Fri.’s Devo - God’s Feasts -

Read: Leviticus 22:17-23:44; Mark 9:30-10:12; Psalm 44:1-8; Proverbs 10:19 God had laws for offerings that were acceptable to him and those not acceptable to him. It boils down to the fact that God deserves our best. He gave us his best when he gave Jesus, and he is a holy, jealous God. Our gift should give honor to him and come from our heart. We are to do unto others as we want them to do to us and it is the same with God - we respond to God like we want him to respond to us. *** God set up the Sabbath as a day of complete rest where we honor the Lord on that day. God also invited us to participate in his feasts with him. The first four feasts happened in the spring and were around the barley and wheat harvests. The first feast is Passover which begins at sundown on the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan or Abib. The next day began the celebration of the Festival of Unleavened Bread which lasted seven days. During that week they were to eat no bread with yeast in it. Day one and day seven were to be days of no work and were holy to the Lord. *** Once they entered the land, they were to begin celebrating First Fruits where they brought their first fruits to the Lord - on the day after the Sabbath. The priest would lift their offering up before the Lord. On that day, a burnt, grain and liquid offering must be made. *** Seven full weeks and one day (50 days) later they were to celebrate the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost. Two loaves of bread were to be brought and lifted up and waved before the Lord as an offering. On this day burnt, grain and liquid offerings plus a sin offering and a peace offering was to be made. *** When they harvested their grain, they were to leave the part around the edges for the poor and foreigners to pick up. *** The last three feast happened in the fall and were centered around the harvests of grapes, olive oil, and figs. The first day of Tishri was their New Year’s Day on their civil calendar. It was the Feast of Trumpets. They assembled and trumpets were blown and gifts were given to the Lord. On the tenth of that month was the Day of Atonement. It was a day of fasting and bringing presents to the Lord. They were not to work and if they didn’t bring a gift to the Lord, they would be cut off from God’s people. It was the holiest day of the year and no work was done on this day. It was also a Sabbath day. *** On the fifteenth day of that same month they were to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacle for seven days. It was a celebration of joy where gifts were given to the Lord. The eighth day was another holy day where no work was to be done. The first and eighth day were days of complete rest. On the first day of this festival, they were to gather certain branches from certain plants and make temporary shelters to live in during the entire feast. This was to remind them of their journey from Egypt when they lived in temporary tents. *** All of these feasts were to represent the events on God’s calendar. They were to practice them every year and on the appointed year, God would fulfill them. These holy events institute and orchestrate God’s will on the earth. *** God fulfilled Passover by giving Jesus as the Passover lamb to die for our sins. Jesus died on Passover, was buried on Unleavened Bread. He rose on First Fruits to be the first fruit to rise from the dead. God sent his Spirit on Pentecost and birthed his Church. *** We may be witnessing the Feast of Trumpets as God sent President Trump to blast out all the things that were going on in secret that God wanted exposed. This is leading us to the Day of Atonement when the nations will see the great sins our nations have been participating in and will need to, and want to repent. When we do, we will enter into the Feast of Tabernacles where God will dwell with us and we will be his people. Jesus prayer will be answered “thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” *** In Mark, Jesus told them again that he was going to be betrayed into enemy hands and killed, but three days later, he would rise from the dead. Since the disciples couldn’t get that, they argued about how they wanted to see things - their perspective. They wanted to see Jesus become a king on earth and argued about who would be the greatest in his kingdom. Jesus brought a child and told them that whoever wanted to be first, must go to the end of the line and serve. Then he brought a child in his arms and told them that whoever welcomed this little child in his name welcomed him and God. *** John reported to Jesus that he stopped this man who was using his name to cast out demons. Jesus rebuked John and told him that no one can do a miracle in his name and then speak evil of him, and anyone who is not against us, is for us. Even the smallest thing we do in his name will be rewarded. *** Jesus added a severe warning against causing an innocent believer to fall into sin. Great consequences would come to the one who did. *** Everyone will be tested with fire and trials. That is how we stay seasoned and clean. *** The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by asking him about divorce. Jesus asked them what Moses said and they gave him the answer. Then Jesus explained that Moses only wrote that law because they were so hard hearted. Divorce was not God’s plan from the beginning. He added, do not let anyone divide what God has joined together. That is the key…”what God has joined together.” God made a way of escape for those who married outside of God’s will. *** In their day, they were divorcing but not giving a writ of divorcement so they weren’t legally divorced. If either of them remarried, they were committing adultery because they were never legally, under God, divorced from the first wife. *** Lord, may we not get entangled with the law of your commands, but understand the Spirit of them. May we give grace for the things we do not understand but strive to live holy lives as our freewill gift to God.

Thurs.’s Devo - Holy and Set Apart

Read: Leviticus 20:22-22:16; Mark 9:1-29; Psalm 43:1-5; Proverbs 10:18 Romans 8:19-23 talks about how the creation is eagerly waiting for the revealing of the sons of God. The creation will be delivered from the bondage of corruption just like we are eagerly waiting for the adoption and redemption of our body. Creation responds to what man is doing. God told the children of Israel that if they did the practices of the heathen who had owned the land before them, the land would respond and vomit them out. *** They were to be holy and set apart. Mediums that consulted the dead were to be put to death by stoning. *** There were things that a priest could not do that the regular person was allowed. This points to us as God’s holy priesthood. Others may participate in things that we may not, if we want to remain holy. The priests and their families where held to a higher standard because with greater honor comes greater responsibility. Everything the priest did was to represent the spotless lamb of God who is now our High Priest. *** The people were responsible for the offering they brought because the offering represented a gift of themselves to Christ. It was to be holy and spotless. The priests offering the gift were to be spotless also. Only the priests were to eat the offerings brought to the Lord. If someone outside the priesthood accidentally ate any of the holy meat, he was to pay a price of the meat plus an extra 20%. Then he would be relieved of his guilt. *** This reminds me of the tithe we are required to give. If we don’t give it, the devil has a right to devour what we should have given and he always takes more. If we give our 10% to the Lord, He will bless it, and will rebuke the devourer. Then he promises to return a multiplied blessing to us. *** Jesus told them that standing among them were some that would see the Kingdom of God arrive in their lifetime. Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and John up on a mountain. They watched as Jesus allowed them to see him in his glory. Elijah and Moses appeared with him and they talked among themselves. *** Peter offered to make booths for them as it must have been the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. A cloud came over them and God spoke saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, Listen to him.” When the cloud lifted, Jesus was alone. He told them not to tell any one about what they had seen until after his death. *** They asked Jesus why the teachers of the law taught that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes. Jesus answered in future and past tense. He said Elijah had come in the form or John the Baptist and Jesus would come again before he came back. Then he asked them why the scriptures said that the son of Man must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt. (That was something the teachers of the law failed to teach about.) *** Jesus returned to the crowd and found his disciples arguing with the religious teachers. Jesus asked what was going on and a man in the crowd said he had brought his son to them to be delivered from an evil spirit, but his disciples couldn’t do it. *** Jesus called the whole generation “faithless” and asked the father to bring the son to him. When the evil spirit saw Jesus it went into a seizure - which means the evil spirit seized him beyond the boy's control. 
 *** Jesus asked how long it had been happening and found out it had been going on since he was a child. The spirit would try to kill him. He asked Jesus to have mercy, if he could. Jesus asked him about what he meant when he said, “if you can?” *** The man quickly admitted that he did believe but needed help to with his unbelief. Jesus rebuked the spirit of deaf and dumb and cast him out. The spirit left violently and left the boy looking like he was dead. Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up. *** Later, the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast out that demon and Jesus said that that king couldn’t only be cast out with prayer and fasting. I wonder if he meant that a person who fasts and prays will be ready with what it takes to overcome that demon. *** Lord, may we be prayed up and ready for the battle in our lives. May we remember that we are holy and set apart to be priests on the earth for your glory.

Wed.’s Devo - Seeing From God’s Perspective

Read: Leviticus 19:1-20:21; Mark 8:11-38; Psalm 42:1-11; Proverbs 10:17 In today’s reading, God goes over some of the laws he has already given and fine tunes them. The laws God gave dealt with the heart of man. It dealt with proper respect for God and his creation. God is a God of justice, so we are to model that on earth - in our daily dealings and in our courts. He tells us to love others as we love ourselves. *** God gave them laws in how to run their business with honesty and integrity. He told them to respect their elders and foreigners living among them. *** He told them what not to do in worship and who not to worship. They were not to follow the evil practices of the heathen but were to worship the Lord only and follow his laws. He taught them laws that had to do with their relations with the opposite sex and what perversion was. All in all, he was showing them how to please him so all would go well for them and God could bless them. *** In Mark, the Pharisees came to Jesus and wanted him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven proving he was who he claimed to be. This grieved Jesus and he refused to give them one. Every day, Jesus did signs that showed who he was and whose authority he was under - they just refused to see. *** Jesus and his disciples went to the other side of the lake and on their way, Jesus told them to be aware of the yeast of the Pharisees. The disciples began to argue because they had forgotten to bring bread with them. Jesus got exasperated with them. He was trying tell them spiritual things and all they could think of was natural things. He reminded them of the multiplied food and how many baskets they took up. Both times it was a miraculous work of God. Jesus wanted them to start thinking spiritually and supernaturally. *** The next story represents what Jesus wanted his disciples to get. When they got to Bethsaida, the people brought Jesus a blind man. Jesus took him out of the village and spit on the man’s eyes. He laid his hands on him and asked him if he could see anything. He replied he could see people, but they looked like trees walking around. Jesus prayed for him again and his eyes were opened and he saw clearly. Jesus sent the man home. *** The blind man represented the disciples. Jesus would always take away from the crowd and explain what he had just preached trying to help them see. He wanted them to walk in the revelation they had been given. *** Jesus asked his disciples who the people said that he was . They told him that some thought he was John the Baptist resurrected, some though he was Elijah or one of the other prophets. Then he asked them, who they thought he was. He wanted to see if their eyes had been opened. *** Peter gave the answer. He said he was the Messiah. Jesus warned them not to tell people that yet. He told them he was going to suffer and be rejected by the priests and religious leaders, then he would be killed. Three days later, he would rise from the dead. *** Peter took Jesus aside, to talk to him about this. He told him not to say such things and Jesus rebuked him calling him Satan. He told him he was seeing only from a human point of view, not from God’s… which was the whole point of why he told them to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. *** Then, Jesus called the crowd to join the disciples and told them to follow him they must give up their way and find his way. It was the way of the cross - suffering and death. But, the benefits were salvation for their soul. *** Lord, give us eyes to see with spiritual eyes and anoint our ears to hear your voice. Show us your ways that we might walk in them. Show us how to be citizens of heaven while we are physically on earth.

Tues.’s Devo - God Never Gets Tired of Blessing Us

Read: Leviticus 16:29-18:30; Mark 7:24-8:10; Psalm 41:1-13; Proverbs 10:15-16 On the Day of Atonement which is the tenth day of the seventh month. No one is to do any work on this day. It is the high and holy day where the priest enters the Holy of Holies with the blood of the sacrifices and atones for the nation’s sins. *** Any sacrifices made to any god other than God and any gift given other than how he told them to give it would be considered as murder. They were to stop sacrificing to demons. They were to stop drinking blood and would be cut off from the community if they continued. The blood was what atoned them for their sins. *** They were not to eat an animal that died naturally or was torn up by wild animals. If they did eat one of these, they were to cleanse themselves and be punished for their sin. *** God reminded them that they were not to act like the Egyptians or the people he was taking them to - they were set apart for holiness. He gave them an exhausted list of who the men could not have sex with that were in any way kin to them. Reading it, we realize that before the law, Lot’s daughters broke verse 6 by having sex with their father. Reuben broke verse 8 by having sex with his father’s concubine. Abraham broke verse 11 because Sarah was his step-sister. Judah was tricked into breaking verse 15 by having sex with Tamar. Jacob broke verse 18, and just like it said, Rachel and Leah were rivals. They all did this before it was a written law. *** God said that the ones they were driving out had done all these things and defiled the land. That was why God was punishing them. The land would vomit them out of it. They must not do these same things or the land would vomit them out as well. *** In Mark, Jesus left Galilee and went to the region of Tyre to get away. A woman heard he was there and brought her girl who was possessed by an evil spirit. She begged him to cast the demon out, but Jesus explained that he came first to the Jews. She countered with, that might be true, but even the dogs are allowed to eat the scraps from the table. Jesus was so impressed by her tenacity, that he told her to go home, her daughter was delivered. *** Jesus went to Sidon and a man who had a speech impediment was brought to him. Jesus took him away from the crowd and put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit on his own fingers and touched the man’s tongue. He prayed and commanded the man’s tongue to be opened and it was. The more Jesus told them to keep quiet, the more they spread the good news. *** Crowds followed him. It had been three days and they hadn’t eaten, so Jesus told his disciples he wanted to feed them. The disciples didn’t think Jesus could do it again, but Jesus asked them how much bread they had. They found seven loaves and a few small fish. Jesus blessed what they had and fed 4,000 with it. Jesus only asks of us what we have. He is the one who can multiply it. There were seven baskets of left-overs. Jesus never runs out of miracles. *** Jesus sent the people home and got into a boat with the disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmunutha which means “poor portion”. Our Psalm starts with, “Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!” *** Lord, may our hearts always be open to give what we have. May we not hold back because you can only multiply what we give.

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Atonement

Read: Leviticus 15:1-16:28; mark 7:1-23; Psalm 40:11-17; Proverbs 10:13-14 God told Moses how to deal with unclean bodily discharges. A man with a discharge was unclean and contagious. He was to wash himself and bathe in water. When he was cleansed, he was to count seven days and offer a sacrifice on the eighth day. The same goes for a emission of semen or a woman in her period. If a woman’s period continues like the woman with the issue of blood, she shall remain unclean until she stops bleeding. *** When Aarons’ two sons died by offending the Lord, Moses told Aaron that he must not come just any time into the Holy Place or he would die also. When he did come, he must come with blood of a bull or a ram. He should wash with water and then put on his holy garments. *** He was to take two goats and one ram. The ram was offered for himself and his own sins and its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat seven times . He was to cast lots between the goats to choose the one who would die for the sins of the people. The other was the scapegoat and the priest would lay all the sins of the people on its head and release it into the wilderness. *** This ritual represented the blood of Christ making atonement once and for all for our sins. The scapegoat represented our sins being removed from us as far as the east is from the west. *** In Mark, the Pharisees noticed that Jesus’ disciples were not doing the ritual hand-washing they had instituted. Jesus called them hypocrites and said that their worship was a sham. They taught their laws as if they were God’s laws. *** Jesus confronted them on another of their traditions. They taught that they didn’t need to provide for their elderly parents as long as they gave the money they would give to their parents to the Temple. It would also give them more clout with them and with God. Jesus told them this was so wrong. They were ignoring God’s commandment to honor their father and mother to look good to man. This was just one of many of God’s laws they had twisted to benefit themselves. *** Jesus disciples questioned him further about what he had said and he explained that it wasn’t the food that was the problem, it was what came out of the heart that was the problem. This was like the unclean discharges in Leviticus. What came out of the Pharisees spread to all the people, making them unclean. Jesus came to point out their sin and show them to way to be clean. If the heart was evil then only evil could be produced from it. The other side of that coin is that if you put into your heart the Word of God and meditate on the good things of God, you will produce the fruit of the Spirit. *** Lord, may we eat at your table and produce fruits of righteousness and love.

Sun.’s Devo - Forgiveness in the Cross

Read: Leviticus 14:1-57; Mark 6:30-56; Psalm 40:1-10; Proverbs 10:11-12 Jesus healed a man of leprosy in Matthew 8:3 and told him to go show the priest so they could do this ceremony. No Jew, that we know of had ever been healed of leprosy before, so they had never done this ceremony. *** The priest was to take two birds that were clean, a stick of cedar , some scarlet yarn and a hyssop branch. The priest were to slaughter one bird over a clay pot filled with fresh water and then take the live bird, the cedar, the yarn and the hyssop and dip them into the blood. The blood was to be sprinkled over the person seven times then release the live bird in the open field to fly away. *** Both birds represented Jesus. The first bird was to represent Jesus in his death. The cedar was the cross, the scarlet thread was his blood that would pass down through the centuries. The hyssop was offered to Jesus at the cross to deaden the pain, but he refused it. *** The priest was to apply some of the blood of the guilt offering on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the right toe of the right foot. This was to cleanse the man of what he hears, what he does and where he goes. The person was sprinkled seven times with oil as the number of completion because Christ’ work was finished on the cross. The oil was then put on the same lobe, thumb and toe to anoint his hearing, his works and his path. The live bird is released to represent Christ’s resurrection and this man’s own resurrection from sin. He was to walk in newness of life. *** After the purification, the people involved were to wash their clothes, shave off their hair and bathe themselves in water. Then they could return to the camp but remain outside their tents for seven days. On the seventh day, they must shave the hair from their heads, beard and eyebrows and wash their clothes and themselves in water. Then they would be ceremonially clean. *** On the eighth day, the people who have been purified were to bring two male lambs and one female along with a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of flour moistened in oil. A guilt offering is offered of the animals and is applied like the blood of the bird and the oil as before. There were concessions given for the poor. *** Moses told Aaron that when they arrived in Canaan and displaced the people living there, they might find mildew in their houses. If they did, the priest was to inspect the house and if it does look like there is mildew, the house was to be emptied and pronounced unclean. If the mildew is greenish or reddish and appears to have sunken into the wall, he will quarantine the house for seven days. If after the seven days, he finds the mildew has spread, he will have the stones that have mildew on them taken outside the town to a designated area and the inside walls of the entire house scraped and dumped in the designated space. Other stone will be brought in to replace the old ones and the walls replastered. If that doesn’t do the trick and the mildew returns, the house is defiled. It must be torn down and all its stones carried out of town and all how had entered the house would be unclean and must wash their clothing. *** But if the priest sees that the mildew has not returned, he will pronounce it clean and the bird ritual is to be done. *** I think of the house with mildew as a picture of a ministry, family or institution that has been compromised with sin, or destructive teaching making the ones under its covering unclean. God will give them a chance to cleanse the sin out of the group. Then he will return to see if they have done this. If they haven’t then the whole ministry must be torn down. *** In Mark, the disciples tried to escape the crowds for a little rest and to eat but the crowds followed them. Jesus was filled with the compassion for the crowds and stepped out of the boat and taught them. *** When it was late, the disciples told Jesus he should send the people home so they could eat, but Jesus told them to feed them. The disciples were indignant because they had no way to feed this large of a crowd. Jesus asked them how much they had. They went out to the crowd and found five loaves and two fish. Jesus told them to have the people sit in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the loaves and fish and blessed them, then began breaking the loaves and dividing the fish. He fed 5,000 men and picked up 12 baskets of leftovers. *** Jesus immediately insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and go to the other side to Bethsaida. He sent the people home filled both spiritually and physically, while he went up to the hills to pray. *** In the middle of the night, Jesus noticed that the disciples were in trouble in the water. He walked out on the water, scarring his disciples who thought he was a ghost. Jesus calmed their fears and climbed into their boat. As he did, the wind stopped and they were amazed. They climbed out at Gennesaret, where the demon-possessed man had been. This time the people were ready for Jesus and they brought their sick and possessed people to him. His testimony had spread the gospel and prepared the people to receive Jesus this time. *** Lord, thank you that you hear us in our need and you come to rescue us and bring us your peace. Thank you that all our needs are met in you.

Sat.’s Devo - The Law of Leprosy -

Read: Leviticus 13:1-59; Mark 6:1-29; Psalm 39:1-13; Proverbs 10:10 The Lord gave them the law concerning leprosy and mildew. Leprosy is a disease of the flesh. Paul called this sin of the flesh. Leviticus gives us three stages: swelling, scab and bright spot. Swelling has to do with pride since it makes us elevate ourselves greater than we are. A scab has to do with the healing process where our body produces a covering over the sore so the healing can take place underneath. As it heals, it itches and is a temptation not to scratch it off making the sore reappear or worse than the first. This is the stage of fighting the sin from reappearing. Then next stage is an open sore. That is when the sin is exposed and contagious. *** The priest is Jesus who we bring our sins to. He examines our sins and makes the decision of how we continue. If our sin has white hair and is deeper than the skin it means our sin has produced death and has gone into our hearts. We are unclean and need to repent. *** If the spot has turned white and is not deeper than our skin and the hair has not turned white then we are not actively involved in our sin and we are progressing. The person is isolated another 7 days. *** Judgement always happens on the 7th day. On the seventh day, the priest examines the person again and if his sin has not spread he is isolated another 7 days. *** On the 7th day, if the sore has faded and not spread, he is to wash his clothes and be clean. He is no longer contagious and he is to walk in repentance and no longer sin. *** If on that same 7th day, if the priest finds that the scab has spread all over his skin, then he is unclean because there is still healing to be taken place in his heart - under the surface. *** If the sore is swelling and white and the hair is white and their is raw flesh in the swelling, it is an old sin. Pride has caused death and this person is affecting those around him or her. They are unclean and need to be isolated from drawing others down with them. *** If a person is completely covered with white skin then they are clean and no longer contagious. Christ’s work in them has made them white as snow. *** God dealt with boils and burns and sores in the head and beard the same way. Boils have to do with anger issues; burns have to do with passion; and sores on the head and beard have to do with wrong thinking. *** Next, God dealt with mildewed garments. This had to do with our robes of righteousness, the characteristics we wear on the outside. These would be like the fruit of the spirit - what is evident by our actions. If you read it in the KJV it talks about whether it is a woolen garment or a linen garment, whether it is in the warp or woof of linen or wool, or whether it is in leather or things made of leather. Woolen garments are made from sheep so they have to do with the sheep of God. Linen has to do with the priesthood so they are the ones who follow the Lord and love to abide in his presence. The leather have to do with the rest of the people. The warp and the woof are threads in the garments. The warp are the vertical threads that have to do with how we relate with God. The woof are the horizontal thread and have to do with how we relate with man. Both are affected by the garments we wear. *** If the plague in the garment is greenish or reddish it is leprous and must be brought to the priest. This means if someone is operating out of envy and lust, they must be brought to Jesus to judge. They must be washed and isolated for 7 days. If the garment is a church or organization then they must go through cleansing and prove themselves. *** If the priest finds that the colors are fading after their washing, then he will tear it out of the garment. But, if it reappears then it is an addition and must be burned out. Then it should be washed again to be clean. This is pretty self-explanatory. We are seeing this happen in the Body of Christ right now and it is our High Priest who is doing this by the Holy Spirit. *** In Mark, we can see examples of leprosy. Jesus returned to his hometown and when he taught in the synagogue, many received his words and were amazed at his miracles and others were filled with envy and passion and were offended. Their sin went beneath the skin into their hearts. *** Jesus said that prophets were honored everywhere except their own hometown and in their own families. Their unbelief kept Jesus from being able to do many miracles among them. *** Jesus began to send his own disciples out to do what he was doing. He told them not to spend time with those who didn’t want to hear but to tell everyone to repent of their sins and turn to God. They went casting out demons and healing many sick and anointing them with oil. The only way to get rid of leprosy is repentance. *** Herod Antipas hear about what Jesus was doing and was afraid it was John the Baptist who had risen from the dead. He had been the one who had regretfully been tricked into beheading John. Others thought Jesus was just a prophet. *** Lord, thank you for the Holy Spirit who cleanses us and brings our offenses to our attention so we can repent and walk in holiness. Thank you for your mercy and grace to walk in truth.

Fri.’s Devo - How to Walk in God’s Kingdom

Read: Leviticus 11:1-12:8; Mark 5:21-43; Psalm 38:1-22; Proverbs 10:8-9 Romans 7:14 says that the law is spiritual so there is a spiritual law to learn from all the laws. They were to eat only animals that had split hooves and chewed the cud, so spiritually we only embrace revelation that is balanced and we have meditated on. *** They were only to eat from the water, fish that had fins and scales. We are only to accept things from the Spirit that are balanced and are covered with Jesus’ covering. *** They were not to eat winged insects that walked along the ground. As Christians, we are not to embrace worldly teaching. *** They were not to eat animals that walked on all fours and had paws. We are to be upright in all we do, not earthly. I wonder if the paws had to do with the fact that they could sneak up on people - our walk should be truthful and evident. *** To “die” means to “sin” since the wages of sin is death. Sin is like a disease that spreads and is contagious. Just “touching” it defiles us. It is the little foxes that spoil the vines (Song of Solomon 2:15). He ends his list with “Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy.”
 *** A woman who had a son had to wait 33 days from the bleeding of childbirth to be sanctified. Jesus was 33 years old when he died and his blood cleansed us from sin. The waiting is over. Then we can boldly enter into God’s presence. If she had a daughter, she must wait 66 days, 33 for her and 33 for her daughter. *** When she is cleansed from childbirth, she is able to bring an offering to the Lord. *** In Mark, Jesus had just been across the lake delivering the Gaderene when he came back to the Jewish side. He was immediately met with Jairus, one of the heads of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet begging him to heal his dying daughter. As Jesus followed him to his house a woman who had suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding touched the hem of his robe. Jesus felt the touch and felt healing power leave him. He turned to ask who had touched him. Everyone had touched him that was around him but the women had felt the healing power come into her and she confessed. Jesus told her that her faith had made her whole and she could rest in peace, her suffering was over. *** Jesus continued on to Jairus’ house where they were told the 12 year old daughter was dead, there was nothing Jesus could do. Jesus had the crowd stay there and he took Peter, James, and John with him to the house. He told the mourners that she wasn’t dead, only asleep. The crowd laughed at him but he made them all leave. He took the parents and his disciples into the room where the girl was. He had her hadn’t and told her to get up. She stood up and walked around. Jesus told them not to tell anyone what happened but for them to feed her (she had been on a journey.) *** Twelve is the number of government. Jesus’ government is about making people healed, whole and resurrection from death. *** Lord, may we walk uprightly, balanced and holy. Thank you for your Spirit that helps us do this. Thank you for your blood that saved us and your Spirit that empowers us to do your will.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Kingdom of God -

Read: Leviticus 9:7-10:20; Mark 4:26-5:20; Psalm 37:30-4-; Proverbs 10:6-7 Moses told Aaron to come to the altar and offer the sin offering and burnt offering to cleanse themselves and the people. He performed the act just like the Lord had told them, first for themselves and then for the people. He also offered the grain offering and the peace offering. When he was done, Aaron raised his hands and blessed the people and stepped down from the altar. *** Together, Aaron and Moses went into the tabernacle and when they came back out, they blessed the people again and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community. Fire from the presence of the Lord appeared and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. The people shouted with joy and fell on their face. *** Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu put coals from the altar into their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. This was not anything God had told them to do and the fire they were seeing from the Lord consumed Aaron’s sons. Moses told Aaron, that this was what God meant when he said he would display his holiness and his glory before the people. Aaron didn’t say a thing. *** Moses had Aaron’s cousins Mishael and Elzaphan carry the bodies of Nadab and Abidu out of the camp. Moses told Aaron that he could show no outward signs of mourning for their disobedience or they would die also. They were to stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle or they would die. *** Moses gave Aaron another command that he and his descendants must never drink wine or alcohol before they went into the Tabernacle or they would die. They must be able to distinguish what is unclean and what is unholy. *** Moses told Aaron to have his remaining two sons to eat the grain offering and to offer up the breast and the thigh as a special offering to the Lord. *** Moses found out that Aaron and his sons didn’t eat the sin offering of the people and was very upset until he heard Aaron’s answer. Aaron didn’t think the Lord would have been pleased if they ate it in light of what had happened. Moses was fine with his answer. *** In Mark, Jesus gave many parables about the mysteries of the kingdom of God. May times they were about seed because seed was the beginning. It was the truth that went into the soil of a person’s heart and produced his salvation. No one knows which heart will receive the seed and produce the fruit of life. Sometimes it was the smallest truth in the most unlikely soil that would produce the most efficient tree. *** Jesus never taught the masses without using parables, but he would explain them to his disciples - those who walked with him and wanted to be like him. *** Jesus told his disciples they were going across the lake. Jesus went with them in the boat and other boats followed them. *** A storm rose up and the boat was beginning to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of his boat when they woke him up shouting they were drowning. Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind and told hit to be still. At once, it was calm. He asked his disciples why they didn’t have faith and why they had no faith. *** The disciples were amazed that the wind and the waves obeyed him. The storm had been a precursor to what was waiting for them on the other shore. The principality of the region met them in the form of a demon-possessed man. The people of the town had tried to control him with shackles but he broke them. He lived in the caves and howled like an animal. He also cut himself with stones. *** This uncontrollable man came and fell at the feet of Jesus begging not to be tortured by him. He knew who Jesus was and called him by name. Jesus asked him his name and he said, “Legion” because he was filled with a regimen of demons. The demons begged him not to send them to a distant place. There was a large herd of pigs feeding and the spirits begged to go into them. Jesus sent them to the pigs and the pigs, all 2,000, jumped over the cliff and drowned in the water. Their shepherds ran to the town telling the people what had happened. The pep came out and begged Jesus to leave them. The man who had been delivered of the legion of demons begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him he needed to go home and let his family see what God had done for him. He became the mustard seed that was the most unlikely to produce good seed. *** Lord, may we never give up on anyone or any situation, no matter how impossible it seems. May we see everyone as seeds that may sprout into great oaks for the Lord. Help us to water and tend the garden you have given us.

Wed.’s Devo - The Peace Offering

Read: Leviticus 7:28-9:6; Mark 3:31-4:25; Psalm 37:12-29; Provers 10:5 The peace offering was a voluntary gift anyone could give to the Lord. The breast and the thigh was to be given to the priest to eat as a gift. The breast stood for the heart since this offering was given voluntarily.. The thigh was where oaths were made, so they stood for the treasures of the heart. Both pieces were choice meats to eat. These pieces were commanded to be given to the priests when they were first anointed to serve. We must begin our walk as his priests by offering God our heart as well as our intentions and dreams. *** In Chapter 8, God had Moses call the congregation together and had Aaron and his sons to stand before them. He announced to the people that this is what the Lord has commanded us to do, then he proceeded to dress Aaron and his sons and wash them with water. He was demonstrating to them the process we all must go through to serve the Lord. *** First, he washed them with water like we are cleansed by the waters of repentance through baptism. Then Moses began by putting the garments on the priest which all had their meaning. (Ephesians 6). He gave Aaron the Urim and the Thummim to discern the heart of God for the nation. He put the turban on Aaron’s head that had the seal of holiness on it. *** Then Moses anointed the Tabernacle and everything in it, making them holy. He anointed the altar seven times. He anointed Aaron’s head with oil, dressed his sons and anointed them. *** Moses prepared the sin offering and acted as God. He had Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the head of the bull before he killed it. He also presented the ram of ordination and had Aaron and his sons lay their hands on it. Moses applied blood from it on the priest’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. He sprinkled the rest of the blood on the sides of the altar. *** Moses then took the kidneys and liver and fat from the right thigh and topped it with a cake of unleavened bread spread with oil. He put all this in the hands of Aaron and his sons and lifted these gifts to the Lord. This represented the heart and future of Aaron and his sons. They were presenting all their heart and dreams to the Lord in front of them and God. These were then burnt on the altar as a gift to the Lord. *** Moses also sprinkled some of the blood of the priest’s offering on their own robes to make them holy because Jesus’ blood makes us holy. Moses told Aaron and his sons to boil the rest of the meat and eat it with the unleavened bread at the entrance of the Tabernacle. They were to stay for for seven days and then the ordinations ceremony would be completed. If they didn’t stay for seven days, they would die. *** This “week” they were to stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle represents a persons completed life. We are always a priest and cannot leave this calling to walk away or we will die eternally. It also represents the end of the 7,000 years on the earth. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We are to stay righteous, doing God’s work till the end. *** On the eighth day, Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel together. He told them to take a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering and present them to the Lord. He told the people to give a male goat for a sin offering and a lamb for a burnt offering. Then to take a bull and a ram for a peace offering and a grain offering. He told them to do all these offerings because he was going to appear before them in his glory. *** This speaks of the eighth day after the last Feast of Tabernacle when Jesus has come again and set up his kingdom. That eighth day is the eighth millennium. That is when God will appear and we will see his glory. *** In Mark, Jesus is in a crowd when someone comes to tell him that his mother and brothers are asking for him. He says that those who do his will are his mother, his brother and his sister. *** Then Jesus told them the parable that was key to understanding all the other parables. The parables gave the secrets to the Kingdom of God. It explained that the condition of the heart determined if the seed of God’s kingdom could bear fruit in the person’s life. He told his disciples that they had the light and they needed to let it shine. If they listened closely with the right hearts, they would grow in their understanding. *** Lord, may we grow in our understanding of You and your kingdom. May we walk all the days of our lives with You.

Tues.’s Devo - The Offerings

Read: Leviticus 6:1-7:27; Mark 3:7-30; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 10:3-4 To sin against a person is to sin against God, whether it is extortion, lying under oath or robbery. Restitution must be made in full plus 20 percent. Then a trespass offering must be made to the Lord by the priests. *** Today, if we do a crime against a person the same is required. We make restitution and are charged a fine on top of that. Then we must ask God to forgive us and Jesus atones for us with his blood. *** The fire on the altar was to be burning continually and the ashes taken every morning to a clean place outside the place. Once they built the Temple, they would take their ashes to the Kidron Valley. *** The grain offering was given to cleanse a sinner from their guilt. Some of it was given to the Lord as a burnt offering every morning and at night, and some was eaten by the priests in a holy place. If the priests offer a grain offering, it must be completely burned on the altar. *** The Sin offering was offered if a person had committed an offense or a sin. It must be offered by people who have been sanctified. If it is boiled in a vessel, then that vessel had to be broken. If it is boiled in a pot, then the pot had to be scoured and rinsed with water. It is made to remove impurity from the person and the sanctuary. *** The trespass offering was also referred to as the guilt offering and was given if a person violated the property of God or the property of another person by falsely testifying. In today’s language that could be crossing a boundary someone set to protect their privacy. God said this one was most holy. The fat from the most intimate parts of the animal was to be offered on the altar and eaten by the male priests. The priest that offered it would get the animal skin. If it was a grain offering given in a pot, the priest who offered it would get the pot. *** The peace offering was given with gratitude and thanksgiving. The people could offer unleavened cakes and leavened bread. This is a tribute of thanks for Jesus’ death and resurrection. If an animal is given, it must be eaten by the third day. Any time after that the offering is an abomination. Jesus finished his work on the third day. *** In all sacrifices the blood and the fat was the Lord’s. *** In Mark, news of Jesus had spread far and wide and people traveled for miles to hear him and be healed. The disciples had to have a boat ready to whisk Jesus away if the crowds got aggressive. People who came possessed by evil spirits would fall before him shrieking and saying he was the Son of God. Jesus had to command them not to tell who he was. *** Jesus went up on a mountain to hear from his Father about who would be his disciples. God gave him the list: Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Thaddeus, Simon and Judas Iscariot. *** The teachers of the law showed up and said that he was possessed by Satan and that was where he got his power to cast out demons. Jesus called them over and gave them a demonstration. He asked them how Satan could cast out Satan. Any family that fights within will fall apart. If Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? It takes a stronger man to take the goods of a strong man because he would need to tie him up to steal his goods. *** Then Jesus warned them against saying he had an evil spirit. This kind of talk would cause them to lose their salvation. *** Lord, may we stand on your truth and agree about the important things that have to do with salvation. Thank you for offering yourself on the altar to take care of our sin past, present and future.

Mon.’s Devo - The Sin Offering

Read: Leviticus 4:1-5:19; Mark 2:13-3:6; Psalm 36:1-12; Proverbs 10:1-2 God gave a way the people could atone for sin that they unintentionally did. The ritual was different for the anointed priest, the whole congregation, the ruler and the common person. *** For the anointed priest if he sinned unintentionally, he was to bring a bull to the door of the tabernacle, lay his hand on its head and kill it. He was to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times in front of the veil of the Holy of Holies. He was also to put blood on the horns of the incense altar and pour the remaining blood at the base of the burnt offering at the door of the tabernacle. *** He was to take out the liver, kidneys and fat around the entrails and burn them on the altar. They are the parts of the body that filter waste so they would represent sin. The rest of the bull was to be burnt on the altar and its ashes taken outside the camp. *** If the whole congregation unintentionally sinned and they realized it, they were guilty. The elders of the community were to lay their hands on the head of the bull and it then kill it. The rest is the same as when the priest sinned. *** If it is a ruler that is guilty of unintentional sin and wants to make things right, he must offer a male young goat and lay his hand upon the head of the goat. It was then killed and the priest out put some the blood on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. There rest was poured out at the base of the burnt offering altar. *** If the common people sinned unintentionally he was to bring a female goat or a female lamb and lay his hands upon the animal. Then it would be killed and the priest would put its blood on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. *** The priest is a masculine noun where the community is a feminine noun. The ruler was also a masculine noun and had to give a male goat as an offering, where the common people was feminine and gave a female offering. So, it looks like the priest and the ruler stood as the husband and the community and the common people represented his bride. *** The trespass offering is given if a person hears a person utter an oath and then does not come forward and testify what he heard. It is also given if someone touches something unclean and is unaware of it. The person is still unclean and guilty but is not held responsible until his sin is made known to him. His offering is what he can afford: either a lamb, pigeon or grain. He is to confess his sin and let the priest atone for him. That is what we do when we sin. We confess our sin to the Lord, and he, as our high priest applies his blood to our sin. *** In Mark, Jesus called Levi from his tax collector’s booth to come and be his follower. Levi got up and left his business behind. He wanted his friends to meet Jesus so he invited them to his house to eat. The Pharisees saw Jesus eating with sinners and called him out on it. Jesus explained that healthy people don’t need a doctor, just sick people. He had come to call those who knew they were sinners, not those who thought they were righteous. Busted! He was, of course, speaking of them since they did all their rituals to look righteous. *** Then the pious religious leaders asked Jesus why his disciples didn’t fast. Jesus answered that you don’t fast when you are at a wedding celebrating with the groom. But, one day, the groom would be taken away and they would fast then. *** Jesus said you don’t patch an old cloth with new material because the new material would get wet, and shrink and tear away from the old material. Then the hole would be even bigger than before. And, you don’t put new wine into old wineskins or the old wineskins would burst. New wine needs new wineskins. *** Jesus was referring the scribes and Pharisees as the old cloth and the old wineskins. Jesus was bringing in a new concept, a new kingdom with new rules, new leaders and new ways of operation. *** Jesus explained this further when the religious leaders accused his disciples of doing work on the Sabbath just because they broke off heads of grain to eat. They were all about don’t do this, don’t do that on the Sabbath. Jesus was all about what you could do, like eat, heal, set free, do good. That is why most of the recorded miracles happened on the Sabbath… like the man with the withered hand. *** Lord, may we be about the good deeds of your kingdom. May we put off old wineskins to embrace what you are doing now. Thank you for your atoning blood.

Sun.’s Devo - The Goodness of God

Read: Leviticus 1:1-3:17; Mark 1:29-2:12; Psalm 35:17-28; Proverbs 9:13-18 The book of Leviticus was written by Moses to tell the Israelites how to please the Lord with their offerings. It is also written to the church to tell them what the Lord requires of us. *** It starts with the offerings they were to give to the Lord. The burnt offering was to be an ox or bull offered and killed by the person offering it. He was to put his hand on the head of the ox transferring his sin to the ox. Then the ox would die in his place, making him right with God. The priest would then take the blood from the animal and sprinkle it on the altar, skin the animal and cut him into pieces. The the internal organs and legs were first to be washed with water. Then all the pieces were to be burnt on the altar. *** This is a picture of Jesus on the cross who was sinless in his inmost parts and totally consumed for all our sins, on the cross. His blood was sprinkled on the altar to cover all our sins. *** The same was done if a sheep, goat, or bird was offered. I think of the ox as being offered for a nation and the sheep and goat and bird as offered for the individual. Jesus was crucified for both: individuals and nations. *** A grain offering was made to obtain God’s favor. The gift was from the man’s labor. It must be accompanied with oil, but no yeast. For us, this is a sacrifice of our works. They were to add salt to it because we are to be the seasoning in the world. With our talents we are to do them with the fruits of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, long suffering, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the salts that flavor our gifts. *** It was to be mixed with oil and frankincense and burnt on the altar as a fragrant offering to the Lord. *** The peace offering was to be voluntary. Whatever they gave as a sacrifice, they were to lay their hands on the head of it and kill it. The priests would then take its blood and sprinkle it on the altar. If it was an ox, it was to be killed at the door of the tabernacle but if it was a sheep or goat it was to be killed before the tabernacle. Since the ox was for all the people, then when the people entered through the door, they would be affected by the offering. Since the sheep or goat was for the individual, it was killed outside the tabernacle. *** The cooked meat of the peace offering was to be eaten as food, but not the fat or the blood. That was given to the Lord. *** In Mark, Jesus went to the home of Simon Peter. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick but instead of being afraid she was contagious, Jesus healed her. She recovered immediately and went and prepared a meal for them. *** That night, the people of the town brought all their sick and demon-possessed people to him. He healed them all and shut the mouths of the demons. Jesus did not want the people to know who he was by the mouth of demons but by the mouth of the Holy Spirit. *** Early the next morning, the disciples looked for Jesus and finally found him praying. They told him everyone in the town was looking for him, but he told them that they needed to keep traveling because there were others who needed to hear his message. *** A man came to him with leprosy, begging to be healed. Jesus healed him and told him to go straight to the priests and let them do the ritual for the healing of leprosy in the law. He would be a witness to them of God’s kingdom. Instead, the man went and told the people, making it hard for Jesus to travel publicly. *** Jesus eventually returned to Capernaum and when the people heard he was back, they flocked to hear him. He was preaching in a house. Four men came carrying a paralytic man on his mat for Jesus to heal. They couldn’t get in because of the crowd, so they dug a hole in the roof and lowered the man in front of Jesus. Jesus was amazed at their faith and forgave the sins of the man. The Pharisees watching very upset that he forgave his sins. Jesus asked him if it was easier to tell him his sins were forgiven or to tell him to stand up and walk. Then Jesus turned to him and told him to stand up and walk and he did. The people were amazed and praised God. The Pharisees were humiliated. *** May our eyes be open to see your marvelous works. May our faith be what moves us instead of letting our doubt paralyze us.

Sat.’s Devo - Setting Up the Tabernacle

Read: Exodus 39:1-40:38; Mark 1:1-28; Psalm 35:1-16; Proverbs 9:11-12 The craftsmen led by Bezalel made the garments for the high priests, Aaron’s sons and the priests just like the Lord had shown Moses. Moses inspected them and blessed them. *** Moses set up the tabernacle on the first day of the new year - Nissan One. He set it up from the inside out. The Ark of the Covenant was the first thing set in place because without the Lord, none of the rest mattered. Then, the curtain was put around it. Next, all the furniture for the Holy Place: the incense altar, the table of shewbread, and the menorah. The curtain was placed around it. Next, the laver and the bronze altar and all the things around it were brought and put in place. Last of all the curtain was set up around the courtyard. *** All the furniture was anointed with oil and Aaron and his sons were brought to the entrance of the tabernacle. Moses put the sacred robes and sashes, etc. on them and anointed them. Aaron and his sons were set apart for the priesthood forever. *** When Moses set the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle and had finished his work, the presence of the Lord filled the tabernacle. The people didn’t leave until the cloud of God’s glory had lifted. It hovered over the Tabernacle during the day and at night it glowed with fire. *** Today we start the book of Mark. Mark was written to the Romans and it highlights how Jesus is the Servant. How ironic because the Romans were the masters. Mark was represented by the Ox the burden-bearer, hard-worker. Matthew had been written to the Jews. Jesus was represented by the Lion and highlighted how Jesus was the King. *** It is believed that Mark wrote his book between the time Peter was killed A.D. 67 and before the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. Nero had accused the Jews of setting Rome on fire giving him an excuse to persecute them. *** Since Mark was writing to the Romans who were in power, he begins his book validating the authority of the characters. John was validated by the prophets who predicted his coming on the scene. John came baptizing people with repentance for their sins. But he pointed them to one would come after him and who had more authority and power than he. *** When Jesus arrived, John baptized him and heaven validated Jesus with a dove coming down from heaven and a voice that said, “you are My beloved Son, in whom I am well please.” *** Jesus was then led into the wilderness to fight the devil who had authority in the earth. Jesus won. When John the Baptist was thrown in prison, Jesus continued his ministry announcing the kingdom of God. *** Jesus chose fishermen to be his followers and told them that they would now fish for men. He chose two sets of brothers: Peter and Andrew; James and John - all fishermen. *** To further prove his authority, Jesus went into the synagogue and began teaching and the people were amazed because he taught like he knew what he was talking about. He was confronted by an unclean spirit in a man in the synagogue. That was where most of the evil spirits were. LOL! The evil spirit knew who Jesus was. Jesus stopped him from speaking and cast him out. Jesus was famous after this. *** Mark was trying to establish authority and validate Jesus to a group of people who thought they were in control. No different for us who come to Christ thinking we were in control of our lives only to find that we need Christ. We learn that he is much more powerful than us. Everyone needs a Saviour. *** Lord, thank you for being a just, honest, faithful, kind and loving savior. Thank you for being our Lord and King.

Fri.’s Devo - The Furniture for the Tabernacle

Read: Exodus 37:1-38:31; Matthew 28:1-20; Psalm 34:11-22; Proverbs 9:9-10 It always surprises me to read that the ark of the covenant was only 45 inches long and 27 inches wide and 27 inches tall. It was a chest that was made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. It had two rings on both sides to slip the poles in to carry it. On its cover sat two cherubim who faced each other and their wings covered the mercy seat. This piece sat alone in the Holy of Holies and represented God’s mercy seat. *** The table of shewbread was made of acacia wood, three feet long and 18 inches wide. It had a decorative lip all around the top of it and the same rings for the poles. The poles were made of wood and covered with gold. All the utensils were made of gold. This was where the priests would sit to eat the shewbread with the Lord in the Holy Place. This represents our communion and fellowship with God. *** The lamp stand was made of pure hammered gold. It was to represent a budding almond tree. It had the buds and branches - three buds on a branch and three branches on either side of the main branch. At the top of each branch was a bowl that had oil and a wick in it to light. This lamp stand was the light of illumination physically and spiritually. *** The altar of incense was made like the other pieces but was 18 inches square and three feet tall. It had the decorative lip and was covered with gold. It had horns on the four corners and rings on the sides for the poles. It was where the priest would offer incense which represented prayer to the Lord. The horns represented God’s mercy. *** The oil used to light the lamp stand and the incense used was all a special formula which was holy to the Lord. God’s anointing mixed with our prayers was accepted by God. *** The altar for the burnt offerings was made for the courtyard outside of the Holy Place. It was made of wood and overlaid with bronze. It was 7.5 feet square and 4.5 feet tall. This was where they sacrificed the animals. It also had horns on the corners for God’s mercy and a huge grate in the center like a bar-b-que pit. This altar represented the cross. Everything used for it was made of bronze which represented judgment. This is where sin was judged and burned up. *** A bronze basin or laver was put at the door of the tabernacle. It was made of the mirrors of the women. They gave up looking at themselves to be able to behold God. This laver would be where the priests would wash before and after offering the sacrifices. When they washed before the sacrifice, they could see themselves in the reflection of the mirrors but when they ended making atonement for the people, all they could see was the blood when they washed. *** The curtains were hung around the whole area separating them from the outside world when they came into the tabernacle to meet with God. *** Every man 20 years and older was required to give a half shekel to the sanctuary. They collected from 603,550 men which means there were well over one million people that Moses had brought out of Egypt. The people also gave additional gifts of gold, silver, and bronze. *** In Matthew, the soldiers that were guarding Jesus’ tomb were in for a shock. It was early the morning of the third day after Jesus died. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb to visit. The earth shook and an angel came down and rolled the stone away and sat on it. He shone like lightning and when the guards saw this they fell as dead. *** The angel spoke to the women and told them not to be afraid, but Jesus had risen, just like he said he would. He would meet them in Galilee. *** They ran to tell the disciples. As they went, they ran into Jesus and fell down and worshiped him. Jesus told them not to be afraid, but to go and tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee. *** Some of the guards went to report what had happened to the leading priests. The priests paid the soldiers a large sum to lie and say that while they were sleeping, Jesus’ disciples came and took his body. *** The eleven disciples went to Galilee to where Jesus had told them to meet him and appeared to them. When they saw him, they worshipped him but some of them wavered in their faith. *** Jesus told them that God had given him all the authority on earth and heaven and they were to go out and make disciples of people from all the nations. They were to baptized them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They were to teach the people what he had taught them and he would be there with them. That is our commission and promise too. *** Lord, may we go take your presence with us to make disciples of You and baptize them into your kingdom.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Crucifixion

Read: Exodus 35:10-36:38; Matthew 27:32-66; Psalm 34:1-10; Proverbs 9:7-8 God called all the craftsmen to go to work on constructing everything he had shown Moses on the mount. People brought cloth, thread, gold, silver, gem stones…everything they needed to make the things for the tabernacle. All the artisans got to use their gifts for the Lord instead of for the Egyptians. I can’t imagine the joy they had in creating all these beautiful things for the Lord. Bezealel and Oholiab were the leaders for the craftsmen. *** The people gave so much, they had to ask them to stop giving. They made the frames and the curtains. The frames were overlayed with gold and the curtains were hung on gold hooks. *** In Matthew, the Roman guards were taking Jesus to be crucified after they had mocked him and lacerated his back with whips. They grabbed Simon from Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross. Jesus’ own Simon had denied him, so they had to get a total stranger to help him carry his cross. *** They chose the place called Golgotha which means “Place of the Skull.” They offered Jesus some medicine to dull his pain but when he realized what it was, he refused to take it. *** They nailed him to the cross and gambled for his clothes. A sign was posted saying “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Two sinners were crucified at the same time, one on either side of him. As people passed him they shouted accusations. They had hoped that he was going to save them and now he was dying. It looked to them like he had betrayed them, so they were angry. The priests mocked him with his own words. *** At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three. What happened during this time is described in Psalm 18. God was in the darkness, clothed in a cloud. When the light came back, Jesus cried out to the Lord for leaving him. Jesus was quoting Psalm 22. He was pointing the people to that song because it described his death. The earth shook so violently that tombs were opened and the bodies of many godly men and women came out of their graves and walked the streets of Jerusalem appearing to many. *** When all this happened the Roman soldiers were terrified. That was when they realized that Jesus was the Son of God. I wonder how they felt about what they had done to Jesus. *** The women that followed Jesus had not abandoned him. They stood watching from afar. Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate gave an order to give it to him. He took Jesus’ body and wrapped him in a linen cloth and placed him in his own tomb and rolled a stone in front of it. The Mary’s watched all this so they would know where Jesus’ body was. *** The next day… on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees did something they would have deemed as ‘work’. They went to Pilate and asked him if her would put a seal on the rock in front of his tomb to keep his disciples from stealing his body and claiming that he rose from the grave. Boy have they got a surprise waiting for them! *** Pilate posted guards and sealed the tomb. All they did was to make his resurrection more plausible. *** Lord, you had this all planned from the beginning of time just for our salvation! We are so grateful! Thank you for our salvation.

Wed.’s Devo - Redemption

Read: Exodus 34:1-35:9; Matthew 27:15-31; Psalm 33:12-22; Proverbs 9:1-6 God told Moses to make two more smooth tablets and he would write the same words he had written before Moses smashed them. This just tells me that there is nothing we can mess up that God can’t fix. This time he was to go alone, so Joshua stayed at the camp. God came down in a cloud and stood with him. The Lord passed in front of Moses and called out his name and his character. He called his name as Yahweh, The Lord God and his character is merciful, gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth. He forgives sin but punished the guilty. *** Moses worshipped the Lord then asked him to forgive their iniquity and take them as his inheritance. *** God answered that he would make a covenant with all the people to do miracles for them the world had never seen. He would drive out their enemies before them but they had to promise not to make peace treaties with them. God was a jealous God and if they intermarried with the heathen, they would take them down with them. *** It looks like the next few verses are random but they are all about the same subject which is being set apart to be his special people. *** They were to have gods that they molted from metal. They were to celebrate the feast of unleavened bread for seven days during the first month of their new calendar which symbolized their coming out of the womb of sin and being born again. Then he says that all who come out of the womb first will be his even if they were animals they sacrificed. We are all a sacrifice to him. *** In verse 20 he mentioned the donkey or the ass which is not an acceptable animal for sacrifice. He says that if they want to redeem someone or something that is not chosen as a sacrifice, they are going to have to offer a lamb in its place. If not then they would need to break it’s neck. The donkey is known for being stubborn, foolish and dumb. If a lamb was not given for it, it would be made to bow. At the end, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord, whether they want to or not. *** They would work for the first six thousand years, but in the seventh thousand, they would find rest in planting time and in harvest time. *** They will enjoy the feast of weeks (Feast of Pentecost) at the time of the wheat harvest which is the harvest of souls and the ingathering at the end of the year. At the end of the year was the Feast of Tabernacles which was when the fruit was harvested which is a harvest of our fruit that we demonstrated to the world for Jesus’ name. *** At the three feast times, the men would appear before the Lord… in other words, these feast are accounting times before the Lord. Are you saved, are you sanctified and are you walking in your calling? *** These were the things we were to do, then God says what he will do. He will cast out the nations before them and enlarge their borders. If they observed the three times of feasts the no one will want their land. They will live in peace. *** Twice in the Bible it talks about not seething a kid in his mother’s milk. That would mean that the kid died and the mother lived. This is always said while talking about the feasts and the firstborn. I think it means that the firstborn and the feast have to do with new life that breaks out of bondage. To boil in the past sins of the mother is the opposite of what these feasts are representing, so that was not allowed. *** Moses was up on the mountain 40 days and nights without food. When he came down with the tablets, his face shone which made people afraid to approach him so he had to wear a vail over his face when speaking to them. Moses gave them the tablets and told them all God had said to him. Jesus wore this same vail over his face just wasn’t visible. He vailed his words by speaking in parables. Only those with eyes to see and ears to hear could accept his message. 
 *** Moses began his speech with talk about the sabbath rest. He told them the end from the beginning. The rest is our goal. He told them not to kindle a fire on the Sabbath. It was to be a day of peace and rest, not disputes. *** He told them all the gifts they could give for the new tabernacle. *** All of this points to the seventh day that we are entering into. *** In Matthew, Pilate brought out the most notorious prisoner in his jail - Barabbas, and Jesus. He offered to release the one the people chose. His wife sent him a message to leave Jesus alone because he was innocent. She had had a nightmare about it that night. But, the leading priests and elders had convinced the people to ask for Barabbas. Pilate was shocked and asked them what they wanted done to Jesus and they yelled to crucify him. *** Pilate couldn’t get the crowd to say what Jesus’ crime was but was too afraid of the crowd to fight them. He washed his hands of the matter and put the responsibility back on the people. He released Barabbas to them and had Jesus flogged and turned over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. *** Some of the soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and put a scarlet robe on him. They wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head and knelt before him mocking him as king of the Jews. (They are the donkeys that bowed even though their hearts were not in the right place.) But, they could be redeemed by the lamb they were about to kill. *** God’s forgiveness and gift of salvation is amazing. *** Lord, we are filled with gratefulness and love for you. Thank you for what you did for us as sinners. Thank you for what you do for us as your children.

Tues.’s Devo - The Golden Calf

Read: Exodus 32:1-33:23; Matthew 26:69-27:14; Psalm 33:1-11; Proverbs 8:33-36 Moses had been up on the mount for what seemed like forever to the people. The people were ready to give up on him coming down, so they went to Aaron and told him to make them a god to go before them. They were ready to break one of the first two commandments given them which said they were to have no other gods, and that they were to not make any graven images of anything in the earth. *** Aaron told them to break off the gold earrings they had put in the ears of their wives, sons and daughters and bring them to him. He took a tool and made a graven image of a calf and told them that it had brought them out of Egypt. He built an altar before it and proclaimed a feast. The people ate and drank then laughed, mocked, and made sport which sounds like what they did to Jesus when they arrested him. *** God told Moses to get back to the camp because the people had corrupted themselves by making a golden calf to worship. God wanted to kill them and make a nation out of Moses’ off-spring. Moses told him that all the world was watching and they would say that he had brought them out of Egypt to kill them in the wilderness. For his reputation’s sake, he needed to not kill them. He reminded God what he had promised Abraham, so the Lord said he wouldn’t kill them. *** Moses took the tablets and when they got close, Joshua heard the people and told Moses it sounded like war, but Moses said it sounded more like a party. When they got to where they could see what was going on, Moses got so mad he took the tablets of stone and threw them to the ground, breaking them. He ground the golden calf into powder and mixed it with water and forced the Israelites to drink it. *** Then Moses asked Aaron what the people had said to him to make him let them do this. Aaron explained what had happened and said that when he put the gold into the fire, this is what came out. (He left out the part where he took a tool and formed it himself.) *** Moses asked for anyone who was on his side to come stand with him. The Levites came to his side. Moses told them to take their swords and go from gate to gate throughout the camp killing every man. When they were done they had killed about 3,000 men. *** God told the Levites to clean themselves up so God could put a blessing on them. The next day, Moses told the people they had sinned a great sin, so he would have to go back to the Lord and try to make an atonement with God for this sin. Moses went to the Lord and confessed their sin. He asked the Lord to blot his name out of his book for their sakes and forgive them. But God said that he would blot their names out of his book, but as for Moses, he was to go back and continue to lead the people to the land he had shown him. God punished the people with a plague. *** God said he would send an angel to lead them and drive out their enemies before them because if he did it, he would end up killing them all, since they were so bent on rebellion. When the people heard this, they were so ashamed they took off all their fine clothes and jewelry they had gotten from the Egyptians. Moses removed the Tabernacle from the midst of the camp and put it far away from the the people. The people had to go out of the camp if they wanted to meet with God. Whenever the people saw Moses going toward the tabernacle, they would stand in their tent entrance and watch. Moses would enter into the tabernacle and there the Lord would talk with Moses. The people had to worship the Lord from their own tent door. *** When Moses asked for the Lord to show him grace and consider this people as his people, he told him he would go with them and give them rest. When Moses said he wouldn’t go without him, God said he would go with them. Moses then asked God to let him see his glory. God told him that he would make his goodness pass before him, but he could not see his face. He would place Moses in a cleft in the rock for safety and when he had passed, Moses could look at the back part of him. When God talked about his face and back side, he was not talking literally but figuratively. I wonder if it meant you could look back and see what God had done, but he would not let him see the future. *** In Matthew, Peter denied Jesus three times and when the cock crowed he was filled with shame and cried bitterly. *** In the morning the chief priests and elders got together to decide what to do with Jesus. They wanted him killed, so they sent him to Pontius Pilate because it was against their laws to crucify anyone. In the light, Judas realized his sin and tried to give the 30 pieces of silver back to the priests and elders confessing he had betrayed innocent blood. They weren’t listening; they had what they wanted and could care less about Judas and his convictions. Judas threw the money down in the temple and left and hung himself. *** The chief priest later took the silver and bought the potter’s field to bury strangers in. All of this had been prophesied by Jeremiah in Zechariah 11:12. *** Jesus was brought to the governor where he asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. Jesus answered, “Thous sayest.” then he had nothing to say in his own defense about all the accusations they were bringing against him. The governor marveled at this. *** Lord, we have been reading about Wisdom in our Proverbs. May we embrace Wisdom as our friend and much needed companion. May we have no other gods before us but you.

Mon.’s Devo - Jesus’ Trial

Read: Exodus 30:12-31:18: Matthew 26:47-68; Psalm 32:1-11; Proverbs 8:27-32 When it came time to do a census of the number of people, every person 20 and over had to give a small piece of silver equal to half a shekel. This was to atone for their soul since it is being “counted”. This was also to keep a plague from striking the people because they were being accounted for. The half-shekel was their ransom for their soul. If only David had collected the Temple tax in his day…but there was no temple. David counted the people without giving them a way to pay for their soul, so the plague hit and killed many. *** A laver, which was a large bowl for washing was make of bronze and placed between the altar and the Tabernacle. It was so the priests could wash the blood off their hands and clothes before going in to meet with God. *** God gave them the recipe for the spices to make holy anointing oil. It was to smell sweet and fragrant. All the furniture for the tabernacle was to be anointed with this oil. Aaron and his sons were also anointed with this oil to be consecrated as holy priests. It was never to be used for anyone or copied by anyone who was not a priest. If they did, they would be cut off from the community. *** Incense was made of oils and spices to be used at the table of incense. No one was to use this incense for personal use. *** God chose Bezalel, whose name means “in God’s shade,” and filled him with the Spirit of God. God gave him special ability and wisdom to expertly craft all the furniture for the tabernacle. He engraved the gemstones and carved the wood. God gave Oholiab to be his assistant. His name means “tent of father.” Together they meant that the tabernacle of God would abide under the shelter of his wings. *** God warned the people to keep the Sabbath holy. If it is desecrated then the people must be put to death. The Sabbath was to be a permanent sign of his covenant with us that for six days the Lord created the heaven and the earth, but on the seventh day, he stopped working and was refreshed. The Sabbath day has stood the test of time. We still honor one day out of the week to rest. *** God then gave Moses the two tablets he had written with his finger. *** In Matthew, Jesus had just told his disciples it was time for him to be betrayed and Judas showed up with men wielding swords and clubs. The priests and elders of the people had sent them to arrest Jesus. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and all hell broke out. When they grabbed Jesus, Peter pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s’slave, cutting off his ear. Jesus told him to put his sword away; he could have called for thousands of angels to protect him - he didn’t need man’s weapons. *** Jesus questioned them about why they had to do this in the night time instead of during the day, but this was done to fulfill scripture. They would need to look that one up later. *** The disciples fled, just like Jesus said they would and Jesus was led to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest for a illegal trial. All the Sanhedrin was gathered there, as well as false witnesses. The only testimony that would stick was the one where they quoted Jesus of saying, “I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.” *** The high priest asked Jesus if he had a defense for himself and he told them that from now on they will see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. The high priest rent his clothes in dramatic fashion and said Jesus was speaking blasphemy. They needed no more witnesses. He charged Jesus guilty of death. They spit in Jesus’ face and slapped him with the palm of their hands while mocking him. *** It is so hard to read about all the persecution Jesus received. Lord Jesus, thank you for enduring the shame of that night. Thank you that you did that for mankind and for me. May we never complain of the little persecution we face here on earth when you, as the sinless lamb, bore our sins and endured the shame and pain of the cross. Thank you! You are worthy of our worship and praise.

Sun.’s Devo - The Ordination of the Priests

Read: Exodus 29:1-30:10; Matthew 26:14-46; Psalm 31:19-24; Proverbs 8:14-26 Aaron and his sons were to be consecrated to serve the Lord as priests. They were a picture of what Jesus went through on earth to become our High Priest and what every Christian goes through to become a priest to the Lord. *** First they presented themselves and the required offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle. They were washed with water and then dressed in the clothes of the priest. The water represented their baptism to cleanse them of sin. ***They laid their hands upon one of the rams to transfer all their sins upon it. That is the process of admitting we are a sinner and need atonement. Jesus was sinless but he still had to learn to obey through the things he suffered. He didn’t come to earth with the plan all written out in his mind. He walked by faith every day just as we do, and God showed him his will in small parts just like he does for us. They slaughtered this ram and sprinkled its blood on every side of the altar then burnt the entire animal on the altar. This was the picture of Jesus dying for the world. They took the other ram and laid their hands on its head. They slaughtered it and put its blood on the right earlobe, the right thumb and the right big toe of the priests. This was to individually cleanse everything the priest heard, everything he did, and everywhere he went. His life was consecrated to the Lord. This was true about Jesus also. This ram was the personal ram to ordain them as priests. We have to individually come to Christ to receive our salvation. *** To seal the deal, Aaron and his sons took one loaf of holy bread that was mixed with olive oil and made with out yeast and lifted it up as a special offering to the Lord. That bread represented them now, sinless and filled with the spirit of God and anointed for service. They lifted it a symbol of offering themselves to the Lord. Then they took the breast of the ram and lifted it up to the Lord. This was a picture of them offering their hearts to God. Aaron’s priestly garments were to be preserved for future priests. As God’s holy priesthood, we wear the robe of righteousness, the breastplate of truth, the sandals of truth and the helmet of salvation. *** Aaron and his sons were to eat the meat of the ram used in their ordination along with the bread as the Tabernacle entrance on that day. What was left had to be burned. This is what we do daily as we eat of God’s Word and receive his mercies that are new every morning. *** No one else could eat this bread. Without Christ, no one can partake of God’s holiness and eternal life. *** The ordination ceremony lasted a whole week. Every day of that week a bull had to be sacrificed as a sin offering to purify them. We must always remember the atoning sacrifice of the Lord and repent when we have sinned. The invitation is offered for seven thousand years and then it is done. Every day after the sacrifices were made, they purified the altar by pouring oil on it. After that, everyone who touched it would become holy. *** Every day from then on they were to offer two lambs: one in the morning and one in the evening. We remember what Jesus did for us when we start our day and when we end it. We are to be constantly reminded of what Christ did for us on the cross and the power of his resurrection. *** All of this came with the promise that God would live among them and be their God. *** Another altar was made to sit right outside the Holy of Holies and it was called the Altar of Incense. This was the place where God would meet with them. Every morning when Aaron lit the lamp stand, he was to offer incense to the Lord. This incense is the prayers of the saints. God meets with us in our prayer times. *** Once a year, Aaron had to purify the altar by smearing the horns with blood. This was to be an annual event. *** In Matthew, Judas went to the leading priests and asked how much they would pay him to betray Jesus and hand him over to them. They offered him 30 pieces of silver. *** God had prepared the place ahead of them for them to meet for the last supper where they would eat the Passover meal. *** Jesus sat down with the Twelve and told them that he knew one of them would betray him. Can you imagine what Judas thought at that moment? Each of them asked if it was them. Jesus told him that it was one who had eaten from his bowl. He said it would have been better if this man would not have been born. When Judas asked him if it was him, Jesus replied, “Thou has said.” By his own words, he condemned himself. *** Then Jesus blew tradition away and told them the bread represented his body and for them to eat it. Then he told them that the wine represented his blood and they were to drink it. He was ordaining them to be priests unto him. He told them they would not drink of this wine again until they drink it together in his Father’s kingdom. *** After they sang a song, they went to the mount of Olives. Here the olives would be squeezed. Jesus told them that they would all be offered because of him. He would be smitten but they would be scattered. *** Peter, of course, boasted that he would never be offended because of Jesus. Jesus told him that before the rooster crowed the next morning, he would deny him three times. *** Jesus took them to Gethsemane which means “olive press” and told them to pray. He took Peter and James and John with him and they saw how much he travailed. He asked them to watch with him but they fell asleep. Jesus prayed that if it was possible to let this cup pass from him but he wanted God’s will above it all. *** Jesus came back to find the disciples asleep and told them that the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. They had to overcome the flesh. *** Jesus went and prayed again and returned to find them asleep once more. This time he told them it was time for him to be betrayed. *** There is so much we can learn from reading this. One thing I see is that we can persevere past our reserves because Christ did. There was nothing the disciples could do to stop what was going to happen, but they could have had a better outcome for themselves by staying awake and praying. *** Lord, may we be found praying when we need to pray, and resting when it is time to rest. Thank you for your sacrifice that you did to save us all. Thank you for your loving kindness, your grace and your mercy.

Sat.’s Devo - The Priestly Garments

Read: Exodus 28:1-43; Matthew 25:31-26:13; Psalm 31:9-18; Proverbs 8:12-43 God told Moses to set Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar apart so they could minister to the Lord as priests. They were to wear sacred garments to distinguish them as priests. Craftsmen with wisdom were to make an ephod, a robe, a patterned tunic, a turban and a sash from linen cloth, gold thread, blue, purple and scarlet thread. The high priest, Aaron was to wear the ephod, sash, breastplate, mitre, and robe. Aaron represented Jesus, our high priest. *** The ephod was to be made first and it would be like a vest with a sash. Two onyx stones were cut with the name of six of the tribes engraved on one and the other six tribes on the second stone. These stones were to be attached to the shoulders so that when he went before the Lord, he was representing all the tribes to the Lord. God could look down from heaven and see their names and bless them. They made a curious girdle which was a sash to wear over the ephod. Jesus carried all the sins of all mankind past, present and future on himself when he died on the cross. This ephod and sash was the “loins girt about with truth” in Ephesians 6:14. *** On his chest, he would wear the breast plate of judgment which was a cloth square that had the stones of all the tribes of Israel in rows of three. It was held to the priest’s chest with gold chains that went from the onyx stones on the shoulders to the top corners of the breastplate. Then there were gold chains at the bottom corners that went around his waist. In a pocket on the inside of the breastplate, the Urim and the Thummim were kept. These were stones that when the priest asked of the Lord a question, he would take one of the stones out and one was “yes” and the other was “no”. This breastplate of judgment went over the priest’s heart as he judged with the heart of Christ. In Ephesians 6, this is the breastplate of righteousness. *** Over all this was the robe which was all blue. It was bound in gold around the neck. It had a hem of pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet. Between the pomegranates were bells so he made a sound every time he moved. Pomegranates represent the Word of God since there are the same number of seeds in the fruit as precepts in the law. *** A gold plate was made with the words HOLINESS TO THE LORD engraved on it. It was to be woven onto the mitre with blue lace. Aaron was to wear it on his forehead to bear the iniquity of the holy things the people offered to the Lord, so that their gifts would be accepted by the Lord. In Ephesians this is the helmet of salvation. *** Aaron’s sons were to wear coats, sashes and bonnets for their heads. Aaron and his sons were also to wear linen breeches to cover their legs. They were to represent Jesus, so they had to be holy. *** We are now God’s priests on the earth and we are to wear these garments spiritually, plus the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit. Our walk should always bring peace. *** In Matthew, Jesus tells us what will happen when he returns in all his glory. He will sit upon his throne and all the nations will be gathered to him. Then he will begin to judge placing the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. To the ones on his right he will bless and they will inherit the kingdom prepared for them, because they treated the least of the people with kindness. They fed the hungry, clothed the naked and visited those who were in prison and God took it personally. The would receive eternal life. *** But, the ones on the left received God’s rebuke because they didn’t do any of these things. Their reward would be eternal punishment. *** Then Jesus reminded them that after two days, he would be betrayed to be crucified. The high priest, Caiaphas was plotting with the other scribes and elders of the people to take Jesus secretly and kill him. They didn’t want to do it on the feast day because the people might oppose them. *** Jesus was at Bethany eating at Simon’s house when a woman came in with precious ointment and poured it on his head as he sat eating. The disciples wondered why Jesus would let her waste the expensive oil instead of selling it, and giving it to the poor. Jesus perceived their thoughts and said that this woman had discerned the time and had prepared him for his burial. They would have plenty of time to give to the poor, but not much time was left to tend to him. She would be remembered throughout history for being obedient. *** We will always be judged by others about how we live, and especially how we spend our money. We have to be in tune to what God is saying and know his nature. God loves to bless his people and we should never be afraid to enjoy his blessings. We give as we are moved by the Holy Spirit to give. We have to be confident in our walk with Jesus and walk our walk. *** Lord, all we have is yours. May we rejoice when it is time for rejoicing and mourn when it is time to mourn. Give us discernment to live our lives according to our assignment and not be tripped up by what others think.

Fri.’s Devo - The Tabernacle

Read: Exodus 26:1-27:21; Matthew 25:1-30; Psalm 31:1-8; Proverbs 8:1-11 Moses told them to make ten curtains to go all around the area for the Tabernacle to sit. The curtains were to be made of fine linen and they were to embroider angels with blue, purple and scarlet thread. The people were to know that they were not alone in this journey but surrounded by God’s army of angels. *** The people would enter into that area through a gateway. Then in the middle of the area would sit the Tabernacle. It’s walls were curtains also. The Tabernacle was to be covered with eleven curtains made of goat-hair. The covering was to cover the top and hang down 18 inches all around. Over it was placed a layer of tanned ram skins and a layer or fine goatskin leather. *** The framework was made of wood with hooks to hold the curtains and bases to keep it stable. The frames were 15 feet long and 27 “ wide. They had to carry these through the wilderness for 40 years. God had shown Moses just how to construct them so that it would be easy to assemble and easy to take down. Once constructed, the wood was overlayed with gold. *** A curtain was to be on the doorway into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Inside these rooms the curtains on the wall depicted cherubim. The whole tabernacle was to give the appearance of the heavenly realm. *** The Ark was to be covered because it was the place of atonement. It is the blood of Christ that covers our sins. The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Most Holy Place. In the Holy Place the table of incense was set on the north side with the lamp stand on the south. *** The bronze altar where they would sacrifice all the animals was constructed of wood and overlaid with bronze. Everything needed for that altar was made of bronze. It was placed in the courtyard. *** Notice that the Tabernacle was constructed from the inside out. This was a gift from God’s heart to the people. He was making a way for them to find him. *** The people were commanded to bring pure oil to for the lamp stand , to keep it lit permanently. This is our command to keep our light shining. *** Speaking of oil… in Matthew, Jesus gives a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven concerning oil. There were ten bridesmaids awaiting the bridegroom. Five were foolish and five were wise. The foolish didn’t take enough oil and ran out. The wise brought extra. When the bridegroom came, the foolish tried to get the wise to let them have some of their oil, but they told them to go buy their own. They missed the bridegroom. That is the thing about the anointing, you must pay the price for your own anointing. *** They didn’t have oil so they were locked out of the wedding feast. These five virgins were the counterfeits. They had done all the things to look good. They were virgins and they were watching, but they weren’t prepared in their hearts. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit which is the seal that seals us to God. *** Jesus gave them another illustration about the man who went on a long trip. He called his servants together and entrusted his money to them. He gave five bags of silver to one person, two bags of silver to another and one bag to another. He gave the amounts in proportion to their abilities. Then he left. The one who was given five invested his money and earned five more. The one who got two, went to work and earned two more, but the servant who was given the one, hid it in the ground. *** When the master returned he called them all in to give an account and the ones who had invested and worked presented their earnings to him with joy. He praised them for being good and faithful. They had won his trust, so they would be given more responsibility. But, the one who hid his explained that he knew the master was harsh and wanted the harvest of crops he didn’t plant so he hid his money and gave it back to him. *** Notice the three levels of ability. The one with the most invested his and let his money work for him. The next level down worked for his money, and the last hoarded his. We want our money working for us, so to invest is the highest level. The way we do this is to invest, most of all, into the kingdom of God by giving tithes and offerings to ministries doing God’s work. Also, we invest wisely in what God puts on our heart to invest in like gold, silver, etc. *** The master called him wicked and lazy. He told him he could have at least put it in the bank to be getting interest. He took his money and gave it to the one with ten bags of silver. He explained that to those who use their talents, money, time, etc, well, would be given more in return, but those who do nothing with their lives, what they have will be taken away. The servant went to the place of suffering and death. *** God is doing this today, as we see the great transfer of wealth. Those who have been faithful with little will be rewarded with much. God knows these people will use it for the right reasons. *** Lord, may we do well in investing in your kingdom. Show us how to be good stewards of your earth, our time and our resources realizing that it all came from You. It is all for your glory.

Thurs.’s Devo - God's Feasts

Read: Exodus 23:14-25:40; Matthew 24:29-51; Psalm 30:1-12; Proverbs 7:24-27 There were three times during the year that the people were to celebrate the Lord’s feasts: the feast of unleavened bread to celebrate their exodus from Egypt, the feast of harvest of the first fruits and the feast of ingathering at the end of the year. They were to bring offerings to every feast. The feasts were all arranged during harvest periods where the men of the families would bring to the Lord their first fruits of the harvest. *** The rules of the gifts they brought were: they could not offer a sacrifice that had to be killed with leavened bread, the fat could not remain until the morning and they could not cook a baby lamb or goat in its mother’s milk. Since all these sacrifices were a precursor to Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross, these requirements had to do with his death. So the first one: blood sacrifices had to accompany unleavened bread means that the sacrifice had to be sinless since yeast represented sin. Jesus fulfilled that one as the spotless lamb. The second one was that the fat couldn’t remain until the next day. Christ was completely consumed on the day he was crucified - he gave everything for us on the cross that day. The third was was they couldn’t cook a kid in his mother’s milk. Christ didn’t just die for the Jew, but for the world. We could go much deeper. *** God promised to send his Angel before them and they were to fear and obey him. If they did, he would protected them from their enemies. They were not to worship the gods of the people of the land, but completely overthrow their power and destroy their gods. When they served the Lord he would bless their bread and water. God would take sickness away from them and none of them would be barren. God would put fear on the hearts of their enemies and send hornets to drive them out little by little. They were to make no covenants with them because if they were allowed to stay, they would turn the people to serve their gods and be a snare to them. *** Aaron, Nadab, and Abidu and the seventy elders were to worship from afar, but only Moses was to go up and meet with the Lord. *** Moses wrote all the words down and built an altar and 12 pillars to represent the tribes. He read what he had written to the people and they agreed to do all God had said. He took half of the blood from the gifts of the people and put it in bowls and sprinkled it on the people, then sprinkled the rest on the altar. *** Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the 70 went with Moses up a little way on the mountain. They saw the Lord standing on sapphire stone surrounded by the glory of heaven. God called Moses up to receive the stone talents He had written. Moses took Joshua up with him on the mount. He put Aaron and Hur and the elders in charge of tending to the matters of the people. *** The glory of God was on top of the mountain as a fire. Moses went up into the smoke and disappeared. *** God told Moses to build him a holy sanctuary so he could live among them. He gave him a list of the things the people could give for the sanctuary. With these gifts they were to make the altar, and the mercy seat with two cherubim on the top. Under the mercy seat was to be the ark where the stone tablets was to be kept. This was where God would meet with him. The people were to make a table and dishes and utensils to eat with. They were also to make a menorah to place in the Holy Place with snuffers and tongs. All these were to be covered with gold to show the glory of God. They were made according to the ones in heaven that God showed Moses. *** In Matthew, Jesus had been describing the time of great tribulation for the saints. After this time, the sun would be darkened and the moon not able to shine. The stars would fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shaken. During our day we have seen a darkening of God’s light on the earth - God’s church has been silenced. The evil has been ruling. The stars are falling from Hollywood, the business world, the medical world, the media, the leaders of our education, etc. as their evil is being exposed. The leaders in the world are being shaken now that Trump is in office. *** The sign of the Son of man has appeared in the sky when the planet Jupiter entered into the womb of Virgo and made a loop through her and exited 42 weeks later on September 23, 2017. This day also marked the first day of the Feast of Trumpets where the would would gather to resolve disputes and receive forgiveness of sins. Could this mark the Birth of the Millennial Kingdom and Christs reign on earth? I believe it did. From that day the Ecclesia began to gather together in great meetings all over the earth. *** Matthew 24:37 tells us that it will be like as in the days of Noah. Before the flood they were eating a drinking and marrying up till the day he entered the ark. The powers in control have been engaging in the most horrific sacrificing of children for scientific research, organ harvesting, worship of Satan, pediphilia, and driving their blood for anti-aging… just to name a few. Our courts are unjust and our politicians are corrupt. These were the same things they were doing in Genesis before the flood. God says that they thought of evil continually. *** But then in our reading, God began to pick them off. Two would be in the field and one would be taken the other other left… In other words, God is cleansing the land of the evil workers in the fields of society. He warns the evil people that they do not know when the Son of man is coming to take them out. The ones who God finds faithful will become the rulers of his goods. We see this happening with Trump’s new cabinet of mighty men. The evil person thinks he has gotten away with his sins because he hasn’t been arrested yet, but he needs to fear, because God is coming for them all. All the hypocrites that have deceived us will be judged. *** Lord, help us to have the right attitude as we see the wicked being destroyed and taken out of the earth. May we determine more than ever to build back a nation of righteousness, truth and love. May love be our main goal.