Weekly Devotion - "The High Priest" - 5/18/15

The High Priest

  from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager
“This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.” And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses. Leviticus 16:34

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Hebrews 10:10-12

Be holy. That’s the theme of Leviticus. “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). We don’t have to look further than our bathroom mirror or our last thought to see the impossibility of that one. Our sin separates us from God. Our rebellion blocks and keeps the Holy One at a distance. That's true for all, including the Israelites who received God’s original command. So our Redeemer made a way.

God provided sacrifices as the means to approach Him, and He chose priests to perform those sacrifices. The details within Exodus and Leviticus were their guide. And of all the offerings and sacrifices, it was the annual Day of Atonement that was most significant.

Once a year the high priest was allowed access to God. Through meticulous care to God’s instructions he entered the Holy of Holies. To do so he first needed to make atonement (God making us right with Him through a sacrifice) for himself and his household, and then he made atonement for the people. It had to be repeated year after year, reiterating the insufficiency of the atonement. And year after year, the laws, feasts, and sacrifices were a great picture gallery preparing the world for Christ!

Jesus is our perfect atoning sacrifice. His death is our Day of Atonement! And because of our Great High Priest’s sacrifice the curtain of the temple that prevented access to God was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51)! Now we can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)!

What’s your story? In Leviticus Jesus is The High Priest who makes us holy and gives us access to God (Leviticus 16:34). How does His Story help you tell your story?

Get in the Book: Read the book of Leviticus. If time, read the book of Hebrews, too. It is considered the New Testament commentary on Leviticus.

As the priest entered the holiest with the blood, so Christ entered heaven itself with His own blood for us. His blood makes the throne of God a mercy seat which otherwise must have been a throne of judgment. — Keith L. Brooks

Weekly Devotion - "The Lamb" 5/11/15

The Lamb

by Lenae - GEMS Training Manager 
When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. Exodus 12:23

Between the last verse in Genesis and the first verse of Exodus, four hundred years passed and Israel’s twelve sons multiplied to an estimated 2 million plus in numbers and power. It made them a dread to Egypt’s new king and people. So the Egyptian’s oppressed them. Which only escalated Israel’s population and their slave masters’ ruthless demands.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress (Psalm 107:28). Faithful to His promise, God saved His people through a man named Moses, mighty and miraculous plagues, and the Passover lamb. The spotless lamb’s blood on the doorframes of the houses was a sign that He would pass over them. They were protected from the destroyer and delivered from death and destruction.

Israel’s deliverance set the stage for the greatest deliverance ever! When God saved the Israelites in Exodus it was like He was saying, “Just wait. I saved My people because I loved them, but I’m not done yet. One day I’ll send My Son to save the whole world!”

God was faithful to His promise. He sent His Son, our Passover Lamb, to be slain for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29) Jesus is the Lamb without blemish or defect who redeems us from an empty way of life (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Death no longer has mastery over us. Sin is no longer our ruthless and oppressive taskmaster. Through the precious blood of The Lamb we are forgiven, delivered, and set free!

Choose to live in the glorious reality of all He has done for you!

What’s your story? In Exodus Jesus is The Lamb and the theme is deliverance (Exodus 3:8). How does His Story help you tell your story?

Get in the Book: Read the book of Exodus.

The salvation of Israel in Exodus was God’s greatest act of salvation in the Old Testament. Yet it merely points to His greatest act of salvation ever: His salvation of His people by the substitution of Christ as the Passover lamb, dying in our place so that we might live to God’s glory forever. — Mark Dever

Weekly Devotion - "Creator of All" - 5/5

Creator of All

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
 
In the beginning: God. The One who is the Alpha and Beginning begins His Story where all stories begin. Himself.
 
And Genesis, the great book of beginnings, tells us the beginning of  . . .

• The world and everything that it contains—all of it was good!
• People—families, civilizations, and nations all made in His image.
• Sin—rebellion, conflict, punishment, and death.
• God’s unfailing promises of hope, salvation, and life—Jesus!

From the very beginning we see Jesus, the Creator of all things! In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2). For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17).

Whether at the beginning of His Book, a new chapter in your story, or the start of each day, we can rest and rejoice in our Creator’s sovereign and merciful care. In Christ all things hold together. Though there may be times when it seems like we or the world around us is falling apart, the One who created the heavens and the earth is the Eternal Seam who holds all things together. Nothing can separate or rip us apart from Him or His love (Romans 8:38-39).

Genesis shows us how all things began. Revelation shows us how all things will end. And in the middle of Jesus’ first coming and His second coming is our story. Within the light of His Story, He invites those in Christ—His new creation—to write theirs (2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 119:105).

What’s your story? In Genesis God is Creator of All. How does His Story help you tell your story? Be specific!

Get in the Book: Read the book of Genesis.

The story of the Bible is one. From a Christian point of view it begins with Christ the Creator (John 1:1-3), it climaxes with Christ the Savior, and is consummated with the return of Christ in glory. — Graeme Goldsworthy

Light in the Fog

This is worth the read! It jumped off the page at me this morning. THIS is what the GEMS leadership conference is all about for me. July 9 - 12, 2015 ‪#‎justshowup‬

Light in the Fog (Titus 2: 1 - 15) - from the Women's Devotional Bible:

Have you ever been driving down a road at night when the fog rolled in so thick you couldn't see five feet in front of you? It can be pretty scary. However, if you have a car's taillights ahead of you to guide you, suddenly it is not so frightening. 

That is the message of Titus 2. Older women can serve as guiding lights for those coming after them. For many women, juggling all our roles - student, employee, boss, wife, mother - can be overwhelming, like walking through life in a fog. But God never intended for us to figure things out on our own - to simply muddle through. Just as he gave Ruth to Naomi and Mary to Elizabeth, God gives us each other to help, encourage and provide one another with companionship, to share ideas and wisdom and humor. When you live in community with others, you can see how other women raise and nurture the children [or their GEMS!] You can note how persistent someone is in cultivating and preserving her marriage [or her counselor team] and how it is serving her well. You can watch as women make their way in the marketplace [in the world!] with dignity and integrity.

It may be that the "older" woman isn't chronologically older at all. Perhaps God has gifted a younger woman with particular knowledge and wisdom that you might be in need of. We should be open to different generations reaching out to each other and bridging the years with love and laughter. We have more in common than we have differences.

In our day it's easy to become isolated and withdrawn. We don't often get together as women did in times gone by for quilting bees and church socials and over-the-fence visits. You may long for a woman to mentor you and advise you regarding how to handle your many roles and responsibilities. If so, ask God to send you someone who is wise and supportive. And keep your eyes open for such a woman so you can befriend her. She may need you as much as you need her. Perhaps God is nudging you to become a mentor to a younger women. Pray that God will lead you to her and that you will have the courage to be a light in the fog.