Leviticus 11:44 (KJV) In the Details

Leviticus 11:44 (KJV)

For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 

Robert Hawker writes in his Poor Man’s Commentary:

“One general observation will be all that is necessary to offer on the law concerning the clean and unclean among the fishes, the fowls, and the creeping things of the earth. The grand object evidently intended from the whole is to show that we are all unclean by nature, and made clean only in CHRIST JESUS. This is the first and ultimate design of these laws, which were all intermediate and introductory, as leading to the LORD JESUS.”

 

I’ve been thinking about the little details in this chapter:

·       You can eat this beast but not that one.

·       You can eat this fish, but not that one.

·       You can eat this bird, but not that one.

·       You can eat this bug, but not that one.

·     You can eat this animal if it does this and this, but not if it doesn’t do both.

 

We know, of course, that the laws regarding unclean animals are no longer in effect. Every food is to be eaten and enjoyed, so long as it is received with thanksgiving. But what struck me from the passage I’m considering is the whybehind these laws. Some people have claimed that the unclean animals were all dangerous to eat during the wilderness wanderings. Those same animals would have been equally dangerous to eat in the time of New Testament writing. Many of them are still dangerous to eat today unless strictly monitored and carefully prepared. Some of these unclean animals are considered delicacies today, while others are even illegal to raise for food in our country. Some of the clean animals would be considered so repulsive in our culture that I know Christians who are certain we don’t truly know what the creature really is. Surely, they think, God could not have meant we can eat that!

 

Here’s what I want to propose: the issue here isn’t about why God designated some animals as clean and others as unclean. The issue is that He is the LORD our God. He sanctifies, saves, redeems, and sets us apart for Himself. He purchased us with the blood of His only begotten Son. 

· Follow Him without hesitation, without question, and without explanation. 

·   Follow Him in detail. 

· Follow Him to the fullest extent you understand His Word. 

·   Follow Him, even if you are the only one who does so.

 

#FollowGod #SanctifiedInChrist #CleanAndUnclean #TrustInHisWord #LivingByFaith

In the Details: A Call to Sanctification

 

• Take a moment to reflect on your walk with God—are you following Him in the smallest details of His Word? Share in the comments: What does obedience to God mean to you personally?

  Visit marvinmckenzie.org for more resources and encouragement to grow in your faith today!

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Leviticus 11:44 (KJV) In the Details

Matthew 6:1 (KJV) Faith vs. Religion

Matthew 6:1 (KJV)

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 

 

There is a theme running throughout this chapter that I see as a test of faith versus religion.

Religion is all about show and results. It is man-centered. Religion seeks to bring about what the religionist sees as the benefits of their beliefs through human effort. If the religionist believes in God, and I think it’s questionable; I think the religionist believes in the culture, the worldview, the traditions of his religion. He doesn’t necessarily trust God, nor does he need God. All he needs is enough resources to enforce his views upon others. He doesn’t necessarily trust what he does so people will see and respond in the manner he wishes of him.

 

When he gets that response, he has his reward.

 

Faith, the thing Jesus came to promote, is entirely different. So much so that it’s inconceivable that it’s what God teaches. Faith is between God and man. It is entirely not manipulative. Faith needs no results, no response from others. Faith needs no reward. Faith trusts God. Faith rests not in the temporal results of earthiness, but in the promised rewards of eternity.

 

Many an atheist is nothing other than a frustrated religionist. Perhaps they grew up in a religious family. It could be they warmly attempted religion for a time. I’ve met some of them who insist that they were saved, and a few of them who even entered into the ministry, but they were religionists. And when they became dissatisfied with the reward, they concluded that God does not exist. 

 

Faith knows God is. He knows it in his soul, he sees God in the creation, and he hears God through the Word of God, the Bible. Faith knows God is and is content to meet him in the secret place of the heart, to pray in the closet where no one hears but God, and to wait until he meets God in heaven to receive his reward.

 

#FaithOverReligion #EternalPerspective #HeartForGod #TrustGodNotMan #SecretPlaceFaith

Faith vs. Religion: Trusting God in the Secret Place

• Take a moment today to reflect: Are you living by faith or striving for the rewards of religion? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Then, set aside a quiet time to pray and seek God in the secret place of your heart. For more insights and resources on living a faith-filled life, visit marvinmckenzie.org. 

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Matthew 6:1 (KJV) Faith vs. Religion

Matthew 5:16 (KJV) Let Your Light Shine

Matthew 5:16 (KJV)

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

 

I read an interesting article about how DNA evidence is reshaping what scientists believe they know about the victims of Mt. Vesuvius at Pompeii. I’d be interested to know what DNA remained at Pompeii for them to study. Nonetheless, they say this DNA evidence has shown that what was once believed to be familial scenes of families dying in embrace appears to be more like groups of men dying together, comforting one another. The conclusion of the article is that social norms of the time may not have been what we think they were. The lesson, they suggest, is that we must be more careful about reading into the data our biases about what is socially acceptable. 

 

While I would love to spend some time addressing this issue, because a society did a thing a few thousand years ago does not mean it was acceptable then or now. The Bible is our moral guide, or we have no guide at all. 

 

What I do want to point out is that Bible students can be guilty of doing the same thing— of reading our biases into the Bible. For instance, 

·       What does it mean to be light?

·      What does it mean to do good works that are seen among men?

·       What does it mean that they would glorify your father in heaven?

I would conclude that the only Man who did all of those perfectly is the man Christ Jesus. And yet they killed Him. 

 

It seems to me that to let our light shine must be to follow Christ. To do these good works must be to live out what we learn in the Bible. That men glorify our father in heaven must be in fulfilling their place in His eternal plan, whatever that is. 

 

Our Christian faith is all about Jesus Christ as we see Him in the Word of God and trusting His working in all the affairs of life. 

 

#BibleTruth #LetYourLightShine #ChristCenteredFaith #BiblicalMorality #FaithfulWitness

Let Your Light Shine: Christ-Centered Faith

 

• How are you letting your light shine for Christ in your daily life? Share your answer in the comments—we’d love to hear your story!

  This week, take one intentional step to serve someone in need or share the Gospel with a neighbor. Let’s actively live out Matthew 5:16!

  For more resources and encouragement, visit marvinmckenzie.org and explore tools to help you grow in faith and service.

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Matthew 5:16 (KJV) Let Your Light Shine

Matthew 4:1 (KJV) Led to Grow

Matthew 4:1 (KJV)

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

 

I am reminded of Hebrews 4:15 (KJV)

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 

I generally think Jesus was tempted like we are, but for the moment let’s consider whether we are tempted like Jesus.

He was led to be tempted

We tend to avoid testing, trials, and to ask the Lord to remove us from temptations. The Bible says that Jesus was supernaturally, spiritually led into a place of temptation. Growth, in our case, happens through times of testing and trials. If God removed all temptations from our path, we would never grow spiritually.

 

He was prepared to be tempted

Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights. The temptation was not the lack nor was it the hunger. We tend to focus on the wrong aspects of our trials. The temptation is not in the struggle; it is in what the struggle does to our spirit.

 

He was tempted by a tempter

I’m thinking of Job’s friends. Whether they meant well or not, the fact is, it was the conversations he had with them that caused more temptation than even what the devil had done to his family and his body. The most well-meaning of people may be the most challenging part of your spiritual growth. 

 

He was equipped for temptation

Jesus had the Word of God. Nothing will serve us better than having a solid relationship with the Bible. Reading it often, meditating upon it, and having a copy of it near at hand will serve us well in times of testing.

 

He was comforted after the temptation

We are never alone. God will lift the humble and give grace to those who lean upon Him.

 

#TemptationAndGrowth #TrustInTrials #EquippedByTheWord #SpiritualStrength #NeverAloneInChrist

Led to Grow: Guidance in Wilderness Temptations

• What’s one way you’ve seen spiritual growth through a trial in your life? Share your story in the comments below—we’d love to hear it! This week, take 15 minutes each day to read and meditate on Scripture that strengthens you during times of temptation. For more resources and lessons, visit marvinmckenzie.org  today!

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Matthew 4:1 (KJV) Led to Grow

Matthew 3:15 (KJV) No More Excuses

Matthew 3:15 (KJV)

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.  

 

I see no reason to argue with John the Baptist’s objections. He certainly needed from Jesus far more than Jesus needed from him.

 

While the Bible clearly lays out qualifications for the preacher, against which one must not presume the ministry, that fact is, no one is worthy of God’s call, God’s anointing, or God’s use. 

 

Perhaps we could say that the first qualifier for Lord’s service is a profound sense of our unworthiness. 

 

My point in this visit is Jesus’ response. “Suffer it to be so now.” It means to yield, to forsake, to lay aside the excuses and with the directive “now.” Do it immediately set aside your objections and excuses and do as Jesus requests right now. 

 

Who among us is worthy to stoop down to even worship the Lord? 

 

We have no right, no reason to expect that God would hear us, fill us with His Holy Spirit, bless us, set us apart for Himself. 

 

·       To be a missionary

·       To be a pastor

·       To teach a children’s class

·       To witness to a neighbor

Who among us is worthy such lofty work?

 

“Suffer it to be so now.” 

 

Put aside your excuses your objections your self-deprecation and do as the Lord requires, now. 

 

“And he suffered Him.”

If a sense of unworthiness is the first qualification for service the second qualification for service would be simple, and without hesitation, obedience. 

 

#YieldToHisCall #UnworthyButCalled #ObedienceInAction #SufferItToBeSo #ServantsOfTheKing

No More Excuses: Yielding to God Today

 

• Have you been holding back from obeying God’s call because you feel unworthy? Share in the comments one step of obedience you’re willing to take today, no matter how small.

  Set aside your excuses and act now—whether it’s reaching out to a neighbor, signing up to serve at church, or spending time in prayer asking for direction.

  For more encouragement and resources, visit marvinmckenzie.org and take the next step in your journey of faith and obedience!

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Matthew 3:15 (KJV) No More Excuses