READ: Leviticus 22-24, Psalm 39, Mark 11, Romans 11 PROFANE WORSHIP Aaron and sons were warned not to profane the holy name of God by what they dedicated to Him in worship (Lev. 22:1). To give God what is less than our best is an insidious form of cursing. What we dedicate to God can […]
Region: Arab World
Abiding in Jesus: February 7
READ: Leviticus 19-21, Psalm 38, Mark 10, Romans 10 PERSECUTION INHERITANCE Jesus promises that whoever has left family, houses, and lands for His sake, and for the gospel’s, will receive in this life all that and more – 100 times more in fact (Mark 10:30). This is certainly true in frontier mission. Those who leave home and hearth to […]
Abiding in Jesus: February 6
READ: Leviticus 16-18, Psalm 37, Mark 9, Romans 9 GREATLESS A dispute arises among the followers of Jesus regarding which of them would become greatest. We all have a little bit of Absalom in us, angling for the throne, sizing up our competition, hoping to be first in line to succeed the current authority. Jesus steps […]
Abiding in Jesus: February 5
READ: Leviticus 13-15, Psalm 36, Mark 8, Romans 8 GATEKEEPERS The reach of sin is staggering. If you let sin in, it runs wild, attacks your vulnerable places, and destroys your vulnerable ones. This is why God deals so ruthlessly with it. The Levitical laws on leprosy seem ludicrous. They are so detailed and so […]
Abiding in Jesus: February 4
READ: Leviticus 10-12, Psalm 35, Mark 7, Romans 7 UNCLEAN ABOMINATIONS Some things are an abomination to man. Leviticus 11 runs through a litany of things that defile. The law is, in fact, given to us for the central purpose of knowing how to distinguish between the clean and unclean (Exo. 11:46-47). Simplistically there are three […]
Abiding in Jesus: February 3
READ: Leviticus 7-9, Psalm 34, Mark 6, Romans 6 BREATH PRAYER From the 4th to the 16th century, Christians prayed what they called “Breath Prayers.” The idea was to spend some time in reflection in order to identify what your heart really longed for from the Lord. What is it your spirit cries out for? What is […]
Taxis, Thievery, and Direction
I don’t think I ever took a taxi until I moved to the Middle East. Obvious-foreigners without language skills are always warned about thieves, creepers, potential threats. Armed with the innocence of any bright-eyed 24-year-old and the voice of my dad in the back of my head, I determined nobody would take advantage of me. […]
Abiding in Jesus: February 2
READ: Leviticus 4-6, Psalm 33, Mark 5, Romans 5 EVERYONE BEGS The pride in us keeps us off our knees. We seek to position ourselves in a place of strength, having believed the lie that personal high ground protects us. Our deliverance does not result from personal strength (Ps. 33:16-17) but from dependency on Jesus. […]
Abiding in Jesus: February 1
READ: Leviticus 1-3, Psalm 32, Mark 4, Romans 4 LIFESTYLE REPENTANCE The Old Testament law required frequent sacrifices for sin. This is in part because the blood of sin and goats could not cleanse the conscience, but it is also indicative of man’s ongoing need to repent. We have turned repentance into an event, a […]
Abiding in Jesus: January 31
READ: Exodus 40, Psalm 31, Mark 3, Romans 3 PREPARED PRESENCE How hungry we are for the manifest presence of Jesus. We read about the cloud descending and the glory filling the tabernacle (Exo. 40:34), a glory so great that not even Moses – who is accustomed to the presence of God – can enter. We […]
