Quick Note – Leviticus 19:1-2 – Be Holy

Leviticus 19:1-2 – ¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

The people of Israel were called to be reflections of God in Leviticus.  They had just left captivity in Egypt, were heading to the Promised Land, and were given the commandments of God by Moses in the wilderness.  After sharing some of these commandments, God told them through Moses, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”  Simply put, the Israelites were to live in a way that reflected the holiness of God.  It meant that they were not to live in sin and wickedness but to obey the commandments of God.  They were to put away all uncleanness, whether it be sexual immorality or in what they ate or in how they interacted with others.  They were to be true and honest, for God was faithful and true.  They were to be just, for God was just.  They were to be kind and forgiving, for God was gracious and merciful.  They were to live holy lives, because they were the people of God, who were to be a light and image of God to the world around them.  They were to be holy, set apart for God, because God is holy. 

Just as the people of Israel were to reflect God to the world in the Old Testament, we as Christians are called to reflect Jesus Christ now.  Acts 11:26 tells us that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.  They were called this, because they lived their lives in a way that showed that they followed Christ.  The Greek meaning of Christian is “follower of Christ.”  When we call ourselves Christians, we declare to the world that we are His followers, which means that we trust Him, obey Him, and copy the example that He set for us in this world.  It means that our lives are a reflection of Christ and of the way He lived on this earth and continues to live in heaven.  It means that we love as He loves, that we hate the things He hates, and that we fear God as He feared the Father.  Christ showed mercy and love to sinners rather than judgment and that is what we are to do.  Christ hated pride and hypocrisy and sin, calling those who lived in that manner towards repentance, so we should hate those qualities in our lives as well.  Christ spent time with the Father in prayer, so we should make sure that we spend time with our Heavenly Father each day.  Christ willingly died for us, so we must be willing to give our lives for others.  Christ was holy, sinless, set apart for God, so we must be holy and set apart for Him as well. 

We should be holy, because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is holy.  Look at your life today.  Is there lustful thoughts that you need to repent of?  Is there a hateful heart that you need softened?  Is their self-pride, that you need broken down?  Confess that sin and turn to Him in repentance, and be holy for your God is holy.  1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  He can make us holy, if we desire to be.  Give your life to Him today and be holy. 

Quick Note – Matthew 11:28-29 – The Best Teacher

Matthew 11:28-29 – Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Learning is accomplished in multiple ways. Some people learn best by hearing, some by reading, and some by watching. I think nowadays, a lot of people learn visually, which means that they need to see an example of what they want to be taught in order to accelerate their learning process. Fortunately, video websites like YouTube exist, making it easy for us to access visual examples of anything we want to learn. You want to learn how to change a tire, there’s a video for that. You want to learn how to cook, there’s a video for that. You want to learn how to do long division, there’s a video for that. There is an easily accessible example of anything you want to learn now on the Internet. 

However, having such easy access can also be problematic, in that, there are a lot of people posting videos that show the wrong way of doing things, leading to misinformation and the stifling of learning. That is why it is so important for us to digest and learn from the right examples. 

This is even more significant when it comes to our spiritual lives. Who and where we learn to live our lives is crucial. If we pick a bad example, we can send our lives tumbling down a cliff. Why do you think that so many people who surround themselves with bad friends go down dark paths for their lives? It’s like Paul said, “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33). 

What is wonderful though is that we have been given an example of how to live the best and perfect life in the Bible, the perfect example to follow – our Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 11:28-29, He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Jesus Christ told us that if we feel burdened, tired, and unable to keep going, where we will find rest and strength is in Him.  If we truly want a life that is fruitful, successful, and filled with peace, we are called to learn from Him.  What does that mean?  It means to watch how He lived His life and follow it.   

Jesus showed us how to live throughout the Gospels.  He showed us how to love others, unconditionally.  He showed us how to treat our enemies, with respect and forgiveness.  He showed us how to please God, obediently following His commands.  Jesus Christ gave us the example of how to live every aspect of our lives whether it dealt with relationships with others, relationship with ourselves, or our relationship with God.  All we need to do is follow Him.  So let us learn from the best life teacher Jesus Christ and find rest for our souls

Quick Note – 1 Corinthians 12:18 – Specifically Designed

1 Corinthians 12:17-20 – ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Have you ever wanted to be someone other than who you are?  I don’t mean looking to attain a goal to become someone God wants you to be, because all of us should stive to become the best person God has made us to be.  But I want you to consider whether you are trying to become something you are not.  If you are trying to fulfill a job or act in a way that God has never meant you to be.

To make it clearer, let me give you a few examples.  I would love to be a professional NBA basketball player, but I certainly do not have the skills nor height nor build to do so.  I could develop the skills by practicing.  I could even get the build by working out.  But I certainly could not clear the height barrier.  Let me give you another example.  I know of a lot of people who would love to become soloists in the choir.  But the unfortunate thing is that they simply cannot carry a tune.  They are just tone deaf.  Now, that is not to say they shouldn’t praise God in singing, for God would happily receive a joyful noise, but the person shouldn’t try to become a soloist.  It is just not his or her gift. 

1 Corinthians 12 talks about spiritual gifts.  Paul addressed the Corinthian church about this issue, because he knew many of them desired certain gifts, specifically, the gift of tongues.  They wanted to be able to speak in this angelic language.  However, not all of them, had that gift.  So some Christians in that church likely felt inadequate.  They were likely telling themselves that if they didn’t have that gift, then they were worthless.  This is why Paul used the example of a foot saying, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” and an ear saying, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body.”  People felt like they didn’t deserve to be a part of the body, because they didn’t have certain gifts. 

But Paul wanted to correct this mentality.  He told them, “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?”  He wanted them to know that they each had a role that was necessary for the body to function.  Yes, they might not speak in tongues.  They might not preach or teach or sing.  But they had a role to play and that role was important.  And most importantly, that role was chosen by God.  Verse 18 said, “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”  God picked that person to play that specific role.  He specifically selected, created, designed you to play the role that He wants you to play in the church. 

So don’t ever feel inadequate, because you don’t have another talent that someone else has.  God has made you the way He wanted you to be made.  He designed you perfectly even in your mother’s womb.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  Take joy in that and fulfill the role that He has for you, because without you, the church would be missing something very important. 

Quick Note – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 – Driven by Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 – If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is everything.  As Christians, it can be easy for us to get caught up in the ministry of doing things for God.  We serve others by ushering them to their seats or setting up the sound before church; we teach Sunday school or Wednesday night Bible studies; we lead small groups or children’s church.  We go about doing the things we should.  But how many of us consider why we are doing these things?  We give of our time, our effort, and even our finances to help the church, but are we doing it for the right reasons? 

Paul in the opening of one of the most famous chapters in the Bible – 1 Corinthians 13 – the Love Chapter, wrote that without love whatever he did was meaningless.  He said this three times in three different ways in the first three verses of this chapter.  First, he said that if he speaks in an angelic tongue (which was valued by many Christians at that time) or many languages, it would just be like a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal if done without love.  In other words, speaking in languages that could impress but without speaking in love for the purpose of building and encouraging others would be as worthless as a child banging upon pots and pans without any discernable rhythm.  Love should drive his speech. 

Second, he said that if he had the traits that would impress any Christians like prophetic powers, an understanding of all the mysteries of God and the world, and even the faith and power to bring about miracles, he would be considered nothing if he didn’t have love.  Regardless of whether he had what people valued as important, he would be considered worthless if he had all these traits without the love of Christ.  Being valued for his skill sets meant nothing if he had them without love. 

Third, he said that if he gave away all his possessions and even his life but did it without love, he would gain nothing.  When someone gives, one usually expects a return.  If one gives of his or her life, one expects that the life traded for will be lived in a worthwhile manner.  When something is given up, a gain should be returned.  However, Paul said that if he gave everything but did it without love, there would be no gain at all.  It would be worthless.  To give without love would lead to no benefit. 

That is why we as Christians should be careful to understand why we are serving in the ministry.  Are we doing it for the recognition of others?  Are we doing it for our own internal fulfillment?  Are we doing it because we feel like we are obligated to?  If we are serving God but doing so without love being the primary reason driving it, then it is worthless.  We should be serving God out of love for Him.  We should be serving others with the love of Christ dwelling in us.  We should be growing in Christ, because we love Him.  If we do anything, let us do in love.  Let our lives be driven by love.

Quick Note – Luke 18:35-43/Luke 19:1-10 – Two People Unafraid in Jericho

Luke 18:35-43 – ³⁵ As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸ And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Luke 19:1-10 – He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Peer pressure is a powerful thing.  It can make you do things that you should never do like take drugs and get drunk.  That is why parents often tell their children, “If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you also do it?”  They say this phrase to get their children to think about their actions and what motivates them – to remind them that they shouldn’t do stupid things just because the crowd tells them to.  Moreover, peer pressure can also be used to dissuade people from doing things.  It can prevent people from doing what is right.  Have you ever read The Scarlet Letter?  In that book, a red letter A was forced to be worn by Hester Prynne for having a child out of wedlock.  From that point forward, all her neighbors would treat her like she had the plague.  Rather than showing compassion and care for a person who made a mistake and needed to be shown love, she was avoided.  Peer pressure kept people from doing what was right. 

In our two passages today, two people near or in Jericho could have allowed the crowds to keep them from seeing Jesus, but they did not allow others from preventing them from seeing the Lord.  They pushed through any obstacle that would keep them from Jesus and experienced the grace of God firsthand.  To them, nothing was more important than Jesus Christ. 

The first person mentioned in Luke 8:35-43 was a blind beggar named Bartimaeus.  Because he was blind, the only way he could make a living was to beg on the highway to Jericho.  To his surprise, that day, Jesus was walking by.  He must have heard of all the miracles that Christ had done, so when the crowds told him, Jesus was coming, He began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  When the crowds found him annoying and told him to be quiet, he only yelled louder, because he knew that Jesus was the only one that could heal him.  He wouldn’t allow the people to stop him from seeing Jesus.  He wouldn’t allow his pride, his “manners,” or even his disability to keep him from getting to the Lord.  Jesus, hearing Bartimaeus and seeing his faith, called to him, and healed him. 

The second person mentioned in Luke 19:1-10 was a tax collector who lived in Jericho named Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus was a very short person, so when Jesus was coming into the town, he was unable to see him due to his height.  Rather than letting the crowds keep him from seeing the Lord, he climbed up a tree (which was not appropriate for a man of his social stature) just to get a peek at Jesus.  Jesus, seeing him in a tree, called him down and told him that He would stay in his house that day.  Zacchaeus overjoyed then repented and turned to Christ.  Just as with Bartimaeus, Zacchaeus did not let the crowd stop him from seeing the Lord. 

This is the question I ask you to contemplate today – “What is stopping you from seeing the LORD?”  Are you allowing the world to keep you from coming to Jesus Christ?  I know that many people choose not to give their lives to Jesus Christ, because they are afraid of what others will think.  They fear what their parents, their family, their friends will say.  They are afraid of how others might see them compared to their past, so they refuse to turn to Christ.  These two men on the road to and in Jericho show us that we shouldn’t allow how others perceive us to prevent us from finding Christ.  Our pride and our status in the sight of man should not stop us from coming to the Lord.  Be unabashedly bold, unafraid to know the Savior of the world.  You won’t believe the amazing miracles He can and will do in your life when you place your trust in Him.