One Year Bible, February 25

LEVITICUS 16:29-18:30
(Lev 17:7) Apparently some "devils" are black and hairy! Sacrificing to idols is the same thing as sacrificing to devils. (Ps 106:34-38) And they "went a whoring after them". So what, then, is an idol? The original language calls it "a vain thing or a good-for-nothing thing", meaning it was empty and could not bring any real satisfaction to the worshipper. An idol is a substitute for relationship with God. "Whoring" is when we think we want something that is contrary to that relationship - so badly that we are willing to sin to get it. That makes the object of our desire a fetish and an idol and a devil!

Chapters 18-20 talk about holy relationships. God demands a separated lifestyle from His holy people. We can't marry outsiders, we can't act like outsiders, we can't live by their rules (our standards are much higher), we can't sacrifice our children to their gods. (Their gods being "political correctness", lifestyles that they protect, their entertainment, etc.) They unholy activities cause the doer to be "cut off".(treated like an outsider, or even killed in some instances) These unholy activities defile a nation and make it unlivable.

RESPONSE:   Unholiness is contagious and spreads even to the ground you are standing on! It also spreads through intimate contact. Anything less than what God demands will cause the worshipper to become empty and good-for-nothing, just like the idol he worships. I don't want to try to make myself happy with substitutes. God, help me to catch myself so I can repent. I know I've used food, and relationships, and television, and sometimes when I get "bored", I slip back into my old habits. And that's ALL they are, is habits. That means they can be changed. I wish they could be changed with a zapper. But no, I have to form new habits to take their place. I would like my new habit to be coming to You about everything.

MARK 7:24-8:10
Jesus had just declared that all food is clean and now He demonstrates that all peoples are clean by going into a Gentile region and challenging His disciples' scruples. The Gentile woman begging for help tore down the barrier of race.

This is the second time Jesus fed a crowd, that we know of. The difference is glaring: The crowd this time is Gentile! The feeding arose out of compassion (which is your pain in my heart). These had gone 3 days without food! So the disciples began with what they had - 7 loaves and a few small fish. Then Jesus revealed Himself as the All-Sufficient Source of what we need.

RESPONSE:   Jesus, You are all I need. I can go through anything if I know You are with me. And in the test, I know You will reveal something about Yourself that I didn't know before.

PSALM 41:1-13
This Psalm is in response to hurtful betrayal. For David, it was his son, Absalom. For Jesus, it was His friend, Judas (v.7-9). David's unrepented sin had left him sick, powerless and helpless. Now that he has repented, he asks for healing so he is not vulnerable to his enemies. He knows that the only reason he hasn't been destroyed before this is because of God's Presence around him, even in the presence of his enemies. God is his avenger.

"Amen and Amen".  Psalms is divided into five books, one for each book of the Torah.   At the end of each section is a "double", either "amen, amen", or "amen, hallelujah", or "hallelujah, hallelujah". Genesis 41:32 says that a "double" means "it was established by God and God will shortly bring it to pass". 

PROVERBS 10:15-16
The rich think that wealth will protect them, and the poor are so overwhelmed with the vulnerability of being poor that they don't even try to break out of their poverty. Both alike overestimate wealth. Living according to Truth is what brings life or death, not how much money you have.

RESPONSE:   "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."  (1 Tim 6:9-10)  Thinking that wealth is the key to long life, or to more respect, or to success of some sort, is a trap. The righteous go after wisdom and wisdom holds the other things in her hands. Actually, Jesus told us to seek the kingdom of God and "His righteousness", and things will be "added" to us (Matt 6:33). Safety is to be found in God's will, not in money. A lack of God's righteousness is what makes us vulnerable to our real enemies.  Prov 10:22 says that the "blessing of the Lord makes us rich". And I say, "AMEN!"   I am one of the richest people I know! If you want to know what it's like to be vulnerable to your enemies, try living without God's blessing!