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Acts 25
Those Jews were certainly persistent! Paul had been in prison for two years and they were still plotting to kill him! That suggests to me that Paul’s influence had not died down while he was in prison. That’s something to think about. When life throws us a curve ball or deals us a bad hand, we still serve God. He can use us from anywhere.
Lev 7-8
I have been thinking a lot on this journey of scripture musing about the difference between ministering to others and fellowshipping with them. It’s the idea I keep returning to about being “unequally yoked”. “Fellowship” suggests a closer, more intimate relationship than what you would have in your typical daily interactions with people. When I read in Leviticus about the fellowship offering with all of that in mind, I notice a couple of interesting things.
First, the fellowship offering is listed last. It comes after all of the atonement for our sin and guilt. This is because we cannot have fellowship – deep, intimate relationship – with God until we are made clean. Second, if anyone who was unclean for any reason tried to take part in the fellowship offering by eating any of it, they were to be cut off from their people. This takes me back to 1 Corinthians 5, where Paul told the Corinthian church that the man guilty of sexual immorality among them should have been put out of their fellowship. We cannot claim intimacy with God when we are living in our own flesh rather than in Christ’s resurrected life. And we should not be in fellowship with those who do.
Ps. 21
King David rejoices in his victories. What has God helped you with that is a cause for rejoicing? I see this Psalm as having a really cool two-way meaning. On the one hand, God has granted us, His children, victory by giving us true, everlasting life through Jesus. While we experience some of the blessings of this victory here and now, we will have this life in full when God destroys His enemies for good. On the other hand, God has granted victory to His Son, Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, by saving us who believe as a gift to Him. To King Jesus, God has “granted Him His heart’s desire” (Ps. 21:2a), which is us. How very cool a thought that I am the desire of Jesus’ heart!