Wednesday October 10, 2012

Ring up one other person in your congregation and encourage them in some way, shape or form.

 

Read Leviticus 23:17-22; Ephesians 2:11-16

 

When my children were young we would sometimes play a game of imagination that might be called ‘what if…’.  We’d make ‘what if’ statements that were unusual or weird. What if humming birds had crocodile heads? What if alligators had wings. What if cockroaches breathed fire? We’d then laugh at the implications.

 

Leviticus 23:17ff is every bit a weird. On this day and only  on this day there were two loaves offered instead of just one. Weird huh? Throughout the Old and New Testament there has always been a requirement for two witnesses to make a case. In the New Testament, a charge against an elder can be brought only by two or more witnesses (1 Timothy 5:19). There will be two witnesses against the anti Christ (Revelation 11:3-11) and a marriage requires two people to make their promises before God.

 

It was weird in that this bread offered to the Lord was leavened. It was baked with yeast. The Lord had commanded that no offering was to contain leaven or

yeast. Why such a weird digression? The offering was also presented with sin offering. Leaven in the world would be dealt with by a superior offering. The Messiah would offer Himself to God as our peace offering and would allow all who had leaven to come into God’s presence to worship God Almighty.

 

Interestingly,  it is through the offering of the Messiah that Jew and Gentile have been made one. These two form a united witness to the world about the Messiah’s true identity and about fellowship in and through Him.  Together, Jews and Gentiles bear witness and testimony to the saving reality of Christ, and that all people from all nations, tribes and tongues are welcome in His eternal kingdom.

 

Amazingly, this service or feast pictures for us Gentiles how we are brought near to God and the role we have in the body of Christ. We have come to God through the peace offering of the Messiah. We have been brought in to bear testimony to Christ and to encourage and shine the light in a depraved and dark world. We have a vital role to play with our fellow believers who are of Jewish origin.

 

Prayer:

Use today’s reading and notes to write down ideas for your prayers.

 

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¥ Pray that the light of Christ’s love would shine brightly through the people in your congregation as they live in the world. Pray that they would be in the world and not of the world. Choose 5 people or families from your church directory and pray specifically for them.

¥ Pray the above for yourself—that you would shine brightly the love of Christ in your world. Choose 5 different situations you’ll be in this week and commit them specifically to your Lord asking that you would bear great testimony to Christ in those situations.