He is merciful to my unrighteousness. My “sins and lawless deeds” He remembers no more!

Yours for putting equal portions of our minds and our hearts into a more thorough understanding of God’s Word,

David

OFFERINGS

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 7

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).

To celebrate 50 years of God’s faithfulness, Crossroads brought the life-sized Teen Missions replica of the Tabernacle of Moses and set it up in the back parking lot for the summer of 2012. In the foreground is our version of “Tent of Meeting,” where the message of the reality behind the symbolism of the Tabernacle was explained to visitors.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.

Key Verse: Leviticus 7:12

If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil.

The sacrificial system was complex. It taught about the holiness of God, the sinfulness of the human family, and the need for sacrificial death in order to reconcile the perfect holiness of God and His forgiveness of sin. The system also made provision for joyful worship such as this thanksgiving offering and feast. Each offering had to include oil, the symbol of the Spirit of God. Let us welcome the Holy Spirit to our celebrations.

Last week we read Luke 24. We considered the reasons why thousands of Jerusalem’s Jews, including many Priests, believed in Jesus’ resurrection (click here to review that day’s blog). Recently I came across an amazing fact according to official Jewish records from that time. The sacrifices for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, were not accepted by God from A.D. 30 until the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in A.D. 70. Check it out here. Jesus’ death and resurrection would have been at Passover A.D. 30, as He was born in 4 B.C, according to the best calculations.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Holy Spirit, please fill me for this new day so that I may bring with joy my offerings of thanksgiving. May I have the grace to celebrate well. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

Recently around 6 a.m., I noticed that the sky was twinkling brightly with many stars. As our “day star” (the sun) rose in the east, the stars were less and less visible to my eyes. I decided to read 2 Peter. There I found in 1:19 these words, “We have the prophetic Word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Day Star [original King James Version] rises in your hearts.” I began to sing a song: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” The Lord Jesus, our Day Star, shines so brightly that all the lesser lights become invisible. They are still there, but we see Jesus only. To complete my thanksgiving offering, I went into Google and found Michael W. Smith worshipping Jesus with this song (click here to view). Join Michael and me in singing this powerful chorus.

Yours for celebrating our Lord and Saviour,

David