The Forbidden Sexual Practices – Leviticus 18 - 19

YES, The Bible talks about this too!!! And its sooooo simple, that no explanation is needed. Check it out!

 “²Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God…. 4 You must obey all MY regulations and be careful to obey MY decrees, for I am the Lord your God. 5 If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find LIFE through them. I am the Lord.

6 “You must never have sexual relations with a close relative

7 … with your mother

8 … with any of your father’s wives

9 … with your sister or half sister

10 … with your granddaughter

11 … with your step sister

12 … with your father’s sister

13 … with your mother’s sister

14 … with your uncle’s wife

15 … with your daughter-in-law

16 … with your brother’s wife

17 … with both a woman and her daughter

18 … While your wife is living, do not marry her sister and have sexual relations with her

19 … with a woman during her period of menstrual impurity

20 … with your neighbor’s wife

22 … Do not practice homosexuality…  It is A DETESTABLE SIN

23 … with an animal

24 “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways…  25 Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out.…  29 Whoever commits any of these detestable sins will be cut off from the community of Israel. 30 So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practices that were committed by the people who lived in the land before you. I am the Lord your God.”

But LIVE IN HOLINESS in the way you conduct yourself![1]

“The Lord also said to Moses, ² “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. ³ “Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe MY Sabbath days of rest. I am the Lord your God.

⁴ “DO NOT put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves…

⁵ “When you sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, offer it properly so you will be accepted by God

⁹ “When you harvest the crops of your land, DO NOT harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and DO NOT pick up what the harvesters drop…. Leave them for the poor….

¹¹ “DO NOT steal.

“DO NOT deceive or cheat one another.

¹² “DO NOT bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely.

¹³ “DO NOT defraud or rob your neighbor.

“DO NOT make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.

¹⁴ “DO NOT insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must FEAR your GOD

¹⁵ “DO NOT twist justice in legal matters… Always judge people fairly.

¹⁶ “DO NOT spread slanderous gossip among your people.^[b]

“DO NOT stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened.

¹⁷ “DO NOT nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.

Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.

¹⁸ “DO NOT seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.

¹⁹ “You must OBEY ALL MY DECREES.

“DO NOT mate two different kinds of animals.

DO NOT plant your field with two different kinds of seed.

DO NOT wear clothing woven from two different kinds of thread.

²³ “When you enter the land and plant fruit trees, leave the fruit unharvested for the first three years and consider it forbidden. DO NOT eat it. ²⁴ In the fourth year the entire crop must be consecrated to the Lord as a celebration of praise. ²⁵ Finally, in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. If you follow this pattern, your harvest will increase.

²⁶ “DO NOT eat meat that has not been drained of its blood.

“DO NOT practice fortune-telling or witchcraft.

²⁷ “DO NOT trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.

²⁸ “DO NOT cut your bodies for the dead, and DO NOT mark your skin with tattoos.

²⁹ “DO NOT defile your daughter by making her a prostitute…

³⁰ “Keep my Sabbath days of rest, and show reverence toward MY sanctuary….

³¹ “DO NOT defile yourself by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead

³² “Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. FEAR YOUR GOD

³³ “DO NOT take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. ³⁴ Treat them like native-born Israelites, and LOVE THEM AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF….

³⁵ “DO NOT use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. ³⁶ Your scales and weights must be accurate.

³⁷ “You MUST BE CAREFUL TO KEEP ALL OF MY DECREES AND REGULATIONS BY PUTTING THEM INTO PRACTICE. I AM THE LORD.”

If you disagree with one or more of these, I suggest you, go directly to GOD with it, because this is His speech, HIS words, NOT MINE.

I’m praying you get a hold of HIS words, and think twice before you choose to disobey for is in Jesus name I pray and for the glory of God, AMEN!!!

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[1] Leviticus 19

Drinking Blood!? – Leviticus 17

“¹⁰ ‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ ¹² Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’  ¹³ “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; ¹⁴ for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’”

 Here’s another great subject that is not spoken too often of, due to the nature of it; the Prohibition against Eating/Drinking Blood.

The movie media for ages had tried to venerate vampires, to the max promoting this full of darkness lifestyle as an acceptable lifestyle.   Google says: “The vampire lifestyle or vampire subculture is an alternative lifestyle. The vampire subculture has stemmed largely from the Goth subculture, but also incorporates some elements of the sadomasochism subculture.” 

This friends, this “vampire thinking” it’s no good among us Christians.  We Christian, DO NOT represent the darkness but in the opposite, the light. Darkness and all the practices that come with it, shouldn’t be a part of our lives or something we support, especially if it has to do with  eating or drinking blood. And for those of you who might say or be confronted with someone who may say: “when the Holy Communion is done people partake of the body and the blood”, you might reply that yes it is because we ARE in covenant with our Creator, Savior and Master, and it has been HIS command for us to do so, and we follow it as a reminder of who we belong to, and in obedience to HIM. 

The Lord says in His word, that in darkness people wander far from God, “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.”[1]  The New King James Version of The Bible reads: “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart”; therefore fleeing from God IS NOT HIS plan for us. Since the beginning of times, when Adam & Eve sinned they broke the communion with The Creator; and we human seem to be attracted towards wandering off from GOD.  “God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation”[2] and this reconciliation effort started back at the Garden of Eden, and is been recorded all thru The Bible.

I’m encouraging you today to lead your mind and life towards The Lord who created you! Allow NOT to wander off away from HIM for otherwise darkness is awaiting for you to drag you down to the abyss.  I can pray for you to be strong but YOU WILL HAVE to make the choice of who you will serve, for NO ONE can serve two masters, “for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.”[3]   

Surround yourself with people who are looking to better themselves thru God’s Word, not on their own; be a part of a weekly Bible class, study the Word at home, and attend faithfully to church where God’s Word is preached and studied.  DO NOT look for perfect people, for you’re not going to find it; the ONLY PERFECT PERSON was crucified, for you and me, His name was JESUS of Nazareth.  The rest of us are ALL IMPERFECT people striving to serve a PERFECT and HOLY GOD.  We all are far from perfect, and church leaders are not perfect either, so fix your eyes on JESUS! If you see something that isn’t right before your eyes, pray for the Lord to convicts the person and uncover any wrong doing; but in the meantime, KEEP LIVING and SERVING GOD!!!

I pray you have a made up mind to serve God, and hunger after HIS Word and HIS ways, all the time; to grown in HIM to testify to the world what THE LORD had done for you.  As you do, I pray the LORD bless the cup of your life to overrun so you become a blessing to all those around you, and I pray for HIS glory in JESUS name, AMEN!

Have a great day in the Lord!

  

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[1] Ephesians 4:18 NLT

[2] 2^nd Corinthians 5:18 NKJV

[3] Luke 16:13 NKJV

The Medical Book in Leviticus 12-15

Even after many years of reading The Bible, I still find this is a fascinating part in the book of Leviticus, because it includes the kind of teaching that people can’t believe is in The Bible.  The extensive and explicit details, it might make some gag, but really, is just pointing out the possibilities of many situations, and what to do about it; I would say like a Medical Concordance. One word we’ll see often is the conjunction “if”, to indicate the circumstances that would have to exist in order for an event to happen.  The range of the subjects discussed in this medical book are really quite interesting, from the menstrual period of the woman, to contagious skin diseases, including how to clean those diseases, to clothing and house mildew, and even talk about bodily discharges. Surprising? Yeah its, real! Just check it out, and be amazed!

Here’s an example…

·         If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child...⁵ ‘But if she bears a female…”

·         If anyone has a swelling or a rash or discolored skin…

·         If the hair in the affected area…

·         If the affected area of the skin is only a white discoloration…

·         If the rash continues to spread….

·         If a white swelling on the skin..

·         If any open sores appear…

·         If anyone has suffered a burn on the skin…

·         If the contaminated area in the clothing, the animal hide, the fabric, or the leather article has turned greenish or reddish…

·         If the spot later reappears on the clothing… the mildew is clearly spreading…

 

I’m telling you, it’s fascinating!!! Just to realize the magnitude and the greatness of our Creator, that even several thousand years ago He knew this was going to be important for this era, it’s fascinating!

I pray you take sometime today and find these chapters, and let the adventure begin as you discover what our heavenly Father had set as the foundation of what is called “modern medicine”.  And I pray the more you read God’s Word, the more in love you get with Him, as you experience His immeasurable love for you. And I pray you get so impacted with what you read that you go and share with your world how relevant His Word is for us, for it is for His glory that I pray in Jesus name, AMEN!

The key to get in The Lord’s presence – Leviticus 9

 “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.”

⁷…. “Come to the altar,

and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to purify yourself….

⁸ So Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering ….

¹² Next Aaron slaughtered the animal for the burnt offering…

¹⁶ Then he presented the burnt offering and sacrificed it...

¹⁷ He also presented the grain offering…

²² ….Then, after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar. 

²³ … and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community.

²⁴ Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.” (in additional worship)

So you see, in order to get into His presence, for the glory of the Lord to become evident, to and in you, you HAVE to bring a worship offering. That’s the key; you have to bring in an offering, let it be a sacrifice of praise.  The idea is using the time spent of a determined activity, only to worship The Lord, no distractions, only you, and you praising HIM.

A sacrificial offering would be:

1.          Give the time of your favorite show
2.          Give 30 minutes of your computer time
3.          Turning your cell phone off/put it away, for an hour
4.          Fasting a meal
5.          Skipping a game or a movie or any other “important” activity

Because when you sacrifice your favorite ------ (whatever that might be) you’re telling the Lord, that HE is more important that any of your favorites, so important that you’ve decided to give it away to spend time with Him.  And when you spend this time, wholeheartedly seeking The Lord in worship, is like telling HIM you really mean business; you really want His presence in your life.  

Unfortunately, sometimes this sacrificial time is only done when we are facing a critical situation that we need the Lord to intervene, but the fact is that this offering time to The Lord should be a lifestyle.  When you make it a point to seek The Lord daily, HE LOVES it!!! That’s why HE answered, Moses, and his people, because they were seeking HIM with all their hearts, in spite of all the animals that they would have to bring, and all the rituals that the Old Testament speaks about, they sought The Lord!  Today, we just have to put distractions away, and worship! For some people, that’s so easy, that they just can’t believe it, so they just ignore it, and keep seeking other ways that end up costing them more to get what thru worship God could it provide, and what God gives will always be better, bigger, and last longer, that whatever you can do for yourself; for its our Omnipotent God who’s providing it. 

Therefore, DO NOT wait until your next family crisis to get into His presence; but get into His presence BEFORE the bad times come in, and maybe, just maybe, He will give you the heads up to avoid the situations, places or things that will bring you to those bad times.

I pray you try it this morning, and make it a habit to yield some of your favorite activities to spend that time seeking the presence of the Almighty God. I pray when you do, the presence of the Lord become so evident in you, that you really fall in love with JESUS, and start living for HIM like never before. For His glory I pray in Jesus name, AMEN!

The Peace Offerings - Leviticus 7

^“12 If you present your peace offering as an expression of thanksgiving, the usual animal sacrifice

MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY various kinds of bread made without yeast—thin cakes mixed with olive oil, wafers spread with oil, and cakes made of choice flour mixed with olive oil. ¹³ This peace offering of thanksgiving must also be accompanied by loaves of bread made with yeast. ¹⁴ One of each kind of bread must be presented as a gift to the Lord. It will then belong to the priest who splatters the blood of the peace offering against the altar. ¹⁵ The meat of the peace offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the same day it is offered. None of it may be saved for the next morning.

¹⁶ “If you bring an offering to fulfill a vow or as a voluntary offering, the meat must be eaten on the same day the sacrifice is offered, but whatever is left over may be eaten on the second day. ¹⁷ Any meat left over until the third day must be completely burned up.”

The usual animal sacrifice (Leviticus 1:1-9)

1.       From the herd.
2.       A male with no defects.
3.       Lay your hand on the animal’s head.
4.       Slaughter the young bull.
5.       Present the animal’s blood by splattering it against all sides of the altar.
6.       Skin the animal and cut it into pieces.
7.       Build a wood fire on the altar.
8.       Arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat, on the wood burning on the altar.
9.       The internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water.
10.   Burn the entire sacrifice on the altar.

  

I am glad today, in order to make peace with God I DO NOT have to do all this, but just come into HIS presence and call HIS name, and He’ll be right there with me. Alleluia!!!

Aren’t you glad too? Then stop whatever you’re doing right now, and for a few minutes, get into HIS presence, is as simple as that! Call upon HIS name and worship HIM, if you can’t think of anything at the moment to be thankful for, start by giving HIM thanks for allowing us to live here at this time that we do not have to go get an animal to slaughter it, and to follow all the ritual back then Moses and his people had to go thru just to hear from God. You can sing HIM a worship song, you can make your own worship son, telling Him what you’re thankful for, or like me, find one online, like “I Choose to Worship” by Wess Morgan, THE LORD loves you to worship Him, so wait no more, do it now!

Have a great time in worship, daily!!! You will notice the difference in your mood, which will transcend to all other areas of your life. Try it for yourself!

I’m praying for that new expression of love thru your worship to our Heavenly Father; for the Lord to give you the words so you can easily express your love to Him.  I pray that no distractions will come in your way for these moments of worship, whether is at work or at home, even while you’re driving to protect you while you worship, at the same time that HE is purifying you from the inside out. And I pray for His glory, that the transformation become so evident in your life, that everyone around you notices it, so you can testify what your willingness to worship GOD had done for you, giving the world a reason to worship God as well. And I pray in JESUS name and for HIS glory, AMEN!!!

Making Restitution - Leviticus 4-6

Opportunities for us to fall into sin come in our lives daily; sometimes we yield onto those opportunities intentionally others unintentionally, but whether we recognize it or not[1] that we have committed as sin, we are still guilty. And as soon as the person realizes that a sin has been committed, a ransom has to happen in order to “pay” for those sins, besides this offering, restitution is also needed in some cases.

I pray you take the time to read these three chapters[2], for there are things that sometimes we do not even think come from The Bible, and is necessary for us to be aware of it, yet others may not be recognized as sin but God already established different.  Some of the situations that get us to sin and that are mentioned here[3] include:

·         If you’re called to testify about something you have seen or know about, and you refuse to…

·         If you make a foolish vow of any kind…

·         If you violate one of the Lord’s commands…

·         If you sin against one of your associates…

·         If you steal or commit fraud…

·         If you find lost property and lie about it…

·         If you lie while swearing to tell the truth…

A repayment is due if you steal, whether money or property, and with a 20% interest; amazing, hah? Yeah, in Bible times interest were charged, this is where all started.

So, see? When we commit sin, we are to face judgment, this is nothing new; praise God for allowing us an opportunity to make it right with HIM while we still alive.  Once we die, for those that have not set the records straight with God, there’s no other place but hell; a strong statement but true!  That’s why we have The Bible, because God’s interest for us is to make peace with Him; although we fall into sin, HE wants us to confess and try to live clean lives.  

A way to bring this home for some of us is thinking about our own kids.  We want our children to be honest and respectful to us, right?  If after explaining to our “little Johnny” the consequences of disobedience, he chooses to humble and says “I’m sorry; I will not do it again”, what parent wouldn’t forgive him? Because that’s what we want, for little Johnny to recognize his fault, and try to live without falling into it again.  That’s the way GOD is with us, of course, His mercies are renewed daily[4], so praise The Lord for it.  For some of us we have to pray for The Lord to give us a willing heart to renew mercies for each other, even more when is daily. But the truth is that even for a willing heart is necessary we pray, for this flesh suit we all have until we die, pushes us not to be merciful with our debtors.

I’ve heard, and probably you too, people say that they have a white angel in one shoulder, and a red demon on the other shoulder, and that both wrestle against each other for every action the person does. They say the little angel pulls them to do right, but the red demon pushes them to have fun, and the struggles is real and often times daily; and its true, that’s the way it is.  Is a choice, we have to make.  To walk in righteousness is indispensible that we keep The Lord as a priority on our lives; for since HE created us, that angel He assigned for us and that lives within us will make us aware when that red demon is coming to push us to walk in sin, and the choice ought to be towards that white angel, never towards the red demon.

I pray, right now, in the name of JESUS, for you to have a stronger desire to follow The Lord, to read HIS Word daily, and to stay in church.  I pray that when even in church, if your eyes try to look at people and their actions in order to follow them, the power of the Holy Spirit will wake you up to see that GOD is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.  I pray HE shows you more clearly that only JESUS is the perfect one; reminding you that the church is a hospital for the sick.  In a hospital you have sick people, and people that are in a way to recover, but not well just yet; some have recovered and gone home, others after recovering now work in that hospital (church) as a testimony of God’s saving grace, helping those that are walking in the sickness that these helpers used to walked, so they can empathize, take them by the hand with love, and showing others the right way to go.  I pray you fix your eyes in JESUS, and decide today NOT to be guided by that red demon that thru pleasure sometimes try to lead us astray for that enemy of our soul wants us to get disappointed at the hospital workers, (church and its leaders) using it as an excuse to pull us out of the only thing that will keep us in track, God.  And I pray in JESUS name, and for HIS glory, AMEN!!!

Inbox me any question you might have. 

Until next time, have a great day in the Lord!

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[1] Leviticus 4:13

[2] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%204-6&version=NLT

[3] Leviticus 5:4; 6:1-5

[4] Lamentations 3:23 NKJV

The Burnt, Grain, and Peace Offerings – Leviticus 1-3

I.            The Burnt Offering

·       Either from the herd of cattle or the flock of sheep and goats, a perfect male, including the head and fat.

·       If a bird, a turtledove or a young pigeon, remove the crop and the feathers

II.            The Grain Offering

·       Choice flour, with olive oil, sprinkle with frankincense

·       If its baked must be without any yeast with olive oil or wafers spread with olive oil

·       No yeast or honey maybe burned

·       Season all your grain with salt, never forget it.

·       If fruits, you shall offer your first fruits green heads of grain roasted on the fire, grain beaten from full heads with oil on it, and lay frankincense on it.

III.            The Peace Offering

If an animal is from the herd, either male of female but it must have no defects

·       Include the fat around the internal organs, the two dines and the fat around them near the loins and the long lobe of the liver

·       If the animal is from the flock, either male of female but it must have no defects

·       Include the fat of the broad tail cut off near the backbone, all the fat around the internal organs, the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins and the long lobe of the liver

·         If a goat, include the fat around the internal organs, the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins and the long lobe of the liver

Aren’t you glad that this was back then and NOT today?  I am!  I can’t imagine myself having to have a farm and raise animals to be able to do all these just to show the Lord my love and dedication.  Do not get me wrong, to be a farmer back then was a blessing, and is even a greater one today with the market the way has turn to be.  But as a city raised girl, I do not see any other way suitable for me…  Truly this showed a dedication and willingness like no other, even more for the priest who had to handle the slaughtering, the blood, and the “grilling”.  I’m thinking that’s why men love to grill; it’s been embedded within them since the beginning of times, right?!

The fact is I’m glad I can show my appreciation to my Lord, in so many different and simpler ways like  singing praises to His name,  making time to read His word, by showing the love of Christ to the unlovable, my asking Him to lead me as I get dress, go out, and make daily decisions. I’m glad I can go before His throne and make peace with Him, by asking His forgiveness and His direction in everything I say and do.

As you meditate on all the things that had to be done back then in order to receive an “approved” offering, and how much easier we have it here today, make the choice to start offering your best worship to Him who gives you breath of life.  Shout to the Lord your love for Him, singing praises and clapping with your hands, and if you, like me, think you can’t sing, make a joyful noise in worship.

Because guess what? You’ve been set free! And whom the Son sets free is free indeed![1]

   

Let me remind you, that there are some who still today, go by the last words of this third chapter:

 “You must NEVER EAT any FAT or BLOOD.  This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation, wherever you live.”[2]

 ^“This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’”[3]

We do not need to judge those that even today they choose to still follow that old covenant, but in view of how grateful we are that JESUS came to abolish that old covenant, giving us the freedom we so enjoy today, let’s worship with the freedom we’ve been given, with a grateful praise. AMEN?!

I pray you worship with me to the tune of, “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed, and there ain't no chains that can hinder me, Hallelujah! Yeah, yeah, Hallelujah!”[4]

Have a great day in the Lord, and remember, if you do not have a relationship with the Lord, is as easy as A-B-C; Admit you are a sinner and need forgiveness; Believe that God sent His Son JESUS to die in the cross for your sins and, Confess Him as the ONLY Savior and Master of your life.  Join a church that studies God’s Word, and you read The Bible and talk to the Lord, DAILY! Your life will never be the same!

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[1] John 8:36 NKJV

[2] Leviticus 3:17 NLT

[3] Leviticus 3:17 NKJV

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl7cIdjYNP0