On Sunday, Troy taught on the five different offerings described in detail in Leviticus, and shared how some of the details point to Jesus and to the type of relationship God really wants with us, if we call ourselves Christians.
Troy joked that if you had started reading Leviticus, you might have quit early, because it seems like it’s all about rules and regulations, but said this was one of his favorite teachings in the Bible.
It reminded me of a great time Ted and I had in Leviticus on a drive to southern Arkansas one spring. Allow me to reminisce?
I loved road trips with Ted. We always had the most wonderful conversations. Often, I would read to him from our Bible while on the road. This particular day, we were in Leviticus (which can be a challenge), but here is the treasure we found there:
"If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you..." (I'll summarize, but you can read it here: Leviticus 26:3-13 NIV) rain... crops... fruit... harvest... safety... peace... security... favor... increase... abundance... freedom. The Lord shared beautiful promises:
- "I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful..."
- "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people..."
- "I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high..."
And the one that really charmed me was:
- "Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you."
Wow... God’s blessings for obedience. He wants our success so much He offers all these rewards!
What this spoke to me was when we walk with God, we can beat INCREDIBLE odds! When we walk in obedience, surrendered to Him, He can do things we could have never imagined.
Ted and I talked about times in our lives we've known that to be true. Sweet times of fully trusting; we saw God's hand and His favor in our lives beyond what we would have believed. Dismal situations that turned out far better than we could have hoped.
We wished it could always be that way, but we sometimes get in the way of that. God wants our full obedience... we say we want to follow Him wholeheartedly, but we hold back a little piece of ourselves. We try to give God power and authority over our lives but we hold onto something we don't really want Him to change. We live under burdens we don't need to carry because we want to do it our way.
When we worry or doubt, we are focusing on ourselves and not God. With people things seem impossible, but with God all things are possible. What power there is in surrender!
We hold back because we are afraid of losing. But nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
God, help us to be careful to obey your commands. We want your blessings for obedience. With our eyes on you, we strive to let go of all that holds us back. We want to beat the odds, to rise above the selfishness that keeps us from knowing your perfect will.
