Still suffering from the after effects of surgery; couldn’t sleep last night due to the pain; doing better though and should be healed up enough for the next go round.

Trees and shrubs are budding out, hope a late freeze doesn’t kill them.  Strange winter, some of the trees around us lost no or very little leaves – not sure how that will affect their spring renewal.  

Leviticus 22:33 That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.

God led the Hebrews into Egypt to allow them to flourish after the land they were in had been devastated by drought.

However, as they grew in numbers the leadership began to turn them into slaves.  They were concerned about their numbers and killed many boys.  The Hebrews were living a miserable existence from which they were brought out of Egypt and into the promised land by God’s messengers.

Throughout the book of Leviticus he places a burden of the law and the methods under which they were to live.  He wanted them to learn to obey Him, He wanted them to be Holy, as He is Holy.

He reaffirmed in these passages that He and He alone was God and that He was the Lord.  Failure to recognize His rightful place in their lives was fatal to their spiritual and often times their physical well-being.

Animal sacrifices were one of the ways they would show their love and obedience to Him.  He was exacting in both the reason for the sacrifices, the methods it was to be done and the demand it come from a pure heart.

Mathew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

When Jesus was crucified the need for animal sacrifice was mute, He was our sacrifice for our sins. 

We look at the seemingly draconian measures that God exacted of the Jews in the Old Testament and compare it with the great love shown to man through Christ in the New Testament and man think God has changed His mind.

He hasn’t.  God is still God and doesn’t change His attitude toward sin and disobedience.  Through Christ we have the forgiveness of our sins, but we must acknowledge His rightful place in our life.

Each person in the Trinity is special and worthy of worship.  Jesus did not say baptize in my name only, or God the Father’s name only, but in all three of the persons of God.

We are commanded to tell others about Him, and all three of His persons – telling them of God and then teaching as the Jews taught each other, with a fervent believe in God and His authority.

God is not a powerless individual, He has created this world we live in and it is within in rights to ask for obedience and worship from His children. 

The means to salvation in the Old Testament was to honor God by studying His Word, by teaching others and by sacrifice.

It is no different today, only instead of being burdened with an animal sacrifice and all the physical work that is demanded we have Jesus.  The heart to God must be the same, the sacrifice must be offered up in genuine belief of God’s authority to forgive us of our sins.

As God was with the prophets of old, so He is with us through His Son, Jesus Christ, today.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again