February 10

Today’s Reading - Leviticus 5-7

(Lev 6:13 KJV) The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

In today’s reading, we come across this verse which is a real comfort to Christians. God was giving commandments to Moses on how the sacrifice system was to be implemented and it was commanded that there was to be a perpetual fire on the altar. If the fire went out, then a sacrifice could not be made. This perpetual fire is a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no set time for a person to be saved, and this is why a perpetual Savior is needed. Can you imagine this possible scenario: No salvation from 12:00 to 7:00 AM! Crazy isn’t it? Any time one of God’s elect is drawn, the Lord Jesus is right there. There is no time frame nor rules. (Psa 121:3-4 KJV) He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. {4} Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. What a great promise this is. When we wake up in the middle of the night with a heavy heart, we know that we can come before the Throne of Grace. When tragedy or hardship strikes, we know that we can come to our heavenly Father anytime, night or day. (Job 34:28 KJV) So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. Our great Savior is that everlasting altar, where we may come as many times as we want and need. His fire shall consume all the sin of His children and this will enable us to be viewed by God as if we had never sinned. (Col 2:13-14 KJV) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; {14} Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; This is why His children can come to Him, for He has taken our sins out of the way and removed them. He has burned them for ash, only to be removed outside the camp, for there shall be no sin inside the eternal camp. (Lev 6:11 KJV) And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.

February 11

Today’s Reading - Leviticus 8-10

(Lev 10:1 KJV) And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which should be a warning to every Christian. Here were the sons of God’s own High Priest of the Tabernacle offering a strange fire before the Lord resulting in God judging them by death. The word “strange” carries with it the meaning of “different, foreign, or unlawful.” Now it does not matter whether they had done it on purpose or by mistake, the penalty was the same. Personally, I think they did it intentionally since they were groomed by Aaron and the other Priests to know the method of the sacrificial system. God had just given the manner in which the sacrifices were to be performed and it is obvious that these two fellows introduced something from a foreign or pagan style worship. God had not authorized their method and this resulted in their death. In the next few verses, God tells Aaron and Moses, that He will be sanctified before the people. The bottom line is that God will not be worshipped nor spoken about in a false or profane way. God does not sanction or approve a mixed worship system. We need to look at this principle today, since we are told specifically in the New Testament that the Lord does not change. Just because we are under Grace, does not mean that God is to be treated any differently than He would have been treated in the Old Testament. As Christians, we are to speak the truth about God from His Word and not from our sin-tainted minds. God is holy and is to be treated as such. Are we offering strange fire unto the Lord at worship services where everyone is jumping up and down like they are at a football game? Are we offering strange fire unto the Lord when we claim a health and wealth gospel? Are we offering strange fire unto the Lord when we preach that God is love while neglecting His other attributes? Are we offering strange fire unto the Lord when we feast on false teachings because they are so palatable? Are we offering strange fire unto the Lord when we ingest subjective teachings like psychology and sociology and try to mix them with the gospel? Are we offering strange fire unto the Lord when we embrace teachers and theologians instead of following the Lord? Are we offering strange fire unto the Lord by accepting false Bible versions? No matter what the motives are, the penalty will be the same. Let us examine our lives to see if we are offering strange fire unto the Lord. God has given us His guidebook, the Bible. Let us heed it lest we be caught like Nadab and Abihu by offering strange fire unto the Lord. By the way, when Moses told Aaron about God being sanctified before the people, Aaron held his peace (10:3). Let us not argue against God’s revealed Word to us. It seems in these last days that much of the strange fire which were published by cults, are coming from Christians now.

February 12

Today’s Reading - Leviticus 11-13

(Lev 13:46 KJV) All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which gives us a little insight into the plague of sin which indwells each human being on earth. God uses the disease of Leprosy as a specimen of sin in the human body. We see that as long as sin is in a person, they remain defiled which means they are unsaved. This passage also tells us that the person must live alone and outside the camp. Well, let us look at this verse and see if we can glean some spiritual truths from it. First of all, this verse teaches that the plague of sin is going to be with us until we physically die. There is no human being on earth, whether saved or unsaved, that does not suffer from this plague. However, there is a vast difference between the saved and unsaved regarding this matter. What both groups have in common is the fact that our bodies will go into the grave, unless the Lord returns first. God never redeemed the physical body but plans to rebuild it into an eternal body for His elect, one that is qualified for Heaven. On earth, what God saves in His elect is the Spirit. Upon physical death, the body goes into the grave while the person, in their full spirit essence, goes to be with the Lord. The unbeliever goes to a place of silence until the last day when they will be resurrected to stand for judgment. The unbeliever, because he has not been redeemed, must stay outside the camp. In other words, they are cast outside of the body of believers because they are spiritually dead. After they are judged, they will be sentenced to eternal damnation where they will be eternally cast into outer darkness and will be alone for eternity under the wrath of God. The Christian will have a new body and it will never be subjected to even the slightest temptation, for all sin, and the tempter himself will have been cast outside the camp for eternity. (Eph 5:5 KJV) For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Thank the Lord today for He has made you clean.

February 13

Today’s Reading - Leviticus 14-16

(Lev 16:30-31 KJV) For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. {31} It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

In today’s reading we come across these two verses which speaks of the results of the sacrifice of the two goats on the Day of Atonement. This day was the most solemn of all the ceremonies because it represented the final sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of all true Christians. Christ did not die for the entire world, just as the ceremonial laws of Israel were not for the surrounding nations. The ceremonial laws were for the Israelites alone as salvation is for Christ’s’ elect alone. When we look at the type, we see that limited atonement is a true biblical doctrine because in the foreshadow, when the two goats were sacrificed (one by death and the other by release into the wilderness), they were only atoning for Israel and no one else. Limited atonement shines through in all the feasts because they were for Israel alone. Notice the verse tells us that because of this atonement, the people will be clean from all sins before the Lord. It is also interesting in the next verse that calls this a Sabbath of rest. One of the joys and truths of this is that when a person becomes saved by grace, their soul has entered the permanent Sabbath rest, as we no longer keep any ceremonies or do any type of works for salvation. The Christian can rest in Calvary for all eternity because their soul is “Safe in the Arms of Jesus.” Never again do we have to worry about keeping some type of ceremony, because “Jesus Paid it All.” The Bible teaches that we are totally secure in the Lord and we never have to worry about losing our salvation. We did not work to receive it and we cannot work to lose it. (Sin is a work!) The Lord Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of Hell will never defeat it. Whenever we look at the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness, we definitely see ourselves, not necessarily as a corporate body but view it individually. We look at our own lives and realize how we could have never kept that ceremonial law. We would see how we sin every day, yet because of Calvary God does not view us as a sinner. He views us as clean because of the atonement that Christ made on our behalf. (Rev 14:4-5 KJV) These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. {5} And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. The Bible says that we are so clean before the Throne, that there isn’t even any guile (craftiness) in our speech. Speech always represents what is in a person’s heart. You can tell a person’s character by their speech. If they are sinners, they will speak as such, but if they have been cleansed, they will represent that cleansing. As God’s redeemed, let us represent that redemption to a lost and dying world.

February 14

Today’s Reading - Leviticus 17-19

(Lev 19:31 KJV) Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which should boost our awareness of what is happening around us in regards to the spiritual world. We are bombarded with psychics on TV and in magazines. These psychics believe they can actually tell the future in a person’s life. If they are so good, then how come not one of them predicted the September 11 terrorist attack. If they couldn’t predict an event like that, then how could they predict what is going to happen in the future in a person’s private life. God holds the future of every one of His children and doesn’t reveal it to Satan. Many Christians look at their horoscope and say that it is just for fun. There is no such thing as fun when you are playing with the demonic world. King Saul had degenerated in his rule to the point that he allied himself with Satan at the end through the Witch of Endor. Any time we think that horoscopes or psychic readings are just innocent fun, then see what God has to say about them in Isaiah. (Isa 47:13-14 KJV) Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. {14} Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. God says that they will burn and cannot deliver themselves, so how can they deliver anyone else. There is another way that Satan is breaking the silence barrier to this earth and that is through trance channeling. Some people think they are channeling wisdom from an ancient teacher, when in essence they are channeling some demon who is deceiving those who are listening. New Age is all demonism. Ghosts are another way people are deceived. Those who die, either go to be directly with the Lord if they are saved (2 Cor. 5:8) and those who are unsaved are in a place of silence until the last day (Psalm 115:17). It is very important to know these verses because they put a complete impossibility on anyone being able to come back from the grave to speak. Ghosts are nothing more than demonic beings portraying loved ones. Remember, back in Egypt how Satan was allowed to mimic the true miracles of God for a short time, well this is the same principle. Now when a psychic or a voice from beyond speaks some truth, it is because they are demonically controlled and there is allowance by God for these demons to break the silence barrier. This is where the deception comes in, as whatever demon is speaking might know a fact or two and deceives their hearers. It is important for all Christians to completely stay away from every and any type of evil spiritual activity. My suggestion is that if you are a parent, then read Leviticus 17-19 to your children and discuss it.

February 15

Today’s Reading - Leviticus 20-23

(Lev 21:14 KJV) A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which gives us an insight into the strict requirements of the office of High Priest. God is giving instruction in these few verses that He requires that the High Priest be holy in all areas of his life and not just in the performance of his duties. This verse is also a prophetic view into the future when the Lord Jesus Christ would take on the office of High Priest and the earthly office would be abolished. Notice that the verse states that the High Priest is to take a virgin from his own people to be his wife. This gives us a little hint of the future wife the Lord Jesus would have. He would be married to the body of believers whom He has redeemed. The body of Christ is also referred to as the “bride.” (Rev 21:9 KJV) And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. The body of believers is also referred to as a “virgin.” (2 Cor 11:2 KJV) For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. What a great parallel between the requirements for a wife for the High Priest and the wife of the Lord Jesus, the body of believers. The wife of the Lord Jesus is also one that is redeemed and of His own people, namely His elect. God’s elect is not defiled with false gods or false religions. They are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one or nothing will ever separate us from the love of Christ and we can never be pulled from His hands. As His bride we are secure forever. As the time of the earthly High Priest came to an end, there will be no end to our heavenly High Priest, nor His bride. Praise God today for our wonderful position in Christ!

February 16

Today’s Reading - Leviticus 24-27

(Lev 24:16 KJV) And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which is a reminder and reinforcement of the Third Commandment: (Exo 20:7 KJV) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. We know that blaspheming the Lord’s name was punishable by death and today it will be punishable by eternal death. Everywhere we go, whether it be work or play, we will always hear the Lord’s name being taken in vain. His name is used in curse words and swearing has become a part of the vocabulary of many people. As Christians, knowing the fear of the Lord, we would not intentionally take the Lord’s name in a vain or profane manner. Instead we would be careful to treat His name as Holy. The problem with many is that they do not know that the Lord Jesus Christ is God and so they take His name in swear words as if there will be no penalty for what they did. As Christians we would never want to take the name of the Lord Jesus or God the Father in a common manner (profane). Yet, it is done all the time and we pay money for the privilege of partaking in that sin. How do we partake in it? When was the last time you went to a Christian book store and bought some little trinket with some type of allusion to Jesus or God on it. The majority of these Christian trinkets are made by unbelievers in foreign lands who only see God’s name as a marketing tool. Christian bookstores sell many items with the name of God on them and this is using the name of God irreverently. In fact, one of the definitions of blasphemy is “irreverence.” Why do I need a pen, pencil, eraser, pad, towel, moist towlettes, coin purse, key ring, ruler, candy or gum, or any number of things? Do these increase my faith or give me a better understanding of Scripture? The answer is no, they do not add anything to my Christian walk. However, it takes something away because if I buy every little trinket with God’s name on it, then I will be treating the name as common. The more profane God’s name is to us, the less importance it holds because we will become neutralized. It seems in the last few years that wherever a manufacturer can stick the name of Jesus on some item, it will show up in the Christian bookstore. The majority of these bookstores are owned by Charismatics who claim to revere the name of God, yet will abuse it by profaning it without a second thought. Let us be very aware of the seriousness of this modern violation of the Third Commandment and run as far away form it as we can. Cutesy Christianity is not found in Scripture. False religions like Mormons, Islam, Judaism, Jehovah Witnesses all revere the name of their god. Christianity, being the true faith, is the only one that profanes the name of the true God and Savior for money. Excuse me for now, I had onion soup for lunch so I need to take a “TESTAMINT.”

February 17

Today’s Reading - Numbers 1-3

(Num 1:49-50 KJV) Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel: {50} But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.

In today’s reading we come across these verses in which we see that God ordered Moses to take a census of all the children of Israel, according to the tribes they belonged to. However, God told Moses not to number the Levites instead they were appointed to the spiritual duties surrounding the Tabernacle. This is a foreshadow of what the believers were going to do in the future. The Christians, in the world, are going to minister the things of God. As the Israelites did it in the Tabernacle as they went through the wilderness, the Christian is going to do it in their tent of meeting which would be the local church. The majority of a Christian’s ministry is normally associated with the church and beyond. It is interesting too that the Levites were not to be counted as this was a foreshadow of the body of believers. (Rev 7:9 KJV) After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; God even refers to the number of believers as “the sand of the sea.” (Gen 32:12 KJV) And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. This is why God did not want any numbering of the Levites. Since they represented the spiritual office of the believer, there would be no way to count them, since God’s salvation plan would go throughout the whole earth, with the number increasing daily. The final count would come on the last day, when the last one is saved. Until then, numbers mean nothing as we are to get on with the business of sending forth the true gospel, so we may build the church on earth, until the last day. This is why Christians should not be preaching any type of gospel which has been mixed with any worldly systems. One system which has been combined with the true gospel is politics. Some preachers have become so political, they have forgotten what the true gospel is. We need to heed the following passage. (2 Tim 2:4 KJV) No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. There is nothing wrong with a Christian getting involved with politics or even running for office but they must realize that political commingling of the gospel, is presenting a false gospel. The true Christian, while having to live in this world has to deal with worldly systems such as work, government, relationships, etc., should keep them as far away from the true gospel as possible. I am not talking about lack of witnessing, what I am talking about is mixing these things with the pure message of the gospel. As the Old Isaac Watts Hymn title goes, “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” If you are, then your marching orders come from the Lord and not some political party or some unbeliever. While we must be obedient to the laws of the land, this must not supersede our obedience to the Lord, Soldier!

February 18

Today’s Reading - Numbers 4-6

(Num 5:14 KJV) And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

In today’s reading we come across this verse which details the law of an unfaithful woman, if she has committed adultery or if she is just accused of it. The above verse tells us that if the husband becomes jealous for his wife, he must take her to the priest and bring her before the Lord. She is to be tested to see if he she had defiled herself. These passages remind me of how the Lord looks at His own people which is the body of believers and the bride of Christ. The Bible tells us that God is jealous over His redeemed people. (Exo 34:14 KJV) For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: God does not want His children to be involved with any type of worship which involves false gods or teachings. He is jealous over us because we have not been redeemed by goats or bulls, but by the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why when we begin to follow false teachings or false gospels, God may tend to chastise us until we come back into the fold of truth. Spiritual adultery is a very serious thing and it is not to be taken lightly. God gives a grave warning in James Chapter 4. (James 4:4 KJV) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. If we begin to become too friendly with the world and its systems, God deems that as committing adultery against Him. Any time we sin we are committing adultery against God and this is why we must go to Him when we do. It is not because that sin is not already forgiven, but for our benefit to keep us on the narrow way. If we do not stay close to the Lord, we can begin to stray. Straying from the Lord always starts out slowly. We may say, “I’m too tired I will skip my Bible reading today or my prayer time but I will make it up tomorrow.” Tomorrow rolls around and we don’t make it up. Whatever draws us away from the Lord will cause us to commit spiritual adultery. Christ is to have first place in our life and He will accept nothing short of that. Sometimes we Christians find ourselves on the shelf and we wonder why. Well, a little introspection will do us good and then we will find out what caused us to stray. Let us not be like the unfaithful woman who must be brought before the Lord. Let us appear before Him everyday to give us strength, so we will not commit spiritual adultery against Him.

February 19

Today’s Reading - Number 7-10

(Num 10:2 KJV) Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.