The Simple Life

"For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground." Leviticus 11:44   In the beginning, God.   Our God has spoken clearly; we can see and understand our proper response. Our lives are not about us or others, but about Him. Our lives are not to be a mixture of iron and clay, but iron alone. Our lives are to have a single purpose, not multiple purposes. Our lives are distinct, peculiar, unusual, light in a dark world, salt in a tasteless life, and hope amid hopelessness.   This "principle" is evident throughout Scripture. There is no other way to achieve the significance and security God alone gives. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, "Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses." Leviticus 10:8   Is this a principle or just a concern for Aaron's family? Does this apply to all teachers of all times or just to Aaron's times? It seems as if those of us who are children of God are commanded continually throughout the Scriptures to be "holy," "set apart," or "unique."   So….where did this idea of living like the world so we can relate to the world come from? How can one who is holy also be unholy, or one who is set apart be put together with all the rest?   The Levites' uniqueness started when Moses came down the moun...

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" And Aaron held his peace. Leviticus 10: 1-3   God means what He says. Adam and Eve had to learn it the tough way. Cain learned it the difficult way. The people during Noah's time learned it the hard way. Those who were building the Tower of Babel learned it the tough way. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah learned it the hard way.   In the beginning, God. This means something. God has no opinions, will not compromise, and has never been wrong or persuaded to do anything other than what is right.   All men will acknowledge Him as God one day. A...

"'If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity….'" Leviticus 5:1   We like to pretend that we have no responsibility for someone else and the error of their ways. We would like to believe that our silence is due to our maturity, love, and kindness, when it is due to our evil ways.   To watch someone sin and do nothing is just as bad as if you were participating in that sin yourself. To call yourself a friend of one who is sinning and say nothing makes you more of an enemy than a friend.   Satan has been able to work many definitions throughout history. Thinking that "friendship" has to do with enabling rather than empowering is one of his most masterful lies.   When writing to young Timothy, Paul told Timothy (2 Timothy 4) to preach the Word in a way that was reproving, rebuking, and exhorting. He told him to be patien...

 "'When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it.'" Leviticus 2:1   "’If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord.'" Leviticus 3: 1   Why give God our best when He has no needs? Why not give God what we do not need or want? The idea of giving anything to the One who has everything and the One who created and sustains all life seems like a worthless, futile activity.   And it would be worthless and futile if we were giving to Him for His sake. But, of course, we are not. When we give to God, we acknowledge something. We are admitting that we are not the "end all." We recognize that we depend not on the best bull or ram to have the best flock, but on Him, who made the bull and the ram. We acknowledge dependency upon God, submission to...

The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.'" Leviticus 1:1   Cain wanted it to be another way. God, due to man's sinfulness, demanded a blood sacrifice, demanded death for life, the death of something that had blood flowing through its veins. Yes, this seems tough. It seems to paint a picture of an angry, vengeful God who demands things done His way. Yet, perhaps it is the opposite. Maybe this is the provision of a loving God for the greatest evil of all--sin.   Ideas have consequences, and sin's consequence is death. It was stated before we ever sinned. It was abundantly clear. Perhaps man could not see the devastation of sin or could not understand the price and pain that sin caused, so God, in His loving mercy, decided to make sure we knew.   There is no...

The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.'" Leviticus 1:1   In the beginning, God told us that if we chose to sin, we would experience death. And so it was and is. Since Adam and Eve's sin, we have seen and experienced many tough times. We watch a cycle of life that depends on death.   I am alive today because an animal or plant died, and the nutrients from that plant or animal sustain me. The trees in the forest are alive because of the death and decay of leaves, animals, and other plants. The lake is alive because of the death-formed muck layer that lines the bottom.   I am physically alive due to the death that surrounds me. I am spiritually alive because I choose to die. Death brings forth life, and those who try to live while avoiding dying to themselves ...

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. Exodus 40:34-38 (ESV)   The people knew that Moses knew and communicated with God. The people knew God was directing them in the desert and caring for their physical needs. This group could see God's hand in their daily lives, yet they struggled with knowing and following Him. We have a choice on what we focus. We can focus on God, our obedience to Him, and that He can provide regardless o...

When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the LORD commanded Moses. And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work. Exodus 40:32-33 (ESV)   So Moses finished the work.   For many years my dad had a sign that said "Finish It" that he saw daily from his desk. He often said that starting things was simple, and that the absolute joy was finishing something. When we start projects, we are often motivated by hopes and dreams. As these hopes and dreams become struggles, we lose focus on what could happen if we remain steadfast and begin to be distracted by the battle.   Those who chose to look towards the finish and plow through the discouragement of details ended up being mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11. Those who give in to the discouragement of details get lost in history, and they are often a side note or forgotten.   What work has...

This Moses did; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so he did. Exodus 40:16 (ESV)   Once again, I am thankful God never asks us to do something we cannot do. In fact, He only asks us to do things we can do.   He did not ask Moses to split the Red Sea. He asked him to walk towards it, and He would split it. He did not physically ask Joshua to defeat Jericho, but just to walk around it. He did not ask Noah to figure out how to get the animals out of the forest, but just to build a boat. He did not ask Stephen to change the people's hearts, but just to deliver the message. God will never ask us to do things we cannot do. I am thankful. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

"Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded." Exodus 36:1 (ESV)   God created people skilled in various areas to complete the "body of Christ" on earth. The New Testament clarifies that believers are part of the body and that each body part should have unfettered access to the brain to be healthy.   Artists, carpenters, musicians, philosophers, pastors, teachers, and business executives have the same responsibility to walk with God, or to love God and each other. As each person dies to self and uses their skill and ability to point to God and help each other, we see life the way it is meant to be.   Trouble arises when we glorify one gift or focus on one skill over another. We only focus on a single part of our body when it is injured, and we need to rally the rest of the parts to aid in its healin...

Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, "These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do. Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.” Exodus 35:1-2 (ESV)   Intentionality is critical in healthy relationships. Those who say they will, one day, spend time with you may never spend time with you because the circumstances of life will always get in the way. I can say I need to spend more time with a family member or friend, yet I may never spend the time because I refuse to be intentional and set aside the time. Life is full of good intentions, yet we do not live by intentions, but by fortuity.   Our most important relationship is with our Heavenly Father, and He makes it clear that we need to be intentional about setting aside time to be with Him. This has always been one of the hallmarks of His children, and it is...

“Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it becomes a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherah poles.” Exodus 34:12-13 (ESV)   Sometimes compromise is good. Yet, to compromise in areas that have clear boundaries is foolish.   God's Word is clear on many issues. We are to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and each other as ourselves. Marriage is between one man and a woman committed to each other for life. There is only one God, and we are not to bow down to any other. Envy and jealousy are evil, as are gossip, slander, and self-centered life.   We are made to have continual fellowship or input from God, who will never leave or forsake us. We lose when we reject Him or abandon Him to have a constant connection with darkness. Lot was a righteous man who detested the actions of those around him, yet he chose to live in an evil city that eventually ...

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." Exodus 34:6-7 (ESV)   We often focus on parts rather than the whole. God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and He does forgive, forget and restore. Yet this does not mean He ignores justice or sin's effects on individuals and families. When we sin, we hurt ourselves, those we love, and all those around us. A sinful parent can injure a generation or more of children, making this life more challenging than it should be, and the next life unthinkable.   Sin disturbs the fabric of human relationships, affects our physical and mental...

Moses said to the LORD, "See, you say to me, 'Bring up this people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people." And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." And he said to him, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” Exodus 33:12-15 (ESV)   Moses understood the importance of being in the presence of God. If God did not go with Him, He would not go, and he wanted God to favor him by allowing him to know Him and obey Him. The principle of walking with God is the same today as throughout history. Knowing God allows me to obey Him. As I follow Him, I will succeed at any assignment He gives me.   Sometimes we make l...

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. Exodus 33:7-11 (ESV)   What a privilege it was for Moses to speak to God. I can only imagine the awe of all those who watched ...

The next day Moses said to the people, "You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written." But the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them." Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made. Exodus 32:30-35 (ESV)   Moses loved God and the people he was entrusted to lead. As the people failed, Moses confessed. Throughout Scripture, we often see great leaders confessing the sins of the people they lead, even...

And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the LORD'S side? Come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.'" And the sons of Levi did according to the Word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, "Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day." Exodus 32: 25-29   I wonder how many Levities thought their assignment would include strapping a sword on and killing those who turned against God. It seems easy to commit t...

And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?" And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, 'Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' So I said to them, 'Let any who have gold take it off.' So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf." Exodus 32:21-24 (ESV)   Aaron played with the truth. Indeed, the people were a handful, yet that is no excuse for ignoring God. The crafting of the golden calf was not quite as he said either. Aaron might have thought he had no choice but to give in to the crowd's demands. We see there and today how easily mobs can change direction and determine the course of human interactions. Mobs should not be determining direction because a majority op...

And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'" Exodus 32:6-8 (ESV)   The people ignored what they had seen and learned and decided to party. The idea of rising up to play indicates a party atmosphere where any type of amusement might be acceptable. (The word play: a primitive root; to laugh outright (in merriment or scorn); by implication, to sport: — laugh, mock, play, make sport.) Perhaps this thing with Moses going up the mountain was too hard on the people. Maybe they were tired of all this s...

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, "Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." Exodus 32:1 (ESV)   How quickly we forget God's provision. God made it possible for two to three million people to cross the Red Sea overnight, destroyed the greatest army of that day, and fed and provided water in a desert for two to three million people. Then they want to serve a manufactured loser god?   This may show us how powerful the lessons learned as a child are. These people were in Egypt and most likely learned of many false gods, and now they wanted to create one of their own to help them through the anxiety Moses was creating. This would have been an excellent time for Aaron to step up and lead, renouncing gods other than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yet, for some r...

The LORD said to Moses, "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.” Exodus 31:1-5 (ESV)   The Apostle Paul writes this in 1 Corinthians 12:27: "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." From the beginning of time, God made each person unique. He created Adam and Eve unique in gender, and, no doubt, unique in gifts and abilities. Paul's comparison of each person being part of a body helps us grasp the importance of being unique, yet the same. Being one body means our unique talents and abilities have unfettered access to the brain or God.   When we look at an individual, we do not see individual parts; we see the whole. The toe and elbow may contribute...