April 5, 2010

Leviticus 8
I enjoyed reading J.Vernon McGee’s commentary on this chapter today. I particularly appreciated his interpretation of the significance of Fellowship offerings and the placement of the blood upon the ear, thumb and big toe of the priest:
Actually, fellowship in the New Testament means to share the things of Christ. Only those who are the blood-bought believers can share the things of Christ. The priests had to go inside the holy place to see the beauties of that place. The outside was not very pretty. Just so, the unbelieving world does not see the beauty of Christ and rejects Him, but the child of God is finding new beauties and glories in Him every day.
The blood-tipped ear symbolizes the ear that will hear the voice of God. Without that, friend, you are not going to hear Him. The natural man does not receive the things of Christ. The blood-tipped hand was essential for service. It is impossible to serve the Lord before one is saved. The blood-tipped foot was essential for the walk before God. All of this is symbolic of the fact that the total personality must be presented to God. (J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary).
Jesus, our High Priest, presented Himself totally to the Father. Let us do the same through the blood of His sacrifice. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john


Luke 8:26-56
In August of '04 I had the privilege of being one of the adults to take our youth to our national youth conference, Life, in Phoenix, AZ. We took an extra day to take some of them up to the Grand Canyon. It was the first and only time that I have ever seen it. Even the best photographs just do not do it justice. I've seen these panoramic pictures that are extra wide of the Grand Canyon and nothing does it justice. For me it was breath taking. It is interesting, now that I have been there, to go to picture books and look at the little photographs of certain localized spots of the canyon. But now I know that those photographs cannot even begin to communicate the greatness of the glory of the Grand Canyon. And yet there are even larger canyons. The Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico is reported to be 4 times larger consisting of 6 major canyons that make up the system and over 10,000 miles of winding river passages. It is hard to see the glory of such canyons through just photographs.
The greatness of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is even greater than the creation, for He made it all and holds it all together by the word of His power. Yet we can get little photographic shots of little niches of His glory. In one sweeping panoramic view Luke reveals Jesus setting one man free from the bondage of sin, cleansing a woman from the stain of sin, and raising a girl temporarily from the penalty of sin. It speaks volumes to what He can and will do in our lives.
The picture of His victory over the demons with the demoniac demonstrates that there is no habit, no bondage to sin, no behavior from which He cannot set us free and give us victory! No drink is too controlling that He cannot bring self-control. No drug is too strong that he cannot bring freedom. No emotion is so overpowering that He is cannot bring relief. No drive is so great that He cannot apply the brakes.
The picture of His healing of the woman with the issue of blood reveals His great power to cleanse us from our sin. In Jesus' culture the woman's physical problem rendered here ceremonially unclean so that she would have been forbidden to participate in acts of worship and even in some social interaction. If she followed the regulations, she would have felt not only physical weakness but also a great deal of isolation because of her ceremonial impurity. Certainly she had to deal with many issues of guilt feelings. Many ills that people endure today stem from guilt feelings resulting from unresolved sin issues or improper thinking concerning their sin. Because of their guilt they feel isolated from others. But Jesus forgives sin. He washes away the guilt associated with our past behavior. We are clean in His sight. No stain is too deep that He cannot remove it. No past is too wrong that He cannot right it.
The picture of His raising Jairus' daughter reveals that one day we too will be raised finally and completely from the dead. Death is an unwanted intruder. It was never part of the original creation. It is the result of sin. The last enemy that will be laid aside by Jesus is death. In His resurrection He has already secured its defeat. But one day He will apply it to all who are in Him. Death has no victory and no sting. The raising of Jairus' daughter reveals that.
Jesus does all of these. He sets us free. He cleanses us. He raises us from the dead. Right now they are little still photographs of a glory that cannot be comprehended in a photo. By the way I read somewhere once that if you reduced the earth to the size of a ball bearing that we cannot make ball bearings that are as smooth as the earth would be. And yet, I am impressed with the Grand Canyon. That presents His glory from a different perspective. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john