KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Pattern
PERHAPS YOU HAVE had the experience of studying a section of the Bible and wondered how it could benefit your life...
To be sure, it is not because you doubt that the Bible is inspired of God, but it just seems tedious to read and study, and there seems to be no relation to it in our lives. Consider the first five chapters of the Old Testament book of Leviticus. The main subjects in this section include the laws for burnt, grain, peace, sin, and guilt offerings that God gave Moses for Israel. For example, God told Moses, "If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish..." (Lev. 1:3). Though the law set forth here does not apply to us in the Christian age, there is a principle in this passage that will profit us:
God has always had a pattern for mankind. It is impressive to observe that God did not tell Moses that the people were to make certain sacrifices, but then fail to give the appropriate instructions. For example, as seen in Leviticus 1:3, the burnt offering was to be a male without blemish. That was specific. A female without blemish or a male with blemish would not be acceptable, regardless of the attitude or intention of the person making the offering.
THOUGHT: When reading instructions like these from the book of Leviticus, we need to be impressed with how God has always been a God of pattern. For all mankind today we find in the New Testament specific instructions for the way in which we are to live and worship. To violate God's pattern in these matters is to ignore God's will. (Bruce Ligon)
KneEmail: "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Col. 3:17).