" The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil" 1 John 3:8

Through the death of Christ, I have been crucified along with him with my old sinful nature. I have a new life with Jesus Christ, to walk in the light as He is in the light. I am called from darkness into his marvelous light. Called to be free. Called to be holy. Called to be a co-heir with Christ.

Father,
Help me believe these precious promises that I might partake in the divine nature. Keep my eyes fixed upon you above all else. Help me seek your kingdom first and your righteousness. And when I stray, I pray your Holy Spirit would hit me with the rod of discipline to get me back on track. I love you Lord. You are my portion. Only you can satisfy my finite heart. I want to stand in awe of you. I want the whole earth to be filled with the glory of the Lord, your righteousness, your justice, your mercy, your grace. Protect this feeble sheep who needs your guidance daily.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

Leviticus is one of the hardest books of the Bible to read devotionally, but I am actually enjoying it. The main theme I see in this book is that God is holy and his people are suppose to be holy. I am reminded of the bloody sacrifices that took place in front of the tent of the meeting. The animals were slaughtered in front of the congregation and burned up before the Lord as an pleasing aroma. God would not allow anything unholy or undefiled touch his presence. His wrath would consume the people if they did not present the sacrifice of atonement. Moreover, the priests needed to be consecrated properly before the Lord. Aaron's sons even died because they did not revere the Lord. I am reminded once again how I need to live a holy life, and that is only possible through the blood of the true lamb of God, Jesus Christ. I can enter God's holy presence because the blood of Jesus has made a way for me. Sanctify me completely Lord, body, soul, and mind. In Jesus Name, Amen.

1. Love the Family of God

"Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity" 1 Tim. 5:1-2

God has given me countless mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers at CFBC. I need to love them and honor them and provide for them.

2. Love my family

"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially the members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" 1 Tim 5:8

My Christian testimony should not be inconsistent. Who I am at home, should be who I am at church, work, and school. I should care for my brother, mother, and father.

3. Love my Pastor

"Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching" 1 Tim. 5:17

I need to honor Pastor Ed. I need to encourage him and thank him for "ruling well." How can I honor him better in a way that glorifies God?

4. Love my Boss

"Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved" 1 Tim 6: 2

I need to go above and beyond at the workplace, especially because my bosses are believers. I should do everything to promote the well being of the businesses I work at. I should be a blessing to my employers, not a burden.

5. Love Contentment

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world." 1 Tim 6:6-7

Love simplicity. Do I really need to be rich to be happy? Do I need a better car? Do I need to have a bigger house? I am already rich in Christ. I do NEED some more BOOKS though. I can live in a sleeping bag as long as I have my books!

6. Love righteousness and the Faith

"But as for you, O man of God. Flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 tim 6:12-13

RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN FROM SIN!! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN TO RIGHTEOUSNESS, GODLINESS, FAITH, LOVE, STEADFASTNESS, GENTLENESS!! Defend the faith through my studies at seminary and live an exemplary life!

And dwelt among us.

Transcendence meets imminence in Jesus Christ. God above and beyond becomes intimate and enters his creation that He created. God becomes all in all in the person of Jesus Christ. The unique One, becomes aquainted with our sorrows and our griefs. The Creator God lays down his life for fallen humanity lost in darkness. The Light of the World becomes forsaken so that he might turn men from the darkness to the Light. The Creator enters creation in the Incarnation. Divine meets humanity, Infinite meets Finite. The Incarnation of the Son of God blows my mind. It shows me that the Creator loves me. He became like me. He made me. He layed down his life for me that I might be filled with his fullness. Mercy, Justice, Grace, Faithfulness, Sovereignty, Wrath, Goodness, and Patience all come crashing in the cross of Christ, the blazing center of the Glory of God.

Father in Heaven,
Thank you that you have made me your child through my Lord Jesus Christ. Be near to me. Help me stand in awe of the Word became flesh. Grant me a worshipping heart.
In the Word's Name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

I've been so thankful these past weeks and reflecting on how God's love of me is relentless and persistently divine. God sees all my wickedness, darkness, shame; yet He still pursues me. My greatest confidence of His pursuit of me is in Jesus Christ. God sent His Son into the world to become my curse, shame, guilty, darkness, wickedness, sin, and wrath bearer. I have new life now because my old self was nailed to the cross with Christ and I have been raised with Christ by the power of His resurrection. I love that old hymn, "When Jesus is my portion...a constant friend is He...His eye is on the sparrow, and I know that He watches me...I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free"

Lord Jesus,
I love you. I thank you that you love me despite my failures and shortcomings. You captivate my heart. Even when I stray from you, you will not let your sheep go. I'm so sorry for messing up so many times. Your love is amazing. Lord Jesus, you are my portion. Whom do I have in heaven besides thee? Transform me by your divine love. In your precious name, Amen.

"Let what will be in the way, heaven is what he must and will obtain, not if he can without difficulty, but if it be possible. He meets with temptation: the devil is often whispering in his ear, setting allurements before him, magnifying the difficulties of the work he is engaged in, telling him that they are insuperable, and that he can never conquer them, and trying all ways in the world to discourage him; but he still presses foward." Jonathan Edwards.

I have to lay down everything to follow Christ. I must press on and continue to focus my eyes on Jesus. Lord, make your voice stronger in my Spirit. May your Spirit dictate my thoughts. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law

I love this quote from Kent Hughes in Disciplines of a Godly Man:

Leadership must have a dream, a vision, a mental image, a precise goal of what is to be accomplished. Vision is the currency of leadership. A vision or dream must grab the leader, and when it does, it will pull others along. The challenge of leadership is so great today because modern man is dreamless. (169)

Father in Heaven,
Give me vision for your glorious and majestic kingdom found in your Holy Word. Captivate me O Lord. Help me see the Risen Lord of Glory.

For your Name's Sake,
Amen.

"So today, at the end of the twentieth century, we have a phenomenon unthinkable in any other century: churchless Christians. There is a vast herd of professed Christians who exist as nomadic hitchhikers without accountability, without discipline, without discipleship, living apart from the regular benefits of the the ordiances...The entire Christian Life is about commitment-first and above all to Christ, but also to the Church, to family, to marriage, to friendship, to ministry...Men, on the most elementary level, you do not have to go to church to be a Christian. You do not have to go home to be married either. But in both cases if you do not, you will have a very poor relationship." Disciplines of a Godly Man, Kent Hughes

If you love God, you will love God's people. If you are committed to Christ, you will be committed to Christ's sheep.

A healthy Christian commits to:

1. Regular Attendance of the Church (Understand the Priority of the Church)
2. Membership (View the Church as a Family)
3. Giving to the Church (Israelites gave about 25% of their income)
4. Participation (Serving, Teaching, Preaching, Leading)
5. Love and Prayer (Discipleship, Intercession, Servanthood)

It is interesting to see that the work of the tabernacle was to be done with excellence and precision. Everything in it, from the consecration of the priests, to the building of the altars, to the small details of purification showed that God is holy. Moreover, the Lord gave intelligence and wisdom to people constructing the tabernacle. So here I saw that its really not by wisdom that the work of the Lord is accomplished, but by the Spirit of the Living God. I was also blessed to see that God speaks. He speaks to Moses and to the children of Israel.

Another obersvation I saw was that the children of Israel took the Sabbath seriously. If anyone violated the sabbath, they were put to death (exodus 31:15). God takes his commandments seriously and the people of Israel were to take the commandments seriously. They were to show that they were God's chosen people.

Application:
I should be diligent to observe the commands of the Lord for my good and joy and for his glory. I should take the command to rest seriously. But my final rest is in Christ, who cried out on the cross, "It is finished" who showed that the true temple of God was Christ himself.

What made Jonathan Edwards such an effective preacher that caused the Great Awakening and Revival in America?

1. Edwards understood the Wrath of God

"They must be sensible that they are the children of wrath; that the law is against them, and that they are exposed to the curse of it: that the wrath of God abideth on them; and that he is angry with them every day while they are under the guilty of sin. They must be sensible that it is a very dreadful thing to be the object of the wrath of God; that it is a very awful thing to have him for their enemy; and that they cannot bear his wrath." (268)

2. Edwards understood the Justice of God

"The holiness of God will not suffer him to give the least countenance of sin, but inclines him to give proper testimonies of his hatred of it."

3. Edwards understood the free Grace of God

"But Christ having satisifed for sin, God can now love the sinner, and give no countenance at all to sin, however great a sinner he may have been...The whole contrivance of the way of salvation is for this end, to glorify the free grace of God." (271)

Before one can taste the beauty of Christ, he must see that he is in a miserable condition. That God's wrath is upon him unless he repents and puts his faith in the finished work of Christ. God's Holiness demands justice and payment of sins, which was done at Calvary. Once a sinner sees his miserable condition, acknowledges his helplessness, turns from his sins, and looks to Christ for pardon, then he receives forgiveness and magnifies the free grace of God on his behalf. Christ sacrifice was sufficient to cleanse the foulest of all sinners (Hebrews 10:13-14).