"Therefore Let Us Go Forth To Him...."

"Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.....But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness." (Leviticus 16:8-10)

Perhaps in the middle of your day, there is a "jolt" here into the reality of the Eternal.

I read Leviticus 16 again recently.  I highly encourage you to read it, and as you read it just keep in mind that it is a foretype of Jesus and His Cross.  As you read every line, allow the Holy Spirit to teach and impart to you at least some appreciation (understanding?) of the Mystery of the Cross.

I am aware of my sin nature.  I am aware that what Leviticus 16 describes of Jesus' sacrifice for me is beyond any worthiness of anyone.  Yet, as with, "the scapegoat," Jesus was "taken" into the wilderness of our sin, to be abandoned for me and you among the loneliness, isolation and judgment of sin's consequence.  Jesus was "left" there for you and me to die---- alone.

We rejoice today in our Savior's, "charity."  I choose this word because it describes love better than any other attempt.  "Charity," is giving with no payment received or expected or wanted.  "Charity," is giving-love.  "God loved the world this way: He gave His only Son," Jesus, The Beloved, "Scapegoat," for the sin of humanity.  "For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.  Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His Own Blood, suffered outside the gate.  Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.  For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come." (Hebrews 13:11-14)

Father, in Jesus' Name, Thank You.  Amen.

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NOTICE:  I have sent the most balanced article I have yet read about the "impeachment" frenzy to:    jhs58.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"What Shall I Do, Lord?"

"'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked.  'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go....'"  (Acts 22:10a, NIV)

There is always a, "go," in our relationship in Jesus Christ.  Where, when, how is not the issue; the going is.

There is a very real sense in which Sarah and I are in a "going" which is like none we have ever encountered.  We have had some enjoyable time exploring this great country of ours as well as our neighbor to the North.  We are now with Jill and her family in Cincinnati and enjoying a little extended time with them.  Our plans now are to be in Grand Rapids with Shelly and her family from November 6 through Thanksgiving, then back to Greensburg for the completion of the construction of our apartment.  In all of this, along with enjoying the first vacation time in quite a while, I have been attempting to "listen" to our Lord Jesus as to what is "next."

Saul's life was forever changed in that encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ on that dusty Roman road.  His life had been fairly predictable up to that day.  O, yes, he was in a new realm while persecuting Those of, "The Way," but it was consistent with his Pharisaical theology.  Now, things were to be very, very different, "Get up...and go...."  It is said of Abraham that, "....when called to go.., obeyed and went, even thought he did not know where he was going."  There is too much today in "prophetic words" which is merely the attempt to help people have some sort of certainty about their future.  This is not, "the faith of Jesus."

You and I do not know the certainty of the future.  Life brings change to all; therefore, it is best to be surrendered to Jesus Christ than to be surrendered to our wishes and dreams and the "words" of others, no matter who they are.  I am not denying the gift of the prophetic, but I am exalting the anticipatory life of, "looking unto Jesus," waiting, trusting, "when called to go.., obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."

Father, in Jesus' Name, "Savior, like a shepherd, lead me."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

The Covenant "Pivotal Point"

"When any0ne is unfaithful to the Lord by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord's holy things, they are to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel.  It is a guilt offering."  (Leviticus 5:15, NIV)

One earlier verse tells us of a sacrifice that the priest is to, "splash some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar....."  There are so many "variations" of this and our text throughout the Pentateuch, and we should never forget that all of the Law in the Pentateuch would still be in affect, if it were not for Jesus. 

The Cross of Jesus Christ is the full "payment," justice, requirement, satisfaction, whatever one chooses to call it.  The Cross of Jesus, of which the song writer said, "....bring it's scenes before me," was literally a "bloody scene."  Our revulsion at, "splash some of the blood..," and Our Lord Jesus' "Blood Trail" from Gethsemene to Golgotha does not change the reality of our Salvation.  The song writer caught a sense of this: "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.  Sin had left a crimson stain.  He washed it white as snow."  Our salvation is not free; "Jesus Paid It All."

There is, however, a "price" which you and I "pay,"---- obedience.  I say, "price," because that old nature, which still too often manifests, battles the submission of obedience.  Anyone in whom Jesus Christ lives finds the same reaction of the slave of the Old Covenant who, when he was offered the opportunity to leave his master's service, chose rather to stay.  The reason?  "I love my master...."  How could one not love Him, The One Who rescued us from sin, death, and ourselves?!?

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You that You, "....bore my sin...."

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I will send an update on our "journeys."

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2