Day Twenty-nine

Psalm 110, Leviticus 16, Isaiah 21, Galatians 1:11‐24

Psalm 110

Ps. 110 - This is considered a royal psalm. It tells about the special place that David's Kingdom had in the heart of God and in the life of the Children of Israel. God had a special place for David's Kingdom. David was a man after God's own heart, chosen by God to rule His people. The psalm deals with the favor that God would grant David's kingdom.

Leviticus 16

Lev. 16 - The law for the Day of Atonement is laid out in Leviticus 16. I'm blown away as I read this chapter the grave seriousness with which God required Aaron to come into His presence. I'm also stuck tonight at how God chose to use Aaron as His priest despite all of Aaron's obvious flaws, not the least of which was leading the Children of Israel into the worship of a golden calf in the desert. God is merciful, holy, and uses flawed people for His holy work. I'm glad he does.

Isaiah 21

Is. 21 - Isaiah's oracles from the Lord continue in Isaiah 21. This oracle concerns the fall of Babylon. It is a terrifying oracle describing the riders who will come in and take the land. Words like traitor and destroyer are used to help complete the picture of an empire on the brink of collapse. The oracle ends by stating that the collapse will be in the next twelve months. What terrifying words to receive.

Galatians 1:11-24

Gal 1:18-19 - Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. - God has afforded me the unique privilege of serving alongside of some of this generation's choice servants for Jesus Christ. These are men and women that have taught me much about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I'll be forever grateful for the love that they have shown me and the lessons learned. But, I have to admit that as I read Gal. 1:18-19, my human jealousy gets me a bit. I would have loved to have been able to be present for the 15 days that Cephas (the Apostle Peter) and Paul spent together. James, the brother of Jesus and the leader of the church at Jerusalem was there too. So, who are some of the Christians in your life that have had the biggest impact on your walk with Christ? Take some time to thank the Lord for them today.

Gal. 1:23-24 - They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me. - What a beautiful picture of how God changed Paul's life. Don't you love that we have a God of grace who loves to transform people? I wonder how many people we will meet in heaven some day with similar stories to Paul -- people that no one would have expected God's love to reach out to, but who received it and were changed by it.