Overview of: LeviticusToday's Reading:
Lev. 8:1 – 9:24
"Priests Consecrated"
Focus Verses: Lev. 9:7-8
7 Moses said to Aaron, "Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded." 8 So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself.
Insight:
Before Aaron and his sons could serve as priests on behalf of God's people, they needed to acknowledge their own sin, humble themselves before God, and offer sacrifices for their own purification.
The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus has served as the High Priest for all who come to him through faith. His sacrifice for me makes it possible for me to serve in the holy priesthood of Christ (1 Peter 2:5). Every Christian has been consecrated and purified by Christ to serve in his redemptive mission to the world. Holiness and humility are essential for all who would minister his name.
Response and Action:
Before I can minister to others in the name of Jesus, I must acknowledge my own sin and look to him for atonement and purification. I need to rid myself of malice, deceit, envy, hypocrisy, and slander. I must long for spiritual nourishment and pursue holiness and maturity.
Jesus has called me to more than salvation; he has called me to serve and minister in his name. Christians are more than followers of Christ, they are his hands and feet to a world that needs to find redemption and hope. I will commit myself to spiritual growth and holiness, through Christ, in order to be ready to serve others in his name.
O God, purify my heart and incline it toward you. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. Teach me your ways, and give me the wisdom and the will to walk in them. Cleanse me and make me ready to serve others and lead them to the salvation and life that is found in Christ Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
New Testament for Today: 1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
In Context: 1 Peter 2:1-12
Proverb for Today: Prov. 11:30
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise."
Resources:
The Pursuit of Holiness
by Jerry Bridges
