Understanding Sacrifice

This is the ritual of the sacrifice of well-being that one may offer to the LORD: Leviticus 7:11 (JPS Torah) Sacrifice of well-being – In Hebrew, this is the zevah ha-shelamim.  There are several ways of interpreting this particular word combination.  Most English translations don’t follow the Hebrew text but rather take their clues from…

Mr. Clean

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB Who knew no sin – Once upon a time Adam knew no sin.  That doesn’t mean Adam didn’t know the difference between right and wrong.  Adam knew true…

Damage Assessment

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34 Sword – If you’re serious about Yeshua’s declarations, this one must upset you.  Don’t the angels sing, “Peace on earth”?  Isn’t the gospel a message of peace with God?  Then how…

Market Value

But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for YHWH, or offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.” 1 Chronicles 21:24 Costs Me Nothing – Nancy Pearcey makes an astounding application of David’s principle.  She says, “The…

Presumption Of Understanding

When a person unwittingly incurs guilt in regard to any of the Lord’s commandments about things not to be done, and does one of them . . . Leviticus 4:2 Does One Of Them – Sacrifices do not atone for deliberate sins.  Punishment atones for deliberate sins.  But we need sacrifices because we still make…

Connected

and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 And – How many times have you heard this verse? Dozens, I’ll bet, but we often miss the…

Come Together

When any of you presents an offering of cattle to the LORD, he shall choose his offering from . . . Leviticus 1:2 Offering – Do you think that God is mad? It seems that most religious people (of all faiths) certainly see God as an angry judge. He looks down upon the wickedness of…

Buried Away

“and even if our gospel is veiled” 2 Corinthians 4:4 Months have passes since I had my first taste of a Job crisis. God forced me to confront my trust in false security and selfish independence by stripping away the financial storehouse of my existence. Since that day, I have committed myself to a passionate…

BODY SONG

Paul J. Meyer, the founder of the self-improvement industry, once said that he is an inverted paranoid.  He believes that the whole world has conspired to do him good.  That powerful idea alters everything about life.  It shifts all of our being and doing from a posture of defense and protection to a posture of…