WORSHIP

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 20-21

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).

These are the remains of the Temple of Pan in Caesarea Philippi. This shrine was likely in full view when Jesus asked his disciples, “Whom do men say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ the Son of the living God!”

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

Key Verse: Leviticus 20:8

And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

The god Pan, half goat and half man, was worshipped at the place pictured above. There is no record of a people group that did not worship someone or something. To worship is a basic human characteristic. We will worship! Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, invites us to worship Him, and so does the fallen angel, Lucifer, who declared war in Heaven so that he would be worshipped instead of his Creator. Our reading today begins with Molech, the horrible manifestation of Satan who demanded children as a sacrifice; worshippers would throw their babies into the fire. We understand that The Great “I am” sought the deliverance of His people from these things. The animal sacrifices were the picture of the final sacrifice when God would give His One and only Son as the ultimate Sacrifice. He sanctified (separated, made holy) a people who would begin the process of bringing people back to the true God.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, I choose to serve You and not things made with men’s hands. Please grant me the grace to hold firmly to You and You alone. I worship You, Lord Jesus. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

The penalties described in our reading were seldom carried out, according to the Jewish Rabbis. Forgiveness was offered and received. I can remember making threats of punishment for wrong doing to my children. Reynold, our photographer, was the target of these declarations of justice several times. I would send him to his room and inevitably this 5, 6, or 7-year-old would be on his knees when I arrived. “O God, dear Jesus,” he would cry out, “forgive me and make me a good boy.” What could I do? Of course, I forgave him, and I also knelt beside him, prayed for him, hugged him, and rarely would he be punished further. However, I could not help but notice the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He’d figured out how to lessen the punishment. As he matured, he became a boy who loved to pray, even when not under judgment from his Dad. Then he was filled with the Holy Spirit, but that’s another story, which I may tell when we get to the Book of Acts.

Yours to emphasize the worship of the One and only true God,

David