God loves us – Be Still…

1 John 3:16 – Real Love

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:16)

We are weeks away from celebrating Easter as I reflect on this verse. How powerful its significance while walking with Jesus to the cross. I can’t fully wrap my head around God’s love for us, can you? Jesus’ actions define real love in a way nothing else could.

Context: John’s teaching here is all about love, but he is focusing on how we are to love each other. For us to know how to do that, we need only look to Jesus and his example on the cross. That’s why this verse is so important. It helps keep us on track, putting into perspective what love looks like. Continue reading “1 John 3:16 – Real Love”

Romans 5:8 – What Love!

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8)

Don’t you feel loved when you read that verse? Being loved by God is a luxury we often take for granted. It’s the most fantastic, yet hard to fathom love there is. Think how many people alive in our world don’t realize that God loves them, much less what that love feels like. We sometimes have a hard time believing ourselves.

Context: Paul talks about the benefits of having faith. When we know who is by our side cheering us on, it’s a lot easier to face the tough stuff that is going to give us character and endurance. When we trust God, we acknowledge our need for his rescue as lost sinners. We should also keep in mind that God loves us no matter how unlovely we might be. That goes for our neighbor, too! Continue reading “Romans 5:8 – What Love!”

Leviticus 13:47-59 – Contaminated Garments

Read Leviticus 13:47-59

What do you do when you see mold on your clothes? Maybe you’ve led a sheltered life and never experienced that. We had a problem in our last rental with a closet that held moisture – unbeknownst to me at least. Once I discovered my moldy clothes, they went immediately to the washing machine. Sadly, there were a few items that never came clean. I never thought to burn them!

When we come across passages like this, we can only marvel at how God thinks of everything. It opens our eyes to see the types of “issues” that people in Bible times had to deal with. If their climate was at all humid, it’s not surprising that mildew would set in. But I always picture the Promised land as dry and desert-like. Where did the mildew come from? Continue reading “Leviticus 13:47-59 – Contaminated Garments”

Leviticus 7:22-38 – Final Words

Read Leviticus 7:22-38

For now, our discussion about the sacrificial system has come to a close. I, for one, am breathing a sigh of relief. The book of Leviticus challenges readers today to whom these laws don’t seem relevant. Yet God still speaks to us through his word, even when we don’t understand how it can possibly apply to us.

These final two directions focus on fat consumption and the meat portions for priests. We’ve heard before how God wants us to avoid eating animal fat and how he cares for his servants, the priests. Through these practices, we see how much God cared for his people and wanted to be a good Father. Continue reading “Leviticus 7:22-38 – Final Words”

Ezekiel 43:13-27 – Sacrificial Lamb

Read Ezekiel 43:13-27

Ezekiel’s audience may not have been particularly familiar with the altar and sacrifice expectations God’s law had prescribed. Living in a foreign country without their temple would have made it difficult to keep up their obedience in that way.

However, we know that the returnees took reinstating the sacrificial requirements very seriously and building an altar was of utmost importance, even before the temple was rebuilt. The altar Ezekiel describes here is quite magnificent. Continue reading “Ezekiel 43:13-27 – Sacrificial Lamb”