{"id":18365,"date":"2021-11-05T22:00:02","date_gmt":"2021-11-06T05:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/leviticus_21_1-24-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-10-29T22:08:16","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T05:08:16","slug":"leviticus_22_17-33","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/leviticus_22_17-33\/","title":{"rendered":"Gratitude Is Food For Your Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leviticus 22:17-33 \u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Leviticus 22:17-33.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Leviticus 22:17-25 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0said to Moses,
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you–either an Israelite or an alien living in Israel–presents a gift for a burnt offering to the\u00a0LORD, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering,
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not offer to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as an offering made to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0by fire.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You must not offer to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut. You must not do this in your own land,
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.'”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 17-25:\u00a0\u00a0Once again we see that God\u2019s holiness requires that almost all sacrifices need to be without defects in order to be acceptable in God\u2019s sight.\u00a0\u00a0This reminds me that:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we serve God, let’s give God our very best – not the leftovers, but the first portion.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While we were unable to give God a perfect offering because we ourselves are not perfect, God would send His perfect Son Jesus to be the perfect atoning sacrifice for us.<\/p>\n

Leviticus 22:26-30 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0said to Moses,
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“When a calf, a lamb or a goat is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering made to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0by fire.
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.\u00a0<\/em>
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“When you sacrifice a thank offering to the\u00a0LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning. I am the\u00a0LORD.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 26-30:\u00a0\u00a0Notice in verses 29-30 God tells the Israelites that when they sacrifice an animal as a thank offering to God, they must eat that sacrifice completely that same day and “leave none of it till morning” (v30).\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n

Pastor Jon Courson of Applegate Christian Fellowship offers a couple spiritual lessons from this that I find insightful.\u00a0 Let me summarize them here:<\/p>\n

When food is left over, it spoils.\u00a0 By eating all the thanksgiving food right away and completely, we keep it from spoiling.\u00a0 In the same way,\u00a0when we don’t give thanks to God right away and completely, our thanksgiving “spoils”.\u00a0 That is, over time we will be tempted to explain away God’s hand on our lives, giving the credit to ourselves, attributing it to our own efforts or to luck or to coincidence, or simply forgetting altogether that anything good happened.\u00a0 Don’t let your thanksgiving spoil.\u00a0 Don’t ziplock it and save it for another day.\u00a0 Instead offer your thanks to God right away and completely.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another lesson behind God requiring the Israelites to eat the whole thanksgiving sacrifice right away and completely:\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s because\u00a0thanksgiving is food for your soul.\u00a0 Instead of filling ourselves up on the junk food of complaining, God wants us to be full on thanksgiving.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What can you give thanks for today?<\/p>\n

Don’t wait to\u00a0feel\u00a0<\/em>blessed before you\u00a0give thanks.\u00a0 Choose an attitude of gratitude and give thanks continually for as many things as you can think of.\u00a0 As you recognize the fact that you are blessed, the feeling of being blessed will follow.\u00a0 That’s why thanksgiving is always the best medicine for depression and hopelessness.\u00a0 And that’s also why the Bible tells us to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18)!<\/p>\n

Just like the Israelites ate the thanksgiving offering right away and completely, let’s eat the food of thanksgiving right away and completely.\u00a0 As you consume such thanksgiving, may thanksgiving consume you.<\/p>\n

Leviticus 22:31-33 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Keep my commands and follow them. I am the\u00a0LORD.
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the\u00a0LORD, who makes you holy
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the\u00a0LORD.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 31-33:\u00a0\u00a0God is love, but God is also holy, so holy that no sin can stand in His presence.\u00a0\u00a0The cross where Jesus died is the intersection where perfect love and perfect holiness meet.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0At the cross the demands of God\u2019s holiness were perfectly met when Jesus, a lamb without defect, was sacrificed for our sins.\u00a0\u00a0At the same time, at the cross we see the greatest, most enduring evidence of God\u2019s love for us, that God would rather die than spend eternity without us.\u00a0\u00a0As Romans 5:8 says: \u201cBut God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You that when I give thanks to You, it fills me up too \u2013 with joy, peace and hope.\u00a0\u00a0So thank You for every blessing I get to enjoy today. Most of all, thank You for the cross, which is the intersection where Your perfect love and perfect holiness meet, and where I get to meet with You.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Leviticus 22:17-33.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Leviticus 22:17-25 (NIV)\u00a0
\n17\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0said to Moses,\u00a0
\n18\u00a0\u00a0“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you–either an Israelite or an alien living in Israel–presents a gift for a burnt offering to the\u00a0LORD, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering,\u00a0
\n19\u00a0\u00a0you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.\u00a0
\n20\u00a0\u00a0Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.\u00a0……<\/p>\n

On verses 17-25:\u00a0\u00a0Once again we see that God\u2019s holiness requires that almost all sacrifices need to be without defects in order to be acceptable in God\u2019s sight.\u00a0\u00a0This reminds me that:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we serve God, let’s give God our very best – not the leftovers, but the first portion.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While we were unable to give God a perfect offering because we ourselves are not perfect, God would send His perfect Son Jesus to be the perfect atoning sacrifice for us.<\/p>\n

When food is left over, it spoils.\u00a0 By eating all the thanksgiving food right away and completely, we keep it from spoiling.\u00a0 In the same way,\u00a0when we don’t give thanks to God right away and completely, our thanksgiving “spoils”.\u00a0 That is, over time we will be tempted to explain away God’s hand on our lives, giving the credit to ourselves, attributing it to our own efforts or to luck or to coincidence, or simply forgetting altogether that anything good happened.\u00a0 Don’t let your thanksgiving spoil.\u00a0 Don’t ziplock it and save it for another day.\u00a0 Instead offer your thanks to God right away and completely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18365"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18366,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18365\/revisions\/18366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}