Everything belongs to God

Leviticus 5:14-6:7 – Guilty!

Read Leviticus 5:14-6:7

My years as a paralegal taught me a couple things. People will claim they are “not guilty” or say, “it’s not my fault,” even when the opposite is completely true. Why do people want to avoid taking responsibility for their actions and blame other people? I think it’s part of the human condition.

This text dives into what the LORD prescribed for those “guilty” of sins against God, God’s commands, or harming other people. Not only are guilty supposed to present their own spotless ram, restitution and a penalty must be paid. These guilt offerings were serious business. Continue reading “Leviticus 5:14-6:7 – Guilty!”

1 Chronicles 29:10-20 – Prayer of Praise

Read 1 Chronicles 29:10-20

Everything belongs to God. “Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.” I love how David acknowledges God’s majesty in his prayer of praise. The richness of our own prayer life magnifies when we focus on God’s mighty power.

King David sets a great example for the assembly by praying to the LORD like this. David’s praise of God’s goodness flows right into his gratitude for all that God has done and will continue to do. David speaks of our lives as being here for only a moment. In God’s timing, that is most certainly true. Our lives are but a blip on God’s timeline, and yet he loves us so much.

Nehemiah 6:15-19 – It’s Done!

Read Nehemiah 6:15-19

The wall is completed. It only took fifty-two days. That’s not even two months! Granted, there were many people working on that huge project, but I’m amazed at the short duration of time it took. I don’t imagine there were any cranes or bulldozers around to help move away the debris. Construction sites would have looked a lot different back then.

One of my favorite lines in this reading is about what the enemy’s thought about this great feat. Nehemiah said, “They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.” I feel like going into my storage boxes to find my cheerleading pom poms! It’s always a victory when people who don’t belong to our family of believers (yet) recognize God’s hand at work and give him the credit. It doesn’t happen much these days.