Promise 22 from Leviticus 25:20-22

Lev. 25:20-22 - "'But what if you say, "What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?" then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years. When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crop, eating the old until the ninth year when the crop comes in.'" - God is saying to His people that not only do people need a Sabbath rest but the land does as well. God is a God of abundance. We can work and work non-stop on whatever our professions is, but sometimes God forces us up from striving in our own strength to do our job and wants us to let go and see what God does with it. We can produce fruit, but God can provide abundantly more. It is difficult to let go of a thing; difficult for parents to let go of their children or a pastor of his church. But God says, let it rest and I will take care of it. You will see it thrive. God is a God of abundance.

Promise 21 from Leviticus 24:13-15

Lev. 24:13-15 - "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then let the congregation stone him. You shall speak to the sons of Israel saying, 'If anyone curses his God, then he will bear his sin.'" - This is not a very warm fuzzy passage, but a promise is a promise. God is a jealous God, He does not like His name to be cursed, blasphemed or profaned. He hates it so much so that the consequences are death. I highlighted this verse because of the feeling of appallment that rose up within me as I think of how many in this world curse the name of God or blaspheme it. Trickling through the internet system during this Christmas season (Written Dec. 9 2011) is anger, sadness and frustration of Christians, especially in the US, at the fact that so many public places will not allow their employees to say "Merry Christmas." To deny anyone the right to proclaim the name of Christ in connection to the celebration of His birth is blasphemous. It is not our rite to take the position of judge, and we don't have to because God promises that those businesses will face consequences. Can He possibly allow those businesses to prosper? I think not. So Christians everywhere just get on your knees and pray for the God of judgement to rise up over the individuals who set the rules. and have His way with them.

Promise 20 from Leviticus 23:39-40

Lev. 23: 39-40 - "'Go exactly the 15th day of the 7th month, when you have gathered the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for 7 days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the 8th day. Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches, and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.'" - The Lord loves a good party. Not only did He command a preparatory rest before the week-long celebration but He commanded one day rest afterwards. What could be so worthy that God Himself commands such a huge party event? We are celebrating the 'feast of the Lord'. Its a week long dance celebrating His provision, His harvest. Of course, that which is from Him is worthy of celebration. Not only is the party ordered by Him, but He wants to be included. He said, "You shall rejoice before the Lord your God." He wants to be there, He doesn't want to be left out. He promises a good time when we stop to celebrate Him and all that He has provided for us. When was the last time you danced before the Lord?

Promise 19 from Leviticus 23:24-25

Lev. 23:24-25 - "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.'" - Just imagine, a whole culture that stops at the blow of a horn and rests. I can just see what that would look like today; At the same time all radios, TV's, computers, cellphones, weather warning horns and rams horns would all sound off in unison the same pitch, a mighty horn. Shops that had just been opened would close, people would turn around in their vehicles, horses or camels and go home, schools would shut down, internet services turned off, every business door would be shut and locked. Students would head to their dorm rooms, holidayers to their hotel rooms (or the beach or other place in nature). All would stop and take a day of rest. Can you imagine people taking one day specifically to sit around the fireplace or to camp out in the backyard just to chat, to do absolutely nothing, no games, no reading, no internet, no facebook, no TV, nothing that would separate one from another (except to sleep) and just chat with one another in a relaxing quiet environment. Go one step further and add, offering songs of praise together and praying to the Lord together as family and friends, offering that time up to Him. Can you imagine? This was a commandment to His people by God, so why aren't His people doing this? What a blessing we are missing out on!

Promise 18 from Leviticus 23:10

Lev. 23:10 - "'Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.'" - I love the fact that God didn't say, "IF you reap its harvest" but He said, "When you do." Whenever God sends us to a place, He prepares the way by making sure we are placed where the soil is fertile and there will be a harvest to reap. I'm sure there are many places in this world where the ground seems dry, hard, malnourished and hopeless. Yet, God doesn't send us to a "promised land" without a promise. His promise according to this verse is "You WILL reap the harvest" and have 1st fruits to offer Him!

Promise 17 from Leviticus 22:32-33

Lev. 22:32-33 - "You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the Lord." - In the previous chapters the Lord gives Moses instructions on who within the priests and their families are qualified to eat of the holy offerings and which offerings are considered holy and acceptible. Through His law, God removes any barriers that might cause His name to look bad. Holiness is important to Him. By reading these passages it might appear to some that He commands perfection, because neither the offering nor the one who qualifies to eat the offering shall have any physical defect, not even through birth. I must admit that this is a tough one for me to get my head around and I don't understand it and will just have to wait for the Lord to reveal His thought about this to me. However, in God's sovereignty He has the right to write His laws. His promise is though, out of His expectation of the protection and maintenance of holiness by those who represent Him before the people, He is the One who sanctifies those and that who receives the offering and is the offering. It's interesting that He says, He Himself will be sanctified before the people, but also it is He who sanctifies His people. What God is essentially saying is, "I want you to be like Me!" He sent His Son Jesus to us so that Jesus can show us what it means to be like the Father. "Be holy for I am holy" and "You will be sanctified as I am sanctified." When we are born again by His Spirit He puts His DNA into us to look like Him, so He wants us to act like Him too.

Promise 16 from Leviticus 20:26

Lev. 20:26 - "'Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.'" - What does every parent want to see of their children? First thing they look for, after the baby pops out, is if it is breathing, then if it has all its parts; if it is moving and then if it will eat. As it grows up, if it is developing well; learning at the same level or higher as the other kids; they want to see success in school, in sports, in relationships and they want their child to be good, respectful, honourable and most parents would probably admit that they would like to see their child excel and stand out above all the rest. If that is the desire of an earthly parent, just think how much more it is the desire of the Heavenly Father for His children to be healthy and excel above all the rest. He, Himself said that He has set His people, children apart unto Himself. He has hand picked and chosen His children, the one's He wants to adopt into His Kingdom. Our holiness is not for the sake of man, and not ever for ourselves but it is for our Heavenly Father, He not only desires it but commands it. Bill Johnson from Bethel church, Redding, CA defined holiness as, "the beauty and the wonder of God's nature on a person." I just love that, our holiness means that we are clothed with His righteousness. We take on His DNA! How much do you look like your Heavenly Daddy?

Promise 15 from Leviticus 20:23-24

Lev. 20:23-24 - "'Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things and therefore I have abhorred them. Hence I have said to you, 'You are to possess their land, and I, Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.' I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.'" - These verses continue on with the theme of conformity. The customs of the culture were abhorrant in the eyes of God. Just because "everyone" is doing it, doesn't mean it is right. I was recently at a website where it was obvious that followers of Jesus had conformed to the modern "customs" of our day and through testimonies on the site they talk about life-long struggles of finding peace, hiding, depression, and inability to find churches which are sympathisers of their lifestyles. Each person who testified put the blame of their lack of peace on other christians, where in reality their lack of peace comes from living outside the blessings that God has for them. Their customs keep them from God's promise to 'give them the land'. So, via the web, they are striving to create their own plot of land where they can feel safe and free to continue their lifestyle.... It is so sad, they don't realise that the peace they so long for is available right within their reach they just need to grab it. Anyway, back to this passage. God promises to give His followers the land, not just the land but the good things about the land as we continue to live as "set apart" ones for that land God wants to give us. Living in a clash of cultures does not have to be a terribly stressful thing. God gives us a choice; we can step into a lifetime of stress and frustration by conforming the other culture, or we can choose the peace and prosperity God gives us when we stand firm and live according to His Kingdom culture. The land is ours to possess when we make the right choice.

Promise 14 from Leviticus 20:22

Lev. 20:22 - "'You are therefore to keep all My statues and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out.'" - God is giving His people a land that is filled with terrible practices such as child sacrifice, idol worship, sexual offerings, homosexual practices and other abhorrent behaviour. He then tells them to not do the things they will see others do but to be strong and keep His laws and ordinances. It is interesting that He says that His laws shall be followed so that the land doesn't "spew" or force them out. You would think that the opposite would be true, that if they didn't go along with the cultural practices, they would be forced out of the land. In god's kingdom, in His domain, and on His children, it is the unrighteous that bows to the righteous. It is the unrighteous who flee from righteousness. Because God is ultimately in control of His creation, His perfect order makes holiness and righteousness trump over everything else which falls short. One righteous person is strong enough to infect a whole unrighteous culture, which can spread throughout the land bringing healing and transformation of that culture into purity and holiness. Henry Varley was correct when he said, after the all night prayer meeting in Henry Bewley's home in Dublin in 1873, "The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him." God knows His potential, therefore stay strong in Him and all else that is not of Him shall flee!

Promise 13 from Leviticus 19:25

Lev. 19:25 - "'In the fifth year you are to eat of its fruit, that its yield may increase for you; I am the Lord your God'." - God is giving instruction about harvesting. He said after planting trees, don't eat any of its fruit the 1st three years because it is forbidden. During the 4th year the fruit is holy and is an offering of promise to the Lord, but on the 5th year you can eat it and it will gain profit for you. The Lord began this part in vs. 23 with the words, "When you enter the land and plant all kinds of seeds." This signifies at a time of beginning a new thing, maybe it is a starting a new business or maybe it is going to a different land and the seeds are words and deeds which reveal who God is. For the most part in our cultures we are taught to desire immediate gratification, we desire immediate results and in some cases if we are under authority we are punished if we do not produce immediate results; the quicker, the better gets the reward. However in God's economy this is not always the case. In a new business, ideas need to grow, the product needs to strengthen in quality and in fame. The same is true with people, the truth of who God is needs time to sink down deep. People need a chance to watch the sower to see if they are professionals in handling the produce of the seeds they are planting. People need time to really grow and let the words take root into their souls then as the fruit of understanding begins to blossom, it is to be celebrated by giving praise to God. Only when it is ripe and people are healthy spiritually in themselves, they will begin to increase and their fruit will increase in the Kingdom. Just as in that new business, when the product becomes famous the company prospers. When Jesus' name becomes famous in new place, the Kingdom prospers.

Promise 12 from Leviticus 19:2

Lev. 19:2 - "Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy'." - Holiness is not an unreachable goal that we should shoot for the rest of our lives, but it is a command straight from God. It is possible because we are created in God's image and He build that into our character. He created us with holy fibres. It is our decision to sin, which causes our built-in holiness to be defiled. We need to make the decision to be holy, to set aside all thoughts and actions that defile the holy nature that God has put into us. The promise to us is; that because He is the Lord our God, holiness is possible to achieve right now.

Promise 11 from Leviticus 18:3-5

Lev. 18:3-5 - "'You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statues. You are to perform My judgements and keep my statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God. So you shall keep My statutes, and my judgements, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.'" - In most of the societies we live in, there is an understanding that if one conforms to the norms of the culture then they will have peace in that culture and will live in harmony with those around them. As cultures change with the shifting of morality, (I perceive it personally as a decline in moral integrity) our cultures tend to integrate around the morals, or the lack thereof, so as to say, "This is OK now, so if you do not agree you are going against the flow of the cultural wrong, therefore we wont like you anymore." We see this happen over and over again in our industrial societies. God's desire is not for us to live in harmony doing the things that those around us do, but to conform ourselves with Him, with His Kingdom culture, which says, "Whatever things are true, honourable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise... think on these things", not only think but dwell or be conformed to these things (Phil. 4:8). We may not be loved or respected by those who do not agree with us, but the Lord said, when we live according to His Kingdom standards, there is life. He increases the quality of life in those who practice righteousness.

Promise 10 from Leviticus 16:30-31

Lev. 16:30-31 - "For it is on this day (the annual day of atonement) that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you shall be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statue." - Once a year the high priest is to perform a ceremony of atonement for all the sins of the people, once this is done the Lord says, that the people shall be cleansed and that their sins will be forgiven. This is to be a day of humility, a solemn day. How often do we take time to be silent before the Lord, for a whole day and offer all our sins before the Lord? Praise the Lord that Jesus is our High Priest and we don't have to wait for the annual day of atonement to confess our sins and wait for forgiveness of them. However, even though we have immediate access to the Lord, it wouldn't be a bad thing to set aside a day of personal reflection in prayer for the Holy Spirit to reveal sins in our lives that maybe we didn't realise we have, so that we may offer those up and walk in holiness. Freedom from sin is a gift given to us through God's promise of forgiveness for our sins. We should seek that gift as often as needed then be thankful for it, so as to not think that we earned it nor deserved it, but because God's mercy made it possible for us to receive it.

Promise 9 from Leviticus 11:44-45

Lev. 11:44-45 - "'For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy'." - Sometimes we think that uncleaness or unholiness just falls on us and we find ourselves stuck in it. Recently in a conversation with a friend about the topic of sin, she said, "Well, everyone has their own secret sin that they hold onto and don't want to give up." I wonder how many other strong Christians feel that same way? It is sad to think that sin can be easily reasoned away through the justifying words of "well, everyone does it" or "everyone sins." But I want to argue and I firmly believe, that this is not true. God clearly states two things in these verses. One, man makes himself unclean and two, holiness is possible because just as man can make himself unclean, he can make himself clean by consecrating himself before the Lord so that he maybe holy. God commanded that we be holy so it must be possible. He is not going to command something of us that is impossible for us to do. Am I saying that there are sinless people in this world? "No" because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), However, that sin can very easily be given up and wiped away so that righteousness and holiness takes its place. God's promise to us, when we take those steps of getting rid of our sin is that we will be holy, for He is holy therefore all things are possible through Him.

Promise 8 from Leviticus 9:23-24

Lev. 9:23-24 - "Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burn offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." - After Moses and Aaron blessed the people then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Look what happens when God shows up... the remnant of sin is wiped away. The Lord Himself shot fire down to burn away any reminders of the people's sin. The offferings were representative of their sin to the Lord, and He consumed them all in fire. That is what He does when He shows up. His presence alone demands purity and holiness, no one can stand before Him unclean, Yet He appeared before all the people. That was possible because they confessed their sin, then offered up a sacrifice as a replacement of that sin. Then they were blessed in assurance that their sins were forgiven, afterwards to seal it, God wiped away all memory of it. When we give our sin away to the Lord, there is no taking it back. After it has been forgiven, it is gone. That is our promise. God doesn't bring it up again, so we shouldn't go looking for it either.