Leviticus 3:1 (KJV)
"And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord."
In Leviticus 3:1, we see instructions for the peace offering. This offering, whether male or female, had to be without blemish meaning perfect. While the peace offering was an Old Testament practice, it foreshadowed something much greater: Jesus Christ, the ultimate sacrifice for our peace. The word used here in Hebrew is שֶׁלֶם, shelem which is a masculine noun. This is important because Jesus (the husband/masculine) in the only sacrifice that God accepts.
No matter how good our works may seem, they are not sufficient to bring us peace with God. True peace comes only through the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. True peace and reconciliation doesn't come from what we can do, it comes from what HE can do.
Our works may look good, but only Jesus is the only one that's good enough for God. Isaiah 53:5 (KJV) says, “The chastisement of our peace was upon him.” Jesus bore the punishment required to bring us peace with God. His sacrifice wasn’t just sufficient. It was perfect and without blemish, fulfilling the requirement of the peace offering. True peace isn’t achieved by us, it’s received through Christ.
Many people strive for peace with God through their own efforts. They try to pray harder, do better, keep the commandments, and live perfectly. But Leviticus 3:1 shows us that only a perfect offering is acceptable to God. No matter how noble our works may seem, they are blemished by sin. This is why Jesus’ sacrifice is so crucial. He is the only one who is truly without blemish, the only offering acceptable before the Lord. I hope we can all see that every scripture in the bible is descriptive of Jesus.
The only thing we must do is have peace and rest in his sacrifice. Amen!
We'll be going over this in depth tomorrow (Sat, 1/11 at 10 AM PST)
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Ephesians 3:8 (KJV)
8 "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."
These days as I gain more popularity on social media, I am seeing more ridicule and persecution than ever before. People call me a heretic, a cult leader, false prophet, fake minister/pastor, I've heard it all.
As a human with feelings of course those things can get to me. Imagine people speaking falsely and making absurd allegations about you. But I'm so thankful that God gave us his precious Bible. Every time I'm going through hardships and feel like I'm dying, I turn to the book of life.
Today as I was reading Ephesians 3, I stumbled across this verse. The Apostle Paul is one of the most remarkable figures in Scripture. He preached the gospel boldly, planted churches across the world, and wrote 14 books of the New Testament. Yet he was called the ring leader of cults. He should be angry, sad, and even discouraged. But we can see that His heart was full of humbleness and humility.
In Ephesians 3:8, he calls himself “less than the least of all saints.” How could someone so impactful think of himself this way? Paul understood the magnitude of God’s grace. He never forgot who he was before encountering Jesus. He was a persecutor of Christians and murderer. But he also fully embraced who he became through Jesus: a redeemed, holy, and righteous child of God. This balance of humility and boldness fueled his mission to preach the gospel, even in the face of persecution.
Paul showed me that true humility isn't thinking less of yourself but thinking more of the grace of God.
I felt as if Paul was speaking to me directly today. Reminding me that following Jesus often brings criticism and persecution. People spoke against him, questioned his authority, and sought to kill him. This wasn't because of his past but solely because he preached the gospel of grace and perfection boldly.
Now of course we're not on the level of Paul, but as Christians today, we also face rejection and slander for proclaiming the truth of salvation by grace through faith alone. Works cannot get us into heaven and because we make claims to focus solely on Jesus, we get ridiculed.
But like Paul, I was able to find strength in humility.
I thought about Paul's life deeply today. The sadness he must've felt going through persecution. Having his own disciples question him. When he was persecuting Christians and killing them, nobody had anything to say except words of encouragement. Yet, as he changes his heart to preach this precious gospel, he is called a false prophet, cult leader, and fake Apostle.
I thought about how Paul didn't have any titles. He wasn't a pastor, elder, rabbi, or even part of the original 12 disciples. Yet he boldly preached and did so much more than all the disciples combined. He essentially preached the gospel to the whole known world in his time. That is truly amazing.
I was able to discover that humility allowed him to move forward boldly even in the midst of persecution. Humility sustained him to never lose hope. He continued to preach boldly no matter what type of judgement he faced. He showed that even if we don't have titles or the proper "training", we can still boldly preach this gospel. What matters most is the message of Jesus Christ.
We do not need to have a title to have a testimony.
Paul acknowledged who he was before Christ. Only evil and persecutor of the gospel. How he was once a sinner but now saved only by grace.
But he didn't stop there, he also acknowledged who he is in Christ. He embraced his identity as righteous, holy, and set apart through the blood of Jesus.
Paul is teaching that true humility isn’t thinking less of yourself rather it’s thinking more of God.
As we face challenges, criticism, or even persecution for preaching the gospel, Paul gives us a blueprint for how to respond. We must always remember who we are without God. We are saved through faith and grace alone. This allows us to stay humble because it wasn't anything we did to receive the grace. None of our works were involved. It was God who gave us that grace. This then allows us to move boldly with humility. It also allows us to accept the criticism we all face as Christians. Yes without Jesus we are everything people say we are. However, our identity now is in Christ.
This verse allowed me to move forward boldly even after being called a heretic, fake minister, false prophet, anti-christ etc etc. I hope we can all focus on the gospel rather than accolades, titles, achievements, degrees and anything that distracts from the gospel.
We are all royal priests in the eyes of God and chosen to preach his precious gospel. It's funny how we didnt face much ridicule when we were focusing on the world. Serving the flesh, getting a job, and occasionally going to church, nobody had a problem with that. Yet, now that we share our testimony and how Jesus made us perfect. Many people started judging and ridiculing us. It's proof that God is working. Satan wants to deter us from preaching this precious gospel. I hope we can all preach boldly like Paul. Amen!
Nahum 1:7 (KJV)
7 "The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him."
Life teaches us to trust our own thoughts. We rely on our experiences, instincts, and logic to navigate life. But often times our thoughts lead us to worry, confusion, fear, and misery. This verse tells us however that God is a stronghold for those who trust in Him. This verse doesn’t suggest we’ll never face trouble. Instead, it promises that when we let go of trying to figure things out on our own and place our trust in God, He becomes our refuge. Trusting in ourselves leads to exhaustion and misery, but trusting in God leads to peace and security.
Your thoughts are like a rocky foundation but God's word is a fortress that never crumbles.
Our thoughts often feel reliable, but they ultimately deceive us. God wants us to understand that we are not equipped to lead our own lives. When you discover this heart about yourself, you naturally allow God to lead. When we trust in ourselves, we rely on flawed understanding and limited perspective. The root of all misery is trying to control what only God can handle. When we acknowledge that we need God to guide us, we naturally let go of self-belief.
The first step to peace is realizing that you can never create or obtain it on your own.
Letting go of your thoughts doesn’t mean abandoning reason or making careless decisions. It means submitting your thoughts to God’s wisdom and letting His truth guide you. Nahum reminds us that God knows those who trust in Him. He wants us to rely on him in all aspects of our lives.
When we rely on God’s Word instead of our own understanding, we walk in light rather than stumbling in darkness. Letting go of our thoughts gives us clarity while holding onto them gives us chaos.
A stronghold is a place of safety and protection. God is inviting us each day to take refuge in Him rather than in our own plans or solutions. In the time of Nahum, there was judgement and chaos yet yet he proclaimed God’s goodness and protection for those who trust Him. When you lean on God, you’re held by the One who holds everything. I hope all of us can remember that although our thoughts may seem right, God is fully capable to leading your life better than you.
Amen!