You Are Set Apart

I confess I am reading Leviticus in the Old Testament and finding it difficult wondering; how did they keep all the instructions and laws?

I also wondered were they afraid all the time of messing up and not being able to keep them? They did.
That is why the Book of Leviticus deals with their “right Living”, sacrificing for their sins, abiding by the laws and carrying them out, to be a holy nation set apart. Testing was their everyday challenge. Were they going to listen to God or do what they wanted?

Let’s fast forward to Jesus….
In his patience and love tells the Jewish people “I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.” (Matthew 5:17) Jesus said He was the Messiah, many received Him with their whole heart- all were accepted Jews and Gentiles. Many devout Jewish leaders didn’t believe Him and their hard hearts turned away, the message fell on deaf ears. They were praying for a Messiah to save them from Roman rule, but in truth Jesus came to lead them to Himself for eternal life. Through Jesus the laws that kept them shackled could now be broken, but they could not hear or believe it, and they scrambled in stress to keep their laws in tact.

Isaiah 11:1-3. The Branch From Jesse           (Matthew 1:6 for lineage)
 
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;

I understand Leviticus it to be God’s instructions of holiness, sacrifices, worship & health, those instructions were instrumental to leading and guiding the Israelites as a holy people, setting them apart to follow God and abide by all his laws.

Why Are you set apart?

You were chosen by God to be a separate people when you came to Christ, there was a new life coming towards you, before Christ you were part of the world and now because of your faith in knowing that Jesus is Lord has saved you and takes you not physically out of the world but spiritually gives you a new life one that isn’t shackled to the earth, but is free to love and know that you have been set free by the power of His mighty blood.

Brethren don’t give up hope, it is for this time you have come into the world , maybe you don’t understand why but God has this great plan to show you how His mighty power works, JUST WATCH!

Shalom
Nancy
The Christian Writer

#setapart #Jesus #holynation # sacrifice #cross #God

Sacrifice

Luke 4

The Temptation of Jesus

 ¹Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

 ³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

 ⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’^[a]”

Jesus was hungry and the devil tempted Him with bread and over abundance of bread. But He said no! He sacrificed Himself for the greater good of all. Do we give up what we love in the flesh? Ask God what it is He would like you to give up, maybe it’s something you thought you could not live without. When you finally give it up, it’s like you were tied to it, not free.