Tues.’s Devo - Jesus, Our High Priest

Read: Leviticus 15:1-16:28; Mark 7:1-23; Psalm 40:11-17; Proverbs 10:13-14 God gave them laws to keep the spread of disease. The answer was to stay away from the person afflicted and not touch anything they had touched. If they did they were to wash themselves and their clothes and be unclean till the evening which to them was the next day since their day started in the evening. *** If a man had an emission of semen or the woman had her monthly menstrual cycle they were considered unclean. These two acts represent potential life that did not come to be. So, they represent death. They were considered unclean during this time and everything they touched unclean. *** The spiritual concept is that when we sin or let something unholy come from our body, whether it is sexual, our talk or our actions, etc., we are contagious. Gossip is contagious. Negativity and bad news are contagious. News syndicates don’t get as many listeners telling good news; they are watched the most when they are telling news that is bad and juicy. *** After what happened to Aaron’s two sons, the Lord told Moses to tell Aaron not to come into the Holy of Holies any time he wanted or he might die. When the Lord appears over the mercy seat in a cloud, he is to offer a sin offering, a burnt offering for himself and put on the holy garments of the high priest. The people must offer two male goats for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering to atone for their sins. *** Aaron would offer the bull for a sin offering first for himself and his house, then cast lots over the two goats. One shall be the Lord’s and the other for Azazel - the goat of departure. The one who fell for the Lord would be sacrificed and the other set free into the wilderness. *** When Aaron offered his own sin offering, he shall take some of the coals from the altar and two handfuls of incense and bring it inside the veil and put the incense on the altar before the curtain of the mercy seat. This incense will make a cloud to cover the mercy seat so he won’t die when he approaches the mercy seat to sprinkle it with blood. *** Then Aaron was to repeat this for with the goat offered for the people. Hebrews 7:27 explains how Jesus did not have to first offer up sacrifices for himself because he offered himself, the sinless sacrifice for the sins of the people. Hebrews 8 continues talking about how Jesus is the great High Priest who obtained a more excellent ministry, and he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. (Hebrews 8:6) *** Then Aaron was to put his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the people of Israel. Iniquities have to do with sins of their ancestors and transgressions have to do with sins they commit. Next, Aaron was to take off the linen garments and leave them there. He was to bathe and put on new garments to show that he was a new man: righteousness and clean.The man who took the goat into the wilderness must wash before he comes back into the camp and the sin offering must be taken outside the camp and burned up. Then the people and their surroundings will be clean. *** In Mark, the Pharisees complained that Jesus didn’t make his disciples follow their man-made traditions of washing their hands before they ate. Jesus called them hypocrites because they only honored God with their vain worship of traditions but their hearts were far from the Lord. They put the traditions of man above the law of God. *** Then Jesus gave them an example of this. God told them in the law of Moses to honor their father and their mother, but the Pharisees taught them that it was more honorable to give the money they would spend tending to their elderly parents to the Temple instead. *** Then Jesus told the people that it wasn’t what they heard that would defile them, it was what they acted on that would defile them. It is what a person lets enter his heart that will defile him. Then his actions will follow what is in his heart. *** Lord, I thank you that your Psalm says that your steadfast love and faithfulness will preserve us. You are our deliverer. We seek you and rejoice in you. Great are you, Lord!

Mon.’s Devo - Cleansing from Sin -

Read: Leviticus 14:1-57; Mark 6:30-56; Psalm 40:1-10; Proverbs 10:11-12 To be cleansed from leprosy, the person would be brought to the priest to be examined outside the camp. He would give the priest two live clean birds, cedarwood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. The priest would kill on of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. He would then take the live bird and dip it in the blood of the bird and sprinkle the man seven times and pronounce him clean. He would then set the living bird free to go into the open field. He would then wash his clothes and shave his hair and bathe in water. He was allowed into the camp but had to stay outside his camp for 10 days. One the seventh day he was to shave off all his hair even from his head, eyebrows and beard and wash his cloths and bathe in water and then he would be clean. *** On the eighth day he was to take two male lambs that were spotless and one ewe lamb a year old and a grain offering to the priest. The priest shall take his offering and wave it before the Lord, kill the sin and guilt offering and put the blood of the guilt offering on the lobe of the right ear, the right thumb and his big toe of his right foot. He shall also do with with oil. *** Then the priest would offer the offerings on the altar to be burnt. (Other less expensive offerings were acceptable for the poor.) Then the man will be clean. Phew! That is a lot. Thank God we don’t have to do that every time we sin. *** Everything the man brought to the priest were present at the cross. The birds both represent Jesus. The first was killed in an earthen vessel. Jesus was the earthen vessel that came to earth to die as a man to become our faithful high priest. The bird that was set free was also Jesus who bore our sins and carried them as far as the east is from the west. The man was shaved of all his hair on the seventh day to show that on our final day, we will stand before the Lord spotless and sinless. *** On the eighth day, which represents our glorious new day in the new world, we will rejoice because of all God has forgiven us. Everything we hear, put our hands to do, and our walk will be completely cleansed and anointed with God’s Spirit. *** Remember when Jesus healed the lepers and told them to go and present themselves to the priests. He wanted them to see this act of cleansing and relate it to what was going to happen to him in the very near future. *** The same process was done if leprous disease was found in the house. The house would represent a church or a family. The stones or sin or false doctrine would need to be cut out and done away with. Paul had to do that in several churches like the one in Galatia. *** In Mark, the apostles returned from their mission trip and told Jesus all the things they did and saw. Jesus wanted to take them away to rest but the crowds followed them. When Jesus saw the people and how hungry they were for the truth, he began to teach them. *** It was late in the afternoon so the disciples told Jesus to send them home so they could eat. Jesus told them to give them something to eat. They told Jesus it would take 200 days wages to feed this crowd. So Jesus asked them how much they had. They came up with five loaves and two fish. Jesus commanded everyone to sit in groups of fifty. He took what he had and lifted up to heaven and blessed it. Then he began breaking it and giving it to the disciples. Everyone ate their fill and there were twelve baskets left over. If God asks something of us, it is because he knows we have what he is asking. He has given us everything we need to be godly and follow him. He multiplies our little and makes it a lot. God’s provision is more than enough! *** Immediately after they had gathered the left-overs, Jesus had his disciples leave in a boat to Bethsaida. He dismissed the crowd and went up to the mountain to pray. Later that night he saw that his disciples were fighting the waves, so he walked out on the sea meaning to pass them by. But they saw him and thought he was a ghost. He told them to have peace, it was him. The minute he got into the boat, the waves stopped. They were utterly amazed. *** They came to the land where they had delivered the demoniac and then were begged to leave. This time they brought everyone to see him and to heal all their sick. The demoniac’s testimony had prepared them to accept Jesus. *** Lord, teach us to know your ways because they are not our ways. May we have faith to believe the impossible.

Sun.’s Devo - Sins of the Flesh

Leviticus 13:1-59; Mark 6:1-29; Psalm 39:1-13; Proverbs 10:10 Today we read about diseases of the flesh and spreading diseases in the skin and in garments. Rather than getting really detailed we are going to step back and see it as a whole. *** In the New Testament we are told that sin is a disease of the flesh. 1 John 2:16 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. Jude 1:23 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. 1 Peter 2:11 11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Galatians 5:19-21 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. *** Every time their disease became apparent to them they brought it before the priest to examine it. He was looking to see if it was more than skin deep. Once it goes beyond the skin, it is in the heart. He is also looking for a scar to show that it has healed. A scar reminds us of a wound that has healed, but we don’t want to repeat it. He did this on the seventh day. As a Christian we live crucifying the flesh and on the seventh day - the day of judgment we will stand before Jesus our High Priest and he will declare us clean. *** The different diseases of the flesh caused different manifestations. Anger and pride could be associated with swelling. Chronic diseases could be addictions. A burn could be caused by an offense someone did against you. An itching disease could be unforgiveness or gossip. We fight all this with the fruit of the Sprit which is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. *** In Mark, Jesus came to his hometown and went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. The people questioned everything about him because they knew him as a child. Now, he was doing miracles and teaching with authority and they were having a hard time believing he was anything other than their neighbor they had known as a child. Jesus couldn’t do many miracles there because of their unbelief. *** Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He told them to take nothing but their staff and sandals. If they are not received they are to shake off the dust as a testimony against them. They went out preaching repentance and cast out many demons and healed many who were sick. *** King Herod heard about Jesus and all he was doing. Some of the people said Jesus was John the Baptist who Herod had beheaded. He had been tricked by his wife, Herodia to kill John since John spoke out about their marriage. She was married to Herod’s brother but had left him for Herod. Herodia used Herod’s sin of lust to get him to behead John the Baptist. *** Lord, may we see the sins of our flesh and bring them to you to be sanctified. We consecrate our ears, our eyes and our hearts to you. Thank you that you gave given us authority over every unclean spirit.

Sat.’s Devo - The Clean and the Unclean

Read: Leviticus 11:1-12:8; Mark 5:21-43; Psalm 38:1-22; Proverbs 10:8-9 God gave Moses and Aaron a list of clean and unclean animals. They were allowed to eat animals that parted the hoof, had cloven feet, and chewed the cud. They had to have all three of these characteristics to be clean and edible. *** In Romans 7:14 we learn that the law is spiritual which means that everything it says has spiritual meaning for us today. We are told to taste and see that the Lord is good. To “taste” something means that you personally experience it. Jesus told his disciples that they had to eat of his flesh and drink his blood or they would have no part of him, but he gave them bread to symbolize his flesh and wine to symbolize his blood. All of these characteristics of what animals they could eat represent how we should partake of spiritual food like reading God’s Word which is our daily bread. *** The animals had to have parted hoofs which would mean they had a firm and rightly divided foundation. As believers our foundation is the Bible which teaches that Jesus died for our sins on the cross was buried in the grave and rose from the dead on the third day. We can receive eternal life from his sacrifice when we believe it in our hearts, repent of our sins and live for him, nourished with his Word. That is our foundation. *** The cloven feet means three toed. These toes represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our foundation has to have all three. *** It must also chew the cud which means it doesn’t swallow everything it is fed. Chewing the cud is a metaphor for meditating on something. When you hear something new you need to let it in and meditate on it till it feels right and you know that it is confirmed in scripture and in your spirit. *** The water animals they could eat had to have fins and scales. Water has to do with Spirit so when we dive into the spiritual realms of the Lord we need to have balance and be covered. Fins balance the fish and scales cover the fish. We are to have a balanced view of God’s Word and the godhead. We are to be covered with the shadow of God’s wing, the blood of Jesus and the discernment of the Holy Spirit. Being unbalanced in spiritual things will lead to New Age and the occult. *** The birds they were not to eat were all birds that hunted at night and ate dead animals. We are children of the day and life. *** The winged insects they could eat must be able to bow their knees and didn’t have four feet. I don’t understand the four feet but it does sound odd to have wings and four feet. If you are meant to fly then fly. *** To touch something unclean made you unclean. Sin is contagious that is why we need to stay away from it. If Eve had stayed away from the tree and not been curious about it, she would never have been tempted to eat of it. *** Things that swarmed were unclean as well as things that crawled on its belly. These are the characteristics of demons, not things of God. Followers of the Lord walk upright and don’t follow the crowd. *** When a woman has a male child he is to be circumcised on the eighth day and she is to be purified for 33 days. If she has a daughter, she will be purified for 66 days. Then she is to bring a burnt offering and a sin offering to the priest who will atone for her and she will be clean from her flow of blood. *** In Mark, Jesus had just been on the side of the sea where the demoniac had been delivered and now he was returning back to the other side. A crowd had gathered and one of the rulers of the synagogue came and begged him to heal his 12 year old daughter who was about to die. Jesus went with him to lay hands on the girl. *** The crowd followed him to the ruler’s house. Meanwhile a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years and was unclean had heard of Jesus and thought if she could just touch the hem of his garment, she would be healed. She did just that and was instantly healed. Jesus felt healing power leave his body and stopped to see who had received it. Jesus asked who had touched him which was a strange thing to say since people all around him were touching him. But the lady understood what he meant and confessed and told her story. Jesus told her that her faith had made her whole. He sent her away healed and with peace. *** While this was going on, the ruler received news that his daughter had died, so he didn’t need to trouble the Teacher. Jesus overheard this conversation and told him to have faith and not fear. Jesus took Peter, James and John with him to see the girl. People were already weeping and wailing. He told them to stop because she was not dead, only sleeping. They laughed at him. *** Jesus woke the girl up from death and brought her out to the amazement of the crowd. Jesus told them not to tell anyone and to give her something to eat. *** Both of these women are associated with the number 12 which means government. They both represent Israel. Israel had never become clean from her bleeding and she had been asleep in death. Jesus came to make them clean and give them life. *** Lord, thank you that you are our healer and our salvation. You cleanse us from the uncleanness of the world and give us new garments of righteousness. May we walk worthy of your sacrifice.

Fri.’s Devo - The Kingdom of God

Read: Leviticus 9:7-10:20; Mark 4:26-5:20; Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 10:6-7 Aaron and his sons were finally ordained and ready to do their first service as priests. They were to offer a sin offering and burnt offering first for them selves and then for the people to make atonement for them. Everything went well as they offered they offered their offering. Then they began the offerings for the people beginning with the sin offering, then the burnt offering, then the peace offerings. Moses and Aaron took the blood into the tent of meeting and when they came out they blessed the people and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat they had put on the altar. The people fell on their faces in worship. *** Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu each took their censers and put fire and incense on them and offered it to the Lord. This was not what the Lord had told them to do. The fire came out and consumed them and they died right there. *** Moses gave them a word from the Lord, He said, “Among those who are near to me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.” Aaron found peace in that. *** Moses had Aaron’s two nephews, Mishael and Elzaphan, carry out the bodies of Nadab and Abihu out of the camp. The people were commanded not to be angry about what the Lord had done but they were to mourn their deaths. *** What the Lord says next makes me wonder if Aaron’s two sons had been drunk. He told Aaron that he and his sons were not to drink any wine or strong drink when they came into the tent of meeting or they would die. They were to be holy and teach the children of Israel to be holy. *** Moses told Aaron and his surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar to take what was left of the unleavened grain offering and eat it in the holy place. They were to eat the breast and the thigh in a clean place with their families. First, they were to wave them before the Lord. *** Later, Moses asked about the goat of the sin offering and found that they had let it all burn. Moses was extremely mad because they were suppose to eat it to bear the iniquity of the congregation to make atonement for them. Aaron told him that they offered their sin offering and burnt offering, but after what happened they weren’t so sure the Lord would have approved if they ate it. Moses understood. *** In Mark, Jesus gives two parables to explain the kingdom of God. It is filled with seed or people that God scatters in the earth. They grow by themselves and multiply until the time of the harvest. He compares them to mustard seed. It is the smallest seed, but it produces the largest plant with large branches that brings shade and housing for many birds. *** In the next story, we have an example of what these parables mean. Jesus told his disciples to go to the other side of the sea. On the way there was a huge storm and they woke Jesus up thinking they were going to drown. He rebuked the wind and told the sea to be still. The wind stopped and the sea became calm. Then he asked them why they were so afraid. They marveled at what had just happened. *** When the reached the other side they immediately met a man insane with demons. Jesus rebuked the demons and sent them into a herd of two thousand swine who ran and jumped over the side of the hill. The herdsmen ran into the city and told the people what had just happened. They ran out to see for themselves and there was the demon-possessed man clothed and sane. This made them afraid of Jesus and they begged him to leave. The now sane and delivered man begged Jesus to take him with him but Jesus sent him home to tell the people there what God had done for him. 
 *** This man was the seed that began very small. No one wanted to be near him before, but now he would become a great evangelist who would spread his seed to many and the next time Jesus returned, the whole city would welcome him with open arms. *** Lord, may we be like the seed that produces a mighty tree that others can find hope and healing in our testimony.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Ordination of the Priests

Read: Leviticus 7:28-9:6; Mark 3:31-4:25; Pslam 37:12-29; Proverbs 10:5 When a person brought a peace offering, the priest would wave it before the Lord and then burn the fat on the altar to the Lord but the priest would get the breast for themselves. When a person makes peace with the Lord, everyone benefits. *** The priests were ordained by offering a sin offering for themselves so they would be clean. They were then to wash and put on their priestly clothes. Moses would anoint them with oil. They would lay their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering and then kill the bull. Moses would take the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar purifying the altar then pour the rest at the base of the altar to make atonement for it. All the fat would be burned on the altar and the rest of the bull burned outside the camp. *** Then the ram for the burnt offering would be killed and its blood thrown on the sides of the altar. This bull was to be completely consumed on the altar. *** Next, the ram of ordination would be brought in and Aaron and his sons would lay their hands on the head of it and it was killed. Moses would take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot. He would do the same to his sons. Then he would throw the rest at the base of the altar. *** All of this represents what Christ did for us. Christ stood for Aaron. We stand for his sons. Moses stood for God. When we become a Christian we accept everything Christ did for us. We die with Christ, and are raised to a new life. We are washed of our sins and everything we listen to, or put our hand to, and our foundation is now to be God’s will. Moses would take a loaf of unleavened bread (the Father), a loaf of bread with oil (the Holy Spirit) and one wafer (Christ) and place it on the fat and the thigh that would be offered to the Lord. He would put them in the priest’s hands and let them wave them before the Lord. *** When the priests gave a wave offering they would wave them up and down first then from east to west making the sign of the cross. *** Moses would take some anointing oil and blood and sprinkle it on the priests. They were to boil the meat at the entrance of the tent and eat it. All that was left was to be burnt on the altar. They were not to leave the tent of meeting for the whole seven days they were being ordained. *** This week represents our whole Christian life. Once we are saved, we have a “week” to live for Christ. When we die, no matter how long that takes, we will have completed our “week.” *** The eighth day represents what happens once we die. All the offerings are done again in commemoration of what Christ did for us. *** In Mark, Jesus made a great statement. He proclaimed that all who do his will are his family. Then he told them the parable of all parables. It is about the seed and the sower. Jesus explained the parable and the key to cultivating the seed was the heart. If the seed of God’s Word falls on a heart that wants to know God, it will prosper. It will grow according to how he walks in the Word. We choose how much of God’s Word we want to walk in. The more we walk in it, the more God will give us. *** Lord, may we walk in your Word and be doers of it, not just hearers. May we complete our week bringing a hundred fold into your kingdom.

Wed.’s Devo - The Thanksgiving Offering 2-18-26

Read: Leviticus 6:1-7:27; Mark 3:7-30; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 10:3-4 If anyone deceives his neighbor in any way - lying, slander, etc., causes a breach of God’s trust in that person. What we do to others, we are doing to God. When the man realizes what he did was wrong and wants to repent, he must restore what it cost his neighbor and add a fifth to it. Then he is to offer the Lord a ram as a guilt offering to atone for his sin. *** Whenever a burnt offering was to be made, it was to be kept burning all night. The priest would put on his linen garment to shovel the ashes beside the altar. Then he was to change clothes and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. This was to show that he was cleansed at the altar to go out in his everyday life. *** The grain offering was a handful of fine flour mixed with oil and frankincense. It was to be burned as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The rest of the flour would be give to the priest to make into unlearned bread to eat in the Holy Place. It was not to have leaven. *** On the day that Aaron and his sons were anointed, they were to offer a tenth of an ephor of fine flour as a grain offering - half in the morning and the other half at night. The priests were to eat the sin offering because Christ became sin for us. If it was boiled in a clay pot, the pot was then to be broken. When we partake of Christ’s salvation, we must be broken. If it is boiled in a bronze vessel, that pot would be scoured and rinse with water. *** All sin offerings were to be burnt with fire. God wanted them to know that there was a way to totally get rid of their sin. *** If a peace offering is offered for a thanksgiving offering then he was to offer with his sacrifice: loaves of leavened bread along with unleavened loaves mixed with oil and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. The sacrifice would be eaten the day it was offered but if it is a vow or freewill offering, it could be eaten on the next day and what was left on the third day would be burned with fire. I think this has to do with your offerings and prayers you pray before you are saved. The leavened bread is the person’s sin that still remains. God still hears the prayer. The third day is the day of a person’s “week” that he is saved and becomes a new person. It is his resurrection from death to life. *** The people were to eat no fat or blood from any of the sacrifices. The blood stood for Jesus and the fat was the oil of the Holy Spirit. Those were the Lord’s and they forever remain. *** In Mark, Jesus had become famous wherever he went because he healed and delivered them from their demons. The demons identified him as the Son of God. *** Jesus would go up on the mountain to be alone with the Lord. He showed Jesus who his twelve disciples should be. Jesus sent them out to preach and gave them authority to cast out demons and preach the good news. The disciples were Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Thaddaeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot who would betray him. *** When Jesus went home, the crowds gathered so that he couldn’t even eat. His family took him and though he was out of his mind. The scribes agreed saying he was possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of demons. They claimed that that was how he could cast out demons. *** Jesus countered them with “How can Satan cast out Satan?” He explained that a kingdom would not stand if it was divided against itself. No one can enter into a house and rob it unless he first binds the man of the house. Then he can plunder him. *** Then Jesus told them that all sins would be forgiven except what they say against God’s Spirit. They were accusing Jesus of having an unclean spirit, thus they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit. *** The scribes and Pharisees who spoke against Jesus were the house that was divided against itself. They were choosing their sides, and they were choosing to be on Satan’s side. *** Lord, may we be united with you. Thank you for choosing us, forgiving us and giving us new life. May we take the authority you have given us and cast out demons and heal the sick.