This morning my routine was a bit off, and what I would have normally done during breakfast time I am just now getting around to at lunch time. I knew that I had to make time to spend in the Word, so I forced myself (yes, forced because some days are just like that...) to sit down with my bible and my reading guide; I was reluctant because really I have so many things I could be doing right now. I'm in the middle of painting our living room, there are dishes in the sink, laundry that needs to be folded, a bathroom that really should be cleaned, and on top of it all my body is fighting some sort of bug that causes really bad headaches and a slight fever. I had a ton of excuses why I couldn't make time for God today; life so easily fills every moment, and it is amazing how quickly we can put Him on the back burner.
I opened up the reading guide hoping for something easy; a psalm or two would be great today. It wasn't a psalm though; what I saw on my list was Leviticus 1-2. Seriously? I've never read Leviticus, and truthfully I didn't want to start this morning, but I'm a rule follower and though I know, technically, I don't have to follow my guide, I choose to follow it each day, and today was no different.
The end of the introduction of Leviticus in my bible says this, "As you read this book, some of it may seem dull and boring. But think about how holy God is, how He wants you to serve Him in every part of your life and in all you do."
When a book is described as "dull and boring" do you really want to read it? Of course not, but what struck me is that it challenged me to think about how God wants me to serve Him in everything I do. You see, that has been my prayer recently; I want to obey and follow Him in every situation. I want to walk in His will, and be pleasing to Him; glorifying Him in everything I do.
Huh. With an open mind I started to read...
The first several chapters of the book are dedicated to the instructions God gave Moses regarding offerings; true to my guide I only read the first two chapters, but He is already speaking to me, and showing me that I can still learn even when something is deemed "dull and boring".
The offerings the Israelites brought to God were made on the alter in the temple. At the end of every description of the way the offering should be prepared Moses writes these words, "...an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord."
In the first two chapters alone Moses writes six times about this "aroma" that is "pleasing to the Lord"; when something is repeated in the bible several times, I have to think it's because it is an important point.
Some may say that Leviticus wasn't written for our modern world, that we don't offer burnt sacrifices anymore. It is true that as Christians today we don't sacrifice animals on an alter to God, we don't have to offer "fine flour" and oil and incense because Christ came, and He became the ultimate sacrifice by dying on the cross. We are free because He became "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). We don't physically kill something as a sacrifice to God anymore, but we can still produce "an aroma pleasing to the Lord."
Every time we lay down our struggles, our burdens, worries, temptations, weaknesses, sin nature, fears, humanness, etc., etc., at the foot of the cross, and every time we choose to obey, and choose to follow His leading no matter what the cost to our social, financial, physical life, etc., we are offering up to God a pleasing aroma. When we take the best of what we have, the first and greatest blessings God has given us, and when we lay them at His feet and raise our hands in offering to Him; when we ask Jesus to cover our sins with His blood, we are "an aroma pleasing to the Lord".
I didn't want to make time for God this morning, but I needed to; when we sacrifice our own desires, and give to God our time, He is pleased. When you chose to make time in your day to keep Him as your priority, He is pleased. When you take what you have, or what you think is important, and give it all to Him, He is pleased. When you die to yourself, your selfishness, and say, "God use me", you have become "an aroma pleasing to Him".
God doesn't ask us for burnt offerings, but He does ask us for our hearts, for our talents, for our time, and for our obedience.
I think my prayer has now become, "make me an aroma pleasing to You."
Next time you open your bible, don't discount Leviticus or some of the other books that may be considered "dull and boring"; God can, and does, speak through each one of them.
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword...” Hebrews 4:12
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