QT 28 May 10

1 Cor 1:4-6 (NIV) I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way — in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— 6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.

NOTE: I'm not sure what comes first. Are the Corinthians enriched because of Paul's testimony? Or is Paul's ministry confirmed because of their enrichment from God? Either way, real life in Christ should show some difference. I look at my navigator friends from college, and I see so many serving God in very different and unique ways. Their work of faith confirms the testimony of those who shared Christ with them. No wonder Paul starts out by saying, "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus." I feel the same way, so unworthy of the people I helped come to Christ or even to grow in their relationship with the Savior. Why am I? Nobody, but I hope someone that is useful to my savior.

QT 27 May 10

1 Cor 1:1 (NIV) Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

NOTE: It seems a remarkable coincidence that Paul should be writing a letter with Sosthenes to Corinth, when the name Sosthenes is the same as the synagogue ruler who took Paul to court, and then was later beaten by his own brethen for the failure to get Gallio to act on any of the charges, at Corinth. Maybe the beating convinced Sosthenes that he really had no true friends, and the Christians lived much different loving lives. It may be coincidence, but when it comes to the gospel, it really is not unusual at all to find those who fought so hard against it to turn to it in the end. Paul is the proto-typical example. A man determined to snuff it out, becoming the man God used to spread it over the known world.

It really is amazing that God uses imperfect and dirty lumps of clay to accomplish his glorious and majestic work. How unworthy are we to the task that we are called! But our unworthiness is no excuse to not respond to the grace that was showered upon us. Yes, we are sinners, but when God calls us to a task, we must respond. He deserves nothing less than our full attention.

QT 26 May 10

Lev 27:30-33 (NIV) "'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 The entire tithe of the herd and flock — every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod — will be holy to the Lord. 33 He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.'"

NOTE: This verse does a good job explaining the tithe. It is one-tenth of all the grain and fruit the man produces, and one-tenth of his entire flock and herd. So, it is ten percent of that year's produce, but ten percent of the entire flock. Also, there are three different tithes, which most people conveniently forget. There are two tithes given every year (or 19 percent -- 10 percent plus another ten percent (9 percent) of the remainder (90 percent)). Finally every third year there is a special tithe for the poor, so a person who tithes would give over three years, 19 percent, 19 percent, and 27.1 percent. In the end, a tithe works out to 22-23 percent a year as an average.

In the new convenant, the tithe is never repeated. Paul makes it clear that giving is regular and important but not prescribed. "God is not mocked, a man reaps what he sows." "Each one should give as he has made up his mind to, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful give."

QT 24 May 10

Lev 26:3-13 (NIV) "'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,

I will send you rain in its season, ....

Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and

the grape harvest will continue until planting…

"'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. …

"'I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers,…

I will put my dwelling place among you, ...

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people…

NOTE: The old covenant's blessings were works-based. Salvation was faith based, as Paul, James, and the writer of Hebrews argue when discussing Abraham's faith and the resulting righteousness. Unfortunately for Israel, they did not enjoy a lot of the blessings because they failed to follow the decrees and were not careful to obey the commands.

The new covenant's blessings are not material but spiritual. While grace is showered on the NC believer, the effects of sin and disobedience do affect the spiritual blessings. Sin separates us from God and closes the door to the spiritual blessings that God wants to shower on us.

QT 20 May 10

Lev 17:3-5 (NIV) Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it 4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord — that man shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people. 5 This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.

NOTE: Two issues are addressed, one is prostitution to goat idols (vs 17:7), but the other issue addresses "private worship." Even today, people avoid public worship, that is church, because their "worship is private." Heb 10:24, 25 addresses the same argument for the new covenant. Here, God makes it very clear that you must come to the tabernacle to sacrifice your offerings. And those offerings, that are not freewill offerings shall be considered fellowship offerings. In other words, fellowship is an important aspect of worship. Private worship in God's economy is an oxymoron when practiced almost exclusively. Private worship, while not wrong, can be used as an excuse to the important task of fellowship and involvement with the larger believing community, in the case of the new covenant, that would be the church.

QT 19 May 10

Lev 13:1-2 (NIV) The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 "When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a bright spot on his skin that may become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest.

NOTE: Chapter 13 and 14 deal with a variety of skin diseases, mold, and mildew. They concern the investigation and cleansing required. Despite the material presented here, no cases of leprosy being healed were ever noted among the people of Israel to which this law would apply (Miriam was before the law, and Naaman was Jewish), therefore it was assumed that the healing of a leper was a Messianic miracle. One of Jesus' earliest miracles was the healing of a leper. In accordance with the law, Jesus sent the healed leper to the Priests.

Lev 14:30-31 (NIV) Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, which the person can afford, 31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed."

NOTE: Even though sickness, disease, and other illnesses are not directly related to sin (Job's boils being one example), all sin is indirectly a result of the fall. Therefore, a sin and burnt offering is required upon the healing of the individual, as a recognition of our rebellion from God as the ultimate reason for this world not being what God intended, that is full of evil and pain.

QT 10 May 10

Lev 1:3 (NIV) … offer a male without defect. ...

Lev 2:1 (NIV) … offering is to be of fine flour. ...

Lev 2:13 (NIV) Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

NOTE: All the offerings are to be quality offerings. Of course this is for the law and so we must be careful in our application. But I think here is a case where the principle would apply in the NT, our offerings to God must be first class. Jesus set the example, "he did all things well." He calls us "to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Our ministry should be characterized by first class effort. The phrase "it is good enough for government work" should be anathema in the church, and in the life of any believer. "Whatever you do, do it as if serving the Lord."

Also, God gets rid of the yeast, but adds salt. The yeast symbolizes sin in the OT and NT. The salt symbolizes preservation and things that bring life. Our ministry needs to excise sin, and bring in those things which give life.

Father help me to think through how I live in these two areas. Do I do my best? Have I let sin into my ministry, or do I provide life and preservation for those involved?

QT 4 May 10

Ex 35:20-22 (NIV) Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord.

NOTE: This part is different from the requirements of the OT law regarding tithe. This is a freewill offering and more akin to the NT concept of giving "each one must as he made up his mind … not reluctantly, but cheerfully." Unfortunately, we do seem to confuse the idea of the OT tithe, which is required by the law, and the NT concepts of giving, which are more akin to the freewill offering here, and not to a set amount. Why is it we feel we must reach some "percentage" to be pleasing God? Why are we not comfortable with freewill offerings in all of our giving? Maybe, we are really holding back, and as long as we hit the magic ten percent, we can do what we want. Of course, that is also a misconception, because the Israelites were required to give a tithe twice a year, and every third year, were required to give three tithes, averaging out to about 23 percent of one's income. Lord, free us from rules and man-made conceptions of serving you. Free us to truly serve you in spirit above law.