Thurs.’s Devo - The Feasts

Read: Leviticus 22:17-23:44; Mark 9:30-10:12; Psalm 44:1-8; Proverbs 10:39
The feasts were all set around harvests and were to celebrate God’s goodness to them. The first three feasts: Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits were to celebrate the wheat harvest, in the spring. Pentecost, which was 50 days later was to celebrate the barley harvest.
Passover represented redemption and rescue and was fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross. Unleavened Bread represented consecration and was fulfilled when Jesus went to hell and took the keys from Satan. First Fruits represented resurrection and new birth and was fulfilled when Jesus rose from the dead. Pentecost represented the blessing of a second harvest and was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit was given.
The fall festivals are the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippor and The Feast of Tabernacles. They were during the harvest of the grapes and the olives. The Feast of Tabernacles represented a time to regather around a pure faith in God. It was also a day of repentance when Israel was to take stock of their spiritual condition and make the necessary changes to make sure the upcoming year would be pleasing to the Lord. It will be fulfilled when Jesus comes back at the sound of a trumpet with his angels to reap the earth. From that day until the Yom Kippor is the time of repentance for those left on the earth. The last feast is the Feast of Tabernacles which will be fulfilled when Jesus sets up his kingdom on earth and we tabernacle with the Lord.
All of the feasts were dress rehearsals so that God’s people would be ready for the fulfillment. The sad thing is that they got so caught up in the ritual that they lost the meaning.
In Mark, Jesus had just told them that he was going to die and rise from the dead but they could not understand it and instead were arguing about who was going to be the greatest in his kingdom. Jesus taught them that they weren’t the only ones who could minister in his name. All who believe he was the Messiah would do his works.
The Pharisees tried to trick Jesus with their question about divorce but Jesus took them back to Moses’ law and not the one they were living by. He explained that because man’s heart were hard, God gave them a way out of their marriage but that was not his perfect plan. Being married means that two opposite people become one. Through the law, divorce required a “get” which was a certificate of divorce taking care of the woman and the children financially. Jesus told them that they were causing their wives and themselves to commit adultery since they weren’t giving them this certificate of divorcement. So, they really weren’t divorced in God’s eyes.
Jesus was always bringing the Pharisees back to the real law of God and not their made up laws. They had drifted so far from the truth that they didn’t even recognize it when it stood before them.
Lord, help us not to be blinded by our traditions that we miss the truth. Renew our minds through your Word.

Wed.’s Devo - The Priesthood

Read: Leviticus 20:22-22:16; Mark 9:1-29; Psalm 43:1-5a; Proverbs 10:18
Sacrificing their children to Molech was our modern day practice of abortion. In the Bible, child sacrifice was done to atone for sin and Molech means “shame”. That would fit why people get abortions and how they feel later. Child sacrifice was the culmination of Israel’s greatest fall into sin. When a nation starts killing its offspring then it has gone far from God. Children represent our inheritance, our posterity and our legacy. We want a future full of life and a generation of righteousness.
Every time you see the word “priest” in the Old Testament think “believer” because that is who a priest is. God is raising up a holy priesthood who will offer sacrifices of righteousness unto him. God gave of list of regulations and “not to’s” for the priest. A priest was only to make himself unclean for a relative who dies. What that means to us is that there are exceptions we make for our unbelieving relatives that we wouldn’t normally make. God gives us grace for our family that we would not have for anyone else.
If a priest had any sort of physical disability he was not to approach the altar and make an offering. This means that if we have any unrepented sin our prayers will not be answered. Isaiah said the same thing in Isaiah 1:15-18. God said when they prayed he would not hear them because their hands were full of blood. They were to wash themselves and put their evil deeds away. First Peter 3:12 says that the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears open to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
The priest was also to marry a virgin which means that he gives his heart to what is holy and undefiled. If we want to enjoy the presence of the Lord and hear his heart then we have to make a lifestyle of doing things that please him and getting rid of the things that don’t.
In Mark, Jesus makes the statement that some of them, his disciples, wouldn’t taste death until they see the Kingdom of God come in a powerful way then six days later, he took Peter, James and John up on the mountain and showed them the Kingdom of God in a powerful way. They got to see Jesus in his glorified body talking to Moses and Elijah who stood for the law and the prophets. It was the feast of Tabernacles at the time so Peter wanted to build them tabernacles so they could stay and celebrate with them. Peter was thinking so earthly and practical when God spoke out of heaven and said, “This is my Son, whom I love, Listen to him!” Moses and Elijah disappeared and only Jesus remained. God was trying to make a statement that everyone before Jesus was building up to him. Jesus was the climax, the fulfillment of every prophecy and the fulfillment of every law.
Jesus warned them that they couldn’t share what they had seen until he had risen from the dead. Now they were totally confused. They didn’t understand what they had seen and heard and now Jesus was telling them that he was going to rise from the dead. They didn’t understand that either.
When Jesus came back to his other disciples, a crowd had formed around a boy who had a deaf and dumb spirit. They all had this spirit but this boys was manifesting it. The disciples hadn’t been able to cast it out because they had the same spirit. Everyone did until Jesus rose from the dead and the Holy Spirit came to open their ears and their heart and help them understand truth.
Lord, deliver us from our doubts and unbelief and help us to trust you in a deeper way. Forgive us of our doubts. With you, we can do all things!

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Perspective

Read: Leviticus 19:1-20:21; Mark 8:11-38; Psalm 42:1-11a; Proverbs 10:17
In God’s laws you see the love of a father who only wants good things for his children. Most of the laws have to do with treating one another fairly. In many of the laws, God told them what not to do then what he wanted them to do. For example, he said, “don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love you neighbor as yourself.”
God also had many laws about mixture. They were not to let their livestock mate with other kinds, or their field be sown with two kinds of grain, or wear garments of two different kinds of thread. These are all pictures of how we are not to mix righteousness with evil. God doesn’t want us to be gray in any matter. He is coming back for a bride that is wearing white garments and has washed herself in the Word and is spotless. I feel convicted already!
In Mark, Jesus makes the point to his disciples that they are not using their spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear. When he asked them how many baskets they picked up he was making a spiritual point. Twelve stands for government and seven stands for heaven and perfection. He was trying to teach them that his government was in heaven so they must start thinking from that perspective. Then he asked them who they thought he was. When they said, the Messiah, he was able to tell them plainly the plan. He would go to Jerusalem, be abused by the religious leaders, be killed and raised to life on the third day. Peter took him aside to talk to him about that and Jesus rebuked him. They had in their mind just how this kingdom was going to happen. They wanted him to usurp the natural government and reign on earth. That was not the plan.
This reminds me of all the times I think I know how things are suppose to happen in my life and when they don’t, I have to recalibrate. God’s ways are always higher and his goal is the heart of everyone involved, not just my comfort.
Lord, thank you for being in charge. You can see from heaven and know what is coming in the future that I am blinded to. Help us to trust your judgment and your ways. We love you.

Mon.’s Devo. - Manefesting the Kingdom

Read: Leviticus 16:29-18:30; Mark 7:24-8:10; Psalm 41:1-13; Proverbs 10:15-16
I love how detailed Leviticus is because God doesn’t want us to miss Jesus. In 16:32-34 is says that the one who makes atonement in the Holy of Holies on the day of atonement is the priest serving in his father’s place. He will make atonement for all the people and all the priests. This is Jesus acting in God’s place as the High Priest making atonement for the world.
Chapter 17 has to do with the sacrifices we make to the Lord. They have to be blood sacrifices and they have to be done inside the camp or inside God’s boundaries. God was trying to paint a picture of the final sacrifice on the cross. This was the only sacrifice that would atone for sins. Blood was the atonement because it stood for life.
God called his people out of the midst of the world and wanted them to be set apart and different. He told them not to engage in the activities of the world nor live by their laws; they were to live by the activities that God gave them and his laws. The religious practices of the heathens were a very sensual worship. Their god was pleasure and their practices were very evil. So God gave them detailed instructions of who they could have sex with and who they could not. They were to stay away from anyone with the same blood in them whether through birth or marriage. To sum it up: they were to exercise self control and dignity. (Ephesians 5:3-4, Colossians 3:5, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4)
He told them why to abstain from unlawful sex and it was because it would defile them or polluted their soul. If they continued to do them it would defile the land and the land would eventually spit them out of it. When God chose this planet to recreate, he sanctified it and brought life to it. He gave us the responsibility of keeping it holy. The land has life in it. The whole earth is waiting in expectation for the sons of God to be manifested on the earth. (Romans 8:19-20)
In Mark, Jesus is in Gentile country and a Greek woman wanted him to cast out the demon from her daughter. When Jesus explained he was sent to the children of Israel first, she told him that even the pet dogs get crumbs that the children drop from the table. Jesus was so impressed with her answer that he sent his word and delivered the child.
Next, Jesus met a man who was deaf and dumb. Jesus took him away from the crowd, stuck his fingers in his ears, spat and touched his tongue with his spit! How unclean was that! He said, “be opened” and he was totally healed. Jesus always offended their flesh and then manifested the kingdom.
Lord, I have to admit that I don’t understand your ways but they bring forth life and healing. May we walk in this power and authority that your kingdom might be manifested on the earth.

Sun.’s Devo - Being Made Clean

Read: Leviticus 15:1-16:28; Mark 7:1-23; Psalm 40:11-17; Proverbs 10:13-14
We read today about issues of dead seed from the body and how it makes you unclean. This dead seed could be gossip, complaining, cursing, adultery, slander, fornication. - any act that doesn’t produce fruit that has an addiction over your life. Ephesians 4:29-32 says it better.
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
Those affected by this were to bring their offering to the Lord and repent.
In Chapter 16, God gave the priests the order for the Day of Atonement. It was to be the holiest day of the year and the only time the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies. He was to take two goats as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. He was to dress in his holy garments and then offer the ram for his own sins, taking its blood and sprinkling it on the ark in the Holy of Holies. Then he was to draw lots for the two goats - which one would be the Azazel and the other would be the Adonai. The Adonai would be killed and the Azazel would be sent away as the scapegoat. The Adonai was killed and his blood sprinkled on the ark in the Holy of Holies. His blood was to atone for all the sins of the priests and the people. No one was to be present in the tent of meeting from the time he entered the Holy Place till he came out. When he was finished, he was to come out and place his hands on the head of the goat transferring the sins of the people into the goat. This goat was then led by a designated person out of the camp into the desert. Aaron then changed his clothes and finished the sacrifice.
The man who led the goat out to the desert was to wash before he reentered the camp. This ordinance would atone for the nation for one year and was to be done every year on the 10th day of the seventh month.
Spiritually, both of the goats stood for Jesus. He died and took our sins out of our lives. Traditionally, they would tie a red scarf to the neck of the scapegoat and by the time it had reached its destination it would have turned white by the sun to show that “though ours sins be as scarlet, they will be white as snow.”
The Day of Atonement will be fulfilled when Jesus ends this world and the gates of salvation are closed. All who chose him will have their sins forgiven and those who refused will be judged and sentenced to hell.
Jesus taught the same thing we read about in Leviticus. The priests had made up rules about washing their hands. Jesus told him that they were hypocrites because they majored on their own laws and minored on God’s. They wanted their actions were to be seen by man but their hearts were far from God.
Lord, may our hearts lead our actions and may what we love and do be what you love and do.

Sat.s Devo - Cleansing

Read: Leviticus 14:1-57; Mark 6:30-56; Psalm 40:1-10; Proverbs 10:11-12
When Jesus healed the man of leprosy in Mark 1:40 and told him to go show himself to the priest, it would have been the first time in history that the priest would have been able to perform this ritual that we read about today in Leviticus. One other person in the Bible had been healed and that was Naaman, but he was not a Hebrew. When Jesus said in Luke 4:27, “…many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elijah the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, except Naaman the Syrian, “ everyone in the synagogue was filled with wrath. They were mad because he was reminding them that God had healed a non-Jew and they wanted to throw Jesus over the hill.
In Leviticus, the ritual for the cleansing of leprosy involved two birds. One was to be killed and its blood put on the other and it was to go free. It was God’s illustration of the cross. Jesus was both birds. The first was Jesus slain and his blood put on the other bird to illustrate they were the same blood. The second bird resurrected and flew to heaven ,free.
I bet when that man got healed in the New Testament and went and showed himself to the priest, they had to find this volume and brush up on their ritual. I would have loved to see them scrambling to get the birds, the hyssop, the bowl and the stick. All of these were symbols used at the cross.
In Mark, the crowds won’t let Jesus eat or sleep. They had never seen a person who could heal them and do such miracles and they were desperate to be taught the truth. The scribes and teachers of the law had taught works and death and now the common people, Jew and Gentile, man and women were being taught the Torah as life. They didn’t concern themselves with time or food. Jesus, filled with compassion and gave them teaching, healing and physical food. He cares about our body, soul and spirit.
When they finally got away from the crowd, Jesus put his disciples in a boat and sent them across to Gennesaret, the place where he had previously cast the demons out of that man and the people had chased Jesus off. Another storm arose as Satan did not want Jesus to return. Jesus calmed the storm again and when he got to Gennesaret, there were crowds waiting for him. The testimony of the demon-possessed man had spread and they were now ready to receive.
Lord, may your name become famous again and your people do the things you did.

Fri.’s Devo - Leprosy

Read: Leviticus 13:1-59; Mark 6:1-29; Psalm 39:1-13; Proverbs 10:10
Today we read about leprosy which I find fascinating. Learning how to read the Old Testament will help you in interpreting dreams…it is all the same. God uses natural pictures to teach us deep spiritual meanings. We know that sin is a disease of our flesh so leprosy stands for sin. It gets dangerous when it gets under the skin and starts to spread. That is the way offenses are. The Bible says that they are going to come but it is how we let them affect us that determines our outcome. If we let them get under our skin then we become contagious and our offense spreads to others and makes them diseased, also. We see this happening in the news every day as hate spreads like leprosy.
The priest is the Lord Jesus and if our sins are like scarlet, he can make them white as snow. The leprosy was contagious as long as it was red, when it turned white the priest would examine it for seven days to see if it returned. If it remained white, the person was declared cleansed of the leprosy. When we forgive, we must do it continually and not let it come back.
There was another sore caused by fire. The fire could be a case of someone “burning” you or the fire could stand for rage. Either way, the answer is repentance and forgiveness, or you will grow spiritual leprosy on your body and in your soul. Everything you say and do will be tainted with the anger in your soul. This is easy to type, harder to work out in life but it is necessary that we learn to forgive. It is a process that has to be an act of our will. God’s grace will take it from there.
In Mark, Jesus returned home and his friends and neighbors couldn’t appreciate who he was in the spirit. They only knew him by the flesh. It is really hard for our families to see us the way God does or to see God’s power in us. They questioned everything Jesus did and kept God’s power from being released through him because of their lack of trust.
Jesus sent his disciples out to do exactly what they had seen him do and they did. That is what we are to be doing: expelling demons, anointing sick people with oil and healing them and preaching the gospel.
News traveled to Herod about Jesus because many believed that he was John the Baptist raised from the dead. This made Herod very afraid. He had had a holy fear of John because he knew John carried the power of God in him. John had stood up to Herod and rebuked him for taking his brother’s wife, Herodias. Even though Herod had a holy fear and didn’t want to kill John, Herodias’ offense dispelled her fear. She tricked Herod into killing John. She is a perfect picture of a person with leprosy of the heart.
Lord, heal our hearts of any offenses and unforgiveness. We repent of harboring hurts and offenses. We forgive those who hurt us and set them free.

Thurs.’s Devo - From Death to Life

Read: Leviticus 11:1-12:8; Mark 5:21-43; Psalm 38:1-22; Proverbs 10:8-9
Leviticus 11 is the Hebrew dietary laws about what foods would make them pure and which ones would defile them. They called them clean or unclean. We know that according to Romans 7:14 that the law is spiritual which means that every law for them has a spiritual meaning for us. What we eat is much more than what we put in our mouths. We are to eat the bread of the Word, and the flesh of Jesus and to taste and see that the Lord is good. So eating means to take something into your soul.
They could eat any animal that had a completely divided hoof and chewed the cud. A divided hoof means to have a balanced foundation of both the Old Testament and the New, the law and grace - to be balanced spiritually. To chew the cud means that you chew on everything you read and hear before you take it in. God doesn’t want us to be gullible and believe every new doctrine we hear but to have discernment.
They were to eat fish that had scales and fins. Scales are covering and fins help the fish stay upright and not lop-sided. Fins help with direction. We are to be covered with the blood of Jesus and be under the authority of other spiritual leaders. We are to walk straight and our doctrine be balanced.
They were not to eat anything that couldn’t bend the knee. In other words, everything we do must be able to bow to the Lord and be under submission and humble. Birds of prey were not to be eaten because they eat dead meat. We are not to thrive on the failures of others or the negative of the world. What we watch on TV affects our soul. If we love death more than life it will mess with our soul. Jesus came to bring life!
In Mark, Jesus is commissioned by Jairus to come and heal his 12 year old daughter. On the way to heal her, Jesus passed a woman who had snuck out of her house in hopes of being healed of a curse of bleeding for 12 years. When Jesus felt healing leave his body he stopped to see who it went to. Jesus healed more than her body; he healed her soul. She had been unable to go anywhere without crying out, “unclean”. She had been barred from the synagogue because of her bleeding so she had suffered much rejection. Jesus made a point of pointing her out in front of everyone that her faith had made her whole. He blessed her with healing and peace.
Then Jesus went on to raise the little girl from death. This was a picture of what he did for the woman also. He raised them both from death to life.
Lord, help us to walk in life and to eat the fruit of life in all that we do.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Ways are Better

Read: Leviticus 9:7-10:20; Mark 4:26-5:20: Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 10:6-7
The priests began their ministry sacrificing the sin offering. God showed up with fire that consumed the gift. The people shouted for joy and fell on their face in awe and reverence. I don’t know if Aaron’s two sons Nadab and Abihu, wanted their own attention or what but they did something so wrong it caused God have to eliminate them. They offered strange fire on the altar of incense. The altar of incense was one of the most holy acts of the priest. It was to be the incense that was specially made by the apothecaries and was to be offered by only one priest, not two. They rebelliously did it their way and not God’s so God had to discipline them. It cost them their lives. With greater responsibility comes greater consequences.
Aaron and his other two sons were not allowed to touch their bodies or mourn for them. They had to continue their service. Aaron’s remaining sons couldn’t eat all of the sin offering themselves so Moses reprimanded them about it. They told Moses that after all that had happened that day, they couldn’t finish eating. Moses understood and forgave them.
In Mark, the devil did not want Jesus and his disciples to cross the lake to Geneseret and mess up his kingdom. He created a storm to scare them away but greater is the power of Jesus than the power of the devil. Jesus spoke the word and the storm calmed to nothing. When they made it to the other side he did the same thing in the man who carried the principality of the region.
Jesus used wisdom in making the man who had been delivered of so many demons stay there instead of coming with him. He went around testifying of what Jesus did for him so that when Jesus came back the very ones who told him to leave, welcomed him.
Lord, may we not do our own thing but do yours. Your ways are so much better.

Tues.’s Devo - Sanctification

Read: Leviticus 7:28-9:6; Mark 3:31-4:25; Psalm 37:12-29; Proverbs 10:5
Reading about the sacrifices can get detailed and complicated but it makes it easier to understand if you think of it like this. Aaron, the High Priest, stands for Jesus and his sons stand for true believers who worship and walk with him. The son who gets to offer the sacrifice gets to share in its reward.
In Chapter 8 we read about how Aaron and his sons were consecrated to serve as priests. It is the process of sanctification that we all go through as believers. Sanctification is nothing more than getting cleansed from sin. We get sin on our garments simply by walking through an unregenerate world, so we all need to loose ourselves of the dirt we accumulate.
First, Moses washed them in water which stands for baptism. Then he clothed them with the garments of the priesthood. Our garments are in Ephesians 6. Then Moses anointed their head with oil which to us this stands for renewing our minds in the Word of God. Moses then purified the altar with a sacrifice of blood. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering transferring their sins to the bull. Then the bull was sacrificed for them as a picture of what Jesus did on the cross.
Moses brought a second bull and sacrificed him for the sanctifying of the priests. He took its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. Then he did the same for Aaron’s’ sons. This was to sanctify everything they heard, everything they did and everywhere they walked.
Next, Moses took unleavened bread and put it into the hands of Aaron and his sons to wave it before the Lord. This was to show that God’s Word was being placed in their hands to give out to the people. They were sanctified to teach the truth.
The last thing Moses did was to anoint their garments so that they would be totally holy before the Lord. That is the end result of what we are to become in our time on earth. It is a process that took the priests seven days which for us it means our whole life. At the end of their seven days they would walk out consecrated. On the eighth day they were ready to go and teach the people how to be consecrated to the Lord and be able to hear what He had to say to them.
In Mark, Jesus’ mother and brothers come to meet privately with him. but he is ministering to the people. When Jesus heard they are there he made a point of letting his disciples know that no one is his favorite. He came to love the world equally. Many scholars believe that Joseph must have died and as the first born, they wanted Jesus to come and manage his father’s business. (Food for thought.)
Jesus then went into his most important parable. He said that if they didn’t understand this one, they wouldn’t understand any other parable he would give. It is the famous parable about the seed and the sower. The seed is the Word of God and whether it matures and grows is determined solely by the soil. The soil is the heart of man. If his heart is hungry and teachable, then the seed will thrive and bear fruit. If the heart is hard or full of unforgiveness or bitterness, the seed will die and not produce fruit.
Lord, may our hearts be soft and teachable so that your seed can germinate and bear fruit. May we embrace your sanctification process in our lives today.

Mon.’s Devo - Trespasses

Read: Leviticus 6:1-7:27; Mark 3:7-30; Psalm 37:1-11a; Proverbs 10:3-4
Today we will talk about the trespass offering and the fellowship offering. The trespass offering is given when someone sins against another person and then feels guilty and wants to make things right. He starts by making restitution to the person by returning what has been stolen or whatever the restitution requires. Then either a burnt offering or a grain offering must be offered.
The difference between a sin offering and a trespass offering is the sin offering is when they sinned against God and the trespass offering is when they sinned against men.
The fellowship offering is a voluntary offering and is an expression of thankfulness. Jesus prayed in the Lord’s Prayer: “Lord, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Our forgiveness is tied up in how we forgive others.
In Mark, Jesus was becoming more and more popular with the crowds because he healed them and taught them and cast out their demons. Even the demons identified him as the son of God but Jesu had to silence them.
Jesus named his twelve disciples and Mark makes sure we know that Judas Iscarot was his betrayer.
The Torah-teachers had to make a statement about Jesus because so many were coming to believe he was the Messiah so they claimed that he got his power from Satan. Jesus explained insights into the devil’s kingdom. If he was getting his power from Satan, then why would he be casting Satan’s demons out of all these people. Their logic made no sense.
Lord, show us our sins against you and others so we can repent and be set free.

Sun.’s Devo - A Better Covenant

Read: Leviticus 4:1-5:19; Mark 2:13-3:6; Psalm 36:1-12; Proverbs 10:1-2
Today we will talk about the sin offering and the guilt offering. The sin offering is for a person who unintentionally disobeys one of the commandments of the Lord and wants to repent. Moses addresses four different groups of people: the priest, the community, a leader and an individual. The priest and the community are to offer a young bull where its blood is to be sprinkled on the altar and the four horns of the altar. The leader is to offer a male goat and the individual is to offer a female goat. In all these cases the priest will make atonement for the person or persons for the sin they committed and they will be forgiven. If someone does not speak up or testify of a sin they have seen, they will be held responsible.
Anything that makes a person unclean, when he realizes he is unclean, he is guilty and must confess and bring an offering to the Lord. The offering is determined by what they can afford: either a lamb or goat or two doves or pigeons or flour.
The guilt offering is for the person who has committed a violation in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things. His offering is to make restitution for what he has failed to do. For us, this would be like refusing to do something the Lord has told us, refusing to tithe, refusing to read our Bible, etc. The Holy Spirit is our compass and he will convict us of what we are suppose to be doing. When we repent and do what he says, we are forgiven.
In Mark, Jesus was accused of eating with sinners and tax collectors. He explained that the people who were well didn’t need a physician. He also explained that there were times when the old covenant needed to give room for the new. He used the example of sewing new unshrunk cloth on an old garment. It would eventually tear away from the cloth as it got wet and shrunk. Then he said that if you pour new wine into old wineskins, the wine will burst the skins and both will be ruined. Jesus was referring to them as the old cloth and the old wineskins. In order to receive the new covenant they had to have a new man - they had to be born again.
The Pharisees had so many rules that strangled the people and Jesus came to set them free. The Pharisees used their law as their excuse to kill Jesus.
Lord, help us to embrace everything you promised in your new covenant of grace. Let us not be tempted to fall back under the law.

Sat.’s Devo - The Offerings

Read: Leviticus 1:1-3:17; Mark 1:29-2:12; Psalm 35:17-28; Proverbs 9:13-18
Leviticus was Moses’ third book and was written to the priests. It was to give them instruction in being priests, the different offerings and what to do on the feast days and how to live their lives. In the end of the chapter it gives the rewards for their obedience and punishment for disobedience. Since we are the priests of the Lord, this is a very important book for us.
We read today about three of the five different offerings that were offered. An offering was presented in order to come close to the Lord and that was its main objective.
The first is the burnt offering or the “olah”. It was to be consumed on the altar and the only thing that went to the Lord was the smoke. It was a visible picture of Jesus being our lamb slain on the cross for our sins and ascending to heaven. The heart of the offerer is total surrender. This offering bought their salvation from sin. This offering was mandatory.
The second offering was the thanksgiving offering which was an offering of grain with olive oil and frankincense on it. The frankincense neutralized bad odors and sanitized the priest from fungi, bacteria and microbes that they might have been exposed to in the animals they sacrificed. For us, it is the offering of gratefulness which does the same thing. When we are grateful, we cannot be contaminated with bad attitudes and selfishness. We become a sweet and fragrant. This offering was voluntary and had to be offered without yeast or sin. Hebrews 13:15 says, “…Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
The third offering was the fellowship or peace offering. This offering was also voluntary and brought by the person who was moved to express love and gratitude for God’s goodness and to be drawn closer to God. It was to be a living sacrifice like the first. In Romans 12:1, Paul beseeched us to present ourselves as living sacrifices that were holy and acceptable unto God.
In Mark, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever and the men who was demon-possessed. Then he cleansed the leper. He did all these miracles on the Sabbath since that is when the people met. This really made the priests and Pharisees mad since they considered healing to be work. It was not in their laws that you couldn’t heal on a Sabbath since they had never done that themselves; it was more about their jealousy because Jesus could do something they couldn’t.
Everything that Jesus did naturally was what he came to do to their spirits and their souls also. He came to cleanse people of their sin, heal their hearts and give them a new walk.
Lord, help us to offer to you our whole self, our thanksgiving and live in peace with you.

Fri.’s Devo - The Glory of God

Read: Exodus 39:1-40:38; Mark 1:1-28; Psalm 35:1-16; Proverbs 9:11-12
Moses and the people did exactly what God told them to do concerning all the furniture and instruments in the tabernacle. The priests set everything in it and when everything was in place God came and visited his house on earth. He came in a cloud and filled the tabernacle. The glory was so thick that Moses could not enter the tabernacle. I wonder if God was checking everything out in his new house.
God’s glory led them as a cloud that was lifted above the tabernacle. When they saw that the cloud had moved, they knew it was time to travel.
Mark wrote his book to encourage the Roman Christians who were living under persecution. Mark identified Jesus as the Suffering Servant to help them in their own suffering. He begins his gospel confirming the ministry of John the Baptist from Isaiah’s prophecy hundreds of years before. John came to prepare the way for Jesus and even baptized Jesus before he started his ministry. After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. He had to win that battle first.
Once John was put in prison, Jesus continued John’s message to repent because the kingdom was near. Jesus chose his first disciples: Simon, Andrew, James and John who were all fishermen. They left everything and followed him.
Jesus immediately went into the synagogue and began teaching the law. The people were amazed that he taught like he knew that what he was saying was right. His words were weighty and with authority. A man possessed by an evil spirit spoke up and started identifying Jesus as the Holy One of God…the Messiah. Jesus told him to be quiet and told the evil spirit to come out of him. It shook him violently then came out with a shriek. This was not what people were used to seeing in the synagogue! They wondered who Jesus was.
God doesn’t mind shaking up the status quo to show his power. I pray he does that in our churches! I wonder if he is not waiting for us to get everything in order first. I long for the day that his glory fills our churches and no demon can stand.
Lord, may your authority, power and glory return to your temples.

Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Presence

Read: Exodus 37:1-38:31; Matthew 28:1-20; Psalm 14:11-22; Proverbs 9:9-10
The ark was much smaller than I imagine it in my mind. It was only around a yard long and 18 inches wide. It stood 2 1/4 feet tall. Two gold angels sat on top facing one another with outstretched wings that touched in the middle. It represented God’s presence on earth. We are to be that wooden box that holds the presence of the Lord and shine like the glory of God on the earth. We are under the shadow of God’s wings (Psalm 91) and nothing can harm us.
The table that the shew bread would sit on was only 18”x18”. Bezalel also made utensils, pans, bowls and pitchers to serve the priests with. The menorah was the light of the room and was decorated with almond blossoms and leaves. It had six branches and one middle piece that stood for the Lord himself. This piece represented the seven spirits of the Lord mentioned in Isaiah 11:2. They are wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. They are coupled together because they are grouped on the same branch that stretches from one side to the other. The menorah is the revelation of God.
The altar of incense was also 18” square and 3’ tall. All three of these pieces of furniture were made of wood and covered with gold with a rim like a crown around the top. They had gold rings with poles to carry them. They were not to be touched with hands but highly esteemed.
The largest piece of furniture was the brazen altar which they would use to kill and burn the animals on. It was 7 1/2’ square and made of wood and covered with bronze. It had four horns on the four corners. It was also carried with rings and poles.
We aren’t told the dimension of the laver but we are told that it was made of the mirrors of the women serving at the tent. The laver was where the priests washed the blood from their hands before and after killing the animals. The mirrors were to let them see their own selves so they wouldn’t judge the people. Keeping a mirror before you is to self-examine your motives.
Huge 75 feet tapestries were hung on the inside of the tent around the wall. They were woven of blue, purple and scarlet yarn into fine linen. These are all royal colors to help the people realize that when they enter this place it is the tabernacle of the King of Kings.
They counted the people so the people gave their 1/5 of an ounce of gold as their sanctuary tax to ransom their soul so that no plague would come upon them.
In Matthew, there was another earthquake and an angel came and rolled the stone from the grave. Jesus had already ascended up to heaven but God wanted everyone to know that his son was no longer there He had fulfilled everything he said he would do. Mary and Martha were at the tomb to see the angels do this and hear them say that Jesus was not there but had risen. They also told the women that Jesus would meet them in Galilee and that they should tell the disciples.
The soldiers that were guarding the tomb also saw and heard what the angels said. They were paid to keep silent about what they saw.
Jesus met them in Galilee and told them to go spread the gospel to everyone.
Lord, everything you do is precise and purposeful. Help us to see that every day of our lives is important. We have a mission to live Jesus!

Wed.’s Devo - Do Your Part

Read: Exodus 35:20-38; Matthew 27:32-66; Psalm 34:1-10a; Proverbs 9:7-8
Everyone who had a heart to give gave what they had and the women who wanted to help, spun the linen. God set apart Bezalel from the tribe of Judah to work in metal and stones and Oholiab from the tribe of Dan work as designer in fabrics. God gave them both the ability to teach others their skill.
The people brought so much that they finally had to tell them to stop giving! What a problem! They constructed the frames and the curtains that would be the temporary wall around the tabernacle. This wall had to be easy to construct and easy to tear down because they would always be moving. Everything about the tabernacle was to make it look like heaven on earth.
In Matthew, Jesus was on his way to be crucified. They met a man named Simon and the guard forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. When they got to Golgotha they offered Jesus gall to deaden his pain but he refused to take it. Jesus refused to deaden the pain of sin and death he was carrying. He was hung between two thieves with a sign that read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews”. They mocked Jesus telling him to save himself.
The sky went dark for three hours till the hour of the last sacrifice in the temple. When the light came back on, Jesus quoted from Psalm 22. He was not saying that God had deserted him but was referring them to that Psalm because that hour it was being fulfilled. In Psalm 22 it describes Jesus’ crucifixion.
At that moment the earth shook and the veil was torn and God made a way for everyone to enter into his presence through the blood of his son. Graves were opened because death was defeated. Holy people were raised to life and after Jesus rose, they came out of their graves and went into Jerusalem and appeared to many. The Roman guard who was attending Jesus saw all of this happening and became a believer.
That evening, Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin who had become a secret follower of Jesus came and took the body of Jesus, wrapped him in a clean linen sheet and laid him in his own tomb that had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a huge rock over the entrance and left.
The next day, the head of the priests reminded the others that Jesus had predicted that he would rise from the dead after three days. He was afraid that Jesus’ disciples would take his body and say that he was resurrected so they placed a guard at his tomb.
It is amazing to see how every player had his role from Simon who carried Jesus cross, to Joseph of Arimathea who placed him in his rock tomb. Interesting that Arimathea is Ramah in the Old Testament. Samuel was from Ramah who was sent to anoint Saul and David as king. Joseph gave up his final resting place for the King of Kings.
Lord, we all have our skills and destinies in your kingdom, help us to be about your business of bringing heaven to earth.

Tues.’s Devo - The Curse or the Blessing

Read: Exodus 34:1-35:9: Matthew 27:15-31; Psalm 33:12-22; Proverbs 9:1-6
Moses went back up the mountain to get the law the second time. This time God passed before him proclaiming his own name and what it meant. His name was Adonai and it means that God is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace and truth showing grace to the thousandth generation and forging sins, but causing negative effects of the parent’s offenses to their third and fourth generation. God made a covenant with them to be their God and they were not to make a covenant with any of the other nations. Instead, they were to demolish their altars, smash their idols and cut down their sacred poles. They were not to join them in their worship or intermarry with them because if they did, they would end up worshipping their gods.
There were three times a year the men were to meet together to worship the Lord. The first was during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, then the time of the Feast of Pentecost, and last the Feast of Tabernacles. These were times of harvest of the wheat, the barley and the fruit. They represented set times when God would visit his people as they offered their first fruits to him.
God also instructed them about the Sabbath which was the seventh day of the week. They were to completely rest to honor God because he rested on this day. In 2 Peter 3:8 it says that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. He was explaining that our natural week represents the total of time man will have on the earth. The last day represents the last millennium where Jesus will reign as King and we will live in rest. Every law that God gave them was to paint a picture of His spiritual concepts he wanted the people to act out in a picture for the future generations.
The last thing we read today was that God asked Moses to take up a collection of all the spoils of Egypt and donate them to make the things for the tabernacle.
In Matthew, Jesus is given a mock trial before the Roman governor. He tried to free Jesus by offering the worse criminal in his prison, thinking they would choose Jesus over Barabbas. Barabbas means Bar Abba (Son of father). Jesus was the Son of God, his Father, Barabbas was a son of Satan. They chose Barabbas and wanted Jesus crucified. The governor could find no fault in Jesus and washed his hands of the blood of Jesus. The Jews’ reply was, “let his blood be on us and on our children!” We just read about this in the Old Testament. The sins of the fathers are passed down to the children unless the curse is broken with the blood of Jesus.
Lord, help us to not live under the curse of our earthly fathers, but live under the blessings of a loving father who is merciful and gracious.

Mon.’s Devo - The Golden Calf

Read: Exodus 32:1-33:23; Matthew 26:69-27:14; Psalm 33:1-11; Proverbs 8:33-36
Aaron caved to the pier pressure of the people. Moses had been on the mountain for days and the people were ready to get going. They wanted a god to lead them so Aaron told them to donate an earring a piece and he melted it into a golden calf. He proclaimed a feast day and the people partied and celebrated this false god.
God knew what they were doing so he told Moses to get down and stop them before He did. Moses interceded for the people and begged the Lord not to destroy them. God relented but once Moses saw what God had seen, he got so mad he threw the tablets to the ground breaking them. He melted the calf and grounded it to powder. He mixed the powder into the water and made the people drink it.
Moses went to Aaron and asked him how this happened. You have to love Aaron’s explanation. He said the the people made him do it. They gave Aaron their gold and when he threw it into the fire and out popped this calf. That sounds like something my 5 year old grandson would say.
The lesson we should learn from the golden calf is not to worship any object or manifestation or event, but the Lord who caused the miracle to happen.
Moses told the ones who loved God to get their swords and go through the camp killing all who were partying and worshipping the calf. Three thousand were killed.
Moses told the people he would go back and ask God to forgive them and rewrite the laws they had already broken.
God told him that the ones who sinned against him would be blotted out of his book. He sent a plague to punish them.
Moses moved the tabernacle outside of the camp and when any of them wanted to meet with God, they could come there. God showed Moses his glory because Moses asked. God’s presence is available to all who want it.
In Matthew, everything played out just as it was foretold. Peter denied Jesus three times. The religious leaders took Jesus to the Romans to be crucified since it was against their law to crucify someone.
Judas was overcome with remorse for betraying Jesus and returned the money they had given him and went and hung himself. Judas was a pawn in Satan’s hand and when he was had done what Satan wanted, he was thrown aside.
The Sanhedrin took the blood money and bought a cemetery for foreigners and called it the Field of Blood.
Jesus was brought before the Roman government to be inspected. Jesus refused to defend himself which amazed the officers.
Lord, thank you for every break-through in our lives. Help us to worship you and not the blessing.

Sun.’s Devo - Trial by Fire

Read: Exodus 30:11-31:18; Matthew 26:47-68; Psalm 32:1-11; Proverbs 8:27-32
Today we read a very important scripture that explains why a plague broke out when David numbered the people. God didn’t tell them never to count the people but gave explicit guidelines about how to do it. To number the people was to hold them accountable for their sins. It was like calling them to the judgement seat. So that they would have their sins covered, they were to pay a ransom for their life of a half a shekel of silver which was about one-fifth of an ounce. Silver is the metal of redemption and five means grace, which is how we will be counted in the end if we have Jesus.
For the tabernacle, they were to make a basin and fill it with water for the priests to wash their hands and feet before they started sacrificing the animals. This stood for sanctification so their sins would not condemn them.
They were to make an anointing oil made by a special formula of spices and oil to anoint the sanctuary, the furniture, all the utensils and the priests. It was never to be duplicated for the people to use.
Bezalel from the tribe of Judah was chosen by God to make all the designs in gold silver and bronze and the gem stones. His name means “in God’s shade” which means he was a picture of God in his work. Aholiab from the tribe of Dan was chosen to make the furniture, the tabernacle itself, the priest’s garments and the oil. His name means “tent of the father”. He was a picture of how God is in us to do his work on the earth.
We are told that we are the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit and we have been chosen to do God’s will on the earth.
Lastly, God gave the commandments about the Sabbath which is extremely holy to him. It represents God’s last millennium on earth where we live him through us and nothing is work. These two men exemplified this time.
In Matthew, Jesus is arrested and tried. It is four days before Passover making it the tenth of Nisan. On the tenth of Nisan in the Old Testament, they were to select a lamb and bring it into their house for inspection. For four days they were to inspect the lamb they had chosen to make sure it didn’t have any blemishes. Jesus was first brought before the Sanhedrin to be questioned and no evidence requiring death could be found. They finally condemned him on his own testimony that he would tear down this temple and rebuild it in three days. They called it treason and pronounced him guilty of death. None of what they did would stand up in their own courts of justice or in Rome’s. They crucified Jesus on shear hatred and jealousy.
Lord, help us to cover what we don’t understand with love and keep our accusations to ourselves. Thank you for your sacrifice on the cross for our sins.

Sat.’s Devo - The Sacrifice

Read: Exodus 29:1-30:10; Matthew 26:14-46; Psalm 31:19-24; Proverbs 8:14-26
The priests were to be consecrated to serve before the Lord just as we need to be consecrated to serve the Lord. First, they were to bring their sacrifice to the Lord and wash it in water. Then they were to dress in their priestly garments. Next they were to be anointed with oil.
Then they could start the sacrificing. The bull was the sin offering to conscecrate the whole nation. They were to lay their hands upon the head of the bull, identifying with him since he was going to represent them. The blood of the bull was to be sprinkled on the horns of the altar and the rest poured at the base of the altar. All the inner parts were to be burned and the flesh was taken outside the camp to be burned.
The ram offering was to consecrate the priests. The blood of the ram was to be put on the ears, thumbs and big toes of the right side of the body signifying that what they heard, did and their walk was sanctified in the blood. They were to take the meat and wave it before the Lord. The priests would eat the sacrifices and unleavened bread for seven days. No one else can eat this. We are to eat the body of the Lord and drink his blood; no-one else can do this.
They were to offer a lamb every morning and one at dusk showing that forgiveness is ours continually.
In Matthew, we have the last supper that Jesus will eat with his disciples. The custom of Jewish men at supper is to sit the oldest to the left and on around to the youngest which would sit to the right. Judas was the oldest, so he was on Jesus’ left and John was the youngest, so he would be on his right. What a contrast!
Jesus did the rehearsal of what was going to happen on the very next day. He explained that the bread stood for his body and the wine is the blood.
They ate, sang a hymn and went to pray. Well, Jesus went to pray. The disciples fell asleep.
Lord, help us to stay awake spiritually and not give in to our natural desires.

Fri.’s Devo - The Garments of the Priests

The Old Testament is full of pictures to teach us about how God wants us to function as his children. The priests were set apart members of the congregation who were born into the Levite tribe and were to officiate the worship in the Tabernacle. They were pictures to us of those who are set apart to be God’s children through the blood of Jesus. They represent born-again Christians. So, what they were commanded to wear represents our priestly garments before the Lord. Aaron stood as the High Priest who represents Jesus, our High Priest.
The priest’s garments coincide with the armor of Christ in Ephesians 6. All the priests were to have a breastplate which represents our breastplate of righteousness. They had an ephod or belt that was made of gold, blue, purple and scarlet finely-twisted linen. These colors represented royalty and majesty. The belt was the belt of truth.
The High Priest was to wear stones on his shoulder with the names of the tribes on them (six on each side). In this way, Jesus bears the names of his children when he goes before the Father. The breastplate of the High Priest was called a breastplate of judging. On it was to be the stones of each of the tribes - four stones on a row in the order of their birth just like the ones on his shoulders. The breastplate and the ephod were to be chained together as one piece to show that Jesus would always carry his children in his heart and on his shoulder.
In the breastplate of judging was to have a pocket over the heart which held the Urim and the Thummim. Urim means “lights” and Thummim means “perfections, and emblem of complete Truth”. This is the definition of how God judges: with complete light and truth.
Around the hem of the high priest’s garment was to be bells and pomegranates. The pomegranates stood for the Word since there are the same number of seeds in a pomegranate as there are laws. The bells stood for praise which announces his coming to the Lord. The turban was to cover his head. It was to have a gold plate with the words “Holy to the Lord” on it. This is to bear the guilt involved in the gifts of the people making them acceptable to God. In Ephesians 6:17 this is the helmet of salvation.
Aaron’s sons and the other priests were to wear the tunic, the sash and the headbands which stand for righteousness, truth and salvation. Lastly, they were to be anointed with oil which stands for the seal of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus continued explaining his second coming in Matthew. He will come with angels who will help him separate the sheep from the goats. The believers will go to his right and the unbelievers will go to his left. He will bless the ones on his right commending them for their love for one another which amounted to love to him. They will inherit his kingdom. The ones on the left will be cursed and sent to the fire of hell. They will get what they deserved because the way they treated others amounted to the way they treated Him.
Lord, help us to love our fellow man as we love you. Every day, we choose to put on our priestly garments and enter the joy of serving in your kingdom.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Tabernacle

Read: Exodus 26:1-27:21; Matthew 25:1-30; Psalm 31:1-8; Proverbs 8:1-11
God gave Moses specific measurements for the curtains of the tabernacle that would be the wall around the outer court. It would be make in a way that could be taken apart and put back together easily. The tabernacle itself was to be covered first with rams’ skins dyed red to represent the blood of Jesus, then with badgers’ skins to represent our natural skin. We see our natural skin, but underneath we are covered with the blood of Jesus that can’t be seen with the natural eye.
The veil between the holy place and the most Holy Place where the ark would be put was make of blue, purple, and scarlet thread with cherubim on it. This was to show that when you entered into the presence of the Lord you were entering the realm of the heavens where angels and God was. Inside the Holy Place was the mercy seat with the two angels and the stone tablets of God’s testimony. We enter into God’s presence to receive mercy and he answers us according to his Word which is our testament of his promise to us.
The same veil would be put on the opening leading into the holy place so the people could see that when we enter into that place we are entering into another realm. In the holy place was the table of shewbread, the altar of incense and the menorah. The table of shewbread is the place where we come and dine with the Lord and eat his bread. We do this when we read his Word or when we commune with him in prayer. The altar of incense represents prayers we do for others. The menorah represents light and revelation we receive by the Holy Spirit to help us understand the things we read and the things we hear. Notice that the people were to bring their own oil to use to keep the menorah lit continually.
That leads us right into Matthew and the parable of the ten virgins. All ten of them were virgins who had access to oil. Oil comes from olives that have been beaten and pressed. Five of the virgins had lamps but no oil. They represent Christians who have the light but have not sacrificed anything for the gospel. They chose to live a safe worldly life. The ones with oil had allowed God to mold and shape them through adversity and suffering. They chose to give up their desires for God’s. You can’t give this to someone, they have to get it themselves. The foolish virgins missed out on Jesus’ coming to take them to the marriage (the rapture). Hopefully they will have oil when he returns the second time.
The second parable has to do with rewards. We have all been given talents and income. What we do with it for the kingdom determines what rewards we will get in the end.
Lord, help us to allow the Holy Spirit to mold and shape us into Your image, not our own.

Wed.’s Devo - Jesus’ Return

Read: Exodus 23:14-25:40; Matthew 24:29-51; Psalm 30:1-12; Proverbs 7:24-27
Every year when I read through the Bible I like to notice different things. This year I am amazed at how much angels are mentioned in the Bible and how involved with us they are. God tells Moses about his feasts that he wants them to celebrate every year then he tells them that an angel would be sent to guard them on their way and bring them into the land He had prepared for them. He tells them not to rebel against this angel or oppose what he does. God said he would also make the nations afraid of them and He would drive out the wild animals as they entered the land.
I can’t help but think that if the Church would be what we are suppose to be on the earth, that the government and leaders of our nation and God’s enemies would fear us and not vice versa. That is what God wants.
Moses, Joshua (his aide), Aaron and his two sons and the seventy elders got to go half way up the mountain and see God in his glory and eat and drink with God. Then Moses and Joshua stayed and they went back to govern the people until Moses returned. Moses went alone the rest of the way up the mountain and got the plans for the tabernacle. He was to make it just like the one in heaven which the Lord showed him. It was scaled down but the dimensions were the same ratio as the real ones in heaven. If we want to know what heaven is like we can look at earth and minus the devil and his work, this is what heaven looks like. It is a kingdom that is powered by worship and praise and blesses all its inhabitants. Everyone uses their gifts and operates to glorify Jesus and God.
In Matthew, we see angels once again that will gather the elect from the earth and in heaven. This will happen when Jesus blows the last trumpet and appears at his second coming in the skies. (We will accompany him.)
Jesus gave several signs that would precipitate his coming but then he gave a parable of the last sign. The sign right before he comes will be the fact that the fig tree is tender and putting forth leaves. The fig tree is Israel so when Israel’s heart is soft and it is manifesting the kingdom of God on the earth then we know that the time is very, very close.
Jesus warns that generation not to get wary of waiting but to stay alert and watching because Jesus will surely come.
Lord, help us to understand the day we are living in and its importance. Help us to stand behind what you are doing in our nation and on the earth. We pray for our leaders both government and spiritual. Help us to bring your kingdom to earth.

Tues.’s Devo - Justice

Read: Exodus 21:22-23:13; Matthew 24:1-28; Psalm 29:1-11; Proverbs 7:6-23
God gave them very practical laws having to do with their lifestyle but they have very spiritual meaning to us today if you take the time to meditate on them for revelation. One thing we can see about God is that he is concerned about the way we honor one another and show justice and fairness. God wants us to be responsible for what we do to others and pay restitution if we owe them anything. Much of the law reads like the New Testament. Jesus commanded us to love one another and treat others like we want to be treated.
In Matthew, as Jesus was leaving the Temple he looked at the buildings and commented to his disciples that one day all of these stones would be destroyed. His disciples understood he was talking about the end of time. Later, they asked him when it would happen and what would be the sign of his coming and the end of the age.
First, Jesus gave them signs of what would be going on before it all happened. There would be false Messiahs saying they were the one. There would be nations warring with nations, famines and earthquakes, but these were just birth pains. Many Christians would be arrested for their faith and persecuted or martyred. There will be some kind of unclean idol placed on the altar in the Temple. When they see this happen, they need to flee to the hills to be safe.
Many will say Jesus is on the earth but don’t believe it because he will come from the eastern sky like lightning.
Lord, your ways are perfect. Help us to honor one another and be fair in all our dealings.

Mon.’s Devo - The Temple and the Altar

Read: Exodus 19:16-21:21; Matthew 23:13-39; Psalm 281-9; Proverbs 7:1-5
God sounded the shofar louder and louder to call the people to the mountain of Sinai. The mountain was full of smoke and when Moses spoke to the mountain, God answered. Moses went up to talk to God and God sent him back down to warn the people not to try to come up. He told him to put limits around the mountain to keep them off of it. God spoke to the people the Ten Commandments in an audible voice so they could hear. There was also thunder and lightning and trumpets and smoke. It was so terribly frightening that the people begged Moses to tell God not to speak to them like that again. Moses told them not to be afraid because God was only putting his fear in them so they wouldn’t sin.
Then God gave specific instructions about worship to him. They weren’t to make a god of gold or silver or build an altar of stone with steps. God has always been more interested in our humble heart sacrifices than what we can build with our own hands.
Slaves were to be set free the seventh year because the seventh year always stands for the end of time when all will be set free and the earth restored. In the laws about the slaves, God gives the picture of salvation. The slave can choose to lay down his life for his master by piercing his ear to the door with an awl. This is the picture of self-sacrifice. The door is Jesus and the awl is the nail. The man who does this is choosing to lay down his life for the gospel.
Romans 7:14 tells us that the law is spiritual. So all of the laws have spiritual meanings. Being “put to death” means to repent - to die to that sin.
In Matthew, Jesus addressed the same thing God did with Moses. The Scribes and Pharisees valued the gold and the offerings more than the temple and the altar. They had everything backwards. It was the temple and the altar that was the most important but they were too blinded by worldly gain to see spiritual things. God would rather them give justice, mercy, trust than their natural offerings they gave to be seen of men. They were hypocrites who gave only to look good. They killed all the prophets between the Temple and the altar. God sent them to point out their sins but instead they killed them and would eventually kill Jesus too.
God promised to do what our Psalm says, “…tear them down and never build them up again.”
Thank you Lord that you are our strength and fortress of salvation. You bring salvation and blessing to your inheritance.

Sun.’s Devo - True Leadership

Read: Exodus 17:8-19:15; Matthew 22:34-23:12; Psalm 27:7-14; Proverbs 6:27-35
As soon as the Lord did the miraculous sign of bringing water from the rock, the devil attacked by way of the Amelekites. As long as Moses held his hands up in surrender to God, they were winning, but as soon as he tired and dropped them, the Amelekites began to win. They propped Moses up on a rock and Aaron and Hur stood on either side of him holding up his arms until they had won the battle. God told Moses to write this down in a book to be remembered and be sure that Joshua hears it because the Amelekites will be completely blocked out of the memory of those on earth.
God wanted Joshua to remember this when he took the people to the Promised Land because he would meet them once again.
Aaron means “light bearer” and Hur means “a cave: white”. The rock Moses stood on was Jesus (1 Co. 10:4) so the picture is that when we stand on the Word of God and on Jesus Christ as our savior, we bring light to the nations and the Lord hides us in his secret place (the cave) where we are safe and secure.
After their victory, Moses met up with his father-in-law, Jethro and wife and two sons. Jethro stayed and observed Moses leadership and how he sat judging the people all day. He explained to Moses that if he kept doing that he would burn out. He needed to delegate his authority to others and train them to do what he did. Moses took his advice and trained 70 men to help him judge the people.
This is the sign of a leader - one who can relinquish power to others and train others to lead.
In the third month from the day they had left Egypt, Moses came to Mt. Sinai. God told them to sanctify themselves because on the next day he was going to speak to them. God would call them together with a blast on the ram’s horn.
In Matthew, the Pharisees asked one more question hoping to trick Jesus up. They asked which commandment was the greatest. He said to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength was the most important one, but to love one another was the second. If you do both of these, the other commandments will be followed also.
Then Jesus asked them a question: Whose son would the Messiah be? They always thought that he would be one of David’s sons, but Jesus pointed out that David called God his Lord, not his father. This silenced them for the time. Jesus then turned to talk to the people. He told them that the scribes and Pharisees sat in the seat of authority so they had to do what they said, but they shouldn’t do what they did. He explained that the teachers of the law added so many laws to Moses law that it made it impossible to be righteous by their laws. They did this on purpose, to keep the people under their finger. Everything they did was a show when on the inside they were evil. They loved being called Rabbi but Jesus warned them that they only had one Teacher and one Father in heaven. He called them all brothers on the same plane. The one who humbled himself will be the one that God exalted.
Lord, help us to remember that true promotion starts with humility. Help us to freely pass on to others what you have given us.

Sat.’s Devo - Constant Complaining

Read: Exodus 15:19-17:7; Matthew 22:1-33; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26
The children of Israel grumbled their way through the wilderness. First it was the sea, so God divided it. Next it was the bitter water, so God told Moses to take a certain wood and throw it into the water and the water became sweet so they could drink it. Then, God brought them to Eilim where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped by an abundance of water.
Next, they grumbled that there was no food. So, God brought quail that night and bread rained down from heaven that morning. Moses gave them instructions to just gather enough for the day, but some of them couldn’t trust God past the day and gathered enough for the next day. It was molded by the next day.
On the sixth day they were to gather enough for the next day and it didn’t mold. You would think that they would catch on that God was making the rules and he wanted them to obey them. His way was the only way that would work.
When they ran out of water again, they somehow forgot the Red Sea, the manna, and the quail and the sweet water.
They had just left the wilderness of Sin and were camped at Rephidim and complained with Moses to give them water to drink. God told Moses to take his staff and strike the rock in Horeb. Water burst out from it. God called the place Massah which means “testing” because they tested God by asking if he was with them. And it was called Meribah which means “quarreling” because they quarreled with Moses.
In Matthew, Jesus told the parable of the man not adequately dressed for the wedding. He used it to explain what the religious leaders would face when they tried to enter heaven. They had no idea what the right attire was to enter heaven. The chosen will be robed in righteousness that had been washed in the blood of Jesus.
The Sadducees tried to trick Jesus with a question about a widow and the brothers’ obligation to have children through her for their dead brother. It was a trick question to find out Jesus’ thoughts on resurrection. Of course, Jesus saw straight through their trickery and answered their real question. There would be a resurrection because God is god of the living, not the dead.
Lord, thank you that you are the answer to all of life’s questions. Forgive us for our complaints when we can’t see the answers that you have not brought to our sight yet. Help us to wait expectantly on your wonderful plan.

Fri.’s Devo - Final Deliverance

Read: Exodus 13:17-15:18; Matthew 21:23-46; Psalm 26:1-12; Proverbs 6:16-19
Moses and the people left Egypt fully armed and carrying Joseph’s bones with them. God didn’t want to lead them through the land of the Philistines since they weren’t trained for warfare so he led them to the Red Sea.
Pharaoh woke up to the realization that he had let his whole slave labor force leave freely and changed his mind. He gathered all his horses and chariots and went after them.
When Israel saw them they panicked and started blaming Moses for taking them out of slavery into this. (How quickly we forget the sorrow and pain of our lives before God.) God told Moses to lift his staff over the sea and believe. The angel of God who had been leading them went behind them and became a column of thick cloud which made darkness on the Egyptian side and light on the Israelite side. The waters of the Nile split and formed a wall on both sides so the people could walk across on dry land. When the morning came and the Egyptians could see, they followed them across the dry path. When they got to the middle, Moses stretched forth his rod and the waters drown all the Egyptians in the sea.
Moses taught them a song of deliverance to remember this miraculous event and to praise God with.
In Matthew, the Pharisees wanted to know who gave Jesus the authority to heal and do all the miraculous things he did. He tested them with a question. He asked them if John’s baptism was from him or God. If they gave God the glory then he would be able to share spiritual things with them but since they were not willing to do that, Jesus was not willing to cast his pearls before swine.
Then, Jesus gave them two parables that illustrated this. The parables were about them. They were the son who said he would do what the father wanted him to do, but when it came down to obeying, he chose not to. They were the evil tenants over the synagogue and the responsibility to teach the Torah to the people. Instead they taught their own doctrine and took over God’s place. They were about to kill the son, but the Father would give them their due. They wanted to arrest Jesus right then, but they knew the crowds believed Jesus to be a prophet so they waited.
Lord, help us to be willing to obey and freely give out what you have freely given to us.