One Year Bible, February 20

LEVITICUS 9:7-10:20
Contempt for Holy Things: God sent fire from heaven to ignite the brass altar in the Outer Court, where sacrifice for sin and trespass was made. Fire was to be taken from that altar and carried to the Golden Altar of Incense to light the incense. No approach was to be made to God without the Blood.

Their very first time as priests, Aaron's two oldest sons did not revere God as holy in their hearts, but were presumptuous. It is believed that the fire they used to light the incense did not come from off the brass altar (where blood was shed).  They were careless and disrespectful and probably offered the incense at the improper time also. In v. 3 Moses explained their judgment to Aaron: "This is it that Jehovah spake, saying, I will sanctify Myself in him that is nigh to Me, and will glorify Myself in the face of all the people."

With the death of the priests, God "glorified" Himself as the Holy One, who is not to be mocked or taken lightly. And Aaron "held his peace." He was obliged to acknowledge the righteousness of the holy God. And any manifestation of grief on account of the deaths that had occurred, would have indicated dissatisfaction with the judgment of God, and so Aaron and his sons were not allowed to mourn his dead sons. Not only that, but Aaron had to continue to minister as though nothing had happened, because he was covered with the anointing oil that was the symbol of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Life that conquers death and sin. 

God made SURE that no one ever made this mistake again. The priests who minister before the Lord must NEVER drink alcoholic beverages, so that they would be sober-minded, able to always discern between "holy" and "common" and between "clean" and "unclean" - so no one has to die again.

RESPONSE:    Thank God I can come boldly to God's throne because of Jesus (Heb 4:14-16). Jesus has fulfilled every requirement that was put on Aaron and his sons. Now I don't have to be afraid. BUT, if I profane the holiness of God by my conduct or by making light of holy things with my words, I should probably be very afraid. There is a line we must never cross. Rather than be afraid of it, why not just stay way back from that line? Don't even go there.

MARK 4:26-5:20
Mark is the only Gospel with this first particular parable. It is my favorite Kingdom parable because it teaches that there are some things about the Kingdom that happen all by themselves - without my active participation! I believe it is speaking of putting the Word in our hearts (planting it - meditating, memorizing, obeying it), and that it eventually begins to manifest itself in our behavior without our having to put forth any effort, other than getting that Word in there. But it IS a process. It starts out as a tiny seed, but so great is God's power in us, that we can mature and become ministers of the Gospel.

What do we do when we are scared to death? And Jesus appears not to care! He's asleep! They panicked and woke Him up. I don't know what they expected Him to do, but when He stilled the storm, they were shocked, not because the storm ceased, but at the suddenness of it.  He probably was commanding the demonic force behind the storm, in preparation for what was about to happen on shore.

"Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?" Well, that's why they were afraid - they had lost faith. Remember this: (1) the boat will not sink, and (2) the storm will not last forever. Faith is the answer to fear. Faith in the goodness and greatness of God. Even though the disciples flunked their test of faith, they got revelation about Who He is that they wouldn't have gotten any other way.

Did you notice that the madman who ran naked in the tombs among the dead was a cutter? He was in torment and trying to lance the pain. He could not be chained up or subdued, such was his relentless unrest. He was polluted and had enough "unclean" demons in him to infest 2000 pigs! Yet, because of Jesus, he was now "dressed and in his right mind". What was people's reaction? Fear. Jesus had hit them in their wallets! They preferred the pigs (money) to the soul of the madman.

NOTE:  Whether the enemy is outside or inside, JESUS IS LORD. Whether the storm is outside or inside, JESUS IS LORD. Whether we are being sabotaged or ripped apart from the outside or the inside, JESUS IS LORD.

RESPONSE:   Jesus, whatever comes to scare me, or to rip me apart, YOU ARE LORD. You will take me through. You said we were to go to the other side (4:35) and I believe You. I worship You and magnify You as being all I need to get through anything. Your goodness and greatness reassure my heart and increase my faith. If I can just keep my mouth shut when I am being tossed around by my stormy feelings, and get my focus back on You, I know I will make it "to the other side".  

PSALM 37:30-40
"Wait for the Lord and keep His way."  When we are actually doing worse financially than the ungodly, when they seem to live better than we do, "wait for the Lord and keep His way." When you are unjustly criticized by the unbeliever, or they plot your downfall, "wait for the Lord and keep His way." When you are lied about or laughed at by the unrighteous, "wait for the Lord and keep His way." In other words, KEEP ON, KEEP ON, KEEP ON.

How do we wait? This does NOT imply inactivity. Remember the opposite of grace is EARNING, NOT EFFORT.  We keep walking by the Spirit, keep obeying God, patiently and steadily trusting Him. Stay focused on God's goodness and greatness by speaking it out loud to your heart when it wavers. Isa 40:31 says that when we "wait on the Lord" we are strengthened in our resolve, such that we can continue to walk by the Spirit without getting weary or discouraged. In fact, we can FLY!

PROVERBS 10:6-7
Blessings crown the righteous, but the violence and deceit of the wicked cover them with shame. It falls back on his foul mouth. As in life, so in death: blessings continue to crown our remembrance of the righteous, and the very remembrance of the wicked is loathsome.

RESPONSE:   If I had to just sit around waiting for God to do something, I would go crazy! I would lose faith, lose hope, lose patience, lose my way. I have figured out that waiting on God is an aggressive, "dig-in" position. That I must stay steady and keep going. In fact, because of the new revelation of the strength, the goodness, the faithfulness, and the greatness of God, I actually DO BETTER under the pressure of waiting and expecting Him to act. So good, in fact, that I quit running and start FLYING! When I fret, I wear myself out. When I trust, I accomplish more with less work. Go figure!